There was a lot of hype around generative AI when ChatGPT debuted, how it was going to replace human writers and so on. But now that the dust has settled a bit, I think there's a growing consensus that AI isn't quite ready to take over for human writers and other creators.  Which begs the question, what exactly IS gen AI good for? To help us answer this question, my guest is Brad Smith, a serial entrepreneur who owns three companies, codeless, wordable, and uSERP, all in the b2b marketing...

YouTube is a mysterious beast. At least, it is to me. It's one of the world's most powerful search engines, yet the vast majority of videos get very little engagement. Which might be just a little concerning if you spend a lot of time and money producing video content. What keeps all of us on the video bandwagon, I think, is the vast POTENTIAL for leveraging video and YouTube as a marketing channel. My guests for this episode, Matt and Ben Tompkins, co-founders of Two Brothers Creative...

Have you ever spent a lot of time trying to solve a problem, and you just can't figure it out, so you give up and maybe take a break to clear your head ... And then, when you're not really thinking about it, when you let your mind wander, a solutions pops up seemingly out of nowhere? That happens to me a lot. In fact, I get a lot of my best ideas when I'm not thinking about anything in particular. It's like my brain is just kinda doing it's own thing, independent of me trying to force it...

If you're the founder or head of marketing a b2b startup, you might see building a presence on Instagram and TikTok as a waste of time. If your audience isn't active on those platforms ... or if you're not sure if they're on those platforms, why spend time and money creating content for them? But ... is that true? Is there value in being active on Instagram and TikTok for b2b startups and, if so, how exactly does b2b marketing work on those apps? In this episode, Jake Hurwitz, founder of...

As a b2b marketer in 2023, is it better to play it safe and not take risks ... Or to be bold and adventurous and break new ground? I'm guessing that most of our listeners, as well as b2b marketers generally, would agree that it's best to take risks and be bold! But that's apparently easier said than done. Because so much b2b content copies what's already out there ... in other words, plays it safe. And so, it's worth thinking about what NOT playing it safe looks like, how to do it, and...

SEO is always changing. From its earliest days, when SEO first became a thing, it was never static. But now, with ChatGPT technology increasingly being built into search engines, we're at an inflection point with SEO. As it becomes increasingly less necessary to click through to websites to get answers to questions, how can marketers adjust their SEO strategies to keep traffic flowing to their website? Is website traffic flow still a metric worth chasing? This episode's guest is here...

Thought leadership and content marketing are often lumped into the same category. But they're not the same thing. You might say that thought leadership is a type of content marketing, but it's a very particular type, and producing it at a high level requires a particular set of skills, like Liam Neeson in the movie Taken. To help us unpack the concept of thought leadership and what it takes to produce really good thought leadership content, my guest is Bob Buday. Bob is founder and ceo...

One of the biggest issues in b2b content marketing is ROI. Specifically, attributing revenue growth to to all the blog posts, videos, ebooks and other pieces of content you publish. It's hard, even damn near impossible, to draw a straight line between content marketing activity and growing the bottom line. Which can make it challenging to make the case for content marketing when it comes to budgeting and headcount. There's no magic formula or simple fix. But today's guest is here to...

There been a lot of turmoil surrounding the company formerly known as Twitter, now called X. And apparently, at least some B2B brands have left the platform. If you run marketing at one of those companies, or your company is thinking about leaving the platform, you may be wondering if that's a good idea and, if it is, where you should focus your social media efforts instead. With us today to explore those question is Stephanie Schwab, founder and CEO of Crackerjack Marketing. We get...

I'm a gen Xer. When I was in the bloom of youth, being gen X was as cool as it got. But now, of course, it's been a long time since my generation has been surpassed in the coolness department ... first by Millenials, which I guess are gen Y ... and now by Gen Z! Members of the Z generation are many things, for better and for worse. One thing they definitely are is very much online, and online they are masters are the meme -- those repurposed images and video clips with witty captions that...

We can all agree that the best content strategy is one that aligns with your growth strategy. After all, you're not creating content just for the hell of it. It's a means to an end--the end being to get the attention of prospects and, ultimately, drive growth. But that's easier said than done. Many content marketers find themselves trapped in the infamous content hamster wheel, churning out blog posts and ebooks and social posts with no clear ROI. My guest today is here to help us...

B2B content marketing has been going strong for a while now. In fact, it's become so dominant that even before ChatGPT, there was a prevailing sense that there's TOO MUCH CONTENT! Now, with generative AI enabling every content marketer and their mom to crank out even MORE content at warp speed, it's harder than ever to break through the noise with content that actually gets the attention of your audience. It's enough to make you wonder ... have we reached an inflection point in the...

One of the best things you can do to create original content is to base it on original research. Which is, of course, easier said than done! It's not just a matter of time and money, although both are factors. It's also about understanding HOW to do research, even if just on a small scale. For example, if you're going to send a survey to your customers, how do you craft survey questions that will result in quality data? And what exactly do you do with the data once you...

Something I've realized recently is that I've turned into an old fogey. The fact that I just used the term "old fogey" is one sign of that! What I mean is that I'm old enough that I look at younger generations and I'm just kinda mystified. It was all I could do to get my head around Millenials and what they're all about, when here comes Gen Z, ready to take over! I have Gen Z kids, so I have some clue. They're very much online ... they spend a ton of time on social media...

There's a lot that goes into being a great podcast host. And there's ALSO a lot that goes into being a great podcast guest! Sure, you can just show up and wing it; some people are good at that. But the right kind of preparation can elevate you from being a solid or even really good guest to being a GREAT guest that podcasts want to have on their show again and again. Mike Begg is Co-founder and CEO of AMZ Advisers, a firm that helps brands and manufacturers grow their Amazon...

I'm a big advocate for podcasting as a marketing channel, as you know. But I know that it can be a big lift for companies to get a show up and running and to build an audience. Podcasting is especially challenging for solopreneurs, who on top of running their business have to learn how to run a podcast and be a podcast host! Hats off to any solopreneur who can make it work, because podcasting can add tremendous value. I'm very glad to have with me today one such entrepreneur,...

SEO makes me feel a little guilty. Because I know it's important and that I probably should being doing a better job on SEO. Part of my problem, I think, is that when I have looked into SEO, it feels just complicated and time-consuming enough that, and I feel just intimidated enough, that I don't do anything about it. One thing that's helped recently, though, is a discussion I had with SEO expert Kevin Roy, CEO of Greenbanana, an SEO and digital marketing agency, about the Pareto...

If you had to rank content types from most valuable to least, you'd probably put video right at the top, or at least near the top. That's what most of the surveys and state of the industry reports say, anyhow. But when you start to explore video, you soon realize that it's complicated! There are different types of videos ... some work better than other for certain platforms. One of the most popular is the short-form, vertical style video -- Instagram calls them reels, YouTube calls...

We've talked many times on the show about the value of podcasting as a content marketing strategy. A big part of the value is using a podcast as a way to get to know people who can help you grow your business--potential clients and referral partners, current customers, and so on. But for those who aren't already using podcasting in this way, it might not be clear how it works ... How do you get people you don't already know to be guests on your show ... How do you turn prospects into...

If you're a content marketer, you probably know the name Rand Fishkin. He's founder of Spark Toro, and basically a go-to source for innovative ways of thinking about and doing content marketing. Anyhow, Rand published a blog post this past April titled "AI-generated content is the new floor." The post can be summed up in a single sentence: "If your content isn't better than what AI can produce, it's not worth making." I came to Rand Fishkin's article by way of another article,...

Thinking "outside the box" can be a double edged sword. (Two metaphors packed into a single short sentence; not too shabby, eh?) Done well, defying convention can help you stand out. But thinking TOO FAR outside the box can make you seem just plain weird and untrustworthy. It's important to strike a balance. That's what Katrina Neil and Mallory Dietl, co-founders and owners of Key Grip Virtual, do to great effect with what they call "Blushies," cartoon figures they use on...

We all know that sales-marketing alignment is crucial. Yet for many companies it's hard to get those groups aligned. Because ... It's all too easy for marketers to get trapped inside the marketing bubble and lose sight of the fact that the entire point of marketing is to enable sales For Greg Mischio, owner of and strategic director at Winbound, a B2B digital sales and marketing agency, content only works when it's designed to enable salespeople at every stage of the sales process. And...

We all know that business communities are the bomb, right? Joining the right community can offer value in so many ways: -connecting with like-minded people -getting help with pressing problems -satisfying the need for human connection -and yes, even winning new business! But there are better and worse ways to get maximum value from communities. Lisa Apolinski, a content coach and founder of 3 Dog Write, is an expert on this. (She's also the author/co-author of several books, including...

Anyone can call themselves a writer. But really strong, professional writers are far and few between. And not so easy to find. What separates the pros from the pretenders? Fluid, mistake-free writing is part of it. But that's mostly table stakes. The true differentiator is the professional writer's ability to write for a variety of audiences, on demand. Professional writers are also able to write about the same topic from a variety of angles, keeping the topic fresh and engaging all...

Content marketers often tend to think of themselves as creators. Creative types of who good with words, good with images and video and audio, and take pride in keeping content and social channels filled with well written, well designed, and well produced stuff. But too often, content marketing, as we commonly think of it, happens in isolation from the larger scope of product marketing, paid advertising, and from the data all of those marketing efforts generate. Ideally, all marketing...