Neal Schaffer

Meet Social media expert Neal Schaffer. He’s come a long way since becoming one of the first people to join Linkedin (true story) — he’s a social media consultant, fractional CMO and author (just to name a few of the many hats he wears). And now he’s making an appearance on the podcast to share his most important lessons learned over the course of his illustrious career. Do you have to be on every social media platform? Should you trust your gut when it comes to content marketing? What’s going to happen with TikTok? Listen up to find out.

Meet Social media expert Neal Schaffer. He’s come a long way since becoming one of the first people to join Linkedin (true story) — he’s a social media consultant, fractional CMO and author (just to name a few of the many hats he wears). And now he’s making an appearance on the podcast to share his most important lessons learned over the course of his illustrious career. Do you have to be on every social media platform? Should you trust your gut when it comes to content marketing? What’s going to happen with TikTok? Listen up to find out.

Social media mastermind, Neal Schaffer, tells all 

Yvonne Ivanescu

Yvonne Ivanescu made her share of mistakes while launching an ethical swimwear brand, but they didn't slow her down. This honest entrepreneur, isn't afraid to talk about the struggles — or the triumphs — of creating a brand from scratch. Even Jeff &amp; Francis, who don't hold anything back, were inspired by her authenticity. If you're a struggling entrepreneur, Yvonne's is the voice you need to hear right now.  

Yvonne Ivanescu made her share of mistakes while launching an ethical swimwear brand, but they didn't slow her down. This honest entrepreneur, isn't afraid to talk about the struggles — or the triumphs — of creating a brand from scratch. Even Jeff &amp; Francis, who don't hold anything back, were inspired by her authenticity. If you're a struggling entrepreneur, Yvonne's is the voice you need to hear right now.

Bootstrapping with bathing suits, ft. Yvonne Ivanescu

Doogie Howser

Jarod Spiewak has been in the marketing game since age 14, but he's been hustling since the 5th grade (which wasn't that long ago for him). Wunderkind jabs aside, he has unique perspectives on marketing and entrepreneurship, particularly where client selection is concerned. He also has a respectable appreciation for '90s films, so as you might imagine, he won Jeff and Francis over pretty fast.

Jarod Spiewak has been in the marketing game since age 14, but he's been hustling since the 5th grade (which wasn't that long ago for him). Wunderkind jabs aside, he has unique perspectives on marketing and entrepreneurship, particularly where client selection is concerned. He also has a respectable appreciation for '90s films, so as you might imagine, he won Jeff and Francis over pretty fast.

Meet Jarod Spiewak, marketing's Doogie Howser

Shane Barker is back! And he's brought the usual jokes, insights and anecdotes with him. Hear about his exploits since we last spoke in 2018. They involve saving small businesses, trying ayahuasca and being Shane Barker, digital marketer extraordinaire (not necessarily in that order). 

Shane Barker is back! And he's brought the usual jokes, insights and anecdotes with him. Hear about his exploits since we last spoke in 2018. They involve saving small businesses, trying ayahuasca and being Shane Barker, digital marketer extraordinaire (not necessarily in that order).

Shane 'Big Boy' Barker coming in hot

Greg Digneo

Not only do we discuss SEO at length, but also considerations for running an SEO company. Greg Digneo of Content Guppy is one hell of a guest—a great storyteller, a seasoned SEO and a plainspoken poet of sorts. This is one of the good ones, folks. You'll learn stuff, you'll laugh and you'll walk away feeling a little more OK with things than when the episode started.

Not only do we discuss SEO at length, but also considerations for running an SEO company. Greg Digneo of Content Guppy is one hell of a guest—a great storyteller, a seasoned SEO and a plainspoken poet of sorts. This is one of the good ones, folks. You'll learn stuff, you'll laugh and you'll walk away feeling a little more OK with things than when the episode started.

The one where we actually discuss SEO w/ Greg Digneo

It’s vintage Above the Fold: Just Jeff, Francis and much ado about nothing pertaining to marketing. You'll learn a bit about VR, a bit about the perils of publishing SEO-tool comparisons and a lot about Francis and Jeff. This is a fun one. 

It’s vintage Above the Fold: Just Jeff, Francis and much ado about nothing pertaining to marketing. You'll learn a bit about VR, a bit about the perils of publishing SEO-tool comparisons and a lot about Francis and Jeff. This is a fun one.

Jeff & Francis invite you into their minds

Diana Fryc

Do-gooder Diana Fryc sees brands as a force for good, but a lot goes into walking that walk. Fortunately, she knows all the steps. The co-founder of Voodoo Retail, and host of The "Gooder" Podcast, walks us through food equity, conscious capitalism, women in leadership roles, sustainability and more on what is possibly the most important episode of Above the Fold to date. 

Do-gooder Diana Fryc sees brands as a force for good, but a lot goes into walking that walk. Fortunately, she knows all the steps. The co-founder of Voodoo Retail, and host of The "Gooder" Podcast, walks us through food equity, conscious capitalism, women in leadership roles, sustainability and more on what is possibly the most important episode of Above the Fold to date.

How to be a gooder brand, ft. Diana Fryc

Josh Little

Josh Little dreams of a world with fewer meetings and crunchier pickles. Hear his plan to minimize meetings and maximize crunch on this week's episode of Above the Fold, which is dedicated to everyone out there who's sick and tired of pointless meetings.

Josh Little dreams of a world with fewer meetings and crunchier pickles. Hear his plan to minimize meetings and maximize crunch on this week's episode of Above the Fold, which is dedicated to everyone out there who's sick and tired of pointless meetings.

Going meetless in 2021 w/ Josh Little

Colin Jeffries

How do you market addiction-recovery services? It's an intimate endeavor—as all health care marketing is—and it's one that Colin Jeffries, Director of Marketing &amp; Communications at BrightView, knows a lot about. Listen as he and Francis explore the nuances of health care marketing and the power of empathy in brand messaging. 

How do you market addiction-recovery services? It's an intimate endeavor—as all health care marketing is—and it's one that Colin Jeffries, Director of Marketing &amp; Communications at BrightView, knows a lot about. Listen as he and Francis explore the nuances of health care marketing and the power of empathy in brand messaging.

At the intersection of health care & marketing w/ Colin Jeffries

Lisa Jacobs

Lisa Jacobs has lived. This lawyer turned van lifer/digital-nomad coach/blogger/influencer is really good at being uncomfortable (and growing from that discomfort). If you're at an inflection point in your life or are considering trying something new, Lisa’s is the voice you need to hear right now. And if not, this is still a really fun use of 37 minutes. 

Lisa Jacobs has lived. This lawyer turned van lifer/digital-nomad coach/blogger/influencer is really good at being uncomfortable (and growing from that discomfort). If you're at an inflection point in your life or are considering trying something new, Lisa’s is the voice you need to hear right now. And if not, this is still a really fun use of 37 minutes.

Vanlife: Lawyer turned digital nomad ft. Lisa Jacobs

Do you wanna talk marketing and have a few laughs? Good, because Jeff and Francis think marketing should be fun first, educational second, and lecturing never. We interview eclectic guests ranging from dating coaches to mushroom experts, all in an effort to find the most interesting conversations that make marketing fun and creative. Sure, we'll occasionally get into some educational stuff, but it's mostly by accident. We do zero half hour learning sessions. NOPE. Come have a beer, glass of wine, or whiskey with us and have a couple laughs.

The most impressive two minds I&#39;ve ever had the honor of listening to

LordofContent

Brilliantly done with a great mix of humor and insight. Can&#39;t wait for the next episode

Above The Fold

Do you wanna talk marketing and have a few laughs? Good, because Jeff and Francis think marketing should be fun first, educational second, and lecturing never. We interview eclectic guests ranging from dating coaches to mushroom experts, all in an effort to find the most interesting conversations that make marketing fun and creative. Sure, we'll occasionally get into some educational stuff, but it's mostly by accident. We do zero half hour learning sessions. NOPE. Come have a beer, glass of wine, or whiskey with us and have a couple laughs.

Above the Fold - Marketing and Laughs

Jeff and Francis discuss how your blog can turn into a flaming dumpster fire, Francis can't forget his best friend's name, the mad pooper makes an appearance, and rage bait.

When your blog turns into a raging dumpster fire

Andy Crestodina

ATF’s 2019 opener, featuring Andy Crestodina, reiterates the need for authenticity The opening episode of season 2 is Andy Crestodina, cofounder and strategic director of Orbit Media, and God bless him for gracing Episode One with his presence. If not for Crestodina’s ability to navigate Ma’s meanderings and Baker’s bluster, turning their verbal play-dough into cogent content marketing takeaways... who knows where we’d be.  He elaborates that the content piece - “the cheese to the traps” - will generate the links and authority to rank for commercial-intent keyphrases and address demand. But the rest of the formula, which includes utilizing influencers, shareability, posting in a variety of places and savvily employing visuals, hinges chiefly on connection.  Be personable. Be relatable. Be authentic. It’s not a bad rallying cry for a new year’s resolution, right? Not exactly in midseason form Poor Crestodina. It’s unclear whether anyone prepped him with any sort of agenda for the discussion. He handles it well, despite Baker handing off segues with the grace and efficiency of a 6-year-old flag football quarterback. Not sure whether Andy was compensated for doing this - hopefully we at least sent him a Brafton tumbler.  Undeterred, the author of Content Chemistry: An Illustrated Handbook for Content Marketing casually drops digital marketing dimes like:  Digital ink is never dry Great content marketers are collectors Use screenshots, use charts. Every image should further the express intent of adding value to the piece.  To be more productive with a larger content production task, break it into smaller more manageable tasks, like you would any other major undertaking.   2019: The year of stock reckoning  We fly down the homestretch with a lighthearted yet pointed discussion on why stock photos are canceled. Apparently Crestodina’s been “angry” (Ma’s words, not his) about stock images because they represent a missed opportunity to be authentic. A stock image neither assists the content around it nor can it be the focus itself. People are out here saying “it’s so hard to be original, so hard to differentiate,” Andy opines, and then they use a stock photo. Pssh. Many, many thanks to our guest for hanging with us and being genuinely good-natured, while providing lots of fodder for thought as we trudge through the winter months. Crestodina has a set a high bar for as-yet-unspecified future guests, and set Season Two off with otherwise unattainable credibility. We’ll see how our favorite yahoos fare in using that credibility for good. . 

ATF’s 2019 opener, featuring Andy Crestodina, reiterates the need for authenticity The opening episode of season 2 is Andy Crestodina, cofounder and strategic director of Orbit Media, and God bless him for gracing Episode One with his presence. If not for Crestodina’s ability to navigate Ma’s meanderings and Baker’s bluster, turning their verbal play-dough into cogent content marketing takeaways... who knows where we’d be.  He elaborates that the content piece - “the cheese to the traps” - will generate the links and authority to rank for commercial-intent keyphrases and address demand. But the rest of the formula, which includes utilizing influencers, shareability, posting in a variety of places and savvily employing visuals, hinges chiefly on connection.  Be personable. Be relatable. Be authentic. It’s not a bad rallying cry for a new year’s resolution, right? Not exactly in midseason form Poor Crestodina. It’s unclear whether anyone prepped him with any sort of agenda for the discussion. He handles it well, despite Baker handing off segues with the grace and efficiency of a 6-year-old flag football quarterback. Not sure whether Andy was compensated for doing this - hopefully we at least sent him a Brafton tumbler.  Undeterred, the author of <a href="https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS801US802&amp;q=Content+Chemistry:+An+Illustrated+Handbook+for+Content+Marketing&amp;stick=H4sIAAAAAAAAAOPgE-LRT9c3NCzLzrY0yLZQgvMKywrLtaSyk630k_Lzs_UTS0sy8ousQOxihfy8nEoAK65gUDoAAAA&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjK69Wz7v_fAhUq64MKHcpWBXUQmxMoATAcegQIBRAH" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Content Chemistry: An Illustrated Handbook for Content Marketing</a> casually drops digital marketing dimes like: <ul> <li>Digital ink is never dry</li> <li>Great content marketers are collectors</li> <li>Use screenshots, use charts. Every image should further the express intent of adding value to the piece. </li> <li>To be more productive with a larger content production task, break it into smaller more manageable tasks, like you would any other major undertaking. </li> </ul> 2019: The year of stock reckoning  We fly down the homestretch with a lighthearted yet pointed discussion on why stock photos are canceled. Apparently Crestodina’s been “angry” (Ma’s words, not his) about stock images because they represent a missed opportunity to be authentic. A stock image neither assists the content around it nor can it be the focus itself. People are out here saying “it’s so hard to be original, so hard to differentiate,” Andy opines, and then they use a stock photo. Pssh. Many, many thanks to our guest for hanging with us and being genuinely good-natured, while providing lots of fodder for thought as we trudge through the winter months. Crestodina has a set a high bar for as-yet-unspecified future guests, and set Season Two off with otherwise unattainable credibility. We’ll see how our favorite yahoos fare in using that credibility for good. .

Andy Crestodina on content strategy, entrepreneurship, and puppets 

Meredith Golden

Meredith Golden is the rarest type of person. That thing Golden does? People who can’t figure out why their online dating profiles repel romance come to her for help. And she provides it for a fee. As you might expect, this episode of Above the Fold quickly revealed itself to be one of the most intriguing yet. Here’s what’s inside:  Lots of good advice about online dating  A few examples of what not to do on Tinder.  The eerie realization that online dating is digital marketing in disguise.  

Meredith Golden is the rarest type of person. That thing Golden does? People who can’t figure out why their online dating profiles repel romance come to her for help. And she provides it for a fee. As you might expect, this episode of Above the Fold quickly revealed itself to be one of the most intriguing yet. Here’s what’s inside: <ol> <li>Lots of good advice about online dating </li> <li>A few examples of what not to do on Tinder. </li> <li>The eerie realization that online dating is digital marketing in disguise. </li> </ol>

This is what's wrong with your Tinder profile, with Meredith Golden

Garrett Mehrguth

Your brand is more important than your website when it comes to SEO.  What the hell does that mean? That's exactly what we asked Garrett Mehrguth, CEO of Directive, when he pitched us this podcast topic.  Garrett explains the value of not just showing up in search results for the keywords you are targeting, but also having your brand show up in search results that are not part of your website.  Call it SEO brand reach? Call it Call it guest blogging and online partnerships? Call it reputation management?  We don't know what you call it, but Garrett makes an interesting point that you shouldn't miss as a content marketer. 

Your brand is more important than your website when it comes to SEO.  What the hell does that mean? That's exactly what we asked Garrett Mehrguth, CEO of Directive, when he pitched us this podcast topic.  Garrett explains the value of not just showing up in search results for the keywords you are targeting, but also having your brand show up in search results that are not part of your website.  Call it SEO brand reach? Call it Call it guest blogging and online partnerships? Call it reputation management?  We don't know what you call it, but Garrett makes an interesting point that you shouldn't miss as a content marketer.

Challenging what you know about SEO with Garrett Mehrguth

We realize podcasts aren’t necessarily supposed to have seasons. But hey, Congress isn’t supposed to ask stupid questions of powerful tech CEO’s, either. Yet here we are with a season finale chiefly about Congress doing just that thing. Rules were made to be broken on “Above the Fold.”For the last time in 2018, bamboozling tangents that involve San Diegans throwing scooters in lakes, important ethical questions about Google’s societal responsibilities, and a healthy dose of luddite shaming await you. Starting with Congress’s ‘saga of ineptitude’ A lot of ignorance sloshed around the hearing room when Congress attempted to grill Google CEO, Sundar Pichai – and Jeff and Francis were quick to call it out. But the biggest farce is what wasn’t discussed at the hearing. Such as the fact that Google’s algorithms are in a black box. Nobody fully understands them, or for that matter, the full extent to which Google uses data. And what about the moral integrity of its algorithms? How do you encode ethics into a massive database that determines so much about what content the world sees? Do you even try, or do you let the results truly mirror some societal consensus, as Google claims it’s doing? Congress had a huge opportunity here to probe Google’s more cloak-and-dagger qualities, and they squandered it by focusing on things like why “idiot” is equated to Donald Trump in search results.

We realize podcasts aren’t necessarily supposed to have seasons. But hey, Congress isn’t supposed to ask stupid questions of powerful tech CEO’s, either. Yet here we are with a season finale chiefly about Congress doing just that thing. Rules were made to be broken on “Above the Fold.” For the last time in 2018, bamboozling tangents that involve San Diegans throwing scooters in lakes, important ethical questions about Google’s societal responsibilities, and a healthy dose of luddite shaming await you. Starting with Congress’s ‘saga of ineptitude’ A lot of ignorance sloshed around the hearing room when Congress attempted to grill Google CEO, Sundar Pichai – and Jeff and Francis were quick to call it out. But the biggest farce is what wasn’t discussed at the hearing. Such as the fact that Google’s algorithms are in a black box. Nobody fully understands them, or for that matter, the full extent to which Google uses data. And what about the moral integrity of its algorithms? How do you encode ethics into a massive database that determines so much about what content the world sees? Do you even try, or do you let the results truly mirror some societal consensus, as Google claims it’s doing? Congress had a huge opportunity here to probe Google’s more cloak-and-dagger qualities, and they squandered it by focusing on things like why “idiot” is equated to Donald Trump in search results.

Google and congress leave everyone thinking "WTF did I just watch?"

Francis gets lost in an absurd analogy of your audience getting lost the in the ether. Jeff bashes whitepapers in favor of ebooks. Jeff explains that most digital marketers have no idea who their true competitors are.

Marketing woes: Where the hell is my audience? 

"Snackable Content" might just be the most obnoxious buzzword in the marketing industry, and to our delight, Andrew Davis absolutely crushed it at CMWorld. 18:00 - Why is long-form content the most attractive person at the bar? Mitch Joel, Dorie Clark, and Hall of Famer Ann Handley explain why long-form content is the only way to safeguard against the commoditization of content (boring content). 27:00 - Original research is BOSS. SurveyMonkey gave an amazing presentation on how original research performs leaps and bound beyond opinion pieces. They also generate the most links. 36:00 - If you aren't podcasting, you're a moron. Jeff discusses statistics that prove podcasting needs to be a mandatory part of a content strategy.

"Snackable Content" might just be the most obnoxious buzzword in the marketing industry, and to our delight, Andrew Davis absolutely crushed it at CMWorld. 18:00 - Why is long-form content the most attractive person at the bar? Mitch Joel, Dorie Clark, and Hall of Famer Ann Handley explain why long-form content is the only way to safeguard against the commoditization of content (boring content). 27:00 - Original research is BOSS. SurveyMonkey gave an amazing presentation on how original research performs leaps and bound beyond opinion pieces. They also generate the most links. 36:00 - If you aren't podcasting, you're a moron. Jeff discusses statistics that prove podcasting needs to be a mandatory part of a content strategy.

Snackable content sucks, and other insights from CMWorld

David Lemley

Apparently, a great story plus great data can change a marketing campaign. This is a shocking development for Jeff and Francis. Join us and our guest David Lemley as we dig into why numbers and creative can fuel the bottom line.

Apparently, a great story plus great data can change a marketing campaign. This is a shocking development for Jeff and Francis. Join us and our guest David Lemley as we dig into why numbers and creative can fuel the bottom line.

Creative and data go together like late-night scotch and fries? David Lemley opens our eyes

 Fyre in the hole! (10:30)  The Fyre music festival documentary on Netflix was mind. blowing. And there were marketing lessons to be learned.  This dumpster fire demonstrated a perfect "A" with regards to marketing, and a perfect "F" with regards to execution.  We were shocked to our core by the sheer incompetence of the organizers, and cried tears of joy watching "Influencers" and selfie culture catch some serious heat.    Yelp can take a punch (30:00)  A lawyer tried to sue Yelp to get a client's negative review removed. The court told them to take a walk.  But where is the line between writing or saying something that is completely accurate, and publishing content with malicious intent?  We touch on bad reviews; how brands can respond with in one of three ways - refuting the review publicly, ignoring it, or admitting guilt and apologizing.     Facebook thinks we are all idiots (41:00)  FB is integrating WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram... and they are trying to tell us that these apps are not going to share data. RIGHT. How stupid do you think we are?  FaceBook has two things going against them: 1. It's no longer cool, and they are bleeding users, and 2. Nobody trusts them.  What will the future look like without FaceBook? 

Fyre in the hole! (10:30) <ul> <li>The Fyre music festival documentary on Netflix was mind. blowing. And there were marketing lessons to be learned. </li> <li>This dumpster fire demonstrated a perfect "A" with regards to marketing, and a perfect "F" with regards to execution. </li> <li>We were shocked to our core by the sheer incompetence of the organizers, and cried tears of joy watching "Influencers" and selfie culture catch some serious heat. </li> </ul> Yelp can take a punch (30:00) <ul> <li>A lawyer tried to sue Yelp to get a client's negative review removed. The court told them to take a walk. </li> <li>But where is the line between writing or saying something that is completely accurate, and publishing content with malicious intent? </li> <li>We touch on bad reviews; how brands can respond with in one of three ways - refuting the review publicly, ignoring it, or admitting guilt and apologizing.  </li> </ul> Facebook thinks we are all idiots (41:00) <ul> <li>FB is integrating WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram... and they are trying to tell us that these apps are not going to share data. RIGHT. How stupid do you think we are? </li> <li>FaceBook has two things going against them: 1. It's no longer cool, and they are bleeding users, and 2. Nobody trusts them. </li> <li>What will the future look like without FaceBook?</li> </ul>

Fyre in the Hole: Influencers, Yelp and Facebook, oh my!

Rand Fishkin

Have you ever seen a 97-slide presentation and lived to tell the tale? Jeff and Francis have and now they know what the future of Digital Marketing is going to look like: a Flywheel. Can either of them explain what that is? That's questionable.  The presentation is courtesy of Rand Fishkin, CEO/Founder of SparkToro who goes in detail about what the problems are with digital marketing today and what to do to change it.  The entire podcast is dedicated to the presentation, along with wild veers off topic. You'll hear about how social media is faring (though you can probably guess) and how position zero is changing things. Enjoy as always. 

Have you ever seen a 97-slide presentation and lived to tell the tale? Jeff and Francis have and now they know what the future of Digital Marketing is going to look like: a Flywheel. Can either of them explain what that is? That's questionable.  The presentation is courtesy of Rand Fishkin, CEO/Founder of SparkToro who goes in detail about what the problems are with digital marketing today and what to do to change it.  The entire podcast is dedicated to the presentation, along with wild veers off topic. You'll hear about how social media is faring (though you can probably guess) and how position zero is changing things. Enjoy as always.

The Future is a Flywheel: What we learned from Rand Fishkin's 97-slide presentation on Digital Marketing

Tim Soulo

Tim Soulo, CMO and product advisor of Ahrefs, and industry-leading SEO tool, joined us for a discussion on searcher-intent, and SEO trends. Tim explained how a simple modification to a high-value page brought their rankings from the bottom of page one to the top, effectively 5x-ing their traffic within days. Tim also dropped a bombshell on us; Ahrefs is creating something BIG. We are talking game-changing BIG.

Tim Soulo, CMO and product advisor of Ahrefs, and industry-leading SEO tool, joined us for a discussion on searcher-intent, and SEO trends. Tim explained how a simple modification to a high-value page brought their rankings from the bottom of page one to the top, effectively 5x-ing their traffic within days. Tim also dropped a bombshell on us; Ahrefs is creating something BIG. We are talking game-changing BIG.

Tim Soulo of Ahrefs talks searcher intent (and how it can 5x your traffic)

What did it feel like for New Zealand to be one of the first countries to deal with Instagram's new policy of hiding likes? Francis found a digital marketing veteran named Greg Roughan to speak for the entire country on this episode of Above the Fold. Full Transparency: We recorded this back in August of this year and Jeff just found it under a stack of spam emails. Loyal listeners may remember that we talked about Greg back in season 1, episode 3 when Francis messed up his last name. He still can't get it right.

What did it feel like for New Zealand to be one of the first countries to deal with Instagram's new policy of hiding likes? Francis found a digital marketing veteran named Greg Roughan to speak for the entire country on this episode of Above the Fold. Full Transparency: We recorded this back in August of this year and Jeff just found it under a stack of spam emails. Loyal listeners may remember that we talked about Greg back in season 1, episode 3 when Francis messed up his last name. He still can't get it right.

Likes from the land down under

Fart Apps

Francis and Jeff react to 2 stories in the news and plunge into the crisp, blue waters of influencer marketing to attempt to make sense of it (for better or for worse). Surprisingly, the conversation covers the idea of ethics in the industry, and leads the boys down some interesting and surprisingly roads.6:20 - Michael Arnstein is going to jail for trying to get his bad reviews off of Google, which leads to a conversation about reputation management. How much do bad reviews affect a website? Is there a way to claw back from a bad review? Jeff provides an answer thanks to a story about a bad experience he had buying a car and how he turned into "that guy" on yelp raving about poor customer service. 20:00 - A New York Times opinion piece by Kara Swisher lays the groundwork for a conversation about the prospect of a Chief Ethics Officer position for tech companies. Is this role needed? And what does it say about the tech industry that a role like this is even needed? Francis also talks about an app called iFart. Keeping it classy as always.31:00 - What is influencer marketing and is there a place for it in a content marketing strategy? For Reebok, the prospect of it was enough to create an entire in-house team. There's a light and dark side to this, and Jeff and Francis explore the nuances of both. And the dark side is something the really grinds Jeff's gears.

Francis and Jeff react to 2 stories in the news and plunge into the crisp, blue waters of influencer marketing to attempt to make sense of it (for better or for worse). Surprisingly, the conversation covers the idea of ethics in the industry, and leads the boys down some interesting and surprisingly roads. 6:20 - Michael Arnstein is going to jail for trying to get his bad reviews off of Google, which leads to a conversation about reputation management. How much do bad reviews affect a website? Is there a way to claw back from a bad review? Jeff provides an answer thanks to a story about a bad experience he had buying a car and how he turned into "that guy" on yelp raving about poor customer service. 20:00 - A New York Times opinion piece by Kara Swisher lays the groundwork for a conversation about the prospect of a Chief Ethics Officer position for tech companies. Is this role needed? And what does it say about the tech industry that a role like this is even needed? Francis also talks about an app called iFart. Keeping it classy as always. 31:00 - What is influencer marketing and is there a place for it in a content marketing strategy? For Reebok, the prospect of it was enough to create an entire in-house team. There's a light and dark side to this, and Jeff and Francis explore the nuances of both. And the dark side is something the really grinds Jeff's gears.

Marketing ethics (and fart apps)

94% of content created generates ZERO backlinks, and 1.3% of articles take 74% of all social social shares. Most content does not work, but why? Is it better to be "small data" rather than "big data"? DuckDuckGo addresses this question by collecting zero data about its users, and providing a high-privacy platform.  Topic 1: DuckDuckGo Inspired by this article: https://www.popsci.com/google-duckduckgo-bing-comparison  What is DuckDuckGo and why does it exist?  How important is result customization versus privacy? Users will need to consider what they value more.   Topic 2: Why Most content doesn't work Inspired by this report by Brian Dean and BuzzSumo: https://backlinko.com/content-study  Massive report from Backlinko that looked at 912 million blogs. Longer headlines perform much better than shorter headlines. Also that shorter headlines can feel like stock headlines, meaning they are generic, and that could be a reason people are turned off by them.  There is no correlation between social shares and backlinks.   Topic 3: Do marketing agencies practice what they preach?  Inspired by the headline "Do Agencies Practice the Content Marketing they Preach." We talk about the history of Brafton marketing.

94% of content created generates ZERO backlinks, and 1.3% of articles take 74% of all social social shares. Most content does not work, but why? Is it better to be "small data" rather than "big data"? DuckDuckGo addresses this question by collecting zero data about its users, and providing a high-privacy platform.  Topic 1: DuckDuckGo Inspired by this article: <a href="https://www.popsci.com/google-duckduckgo-bing-comparison" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.popsci.com/google-duckduckgo-bing-comparison</a> <ul> <li>What is DuckDuckGo and why does it exist? </li> <li>How important is result customization versus privacy? Users will need to consider what they value more. </li> </ul> Topic 2: Why Most content doesn't work Inspired by this report by Brian Dean and BuzzSumo: <a href="https://backlinko.com/content-study" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://backlinko.com/content-study</a> <ul> <li>Massive report from Backlinko that looked at 912 million blogs.</li> <li>Longer headlines perform much better than shorter headlines. Also that shorter headlines can feel like stock headlines, meaning they are generic, and that could be a reason people are turned off by them. </li> <li>There is no correlation between social shares and backlinks. </li> </ul> Topic 3: Do marketing agencies practice what they preach? <ul> <li>Inspired by the headline "Do Agencies Practice the Content Marketing they Preach."</li> <li>We talk about the history of Brafton marketing.</li></ul>

Duck Duck Whoa - A world without Google and Backlinking

Chuck Leddy

We talk about data all the freaking time. Why? Because Jeff likes it and Francis cries when he has to think about charts.  But in this episode, we talk with Chuck Leddy, a lifelong creative who explains the importance of crafting a brand story. Because yes, a brand story CAN and DOES translate to revenue. 

We talk about data all the freaking time. Why? Because Jeff likes it and Francis cries when he has to think about charts.  But in this episode, we talk with Chuck Leddy, a lifelong creative who explains the importance of crafting a brand story. Because yes, a brand story CAN and DOES translate to revenue.

Creative talk with Chuck Leddy - the non-data side of content marketing

NICK EUBANKS

Nick Eubanks, CEO of the From the Future company joined us to talk about his article that blew up on SparkToro a month ago. In this article he did something crazy... He opened his books to the world, breaking down his exact cost of doing business. Why does anyone care? Well, for starters, nobody has ever done it before, considering cost structures as "proprietary information."  Most importantly, this level of transparency led to a great conversation about how to express to clients and prospects why digital marketing services are considered "expensive." The cost of creating quality content is fully built into the cost structure of high-quality agencies. And as we know, high-quality content is the ONLY content that performs on the web.  In short, if you want results, you need to pay for them. 

Nick Eubanks, CEO of the From the Future company joined us to talk about his article that blew up on SparkToro a month ago. In this article he did something crazy... He opened his books to the world, breaking down his exact cost of doing business. Why does anyone care? Well, for starters, nobody has ever done it before, considering cost structures as "proprietary information."  Most importantly, this level of transparency led to a great conversation about how to express to clients and prospects why digital marketing services are considered "expensive." The cost of creating quality content is fully built into the cost structure of high-quality agencies. And as we know, high-quality content is the ONLY content that performs on the web.  In short, if you want results, you need to pay for them.

Nick Eubanks: An SEO company with fully transparent internal costs?!

Mike Carroll

To start season three, Mike Carroll from Nutshell joins us for a harmless discussion about how sales and marketing can work well together. Then, without warning, he turns into a rabid beast and goes nuclear on Facebook.  Baker introduced his guest, Michael “Mike” Carroll, head of growth at Nutshell CRM.  There was also some speak of all the weed Joe Rogan smokes - you know, the usual stuff. Anyway, the conversation tumbled its way toward sales enablement. This part was super insightful and got to the existential core of the age-old rift between sales and marketing. But then around the 35-minute mark, something extraordinary happened. Carrol, who must have ingested a Molotov cocktail before recording, verbally unleashed its fiery wrath all over Facebook.

To start season three, Mike Carroll from Nutshell joins us for a harmless discussion about how sales and marketing can work well together. Then, without warning, he turns into a rabid beast and goes nuclear on Facebook.  Baker introduced his guest, Michael “Mike” Carroll, head of growth at Nutshell CRM.  There was also some speak of all the weed Joe Rogan smokes - you know, the usual stuff. Anyway, the conversation tumbled its way toward sales enablement. This part was super insightful and got to the existential core of the age-old rift between sales and marketing. But then around the 35-minute mark, something extraordinary happened. Carrol, who must have ingested a Molotov cocktail before recording, verbally unleashed its fiery wrath all over Facebook.

Mike Carroll proposes treaty between sales and marketing, then goes nuclear on Facebook.

5:00 - Using empathy to create more compelling content. Sonia Simone wrote an awesome article that explains how to walk the line between having a brand voice and personality, and not offending half your audience. The gist of the conversation is around how to be the Chief Empathy Officer for your audience - how do you create content that's really going to solve their problems? How are you going to select topics that truly matter to them? 18:00 - Creating content as a team activity. Imran Tariq brings up an interesting concept: using a team to create content. Jeff and Francis talk about how this strategy can be extremely useful, and how it can quickly become a major detractor. Listen to the intern, listen to the CFO, but make sure the specialist decides which ideas are good and which are bad. 33:00 - SEO is an $80 billion industry, apparently. Great article found on SparkToro's Trending tool. But the real interesting topic is at the bottom of the article: will Google change the rules? Have we put all our eggs in the Google basket in the hopes that they don't pull the rug out from under us?

5:00 - Using empathy to create more compelling content. Sonia Simone wrote an awesome article that explains how to walk the line between having a brand voice and personality, and not offending half your audience. The gist of the conversation is around how to be the Chief Empathy Officer for your audience - how do you create content that's really going to solve their problems? How are you going to select topics that truly matter to them? 18:00 - Creating content as a team activity. Imran Tariq brings up an interesting concept: using a team to create content. Jeff and Francis talk about how this strategy can be extremely useful, and how it can quickly become a major detractor. Listen to the intern, listen to the CFO, but make sure the specialist decides which ideas are good and which are bad. 33:00 - SEO is an $80 billion industry, apparently. Great article found on SparkToro's Trending tool. But the real interesting topic is at the bottom of the article: will Google change the rules? Have we put all our eggs in the Google basket in the hopes that they don't pull the rug out from under us?

SEO is an $80 billion industry, but will Google steal it? 

Carman Pirie

On this episode of Above the Fold, Jeff Baker is accompanied by the soporific stylings of Canadian entrepreneur, marketer, co-founder of Kula Partners, host of the Kula Ring podcast and semi-sonic doppelganger of the late, great Leonard Cohen. The discourse du jour: Reimagining the shape of the sales and marketing funnel.

On this episode of Above the Fold, Jeff Baker is accompanied by the soporific stylings of Canadian entrepreneur, marketer, co-founder of Kula Partners, host of the Kula Ring podcast and semi-sonic doppelganger of the late, great Leonard Cohen. The discourse du jour: Reimagining the shape of the sales and marketing funnel.

Carman Pirie shoves the sales team deep into the buyer journey 

Yes, believe it or not, president Trump has accused Google of doctoring results, but is he that far off base? Jeff and Francis discuss how left-bent silicon valley tech companies Facebook and Twitter were caught favoring content. Alex, play Africa by Toto. Jeff and Francis discuss a changing world of voice search and how it will impact content marketing and SEO. What content marketing beliefs need to die? Jeff and Francis share their thoughts on the burnt out, tired phrases and beliefs still being touted today.

Yes, believe it or not, president Trump has accused Google of doctoring results, but is he that far off base? Jeff and Francis discuss how left-bent silicon valley tech companies Facebook and Twitter were caught favoring content. Alex, play Africa by Toto. Jeff and Francis discuss a changing world of voice search and how it will impact content marketing and SEO. What content marketing beliefs need to die? Jeff and Francis share their thoughts on the burnt out, tired phrases and beliefs still being touted today.

Holocaust denial websites and Google

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