The Agents of Change Digital Marketing Podcast

Almost any business can benefit from using Reddit as a marketing tool. Afterall, it calls itself the “Front Page of the Internet”, which is more than appropriate with it’s fascinating mix of interesting links, conversations, news and social commentary. It’s a community for sharing content and ideas and pieces of information that you find useful. If you’re new to Reddit it can seem overwhelming at first. With the sheer volume of subReddits alone, Reddit is a neverending information buffet. The key is to just get in there and watch what’s going on. Search the topic of your business audience’s interest and see what people are saying. Reddit is a fantastic tool to gather ideas for things like content creation, blogs, podcasts, email newsletters and more. It will take your broad topic and niche it down into different related avenues - or subReddits - that your ideal audience is also interested in. Jon Quinton loves talking SEO and coffee. He has also achieved success both for his own agency as well as that of his client’s by using Reddit as an effective and creative marketing tool. www.agentsofchangecon.com/141/

Thanks to all of the digital marketing and social media platforms available to us today, businesses have the availability to reach their customers on a global scale. But what if you’re looking to concentrate on a more local level? Learning to expand your local footprint using these same platforms can be very important, too. Once you figure out the best digital market action plan that works for your particular business, you can begin to use the abundance of tools that these various platforms offer to niche down and target exactly the people you need to reach for your business’s success. By following the four main elements of a successful marketing framework - attraction, engagement, conversion and measurement - you can then pull in the different tools or channels that make the most sense for you based on your business and your audience, and you will find success. Rich Brooks is the founder and president of flyte new media, a web design and marketing firm in Portland, Maine. A thought leader in his industry, he has helped countless small businesses on the topics of search, social and mobile marketing as well as how to reach your ideal audience. His Agents of Change Digital Marketing Conference has brought together top notch experts in the industry giving you their valuable tips on leveraging the digital marketing channels available to businesses today. www.agentsofchangecon.com/140

If you’re looking for a way to up the ante with your marketing repertoire, why not add video to the mix? It can be a great way to build brand trust and loyalty with your audience, as well as add another level to your marketing strategy.You don’t have to have a lot of experience in front of the camera to make great videos, you just need to follow a few simple rules and be willing to tweak things as needed. Shooting a video is more than just reading a script on camera. To make the biggest impact, you need to share great content and pay attention to small but important things such as lighting and audio. And of course once you have the finished product you need to know how to use it and share it to make the biggest impact and get the most exposure.Patrick Allmond knows how to help businesses use video to make the most impact with their audiences. He proves that you don’t need fancy, expensive equipment to make great videos that take your marketing strategy up a notch to help differentiate you from your competition. www.agentsofchangecon.com/139

You can put a lot of time and effort into your Facebook ads, but if no one is reading or clicking on them, then what good are they? Every Facebook ad you create should be about results. And to get the results you want you need to stay ahead of the curve and pay more attention to the content you’re putting out, as well as understand how it’s being perceived by your target audience. Facebook ads are a bit different than, say, Google ads. With Google, your potential customer is seeing ads based on a specific search they’re typing in. With Facebook ads, you need to find out first who your target audience is based on their search behavior and where they’re hanging out in order to get in front of them. It can be tricky, but with careful research and testing, Facebook ads can give you a good amount of bang for your buck. If you hone in and really target your audience, provide them with great content that answers their needs, make the ads aesthetically eye catching and test them regularly for the best response, you’ll find Facebook ads are a great option to increase conversion rates and grow your business. Julie Lowe creates social media strategies for businesses looking to increase leads, sales and create a successful plan for future business growth. www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/138

If you own any kind of business, you already know the importance of receiving customer reviews. For better or worse, it’s a way to gauge if you’re providing the kind of service your customers are expecting. Even more important, they can dictate whether a potential customer even decides to give your business a try just based on other’s opinions of you. So the challenge now becomes getting those customers who had positive experiences with you to leave an online review. But how do you actually go about it and is there a “polite” way to do this? And what do you do if you receive a negative review? The goal now is to develop a review strategy, take control of your reviewing platforms, encourage your customers to leave reviews and turn them into your brand ambassadors. Jason Baumann is the Chief Digital Strategist at Boxless Media, inventor of ReviCards and expert on online reviews. His passion for and understanding of the importance of online reviews has helped businesses grow using digital and social media while also encouraging them to embrace the online reviewing process. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/137

Being part of a startup is an exciting time. There’s a reason why people compare it to a rollercoaster ride! The ups: You’re filled with passion about creating something that will bring value to others. There’s a certain energy that fuels your dreams--no, that’s not the Red Bull--and allows you to take on new challenges that you might have felt impossible before. The downs: However, there are many hurdles ahead of you. You lack visibility, credibility, and leads. You have few or no customers. No one knows who you are. You’re on a shoestring budget. Maybe you think that social media is some sort of silver bullet, but you’re about to get a rude awakening. Take Facebook, for instance: you’re competing for the attention of your ideal customers against other startups, established businesses, local and national companies, news organizations, the PTA, mothers-in-law, college buddies, friends and family. But don’t get frustrated. Although social media isn’t the easy game it was just a few years ago, there is a method to grow your credibility, audience, and startup using digital marketing. agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/136

Marketers are always looking for advice on their email campaigns. How often should they send out emails, how can they improve open and click through rates? Segmenting is an often overlooked and misunderstood tactic, but a very important one. Too often marketers are concerned more with quantity over quality when it comes to their email lists. But realizing that your audience is made up of different types of consumers in various stages of the sales cycle and making sure you’re emailing them content based on their needs is the key. Learning to effectively segment your audience while keeping that in mind can help you both improve your reputation and yield better results. Stephan Hovnanian is an email marketer and web strategist who works with B2B brands helping them revitalize their email marketing efforts by revive and stimulate their relationships with their audiences. www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/135

Almost out of nowhere, live mobile video streaming has seemingly become the newest craze. But is it a fad or is there really some benefit to it? With multiple platforms and apps offering this option, could this be the new frontier in social marketing? Streaming content online isn’t a new concept, but more and more businesses are seeing the benefits of mobile live streaming as it allows them to connect with their audience in a way that makes them appear more relatable in a "live event" type setting. In return, businesses are getting better brand exposure and better interaction with customers. By using live streaming to boost live events, host interviews, giving a “behind the scenes” look and many other options, it gives businesses an opportunity to engage with their audience in real time. Vincenzo Landino’s expertise and forward thinking in the areas of social and content marketing has helped countless businesses boost their brands and command attention with their audiences and customers. www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/134

Facebook has an incredible global reach of more than 1 billion active users, so it makes perfect sense why businesses - both large and small - are flocking to Facebook Advertising to reach their audiences. With a variety of platforms and options to choose from, Facebook makes it almost too easy to target exactly the audience demographic that you want, even allowing you to niche down to the most finite of audiences. Once you choose your objective, Facebook gives you the power to segment and optimize your ads in innumerable ways, including placement and even posting it to Instagram. But it doesn’t end there, Facebook also helps you to track your results, allowing you to tweak - if need be - as you go along to ensure your success. Katrina Crowell is the Digital Marketing Consultant and Strategist, as well as an SEO guru at flyte new media. Her sharp marketing skills - as well as a few learned tips and tricks - have made her both successful and effective while utilizing Facebook’s advertising platform, not only for flyte, but for their clients as well. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/133

Building an audience to ensure your podcast is successful is a no brainer. But how you choose to go about that can make all the difference between getting a few random downloads or getting a dedicated audience of listeners waiting with baited breath for each new episode that they loyally download and listen to from start to finish every time. Your goal should be to find those dedicated listeners that you know will anticipate every new episode - and hopefully - are excited enough to engage with you in the form of feedback. But how do you build that trust and loyalty within your audience? You start by providing them with the most valuable content you can, and then initiate and foster a sense of community and reciprocity where they feel inclined to offer the same to you. Cliff Ravenscraft is the "Podcast Answer Man," a highly respected podcasting consultant and coach at the top of his game. The best and biggest names in podcasting have studied and learned under Cliff’s tutelage and gone on to become some of the most respected and revered names in podcasting today. www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/132

Hopefully by now we all know that Pinterest is more than wedding dresses, cupcakes and DIY projects. It can actually be a pretty powerful marketing tool used to drive business, if you follow a few key tips. Like with any platform, you should never just throw money behind a campaign for promotion unless organically it’s got some legs on it already. So, learning what content to pin - and what your audience is interested in - is vital to your success. Pinterest is an excellent way to promote your brand, and their “promoted pins” takes things a step further and increases visibility, so you get the right audience at the right time. Alisa Meredith is a Pinterest-obsessed content strategist and marketer. If you value more traffic, leads and customers, then Alisa’s tips and advice using Pinterest’s promoted pins will be a valuable addition to your current marketing strategy. www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/131

Most businesses come up with all of their products and services first, and then go out and try to market them. But what about developing those things with your audience, in a collaborative fashion? Sort of like taking a "find them first and see what they need" approach. The key to any good marketing strategy is to market to the key audience that wants what you have, but what’s the most effective way? And if you find one platform or channel that works, should you just stick with that or add others to your repertoire? Try concentrating on your strengths and what is already working and then simply building upon that. A strong foundation is a great starting point, then slowly try casting your net deeper versus wider. John Jantsch is the marketing guy to look to if you're a small business trying to grow. His simple and effective approach to marketing can turn even the hardest cynics into believers once they start seeing real results from his effective marketing strategies. www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/130

You’ve got yourself a website and a blog, but how do you get people to notice you? You can’t just post a few blog entries, sit back, and wait for the traffic to come. So how do you get noticed, find an audience and keep them? There’s more to content creation than just writing a few articles. Learning how to write effectively to reach the people searching for your topics will be your key to success. And there are a lot of tools out there to help you, you just need to invest the time and take advantage them. Things like guest blogging, backlinks, utilizing and reading your Google Analytics reports and learning how to find the most effective keywords, not only in your posts but in the titles, can mean all the difference when it comes to beating your competition in the search rankings. Rich Brooks - SEO savant and owner of Flyte New Media - answers your questions on how to do all of this and more in this latest “Mailbag” episode of The Agents of Change Podcast. www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/129

You cannot truly learn anything until you have to teach it to somebody else. And with so many platforms out there – blogs, podcasts, Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, etc – how do you find the most effective way to reach and advertise to your audience? But more important than knowing where your audience hangs out, you need to find out how your personal voice can lend a different perspective and spin on some of the same information that is and has already been presented and published on the same topic. Mitch Joel is a content marketing gangster and the guy that Google turns to when they want to explain innovation and marketing to some of the top brands in the world. www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/128

When Snapchat first came on the scene, it was widely known as the “sexting platform”, where teens and millennials ruled the demographic. But like many social media platforms, marketers began to see it’s potential for businesses as a powerful marketing tool, making it the fastest growing social network to date. One of the aspects that sets Snapchat apart from its competing platforms, is that these posts - or “snaps” - either videos or pictures, don’t just sit around and get lost in a user’s timeline, once they are opened. They are only around for 1-10 seconds before they disappear, allowing you to have your audience’s undivided attention once they open your snap. So make sure you get creative and offer extremely valuable content. You are giving your audience a unique opportunity to really engage with your brand in real time, so get savvy and create stories they can relate to. Nick Cicero knows social media platforms inside and out, and is a leading authority on how to get the most out of your marketing initiatives. www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/127

Creating customer loyalty is the very backbone of many small businesses. But creating customer loyalty doesn’t just happen overnight, sometimes your customers need a little nudge to encourage them to keep coming back. And what better way to encourage them than by making it as easy for them as possible. The key is in connecting the transaction to the loyalty aspect for your customers. The philosophy behind customer loyalty programs is really quite simple; mobile payment apps provide both the merchant and the customer a faster transaction, repeat customers are rewarded, and the businesses sales increase. In today’s world of consumer savviness, businesses recognize mobile payment apps enhance the guest experience as well as help extend their brand, therefore making it crucial for brands to enhance their offerings, and loyalty programs top the list. Chris Munz’s mobile marketing technology expertise has helped countless national brands better understand their marketing needs, and helped them implement mobile strategies to succeed in business. www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/126

To describe a webinar as an "effective tool" would be a huge understatement. They allow you to reach, teach and sell products and services to your target audience in one fell swoop. Webinars provide a vast number of benefits all with the same goal; to boost, support and build your business. They allow you to build your business contacts - and more importantly - your precious and valuable email list. You also get the opportunity to establish your business as an authority in its field, which adds value to your business. All this while maintaining close communication with your target audience, capturing sales leads and promoting your products and services. And best of all, you could even do it from the comfort of your living room couch if you chose to! Kimra Luna is a webinar rock star whose unconventional way of doing business brought her from welfare to a million dollar business owner in just 18 months. Her tips and advice show proven results to grow your business through the power of webinars. www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/125

You’ve just created a website, or maybe your latest blogpost, and you need some visuals to go with it to help grab your audience. But where do you look? Sure, there are billions of photos and graphics online, but how do you choose the best one, and what are the legal ramifications of using those visuals? There are many things to consider when choosing visuals for your projects. For example, are you legally allowed to use a particular image? Once you choose an image and pay for it, are you allowed to use it forever or is there a time limit on it? What resolution works best for your particular project? Where can you find “families” of similar photos to use in the same project to keep the same look and feel throughout? What are some reputable and recommended places to search for and purchase photos from, and is it possible to negotiate the price? Sarah Fix is an expert in stock photography and the rules surrounding usage of online images, in a career spanning over 20 years in the field. She is the current President of the Digital Marketing Licensing Association and has lectured extensively on the topics of commercial content creation and stock library production. www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/124

With so many social media platforms at our fingertips, LinkedIn is an often neglected choice by business owners when considering marketing options. It could be that once you stop thinking of it as just a social media site but rather a bulked up CRM tool, then you can take advantage of the options it offers. It’s clear that more business owners and marketers would utilize LinkedIn more if they were aware of all the aspects it has to offer in regards to lead generation, engagement and relationship building, not to mention LinkedIn’s features, tools and applications to assist with publishing and advertising potential. Viveka von Rosen is the expert when it comes to LinkedIn. Her seminars, webinars and workshops have taught and trained well over 100,000 people on how to best use LinkedIn. www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/123

Whether or not your particular business depends on ratings to get customers, it’s still unsettling to see even one bad review, and even harder not to take it personally. But once that bad review is posted, how do you move on from that, and is it really as bad for our business as we think it is? In the business world, reputation means a great deal. What better way to build that reputation than by encouraging your happy customers to write a review, share their experience and recommend you to others on one of the many online review sites, such as Yelp or TripAdvisor. How you deal with negative reviews is also important, especially if you are skilled in knowing how to turn a bad review into a positive spin for your business - and it is possible! Daniel Lemin was a pioneer in realizing the importance and power of online ratings and reviews, and understands the struggles business owners have with maintaining their online reputations. In this episode he shares his experiences, ideas and strategies for building and maintaining business reputations online, and how to put a spin on the negative ratings that can still make your business look good. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/122

One of the first priorities of any business - especially brick and mortar businesses - is to find and implement a marketing automation system. And with so many out there to choose from, you can just pick one at random and go from there, right? Wrong. One of the biggest mistakes businesses make is trying to implement a marketing automation system without first mapping out their processes. What they should be doing is putting the needs of the business first, and then finding the software that will actually achieve that result. Wes Schaeffer is The Sales Whisperer, with over 20 years experience in sales training, marketing and consulting with a special concentration on CRM and email marketing sales, support and optimization. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/121

Social media is not only a benefit, but an absolute must for any business. Sure, you can send a few tweets, shoot out a couple Facebook posts and blog like your life depended on it, but it’s actually a bit more nuanced than that. Just because you’re sending content to the people on your lists doesn’t mean you’re connecting with everyone you could - or should - be reaching. Sometimes you need to give people a little tap on the shoulder before they’ll knock on your door. Knowing the right techniques to reach out to your desired audience - and get them to check out your profile in return - can translate to more names on your email list and hopefully future business opportunities. Jen Lehner is a digital marketing strategist who uses her skills and passion to help entrepreneurs utilize all of their marketing tools to grow their business. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/120

We love to receive feedback, comments and questions from our listeners and relish the opportunity to answer any specific questions or pain points that you may have. Recently we received an email from a communications and marketing student from Canada seeking some information specifically around the area of blogging. So we decided to help her out with her school homework and answer some of her burning questions on the topic and offer a few pointers as well. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/119

Podcasts are a great online marketing tool for your business. They are portable, and therefore a more personal way, to connect with your audience. Whether you’re thinking of starting one or just getting into it, there are a few tips you’ll want to follow to ensure your podcast’s success. It’s no coincidence that the number of podcast downloads has increased as more people have gotten smartphones. Now use that to your advantage by making it easier for them to find you by considering getting an app specifically for your podcast. And now that you have a podcast, you need to find a way to consistently attract new listeners - and more importantly - get them to subscribe to and review your show. Finding them, reaching and engaging them, and keeping them is your ultimate goal. And how you choose to go about that will determine the success or failure of your podcast. Rob Walch knows more than a little about podcasting, not only because he hosts 3 of his own shows, but also due to his role as VP of Podcaster Relations at Libsyn. Rob’s knowledge, know-how and experience has helped both aspiring and seasoned podcasters to create and maintain successful shows. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/118

Mixing in pictures, graphics and photos with your content and advertising is nothing new, but are you doing it effectively to get more bang for your buck as far as your audience is concerned? When you can effectively lay out your conversation point for your audience and convince them right away that the content is worth reading, then you’ve won half the battle already. It’s also a fact that the human brain processes visuals much faster than text. Powerful visuals give rise to certain emotions and feelings, which in turn drives a deeper audience engagement. You can develop a powerful marketing program driving your company’s authenticity and cultural relevancy using rich media such as visuals, videos and social media. Think of it as the inverse to “show and tell”, and instead you tell the audience your story by showing them through visuals. Learning how to do this effectively will have a huge impact on your lead generation and allow you greater success while marketing your brand. Ekaterina Walter is an innovator in the art of visual storytelling, and a best selling author on the topic. She has inspired creativity within organizations and proven that a picture really is worth a thousand words, or perhaps even more. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/117

Does just the thought of speaking in public make your heart beat faster, your palms sweat and you feel like you might faint? You’re certainly not alone. The fear of public speaking is the highest ranked fear, even over death. Over death!? The biggest problem to overcome is how to control our natural “fight or flight” instinct. Although we can’t - and shouldn’t - try to eliminate that natural response, learning how to control it is the key to successful public speaking where you remain calm, insight trust in your audience, and in turn, success for you and your business. Andy Saks knows the importance that public speaking can have on you to help you stand out in the crowd as well as help you generate leads for your business. His expertise on the topic - found both in his programs as well as his book, Presentation Playbook Series - has helped many people learn to utilize presentation opportunities to generate connections, leads, sales and more. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/116

We’ve all come across these people - a seemingly rare breed - that either seem to have a knack for being ahead of the next big trend, or come up with amazing and creative ideas with what appears to be an effortless ease. How do they do that, and more importantly, how can we do that? Well, it’s a bit more than just that old, standby advice of “thinking outside the box”. Making sure you’re telling the stories that your audience wants to hear, versus just the ones you want to tell can make a big difference in whether you engage them or not. Making yourself available and open to different people and experiences is a fantastic way to stimulate and nurture your inner creativity. It’s also a great way to discover what really interests you and where you can bring the most value to your audience. Joel Comm is an entrepreneur, speaker, author and consultant with over 20 years of internet business experience and has managed to find success among a variety of niches. He is a creative thinker who lives by the philosophy of embracing every opportunity as it comes. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/115

We’ve entered an age where less people receive their news and current events information in print but rather search for it online. And as the purveyors of news and information, our goal is to deliver this information in the most efficient, concise way, while still providing meaningful engagement to our audience. You could say that social media has come full circle and brought us back to “person to person” business. We see customer service issues resolved in front of our eyes on Twitter and Facebook instead of behind the scenes via an 800 number. Tweets are now playing a huge role in real time search results. Part of realizing that is knowing how to strategically craft the perfect tweet. Some valuable tips that will bump you up in the search results are to use SEO tactics in your tweets and learning how to maximize your tweet real estate by pumping out your keywords in the beginning versus the end of the post. And always, always fill out your Google profile! Amy Guth is a true renaissance woman who also happens to know how to win in social media. Her ideas and techniques have helped make the Chicago Tribune’s social media presence stand out among its peers, while leading the way for news to have an immediate and lasting impact on the way we, as consumers, receive it. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/114

Let’s face it, starting a new business can be time consuming. We all want to start selling our products and services and earning some money as soon as possible. But did you know that trying to rush the process could result in you a becoming an unfavorable statistic of the less than 30% still surviving after the first 10 years? Finding, getting to know and earning the trust from your key audience will translate to success if you take the time and have the patience to craft your content to their specific needs and pain points. Taking the first 12 months to get up and running may seem like a long time to wait, but your patience can and will translate to success.. Joe Pulizzi’s strength lies in helping businesses become effective content marketers, making them stand out among their peers as leaders in their industry. His proven model for success includes just 6 easy to implement steps that will help your business grow like crazy. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/113

Marketing research can give a business a much better idea of if their current business plan is working, what tweaks might need to be made, whether they’re meeting their customers needs and what kinds of new products or services might be profitable for them. Unfortunately, many businesses don’t set aside the funds for this kind of research, or simply don’t see the long term importance of such a task. It’s important to know how current trends are affecting your business, or what your customers actually think of you. You can take the “try, fail and learn from your mistakes” approach, or you can be more direct and simply ask your customers and prospects why they did - or didn’t - choose you. Tom Webster is a thought leader on the topic of market research and an expert in qualitative and quantitative research techniques. He has directed hundreds of studies in nearly every major U.S. and worldwide market. HIs company, Edison Research, has the unique distinction of being the sole provider of official exit polls for every U.S caucus and election. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/112

The significance of inbound marketing is undeniable. Consumers are smarter, savvier, know what they want and have innumerable resources to get it. So it’s our goal as business owners to be wherever our potential customers are looking for us. Pay per click advertising has a proven track record as an effective strategy for inbound marketing. It’s fast, nimble, far reaching and makes managing and tracking your efforts simple. If you find that your SEO efforts are not quite where you’d like them to be, pay per click is a fantastic complement to this, as well as providing a nice boost to your other marketing efforts. Leslie Lewis knows a thing or two about managing successful marketing campaigns. She leads her agency’s efforts in all online marketing, overseeing campaign management and strategy for search, social and mobile media buys. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/111

You’ve heard it a million times from everyone you come in contact with that you have to build your list, you’re nothing without your email list. But what good is a huge list if at least half of the names on it have no communication with you or your business at all? If only there was a way to figure out which of those people were solid leads with a deep, vested interest in your products or services. This is where building a tribe comes into play. When you build your tribe, you’re cultivating and connecting with like minded people that are more likely to purchase your products and services. Think of it as having your own, loyal following of Deadheads, if you will. When you learn how to attract and communicate with the right names on your list, you build a valuable following of quality over quantity. Keith Perhac helps businesses increase revenue from their existing traffic by building authority and trust through their audience and customers. He also helps create online courses that add value to businesses and brands. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/110

A large percentage of the profiles that are currently on LinkedIn are incorrectly utilizing the platform as nothing more than a place to post their resume. First impressions are crucial, and with so many social media platforms out there, these first impressions are becoming more and more digital versus in person. What does your LinkedIn profile say about you? By just spending a little bit of time on your profile, you can be that person that continuously shows up in searches and generates a lot of buzz and attention. Personalizing your profile with things like a professional photo, non-generic headers and a vanity URL will not only get you noticed but it can also strengthen your SEO game. Amanda Healy is a social media rockstar who knows a thing or two about how to stand out from the pack. She runs the corporate media accounts for her employer, TIBCO, as well as leading a team whose job is to devise and execute multidimensional campaigns for lead generation. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/109

Every business, regardless of the size of both the company or the community it is in, faces a certain amount of struggles and adversity. The key in overcoming them is to concentrate on what your strengths and advantages are and use those to leverage success. You need to stand out from your competition, whether you are one of 300 or only 3 of a particular business in your community. A common assumption is that big businesses and corporations have the upper hand over small businesses, and certainly those in very small, rural communities. How could the little guys possibly compete with the big guys, right? Wrong. In the world of technology - and certainly social media - no one is limited solely by their geographical area. Becky McCray doesn’t just talk about small business and rural living, she actually lives it. As the owner of two businesses in a community of only 30 residents, her experience and practical perspective make her an authority on how how small, rural businesses can grow while shaping and greatly impacting their communities. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/108

You’ve just created a shiny, new website for your business, now you just need to “SEO it," right? Wrong. Search engine optimization isn’t something you just sprinkle on at the end, it’s an important ingredient that should be used throughout the website building process. Like an onion, SEO has many layers that make up the whole. It is so much more than just picking some clever keywords and calling it good. No longer is it brushed off as an IT issue, but rather part of the ongoing branding and marketing process. By implementing elements such as optimized title tags, link profiles and metadata into your website, you’ll be well on your way to making friends with Google and ranking through the roof in online search. Thom Craver is a SEO ninja. He has been teaching the finer points and nuances of effective SEO and related digital marketing strategies to business owners, college students and conference attendees. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/107

More than 1.4 billion people use Facebook, and more than 900 million visit every day. That alone is reason enough to consider using Facebook ads as a valuable means to connect with your audience - they’re already there! But how do you connect with them efficiently and promote your products and services without looking like you’re just trying to push sales onto them? There are a few golden rules to follow that will allow you to earn your audience’s trust, promote your products and services and build your ubiquitous email list. Amy Porterfield knows a thing or two about growing businesses. Her vast knowledge and experience as both a content developer and marketer for some of the country’s top corporations has given her the wisdom to know what works and what doesn’t when trying to grow your audience and build your brand. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/106

There are many ways to go about marketing your brand, and with the endless amount of social media platforms out there right now, visual marketing is topping the charts. But how do you connect with your audience through visual marketing in a way that influences and shapes the way they perceive your brand? Most important is to always be true to your audience. Find out where they hang out and be there. Maybe even consider finding ways to include your audience in the marketing with campaigns that include customer’s media such as photos. Steer clear of the trendy route and pave your own road that allows your brand’s voice to resonate with your audience and makes them want to share it with the world. Gregarious Narain is co-founder of Chute, where he helps enable businesses to create visually rich media that influences and shapes the way people perceive their brand. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/105

Loss of focus is a huge problem, not just with marketers but with people in general. Part of what we need to learn to do is to develop the habit or the discipline of purposely simplifying our lives so that we can focus our attention on the things that are most essential and important. When we realize that behaviors such as “multitasking” are actually doing more harm than good for our productivity and performance, we can begin to retrain our minds with more positive habits that we can use not only at work but in our everyday lives. Sir John Hargrave is the author of Mind Hacking, a book dedicated to teaching you how to reprogram your mind in order to change your life for the better. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/104

Mobile is a bigger factor in your small business's success than you might think. The fact that 90% of all social media and email is first viewed on a smartphone means that your business is losing out big time if you’re not reaching your audience where they hang out. Understanding that when your audience is reaching you via their smartphones or other mobile devices, they want a frictionless and more condensed experience. They don’t want to have to scroll through multiple pages just to get a phone number or an address. That risky behavior will get you nothing but increased bounce rates and lost customers. Tim Hayden saw the mobile future coming and used that foresight to help Fortune 50 brands make innovative changes in technology that has brought them bigger and continued success. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/103

You’ve built up an email list and generated a good chunk of leads, but now what do you do with them? So many small businesses are putting all of their focus on generating more traffic through search, social media and digital ads, but they’re putting very little effort into actually converting these visitors into customers. And let’s face it, isn’t that the goal in the first place? Just trying a few simple tricks like tweaking your welcome email, offering some quality freebies, being careful of the words you’re using and doing some split testing, can make all the difference to boosting your conversion rate. As the conversion educator at LeadPages, Tim Paige spends his days helping business owners and entrepreneurs use various data points to increase revenue by converting quality leads into sales. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/102

You’ve taken the leap and turned your passion into an online business. But what do you need to do next to turn it into a success and keep it that way? It’s one thing to get traffic to your website or blog, but how do you convert that traffic and get them to become customers and loyal fans? Figuring out how to keep them interested and engaged is the key. Try breaking it down into multiple steps and funneling your followers through the process. This process can also help weed out the ones that aren’t as serious but will leave you with a loyal band of raving fans in the end. Josh and Jill Stanton said “screw you” to their 9-5 jobs created a successful online business where they encourage and teach other business people how to do the same and take control of their time and expertise. http://www.agentsofchangecon.com/podcasts/101

Can you believe it’s been 100 episodes already? For the past 2 years Rich Brooks has brought you experts covering all aspects of search, social and mobile marketing and asked them the tough questions you need the answers to, so that small businesses can get a leg up on their future success. Rich reflects back on some particular topics and guests that he found insightful and helpful, and shares some of the tips that he personally has implemented in his own business practices. And as a special “twist”, the tables get turned on our fearless leader when he becomes the interviewee and one of his podcast listeners gets to grill him and put him in the hot seat for a change. Debbie Rosemont is a professional organizer and the owner of Simply Placed. She has heard Rich speak at her organization’s annual conferences and is a regular listener to The Marketing Agents Podcast. http://www.themarketingagents.com/100

No one wants to lose a job because they quoted a higher price to a prospective client than their competitor did. But in trying to avoid that, we often risk undercharging, just to make the sale. There’s nothing wrong with charging more, but the key is in how you go about selling your proposal and proving that you’re worth the cost. By shifting the conversation from what the client wants to what they’re looking to achieve, then you can start pricing on the value that you’ll provide to them. Brennan Dunn has helped over 14,000 students and freelancers learn how to increase their rates to charge what they’re worth, earn more money and work with better clients.

Perhaps you know and appreciate the value of a good blog these days, but just aren’t a great wordsmith. Maybe you have a great personality but just aren’t having any luck getting that to show through on paper. Why not consider making videos instead? But there’s a lot more involved than just creating a great video. You need to figure out how to create momentum for your video within the first 24-48 hours to give yourself a real advantage over your competitors. Finding creative and successful ways to shine a light on your content and get it out there is the key to video success. Think titles, descriptions, tags, and cross promotion, among other things. Steve Dotto has parlayed his 15+ years of nationally syndicated TV show experience into a wildly popular YouTube channel where he continues to educate and entertain, while also focusing on helping others grow and monetize their own YouTube channels. http://www.themarketingagents.com/98

With so many brands and businesses jumping online in an effort to find their audience amongst all of the social media platforms available these days, how can you find an edge over your competition? The key to successfully finding your online audience won’t happen overnight. You need to create content that appeals to potential customers on a personal level. Insert some of your personality into your online presence, be honest with your audience and give them valuable content that they can chew on. Ryan Hanley knows how to successfully help brands and businesses find their audience, tell their story and win the battle for attention online. With a little patience and a few of his creative tips, your business can also experience an increase in online focus. http://www.themarketingagents.com/97

What’s the curriculum for mobile marketing and social media in colleges these days? How can you teach something that’s moving that quickly, and is there anything entrepreneurs can put to use from the course work? The key lies in giving the students not only what they will need tomorrow to be successful, but to also give them the strategies they will use for years to come to improve their job performance and advance their careers. Dr. Mary Beth McCabe is the lead faculty in Marketing at National University. She has developed a concentration in Mobile and Social Marketing as part of their MBA program, and shares in this episode some of the areas she feels are vital to the students taking this course in order to ensure future success in the field of Marketing. http://www.themarketingagents.com/96

Have you ever felt like you’re stuck with where your business currently is and are in need of a push in the right direction? Maybe you’ve been searching for other like-minded and driven people to inspire and drive you to re-strategize and brainstorm where you want your business to be in one month, three months or even a year, and what steps you need to take to get there. Perhaps a Mastermind group is exactly the type of environment you’re seeking. Think of it as a networking group of like-minded entrepreneurs all struggling with different roadblocks in their businesses, but who also bring creative energy and ideas to share among the group in a supportive way. Using different platforms such as live hangouts, online forums and in person meetups, Masterminds offer daily support and encouragement from peers that are all seeking advice and wisdom from others that share the same mindset and drive for success. Dean Patino runs the Mastermind group associated with Entrepreneur On Fire, as well as his own business dedicated to helping entrepreneurs generate recurring revenue for their online businesses. http://www.themarketingagents.com/95 http://www.themarketingagents.com/crowdfunding

Digital marketing is key in this day and age. But how do you translate what you and your brand really are into what your audience will find interesting and compelling? Online ideo may offer a solution. Once you learn executable steps to discover your brand’s personality and market it across platforms in a way that works with the current trends of bringing stories and personality across, the possibilities are far reaching. Learning how to attract customers with effective content marketing versus just an obvious sales pitch can make all the difference. Amy Schmittauer is the founder of Savvy Sexy Social, and has been helping brands find and show off their personalities online in order to grow awareness and increase sales as part of their social media marketing strategies. http://www.themarketingagents.com/94

At least once on our lives we’ve all found ourselves in a forum or other type of online group in an effort to search for other like minded business owners hoping to share ideas and experiences that you can use to grow your own business. But have you ever considered starting your own group? The idea may seem daunting. There are so many platform choices to consider - Facebook, LinkedIn, a straight up forum, just to name a few. And how do you ensure you have enough interested people to make up an audience? How can you continue to engage and keep your members interested? Do you need a moderator for the group? Kate Erickson is the content and community leader for Entrepreneur On Fire. Her passion and talent for creating engagement and participation within the community has helped make their forums and business pages wildly popular and successful in their niche. http://www.themarketingagents.com/93

Whether you’re a veteran blogger or new to the world of blogging, the same goals apply: find, reach and engage your readers, and turn them into eventual customers. You achieve this success by building your readership and email lists, for starters. But how exactly do we do that? The Marketing Agents Podcast host, Rich Brooks, reaches into the mailbag to discuss vital aspects of blogging including; creating value for your audience, keyword research, consistency, guest blogging, promotion using various social media platforms, as well as weighing in on how much value we should really be putting on blog comments. http://www.themarketingagents.com/92