The Marketing Madcast Daniel DiGriz

Social media is replete with doctrine and myth, but those are no substitute for actually *thinking* about your brand's audience, goals, and intentions in social media.



We all know something about social, but at least part of what we 'know' is probably wrong. Likewise, "going in there blind" costs us opportunities and time.



Laurie Jamaitus, of Vetracom, manages social media and deploys brands into the social wild. Daniel DiGriz, external Marketing Director for hire, and Director of Strategy at MadPipe, asks Laurie to elucidate key points in social media strategy, and situates those into an overall digital marketing plan.



Topics Include:



* "Doing" social media vs. portraying your business as a person

* Being directly involved in your social media vs. avoiding contact

* How the followers game tells your 'real' audience you're fake

* The elusive ROI in social and the flaw in A:B thinking

* Social vs. sales/advertising = owning vs. renting

* One size fits all rules vs. tailoring to your audience

Effective event marketing requires knowing how to carry yourself, when to give a pitch, when to pass, when to engage, and when to move on. Too often, a mixer can feel wooden an inauthentic. Networking groups often devolve into carrying around a stack of business cards and practicing your elevator pitch.



Ruanna Sakols knows when to hold 'em and fold 'em. She offers sensible advice for mingling and shaking at marketing events and networking events, whether you host them or merely attend.



Daniel DiGriz, Director of Strategy at MadPipe, asks Ruanna about competitors, braggarts, users and lonely hearts, as well as what to do with that giant stack of business cards.



Topics Include:



* The criteria for a successful event

* How to create synergy and flow

* Optimal networking event behavior

* Thought leadership and nail polish

* What to do with your elevator pitch

* Four common human hurdles

* Picking events that will matter

* How to trust the process

A company can never outsource 100% of its marketing; it can't even outsource the most critical responsibility, which falls not with any marketing person, but with the owner. That critical role is the role of 'thought leader'.



Steve Pruneau explains what thought leadership really is, and how it shapes the direction of a business from marketing to operations, whether by its presence or absence. In his words, "YOU have to do it."



Daniel DiGriz, Director of Strategy, at MadPipe, and a thought leadership coach in his own right, asks Steve to explode some of the myths around thought leadership and the substitutions we often insert in its place.



Steve and Daniel are also partners in a passionately growing startup called Free Agent Source, which is a management consulting firm made of independent consultants. Run your project on Free Agent Source, skip the powerpoint presentations, and just get it done.



Topics Include:



* What a thought leader is

* Why thought leadership is important

* Why you can't just hire one

* How thought leadership differs from subject matter expertise

* Multiple thought leaders in one company

* Reproducing thought leadership in others

* The E-myth and thought leadership

* Conflicts with management culture

Graphic design can't do its job in a vacuum. Design exists to unify the elements of our presentation, to elevate the conversation with the audience.



Too often, when we think of design, our minds go directly to getting a logo. But design is more important than that and, until we attach it to its proper role in our companies, even the logo won't convey our message properly.



Pierre Janssen explains the role of design and how graphic design can reflect the intrinsic values of a company to change the end-user experience.



Daniel DiGriz, Director of Strategy at MadPipe, asks Pierre about the vetting designers and the role of design in both digital and traditional media.



Topics Include:



* What designers do

* How design is priced

* How to screen designers

* The relationship of designers to branding strategists / branding officers

* Differences between digital and print

* The hidden cost of cheap logos

"Spoken Media" is a name we'll give to the kind of content marketing and brand presentation that centralizes the human voice. That could be a podcast, a presentation requiring a spokesperson, or a video series in which a speaker delivers content.



Terri Trespicio is a spokesperson, successful podcaster, host of various shows - such as Whole Living, and branding consultant that talks about what it takes to be successful with spoken media.



Daniel DiGriz, Director of Strategy at MadPipe, asks Terri to reach into her extensive marketing experience and focus specifically on how spoken media fits into an overall marketing strategy.



Topics Include



* Why brands need a spokesperson

* How a company can know if spoken media is right for their brand

* How to create a unified branding message

* How does the medium affect the message

* What it takes to run and grow a successful show

* Pitfalls and potholes in the branding exercise

It's  perhaps more important than ever to do effective PR with your business. Search has become overly competitive and penalizes shortcuts. Paid media costs are skyrocketing. Brand mentions count as implied links, and if you're a disruptor with a story, a killer placement or few can mean boots through the door.



Hansa Bergwall runs Mira PR, and talks about what public relations is and how it works. He frames the discussion in terms of earned marketing and/or validation marketing - term it pays to understand. Hansa is laden with insights on what you can achieve with PR, what makes it effective, how it has evolved, and how to get involved. These are all precious insights for businesses tired of running on a marketing treadmill. Hansa points out that PR is just one tool in the toolbox, but your company's marketing toolbox isn't complete without it.



Daniel DiGriz, Director of Strategy at MadPipe, asks Hansa how it all works and what companies can expect out of a PR relationship. This show might be the one that changes your mind and your strategic direction for the better, by including PR in your mix of marketing initiatives.



Topics Include:



* What is PR and earned marketing or validation marketing?

* Is PR for any size business?

* What's the cost / benefit vs. say advertising?

* What's the real the value of PR?

* What are examples of effective PR?

* What does PR cost?

* How long does it take PR to be effective?

* How has PR evolved in the era of social?

* What's the ideal outcome of PR?

* What are the criteria for PR success?