The Agents of Change Digital Marketing Podcast

Influencer marketing could arguably be traced all the way back to the 1800's when the Conklin pen company wisely and creatively asked Mark Twain to say some nice things about their products. Influencer marketing has come a long way since then, especially if you're a Kardashian. But just going for the big name is not necessarily the best strategy, says Agorapulse's Mike Allton.

Successful SEO starts with keyword research. Moz's Cyrus Shepard reminds us that you need to rank for what people are actually searching for, not what you think they're searching for. That means truly understanding exactly what a keyword is, and prioritizing keywords by potential. Uncover more ideas by determining what keywords your competitors are ranking for. Yes, you can actually do that. Why recreate the wheel when they've already done some of the heavy lifting for you?

Like every industry, digital marketing also has their list of "best practices" that you're told to follow. And while there is certainly some truth to that, Caitlin Halpert from 3Q Digital, can attest that with a little creative "pushing of the boundaries", and letting the data from your creative testing do the talking, you just may find you're driving more growth and efficiency through these new ideas.

So there's lots of different things to be looking at when you're doing email marketing, but I would definitely say those replies are the most important part. And when you see a lot of people replying, that's when you know you've definitely hit on something that's important. And that you've got to talk more about that

Why is B2B marketing important? Creating quality content allows you to establish your business's brand and positional, as well as allows you to connect with your target audience and show your authority and credibility in your market. But as B2B marketing expert James Soto will attest, the B2B buying cycle is much longer than it is for B2C, and customer expectation is different, so you need to make sure you're adjusting for that throughout your process.

If you're an ethical marketer, you know that buying an email list is considered "shady" and Email Service Providers such as MailChimp won't allow you use use purchased lists on their platform. But Doug Morneau is here to explain that renting an email list is much different, and how it can help you reach more of your ideal, targeted customers. To break it down in its simplest form, email list rental – also known as "sponsored mail" – is really just another form of influencer marketing. It's just one more way of allowing your brand/product/company to reach potential customers via their email inbox that fit a certain demographic that they've already shown interest in. You're gaining a one-time right to contact them, but it's the email list owner who conducts the actual mailing for you.

In a nutshell, influencer marketing is really just a type of social media marketing that uses product mentions and endorsements from influencers – people who have already built up a loyal and dedicated following, and are perhaps seen as experts in their area or niche. So if the thought of riding the coat tails of a well-known or well-respected influencer while they talk up your products and services sounds like an easy win, influencer marketing expert Neal Schaffer is here to remind you that it's not always that simple. You could do more harm than good to your business's reputation is you aren't careful and calculated when choosing which influencers to work with. Ideally you always want to work with someone who is also aligned with what your business and brand stands for.

The question some businesses are asking themselves these days, "To bot, or not to bot?" But the reality is, chatbots are a fantastic automated solution that allow businesses and organizations the power to handle not only more customers at once, but to also do it simultaneously. Talk about some bang for your buck!

It's crazy to think that we've done 350 episodes of the Agents of Change podcast. That's nearly 7 years of content for a weekly podcast.

In this episode I share how my thinking on "Black Lives Matter" vs. "All Lives Matter" has evolved. Not usually the material we cover on the Agents of Change podcast, but I'm realizing how this movement touches every aspect of our lives, regardless of our color. I don't have any answers, as I'm just beginning the journey myself.