The AI Marketing Companion

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Every way to monetize content Dec 01, 2015

Show notes

I went into the business for the money and the art came out of it. If people are disillusioned by that remark, I'm sorry. It's the truth. -- Charlie Chaplin

There are lots of amazing ways to use content for your business. You might want to establish your voice of authority, use content to educate, to help with customer service, perhaps even to entertain. But some of us want to make money. The opportunities to make money from content have changed dramatically in the past 18 months. Traditional methods like inbound marketing and advertising have been under attack while new models like "rented" content and patronage have emerged. In this environment, what is the best way to make money from your content? In this new episode of The Marketing Companion, Tom Webster and I assess every opportunity for monetization including:

Indirect
Subscriptions/paywall
Advertising
Affiliate links
Sponsored content
Native advertising
Rented content
Inbound leads
Re-purposed content through events, book, webinars
Micro-payments
Patronage

Which ones are going up? Which are going down? Which do you need to keep your eyes on? Tune in to the latest episode of The Marketing Companion to find out! Resources mentioned in this podcast: Ian Cleary Kim Garst Written.com Patreon NBA Savant

Please support our extraordinary sponsors. Our content is free because of their generosity.

gShift's Web Presence Analytics platform provides agencies and brands with search, social and mobile content marketing data in one place. Monitor and report on an entire web presence. Create smarter, faster content through gShift's proprietary data. Report on the engagement and performance of your content marketing investment.

Our podcast is also brought to you by Voices Heard Media. Please check out this tremendous resource for scaling social media engagement. Take a look at building an engaged and relevant audience through innovative new games, contests, analytics, polling platforms, and other innovations. Illustration courtesy Flickr CC and Photos of Money

Stats-A-Palooza Nov 13, 2015

Show notes

I'm a data junkie. So this is a good time for me to be in marketing because we sure have a lot of amazing facts and figures at our finger tips. But once in a while I see some fact that is mind-blowing and I thought it would be fun to share some of these with you! On our latest podcast episode, Tom Webster and I dug deep into the bowels of the Internet to explore some of the most amazing facts and figures from the social web. It's social media BELIEVE IT OR NOT!

The number one pinned item on Pinterest (MOUTH-WATERING!)!
The most photographed brand on the web (BY FAR!)!
Mind-boggling data on Snapchat (GASP!)
The biggest messaging app in the world (NO WAY!)
The number one social network in the world (it's NOT Facebook?)
The magic of Kik (WHAT???)
The huge slide in Facebook posting! (MIND-BLOWING!)
Ads -- the most effective content type (HUH??)
The mind-numbing impact of mobile on content distribution (DEATH DEFYING!!)

... Plus SHOW TUNES!!! You simply have to hear to believe it! Are you ready for this? Here we go ...

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The Rant Show Oct 30, 2015

Show notes

Bollywood dancing. You know you love it. You know you want to do it. So join Tom Webster and me on The Marketing Companion to learn of our new "product line" (many thanks to out friend Ralph Cipolla for the awesome graphic!). Tom and I also get a little prickly on the new edition of podcast. After a brief dance routine (really) we tee-off on online trends that drive us a little nuts:

Faking your way through the work-life balance
The "live your dream" fallacy
Bizarre eMail marketing mis-fires
Android podcast dreams
Inane round-up blog posts
LinkedIn spam

Ready to join our podcast Bollywood-style? Put on your dancing shoes and let's dive in:

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Sales and marketing transformation in the digital world Oct 16, 2015

Show notes

There is no corporate function that has been transformed more quickly -- and more dramatically -- by technology than sales and marketing. In this episode of The Marketing Companion, Tom Webster and I look at the state of the art of sales and marketing, and discuss the role and relevancy of this career path in a digital age. Some of the incredibly interesting topics we cover include:

Emerging technology focuses on many traditional marketing functions. Are marketers becoming redundant?
Are we in an era of real-time sales ... or real-time marketing? Or both?
Sales has always been day-to-day/tactical, marketing is normally more long-term, and cerebral ... but is this still true? Are the roles merging?
We unpack the key ideas behind marketing today -- maneuverability and demand.
Daniel Pink and the idea of the age of "servant sellers" -- Isn't that what content marketing is about? Is that enough?
Google's Moment of Truth -- People consult 10 pieces of content before making a decision, double what it was a few years ago. What is driving this?
Content Shock and analysis paralysis -- How is this affecting sales?
Does content mean anything in the decision process? Isn't much of what we want simply an irrational and emotional decision? Can content contribute to that?
Forrester projects that a quarter of the sales job will be eliminated in the next few years. WIll algorithms replace marketers?
Why Tom believes CMO's are an endangered species (and why I disagree).
Why start-ups are particularly vulnerable to marketing issues.

You will NOT want to miss this. Ready? Here we go ...

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Competitive pressures on content marketing Oct 02, 2015

Show notes

Tom Webster and I have the opportunity to experience a broad swath of marketing ideas, organizations and people during our travels and it's always fun to compare notes on what we're seeing out there. In this episode of The Marketing Companion we look at some interesting things that will be transforming content marketing efforts in 2016 and beyond. Some of the things we cover in this new episode of The Marketing Companion ...

Is content marketing about leads or relationships? How is this shifting? What is Inbound Marketing? Is it merely a source for potential cold calls or something else?
Ad blocking. What does this have to do with content marketing? A lot!
New investments in influence marketing are on the way. Trusted friends -- and even celebrities -- matter. Why are ad agencies in an influence feeding frenzy?
The impact of Millennials -- how their buying habits will make us adjust our content marketing.
Back to the Future -- the return of true sponsorship?

Scintillating? Of course. Provocative? You bet! Let's dig in ... Resources mentioned in the podcast A list of all the podcasts and show notes for the Marketing Companion Scott Monty Mike Hind Joe Chernov Social Brand Forum Crystal Ad Blocker Article: Crystal impact on legitimate eCommerce sites like Wal-Mart

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Critical marketing lessons from 2015 Sep 18, 2015

Show notes

2015 is going down in the books as a transformational year for the discipline of marketing. There is just so much going on ... and it's going on so FAST! As Tom Webster and I compared notes from our recent journeys we began to see some themes and marketing lessons that we thought would be entertaining and useful to discuss on our podcast. So ... we did! On the latest episode of The Marketing Companion we get into some wild discussions on some thought-provoking developments such as:

Branding is more important that ever. In fact we're at a tipping point where every person must be a brand to be relevant in this digital age.
Relationship mode versus sales mode in content marketing
Facebook is slipping through our fingers as a business tool, as the most important social channel evolves into something new.
Content monetization at the point of contact
The renaissance of social media engagement and interactive media
Growing sophistication of social media marketers
Courage as a core marketing competency

This is a podcast you cannot miss. Here we go: Resources mentioned in this podcast

Kristian Strøbech

Kelly Michael

Ulrik Heilmann CEO of Bolius

gShift's new URL innovation that will allow marketers to track the value of content and influencers.

Please support our extraordinary sponsors. Our content is free because of their generosity.

The shifting sands of Facebook marketing Sep 04, 2015

Show notes

Have you figured out Facebook marketing? What if I told you that organic reach is GOING UP for many businesses in 2015? Impossible you say? Well, then you will need to catch up with our new episode of The Marketing Companion where we discuss the "secondary advertising ripple" and how it's creating new complexity for companies trying to figure out what's happening on their Facebook page. But wait! There's more! Some of the other ripped from the headlines topics on this episode include:

A discussion on new data on how an increase in negative feedback can actually be a positive for some businesses that are increasingly turning to Facebook as a customer service channel.
1 billion people logged into Facebook on a single day last month. We discuss Facebook as a sociological driver of community and connection. Or, are they just in it for the money?
Blab -- Meerkat killer or just another app in the line of streaming video innovation? I like it a lot, but Tom has some reservations about using this technology for marketing purposes. Bottom line: Live is hard.
A live Blab for Mark and Tom and our loyal listeners? Yes, it is going to happen.
The latest innovation from The Marketing Companion laboratories: Mashley Addison.

With no further delay, let's dive in shall we? Resources mentioned in this episode The worst song in history - Escape: The Pina Colada Song AgoraPulse The End of History and the Last Man Blab Kerry Gorgone's post on the legal issues with live video streaming

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Telltale signs that it's time to end your business Aug 21, 2015

Show notes

The entrepreneurial spirit was strong in me, even at an early age. I always had some gig going. I sold Christmas cards door-to-door. I raked leaves and cut grass. I watched kids and dogs. I did anything I could to make a buck. But my first entrepreneurial venture was also my shortest one and it occurred when I was five years old. That's right. I started my first business before I entered the first grade!

My family home at that time was at the intersection of two busy streets. When people stopped at this corner from any direction, they would throw their cigarette butts out the window. I noticed that most of these butts still had a lot of tobacco in them. So my idea was to unwrap the used cigarettes, recover the unused tobacco and sell it. Now, in hindsight, that is a pretty gross business. But for a five-year-old kid, this was a vision of money falling from heaven.

Of course when my mother found out what I was doing she made me stop right away (and take a bath). My first start-up literally went down the drain at that moment. Which brings me to today's topic. If you have an idea you love, and you're driving a new business as hard as you can, how do you know when it's time to finally call it quits? Probably one of the hardest moments in your life, right? My Marketing Companion co-host Tom Webster and I have both had to give up on start-up businesses and decided to devote some time to discuss ... when is it time to call it quits?

Is the biggest problem quitting early or quitting too late?
A discussion of the number one reason for new business failures
Following your heart versus your head - the chronic entrepreneurial failure
The pervasive and mythological legend of entrepreneurship in America
Why "intrapreneurial" efforts are so difficult
The rise of the entrepreneurial unicorn

And as an added bonus, Tom and I review the worst mobile apps of 2015. You won't want to miss this episode! Resources mentioned in this podcast Failure of Zirtual Innovation and Entrepreneurship by Peter Drucker Clay Hebert Chris Brogan's podcast

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The Influence Marketing Show Aug 08, 2015

Show notes

Advocate marketing is getting a bit ... prickly. While there are undoubtedly some wonderful programs out there, and many brands are doing it well, there is a rising tide of weird stuff going on in the influencer space, as we explore on the latest episode of The Marketing Companion. The ability for anybody to publish content and gain an active audience has transformed the media world and democratized influence. Many companies are becoming aaware of these "citizen influencers" and how they might be impacting the attitudes and buying behaviors of a target audience. Connecting to these trusted influencers and advocates and their engaged audience can provide an effective and rapid opportunity for content transmission. In this edition of our Internet radio show, Tom Webster and I crack open a case of advocate marketing topics such as:

How companies are gaming influence and cheating brands blind.
The advantages of advocate marketing
Influence marketing done right -- What make an effective campaign?
Examples of brands using influencers to successfully connect to new audiences and new platforms
Why influence marketing is becoming a gamble
The burned-out influencer
Becoming a human NASCAR jacket
Authentic Advocacy versus celebrity endorsement
The model for influence marketing, Bethany Mota

Pretty amazing discussion, right? Let's do this thing! Resources mentioned in this podcast The book on influence marketing, Return On Influence Crowdly The book The Content Code: Six essential strategies to ignite your content, your marketing, and your business Augustine Fou's Slideshare channel on ad corruption New York Times article on why brands and influencers are getting picky

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The real story about real-time marketing Jul 24, 2015

Show notes

Real-time marketing is one of the hottest trends around, prompting entirely new agency specialists and tactics in the last few years. But it has also proved to be disastrous for several brands and the trend might even be losing some steam. This is an issue for rich discussion on the latest Marketing Companion podcast and, in fact, Tom Webster and I disagree on the promise and potential of this marketing trend. In our latest episode we discuss ...

Are brands still holding onto old business models because real-time marketing is disruptive
How real-time marketing (like the Oreo moment) might be "extraordinarily dangerous" for brands -- why Tom thinks it is "improv advertising," and why I think it is something more.
Can you sustain "clever" as a strategy? When companies like DiGiorno issue tweets that backfire, is brand value erased?
Can real-time be successful when it creates provocations that lead to awareness and conversations?
Why a company's organizational structure may determine whether "real time" works.
Is real-time marketing a tactic or a strategy?
Brands responding to each other on Twitter -- effective moments, or brands pleasuring each other?
Seasonal Advertising Disorder -- latching on to weird trends to make a brand relevant
Is real-time marketing about an ad or a relationship? Does this trend help describe why marketing business is coming back in-house?

Are you ready for this? Let's go!

Important resources mentioned in this episode:

PR News article on real-time marketing A discussion on several real-time marketing movements, including DiGiorno Pizza Jerry Seinfeld's Pop-Tart joke Post on bringing marketing work inside

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