20 Minute Marketing

We're joined by Gemma Paterson from Legal & General for Liam's final episode as host of the show. Gemma brings a ton of experience to the show and also grew up down the street from Liam, so it's a fitting end to his time. Gemma is currently Head of People, Development, Experiences, and Innovation at Legal & General and previously spent around eight years in marketing working before moving into an internal role. Over those years, she's worked for top brands like BP, Monsoon, First Direct, and HSBC.

During the episode, we talk about innovation and why it's more than just tech. Gemma tells us why she made the switch from direct marketing to an internal role that focuses on innovation and change. We then talk about both product innovation and people innovation and why businesses need to invest in both. Gemma also shares an example of a Vegas hotel that invests in its people and the positive effect that has on the customer experience. We then talk about how small businesses with low resources can innovate and why it's not just something that large companies can invest in. Finally, we discuss innovation in marketing, and Gemma shares another great example. 

We had the absolute pleasure of chatting with Dave Harland on this week's episode of 20 Minute Marketing. Dave is one of the best freelance copywriters that you'll find. He's renowned for telling wonderful and whacky stories via his LinkedIn profile and other social platforms. Dave is also known as The Word Man and helps both businesses and agencies to make an impact with words. If there's one thing you do today, subscribe to his weekly email newsletter. 

During the episode, we chat about Dave's journey into copywriting and what inspired him to get started. We then talk about how his writing style has changed over time and the difference between copywriting and creative writing. The conversation then moves on to call-to-actions and how to make an impact by avoiding standard terms like "buy now" and "read more". Dave then talks us through the benefits of creating a WTF moment and shares three things to consider when writing stories. Finally, we talk about Dave's email newsletter growth and he shares a resource, Copywriting Is, that has impacted his writing. 

This week's episode of 20 Minute Marketing is one of the most fun episodes we've ever recorded. We're joined by Ed Stapleton from Shandy Shack. Ed launched Shandy Shack in 2018 with two friends after they realised they could no longer hack a hangover. After trialing new drinks, they discovered that mixing craft beer and high-quality sodas provided a great alternative. So, Shandy Shack was born.

During the episode, Ed shares insights on how Shandy Shack transformed from an initial idea into a national brand that is stocked at Sainsbury's. We talk about marketing strategy and how Ed and his co-founders used local targeting for organic growth. Liam then asks Ed how the rise of the hard seltzer industry, which has popular brands like Whiteclaw and Truly, has impacted Shandy Shack. To close out, Ed shares insights on how Shandy Shack was pitched to Sainsbury's and a recent funding round which will allow the business to grow to the next level.

Our guest on the show this week is Mike Ciffone, who joins us from Chicago. Mike started his career agency-side before moving to a tech startup and more recently, he founded Ciffone Digital, which specialises in SEO, pay-per-click, content marketing, and web development. The episode focuses on how user expectations are changing online and how businesses can adapt to meet these changing demands. 

We start the episode by asking Mike to share his thoughts on how the digital landscape is changing. Mike talks us through the increased demand for unique experiences and why it's important to trial new things before waiting for Google updates. We then talk about site structure and how to optimise the customer journey by using JSON and dynamic content, with a great coral reef analogy from Mike. Our focus then turns to content and how to use audio, video, and text to engage with site users. Finally, we ask Mike some questions on running tests and experiments and he shares some tips for getting started.

We're joined by Pamela Hopkinson from Social Media Solutions on episode 76 of the show. Launched by Pamela in 2021, Social Media Solutions provides social media training, consultancy, and management services. So, it makes sense that the episode focuses on social media strategy optimisation.

During the episode, talk about the current social media landscape and how it has changed over the past twelve months. We cover the big platforms but also discuss sites like Pinterest, Reddit, and Quora, and the value they offer to businesses. Pamela also shares her thoughts on whether businesses should be active on every social channel or specifically focus on a few. She then shares some social strategy tips before we move on to content scheduling. Finally, Pamela shares some of the brands that she's enjoyed watching over the past 12 months. 

This week we chat with Wiehan Britz on episode 75 of the podcast. Wiehan is a digital marketing consultant that has been in the industry for over ten years. He originally started out as an SEO specialist but has worked across the marketing realm such as CRO, A/B testing, paid social, and more. So, we could call him a veteran marketer.

The episode focuses on measuring efficiency, business growth, and identifying opportunities. Wiehan talks us through two different frameworks and how they can support businesses. The first framework is the Efficiency GAP Analysis Scorecard, which Wiehan created himself. This framework allows businesses to analyse 12 pillars that include factors like learning and development, employee happiness, strategy, onboarding, and more. Secondly, Wiehan talks about the AARRR Pirate Metrics Framework. This framework allows businesses to work backward to identify where in the funnel prospective customers are dropping off. Wiehan shares a real-life example from a SaaS company that shows where prospects are dropping off (free trial, sign up page, canceled accounts, and more). We also talk about budget management and ensuring that your team is aligned.

AARRR Pirate Metrics Framework - https://www.productplan.com/glossary/aarrr-framework/

Efficiency GAP Analysis Scorecard - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1z3FhIJiT_mkxMzCBk1nvgk8B00G7-YR7NivPTxFpgTw/edit#gid=767327586

This week we chat with Matthew Soakell from Algebra, which is a PPC agency that plans, builds, and manages innovative campaigns that get results. Matthew is a PPC Specialist and has spent over five years working in the industry. We invited him to join us on the show to chat about PPC management and whether brands should go in-house or use an agency.

During the episode, Matthew talks us through the pros and cons of in-house PPC management compared with outsourcing to an agency. Matthew talks about the different reasons why businesses might want to move in-house, such as account spend and size. We also talk about how Algebra helps businesses to transition in-house when appropriate and what that onboarding process looks like. Finally, Matthew shares some quick-tips for in-house PPC managers to close out the main section of the episode. Two resources that he mentions are Occam's Razor by Avinash Kaushik and Start With Why by Simon Sinek.

This week we're joined by Lloyd Williams from Socially Powerful, a global attention marketing agency. Lloyd is the Head of Strategy and he specialises in social media best practices and onboarding new business. During his career, he's worked with global brands like Kit Kat, Aero, Budweiser, Desperados, and more.

The episode focuses on social media and how brands can grab the attention of followers. Lloyd tells us what attention marketing means and why he loves working in the social media industry. We then talk about influencer marketing and some of the misconceptions around the industry. Lloyd then talks about the Rules of Engagement that are used at Socially Powerful. Finally, we talk about Lloyd's podcast, Brand Wars, and he shares one of his favourite brand stories from the show.

We're joined by Gary Gumbleton on episode 72 of the show. Gary joins us from Capital Content, a creative and dynamic digital agency that balances what looks good with what works. He is also one of the best video storytellers on the planet.

During the episode, we chat about telling stories through video. Gary and Liam discuss some of the things that have prevented Liam from creating video content in the past and how those issues can be overcome. Gary shares two different types of video content that can be created - rational and emotional videos. We also talk about the value of batch creation and how to improve production quality when recording videos. To close out, we compare the benefits of in-house video production with outsourcing to a content agency and Gary shares his free training course with us - Content 101.

We chat with Lisa Eaton on the podcast this week who is a leading marketer in the North East and has over 20 years of marketing experience. Lisa is the Founder and Managing Director at Unwritten Group, a fully integrated strategic communications agency. Last year, Lisa launched Fabric which is an academy that helps marketers to develop an integrated marketing and communications strategy from scratch. So, she's the go-to if you want to create and implement a top-level marketing strategy for your business.

During the episode, we talk about being a generalist marketer. As the Managing Director of a full-scale agency, Lisa ensures that she has an understanding of all of the marketing channels out there. We talk about the challenges of spreading yourself across multiple channels and how to invest your time properly. Lisa then talks us through her professional development strategy and why she dedicates one day per week to learning. Finally, we talk about the value of understanding your top-level strategy when working on day-to-day tasks and the launch of Fabric.

We're really excited to share episode #70 of 20 Minute Marketing with you. This week, we are joined by the co-founder of PodMatch, Alex Sanfilippo. PodMatch is a matchmaking tool that automatically connects podcast hosts and guests for interviews. The site launched last year and now has over 6,500 members that are looking to connect.

During the episode, we talk about the initial launch of PodMatch and the reasons why Alex wanted to launch a matchmaking service for podcast hosts and guests. Alex then tells us about some of the different marketing tactics that he has used successfully to increase PodMatch members. We talk about the value of referrals, why human-to-human marketing always wins, and some cool growth tactics like gamification and podcast guesting.

This week, we're joined by Peter Ballard and Dicken Doe from Foolproof, which is a global experience design company. Both Peter and Dicken bring a ton of experience to the show and bring a very unique topic to the show. Peter is the co-founder of Foolproof and VP Head of Marketing at Zensar and Dicken is an Experience Design Director at Foolproof and specliasies in data, analytics, and application of AI. So, they have a great combination of experience and knowledge. 

The focus of this episode covers a very unique and cool topic. We discuss how retailers and B2C sites can drive acquisition through digital gifting. Foolproof lots of interesting research over the Christmas period which suggests that consumers aren't fully satisfied with the gifting experience that retailers offer. Many consumers order gifts to their own homes and then resend the gift to the recipient due to a lack of confidence to do this directly. So, we asked Peter & Dicken several questions on how retailers can improve the digital gifting experience and discussed some of their research findings.

Digital Gifting research - https://www.foolproof.co.uk/journal/43-of-uk-shoppers-forced-to-expend-unnecessary-effort-this-christmas/

Journal - https://www.foolproof.co.uk/journal/

This week we're joined by the wonderful Amelia Sordell from Klowt to talk about personal branding. Amelia founded Klowt, a personal branding agency, in 2020 and they have seen tremendous growth since launch. Interestingly, all of their leads are 100% inbound, and Amelia and her team are using personal branding to grow Klowt organically.

During the episode, we talk about the value of personal branding and why businesses should invest in it. Amelia shares insights on how you can build a personal brand and the best & easiest ways to get started. We also talk about the different types of content that you can share and Amelia tells us her strategy which includes commentary posts, capability posts, and hook posts. We then talk about some of the non-business benefits of building a personal brand which include confidence building, development, and the positive impact on mental health. Finally, Amelia shares an example of personal branding being used successfully to elevate a business.

Notes - 

The Catch Up Podcast - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKH3e0zzSqE&t=3s

Amelia's Clubhouse - @ameliasordell

The Marketing Millenials - https://anchor.fm/themarketingmillennials

It's been a long time coming, but we're very excited to share an episode that is all about digital PR! This week, we're joined by Louise Parker, who is the PR Director at Propellernet. Louise has been in the PR industry for several years and has been a big contributor to the rising popularity of the industry.

During the episode, Louise shares insights on why the PR industry has exploded over the past few years. We talk about how it has become an integral part of digital marketing and the SEO benefits that it offers. Louise also shares insights on her creative process and some of the things that should be considered before creating a large-scale campaign. We also ask Louise to share a campaign that she wishes she'd worked on (inspired by Gisele Navarro) and talk about her TikTok videos that are keeping everyone in the PR industry entertained. Finally, Louise talks about her viral tweet which John Mueller replied to.

Notes -

Gisele's jealousy list - https://neomam.com/blog/jealousy-list-2020/

Louise's TikTok profile - https://www.tiktok.com/@louise_digitalpr

We're thrilled to share this week's episode with you. We're joined by Mark Williams-Cook, who is the Director at Candour - an amazing web & digital marketing agency based in Norwich. Mark is also the Founder of AlsoAsked.com, organiser of SearchNorwich, and our go-to person for SEO news. So, we think he's the perfect guest to talk about technical SEO with.

We know that technical topics can get a bit overwhelming for generalist marketers and business owners that wear many hats. So, we thought it would be a great idea to release a podcast episode that covers technical SEO in detail without getting too complex. We ask Mark to break down some of the fundamental reasons why solid technical SEO can help websites in their search efforts. Mark also shares tips on how to run a site audit, common mistakes to avoid, and why it's important to get the foundations right. He also shared several examples that will help marketers in B2B and B2C.

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Here are some of the resources that are mentioned during the episode:

Search with Candour podcast - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy85YmY2NjQ0L3BvZGNhc3QvcnNz

Aleyda Solis' #SEOFOMO newsletter - https://subscribe.page/s/seofomo?rh_ref=baa90912

Women in Tech SEO newsletter - https://www.womenintechseo.com/newsletter/

tl;drMarketing newsletter - https://tldrmarketing.com/

Little Warden - https://littlewarden.com/

Sitebulb - https://sitebulb.com/

Alsoasked.com - https://alsoasked.com/

We're excited to share episode 63 of the show with you. This week, we chat with David Cooper who is the Marketing Manager at Fountain Partnership and leads the strategy to showcase Fountain as a world-leading digital marketing agency. You might recognise Fountain from episodes 31 & 32 of the show when we spoke to Jake and Gemma about PPC optimisation!

During the episode, David chats about moral marketing and why it makes more money. We discuss some of the internal and external tactics that businesses can take to become more moral and make changes. David also shares several insights from Fountain and how they have made changes to improve. We cover social media, data, reporting, and some more over the course of this episode.

Notes 

How long it takes to read T&C's - https://www.visualcapitalist.com/terms-of-service-visualizing-the-length-of-internet-agreements/

Miro - https://miro.com/

David's tree planting progress - https://ecologi.com/davidcooper

We have our first bonus episode on the show! Last week, Neil Andrew from PPC Protect joined us to discuss industry awards and whether they add value to businesses or not. When we shared the episode across social media, several people got in touch to express their own opinions and share their experiences when entering industry awards. One of those people was James Lees from Salesfire. James said he'd love to share his thoughts in detail and had some contrasting views to Neil. So, here we are!

During this bonus episode, James shares some of the things that Neil shared which he disagrees with. We talk about some of the awards that James has won over the years and the impact those wins had on his businesses at the time. James is also part of the judging panel for several awards so he discussed the process that he takes when selecting a winner. We also discussed how the awards industry can hold people accountable and collaborate to improve its reputation amongst marketers and business owners in the future. Finally, James shares some tips on how to promote an award win and use it to strengthen your brand.

Notes - 

Liam Fallon's post - https://liam-fallen.medium.com/the-problem-with-awards-in-marketing-with-examples-7b68404b3025

We invited Neil Andrew to join us on episode 61. Neil is the Founder of PPC Protect, which specialises in helping businesses with click fraud protection & invalid traffic prevention. Neil is a leading figure in the PPC industry and regularly shares content around bidding strategies, account set up, fraud prevention, and more.

During the episode, we talk about a very interesting and somewhat controversial topic. Neil joins us to discuss industry awards and his opinion of the industry. A few months ago, Neil shared a poll on LinkedIn and asked his audience to vote on whether or not they believe that industry awards are pay to play. Around 400 people voted on the poll, with a landslide number of people stating that they think the industry is pay to win. We discuss Neil's views, some of the inconsistencies in the industry, and whether or not they are ultimately worth entering. We also speak about some alternative ways of showcasing your business via social proof.

We're joined by Peter Hopwood on episode sixty of the 20 Minute Marketing podcast. Peter is an international conference host & speaker that helps people tell stronger stories and take control of their speaking. He's spoken at TEDx events and also helps professional speakers, companies, and entrepreneurs to bring more value to their messages.

During the episode, we chat about making the switch from in-person events to going virtual. For obvious reasons, there has been a huge increase in webinars, Zoom conferences, virtual interviews, and podcasts over the last nine months. So, we figured that it would be a great time to talk about how we can stand out and improve the delivery of our content. Peter shares insights on how we can make that content more engaging when it comes to our presentation, tone of voice, and hand gestures. We also chat about some of the ways that we can make our video or audio content more engaging for our audience.

Notes - 

Present to Succeed Conference - https://www.presenttosucceed.com/

We're joined by Tom Downing on episode 59 of 20 Minute Marketing. Tom's marketing career started when he launched a digital marketing agency at 25 years old. He is now the Strategy Director at Freestyle, which is a digital product studio that brings clarity to complexity and creating memorable customer experiences. In his role, he oversees a strategic client team that aims to uncover untapped opportunities while also experimenting to create the unexpected. Tom also admits to having a strong fascination for emerging technology and the exploration of how we remember things. 

During the episode, we discuss how brands can create memorable customer experiences. We talk about the challenges of competing with multinational brands, such as Amazon, who are able to provide their customers with a great user experience. However, a very interesting point that Tom made is that a lot of services look exactly the same because they are trying to make the customer journey as quick as possible. Therefore, making that experience less memorable. So, Tom shares some ways that brands can stand out and make that experience unique. We also talk about how B2B and SaaS companies can improve their website copy and the importance of innovation. 

Notes

You can subscribe to Freestyle's email newsletter, Brain Food, by heading to this URL - https://www.freestyle.agency/blog/

We're excited to share our first episode in 2021. This week we are joined by the wonderful Hannah Bryce. Hannah is the SEO Manager at Holland & Barrett, which is a multinational health and wellness brand. They have over 1,300 stores in 16 countries as well as a large online presence. Hannah is also a co-host of The SEO SAS Podcast alongside Sarah McDowell. On the show, they chat with industry leaders about SEO-related topics and news. The show recently hit 100 episodes and is an excellent resource for SEO marketers.

During the episode, we chat about top-level SEO strategy and specifically how to monitor progress and plan ahead for 2021. Hannah shared insights on how to perform site audits and review performance when it comes to technical SEO, site content, link building, and more. We discussed the challenges of knowing where to invest your time and how to identify the quick wins compared with long-term gains. Hannah also shared examples of both search intent and search volumes and how they can impact success. Finally, we talked about when it is appropriate to make changes and how to check whether your efforts are having the desired impact.

Notes

10 marketing podcasts that should be on your radar in 2021 - https://www.reach-interactive.com/resources-and-blog/marketing-podcasts-to-listen-to/

Similar episodes

#55 - Implementing a company-wide SEO strategy with Jack Sperry from BT, EE, and Plusnet

#40 - Increasing organic traffic through smart content marketing & SEO with Steven Van Vessum from ContentKing

#34 - Using razors to understand search intent with Jen Penaluna from Bigfoot Digital

We're joined by Ashley O'Neill, Jessica Dodds, and Jim Ker for the final episode of 20 Minute Marketing in 2020. This episode is also the second half of a two-part series, so feel free to check out part one which was released last week that is all about helping your customers to realise your brand value. Ashley, Jess, and Jim join us from The Chartered Institute of Marketing and are board members for the Yorkshire region. Ashley serves as Events and Communications Ambassador, Jessica is Vice Chair of Events, and Jim is Vice Chair of Communications. Outside of volunteering at CIM, they also work full-time in marketing roles for their respective companies.

During this episode,  Ashley, Jim, and Jess reflect on the marketing landscape over the past twelve months and discuss what's in store for 2021. We talk about low-cost strategies that can be used to combat budget reductions and share thrifty marketing tools that can help improve our marketing efforts, with a focus on content marketing and how to re-purpose effectively. Ashley, Jim, and Jess then shared one exercise or tactic that they couldn't do without before we shared our favourite marketing campaigns of 2020 to close out the main section of our chat. The episode ended with Jess, Ashley, and Jim sharing a memorable story from their careers which included space, drones, and office falls.  

This week on 20 Minute Marketing we're joined by Ashley O'Neill, Jessica Dodds, and Jim Ker for the first of a two-part series to close out 2020. All three guests join us from The Chartered Institute of Marketing and are board members for the Yorkshire region. Ashley serves as Events and Communications Ambassador, Jessica is Vice Chair of Events, and Jim is Vice Chair of Communications. Outside of volunteering at CIM, they also work full-time in marketing roles for their respective companies.

During this episode, our conversation focuses on branding. We chat with Ashley, Jessica, and Jim, about brand strategy and how to help customers realise the value of your products or services. We also discussed how business owners and senior marketers can ensure that everyone in the company invested in the brand and how to ensure that you are working towards the same goals. Finally, we talked about monitoring progress and making sure that your brand evolves over time.

We're very excited to share episode 55 of 20 Minute Marketing. Joining us this week is Jack Sperry, the SEO Manager at BT, EE, and Plusnet. For overseas listeners, BT is one of the world's leading communication service providers with over 30 million customers and 600 stores in the UK. They are the UK leader of consumer fixed-line voice and broadband and also the largest mobile network operator (EE). BT Sport is also a leading sports broadcaster too.

We start by discussing the SEO team and how to scale up and build. Jack shares his thoughts on the benefits of going in-house and how he would approach getting new starters on board so that they can make a quick impact. We then talk about the challenges of SEO when working in a large and complex business area and how an agile approach can be beneficial. Jack then answered questions on how to approach new Google updates and the difficulty of balancing your time between industry tools such as Ahrefs, ContentKing, SEMrush, Moz, and more. 

For the second half of our chat, we brought in the wider marketing team and Jack shared insights on how he has established SEO standards across BT, EE, and Plusnet. We specifically focused on the benefit of assisting content marketers, graphic designers, and other marketers to self serve. Jack and the SEO team has worked on a large library of best practice information that is relevant to the brand and regularly updated. Finally, Jack discusses the Build, Measure, Learn approach which is used at BT to assist team members with learning and SEO knowledge.

We are joined by Antoine Gagné from J7 Media on the show this week. Co-founded by Antoine in 2013, J7 Media is a Facebook Advertising Agency in Montréal, Canada that helps businesses with hypergrowth on the platform. Our host, Liam, also recently joined Antoine on his podcast Social Selling, to discuss podcast marketing and how to use SMS for success - be sure to check that out!

During the episode, Antoine shares insights on how to scale up with Facebook Ads. We start by talking about some of the things that businesses should be aware of and plan for when they are creating a strategy around Facebook advertising. Liam then asked Antoine for recommendations on how much businesses should be investing on a daily or monthly basis. Finally, Antoine shared insights on how Facebook advertising has changed this year and what to expect in 2021, including a potential decrease in CPM.

To learn more about Facebook advertising, you can get a free copy of "How To Scale Your Facebook Ads Campaigns To More Than $1,000/Day". The J7 Media guide has 29 pages of insights that focus on simplifying your account, structuring your sales funnel, and scaling your budget.

Facebook Ads guide - http://experts.j7media.com/20minutemarketing

Social Selling Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/4tZsEU2M07ycmAxlIjKVA5

Heather is the founder of True Native Media, a podcast representation agency that connects brands with podcasters to develop engaging host-read ads for audiences around the world. She also hosts The Podcast Advertising Playbook, which offers great value to brands that would like to learn about podcast advertising in greater depth.

During the episode, Heather shares insights on why the podcast advertising industry is growing and the benefits to businesses. We discuss the different options that are available and the type of businesses that it is suitable for. We also asked talked about the differences between approaching shows directly compared with going to a podcast agency. Heather then answered questions on how many ads to run, how to approach pricing, and finding shows that align with your brand. We predict that podcast advertising is going to be a hugely successful channel for brands moving forward.

We had a great time speaking with Hannah Urbanek this week. Hannah is a Senior Digital Marketing Manager at Create Engage, which is a digital marketing agency for the consulting industry. She is also a Founding 50 Member and ambassador at the School of Marketing. Hannah specialises in B2B marketing and has spent her professional career working both in-house and agency side at B2B companies.

So, it's pretty easy to guess what our focus is during the episode. We talked to Hannah about her experiences working in B2B and how marketers can push the boundaries in B2B marketing. Hannah shared insights on how to break the mold and stand out from competitors, how to create engaging content, and using channels like LinkedIn and Instagram effectively. We also asked Hannah to share her thoughts on what the industry may look like moving forward.

As mentioned in the episode, we have some additional content to share. Our host, Liam, was invited to speak on the Social Selling podcast, where he discussed the benefits of setting up a business podcast and the value of using SMS marketing in your marketing strategy. The episode is available to stream on Spotify and Apple Podcasts right now. Additionally, we hosted a webinar this week titled "How to win big with SMS marketing on Black Friday". You can watch that on-demand on YouTube.

Joining us on episode 51 of The 20 Minute Marketing Podcast is Joel Barnett from Fortune Hill, who helps consumer brands to identify, attract, assess, and appoint marketing and HR leaders. Joel joins us for a very special episode to talk about a new book that Fortune Hill has published, titled Excerpts from Experts. The book features tips and advice from 227 senior marketers in the UK from brands including Tesco, Adidas, Uber, Greggs, and more. All of the proceeds of the book will be donated to NHS Charities Together and Fortune Hill is aiming to raise £100,000 through book sales.  

During the episode, Joel discusses his motivation to raise money for NHS Charities Together and the inspiration behind the book launch. We also talk about some of the ways that he convinced senior marketers to contribute and the similarities that this has with PR and guest blog outreach for marketers. Joel shares tips on communicating successfully, managing workload, and following up on opportunities. We also discuss post-launch reaction which includes coverage in Marketing Week and other publishing sites.

The 20 Minute Marketing Podcast turns 50! The team at Reach Interactive would like to thank all of our former guests and listeners for your support in helping us reach this milestone. We are joined by Itamar Blauer during this episode, who is an SEO consultant in London. Itamar makes regular appearances on various SEO and digital marketing related webinars, websites, and podcasts. He also has a great YouTube channel that dives into SEO. 

The focus of this episode is on how businesses can optimise their video marketing strategy. Itamar shares the reasons why businesses should be including video into their content strategy. We also discuss some of the mistakes that are made in video production and how they can be avoided. Finally, Itamar shares tips on how to get started and ensure that your video content excels.

We chat with Phil Storey from Glow on this week's episode of the show.  Glow is an easy-to-use website maintenance app for businesses, agencies, and web developers that allows users to submit help requests 24/7, view a timeline of activity and get tips to improve your site. Phil launched Glow this year and has seen a tremendous amount of growth, with press coverage both nationally and internationally. 

During the episode, we talk about the importance of website maintenance and security. This is an important part of business management that often gets overlooked, yet can have big consequences. Research suggests that a hack occurs on a website every 39 seconds. And, 45% of all hacks occur on small business sites. So, it's important that we pay attention to our site and ensure protocols are in place. Throughout the episode, Phil shares numerous tips on how to keep sites secure and ensure that they meet security requirements.

We had a great time speaking with Eddie Maalouf during episode #48 of the show. Eddie joins us from 4Media Marketing, a full-scale digital agency that is based in Atlanta. Eddie also runs The Brilliant Marketers program which helps business owners take control of their marketing and learn the skills needed to handle it A to Z.

During the episode, we talk about creating a successful paid acquisition strategy. Eddie talks about multi-channel marketing and some of the mistakes that businesses often make when getting set up. Our main focus is on conversion tracking and ensuring that UTM tracking and analytics are correct to ensure that future decisions are made based on accurate data. We also cover other aspects of multi-channel and the impact that 2020 has had on paid advertising.  

We invited the brilliant Matt Davies to join us on episode #47 of the 20 Minute Marketing Podcast. After starting his career in graphic design, Matt is now a creative brand and marketing strategist that helps businesses think differently. He's worked with hundreds of clients that range in size and includes a portfolio of household names like Boots, Fred Perry, Nestle, Experian, Capital One, Specsavers, and more. He is also a co-host of the Just Branding Podcast and has a successful book titled Storyategy.  

During the episode, we talk about the key elements of brand strategy. We start by asking Matt to define a brand and the importance of getting things aligned. The focus of our conversation is around four key elements of branding: why, who, how, and what. Matt discusses each element in detail and then explains how brands can ensure that all four of the elements align correctly. Finally, Matt shares a recent example of a company that delivered a great brand promise. 

We had a great time speaking with Ashley Jones during episode #46 of the show. Ashley joins us from marketingSHOWCASE, which brings people together through in-person and virtual marketing events. With almost 30 years of experience and 300 live events staged, they have lots of experience when it comes to hosting a successful event. 

During the episode, we chat about event marketing in 2020 and how it has been impacted by COVID-19. Ashley talks about the transition from in-person events to a virtual setting and how the team at marketingSHOWCASE has handled the switch. We continued to talk about virtual events and specifically how attendees, sponsors, and exhibitors can get the most out of them. Ashley also shared some tips on hosting an online event as well as how frequently you can run them compared with in-person. To close out, we cover some of the ways that in-person events may change when they return. 

marketingSHOWCASE is currently hosting monthly events that feature some great guest speakers. You can find out more and register by visiting their site here. 

We chat with Elliott King this week on the show. Elliott is the CEO at MintTwist - which is an award-winning digital agency that is based in London. He is also a visiting university lecturer and hosts a podcast named WatchTime, where he talks about current trends in digital with the team at MintTwist.

We start the episode by talking about some of the things that Elliott learned while in Silicon Valley during the tech boom. The focus then switches to multi-channel marketing and we talk about the user journey and how to turn a customer from a suspect to a prospect. Then, we spend some time talking about the customer buying funnel. Elliott shares insights on each level of the funnel (top, middle, and bottom). Finally, Elliott shares an example of a company that has connected each level of the funnel successfully.

We welcome Diana Wink to the show, who is the first person to join us from Germany! At Story Artist, Diana helps businesses connect with their customers through the power of storytelling. 

During the episode, Diana shares the science behind storytelling and how to trigger emotional connections from your customers through copywriting.  We cover the different types of emotions that you can trigger when telling stories and the power of combining multiple elements to your stories, with reference to The Angels Cocktail theory. We also ask questions on when it's appropriate to tell a story, what to consider before you start typing, and more. Additionally, Diana shares a great example of how great storytelling turned $197 into $8,000 during an experiment. To learn more about the science behind storytelling, you can receive a free book (Storyteller's Bluysoeprint) and video course by visiting Diana's website.  

We had a lot of fun speaking with Danni Johnson this week, who has been a great supporter and friend of the show over the last few months. So, we are very excited to be able to invite her to the show to be a guest. Danni currently works at Xpand Marketing, which is a full-scale digital marketing agency in Bradford.

This episode focuses on a topic that Danni is very passionate about, which is LinkedIn. It is a subject that gets raised regularly on the show, but we’ve not had an episode that focuses on the platform. So, it’s about time that we dived into it in more detail.

During the episode, we cover lots of different things regarding the platform by focusing on three pillars. We start by discussing optimisation and how you can increase profile visits. We then talk about content and how you can increase engagement from both your company and personal profiles. Finally, we talk about paid ads on the platform and how to get the best bang for your buck.

We loved chatting with Claire Jarrett during episode 42 of the show. Claire has been in paid advertising since setting up her first training company in 2007. She also launched the UK's first AdWords training courses in 2008, helping dozens of small business owners and agencies to grow. Since then, Claire has continued to support businesses through paid ads while incorporating new platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and more. 

Our conversation focuses on remarketing. We chat about how businesses can follow their prospects around the web for as little as £5-10 per day and the fact that many businesses are wasting opportunities by not remarketing to their prospective customers. Claire shares tips on setting up pixels, how to split your budget across each network, and why competitor ads can be used to your advantage. Additionally, we talk about creating high-quality artwork and whether or not its best to promote your homepage, pricing pages, or long-form content that is personalised.

Claire has lots of free masterclasses, training courses, and a great email list that you can subscribe to by visiting her website. 

We had a great time speaking with Sarah Santacroce during episode 41 of the show. Sarah is also our first guest from Switzerland! With 12 years of LinkedIn and business coaching experience, Sarah has seen lots of different marketing trends and techniques. After becoming tired of seeing overly pushy and hype marketing, The Gentle Marketing Revolution was formed. 

During the episode, Sarah shares what gentle marketing is and how it can have a positive impact on businesses. We also talk about some of the ways that businesses can implement a gentle approach and why it can lead to greater success than following current norms. Sarah also shares how she is preparing for the upcoming launch of her new book next year, titled The Gentle Marketing Revolution, and how it differs from a traditional launch. Finally, we spend a couple of minutes talking about LinkedIn profiles and how you can optimise them.  

We chat with the CEO and Founder of Project36, Joe Birkedale. Project36 is a worldwide B2B marketing agency that supports businesses with account-based Marketing (ABM), inbound marketing, content & strategy,  video marketing, and more. 

During the episode, we focus on account-based marketing (ABM). The episode comes at a great time because ABM is a topic that we have seen frequently on social media and across industry publications recently. Joe tells us what ABM is, the types of businesses that it is suitable for, and how it can be implemented. We also talk about some success stories, commitment requirements, and estimated costs. So, this is a great episode for anyone that would like to learn some more about ABM and how it could potentially benefit their business.

We chat with Kyler Miles, Creative Specialist at SimplyPHP - a North American PHP Development Company that helps companies of any size - from startups to Fortune 500s - get results with industry best practices. Kyler is an expert in producing amazing content, whether that's on Instagram, YouTube, or his podcast "Making It".

This episode is all about producing great content. With social media platforms becoming more crowded, Kyler shares some great insights on how you can stand out. Specifically, covering how you can get started and the value of focusing on your message - with a great Star Wars reference! To close out the episode, Kyler shares his strategy at SimplyPHP, which is interesting as they have a very technical service.

We chat with Lomit Patel, the Vice President of Growth at IMVU - an online metaverse and social networking site. During his career, Lomit has managed growth at early-stage startups including Roku (IPO), TrustedID (acquired by Equifax), Texture (acquired. by Apple), and EarthLink. Lomit’s new bestselling book Lean AI,  part of Eric Ries’ “The Lean Startup” series, is now available at Amazon.

During the episode, we chat about how businesses can use AI and automation for growth. It comes at a really interesting time because COVID-19 has started to accelerate digital transformation as businesses aim to put themselves in a position to thrive when things improve. Investing in technology is a great way to do this and it can lead to cost-saving, better efficiency, and increased revenue.

We talk about the value of AI, whether its suitable for small businesses and how you can get started. Lomit also shares lots of practical examples of how IMVU is using AI and automation to increase revenue and customer satisfaction. While it sounds technical,  Lomit makes sure to break things down so that they are easy to understand for all marketers and business owners.

20 Minute Marketing x Electric House.

Electric House is a social media publisher based in Birmingham. They are best know for their amazing communities such as On The Tools (4 million Facebook followers),  DIY On A Budget (1.9 million Facebook members), and Ministry Of (2 million TikTok likes). Electric House also supports brands with social media, campaign strategy and delivery, creative content, insight, and more.

In the second of a two-part series, we chat with Lee Wilcox, CEO. During the episode, Lee shares how the idea of a construction app transitioned into On The Tools. We chat about the challenges of trying to monetize a Facebook page and how On The Tools transformed into a full-scale social media company, which we now know as Electric House. Lee also shares some of the key decisions and mistakes that he has made along the way, including the time that he set up a Nordic walking business - in Birmingham!

20 Minute Marketing x Electric House.  

Electric House is a social media publisher based in Birmingham. They are best know for their amazing communities such as On The Tools and On A Budget, which boast over four million members combined. If you've ever watched a funny construction video or a budget-saving video then chances are high that they are from these accounts. Electric House also supports brands with social media, campaign strategy and delivery, creative content, insight, and more.

In the first of a two-part series, we chat with Abbie Swindell, Head of Social. At the 2019 Social Media Marketing Awards, hosted by SocialDay, Abbie took home the Young Marketer Of The Year. So, we feel very privileged to be able to chat about social media with her. 

During the episode, we cover lots of topics that focus on socials. Abbie speaks about the value of forming communities and how this differentiates with a standard brand page. We talk about the value of TikTok and the success of a recently launched account, Ministry of Science. We discuss the impact that Instagram Reels might have. Finally, Abbie shares some quickfire tips on how you can increase engagement on your social channels.

We chat with the amazing Jen Penaluna from Bigfoot Digital, a specialist SEO agency based in Barnsley. Jen joined the team just over three years ago and has quickly risen to become the SEO Manager. 

The focus of this episode is all about search intent. We talk about why it is important and why you should avoid purely looking at search volumes to determine which keywords you want to rank for. Jen shares a great example throughout the episode as we talk about the word razor and how the SERP provides some very surprising results. We also cover keyword research, duplicate content, free tools, and more. Overall, the episode should help you to understand why it is important to conduct thorough research before identifying which keywords you want to invest your time and effort on. 

We chat with John Voung about SEO for small businesses. John is the owner of Local SEO Search, which helps small and family-run businesses by increasing their online presence through SEO and other services. Before launching his agency, John spent five years working at Yellow Pages, meaning that he has witnessed first-hand the transition from directory marketing to search engine marketing, 

During the episode, we discuss some of the reasons why it is important to invest in SEO. John shares insights on how small business owners can gain positive results while also managing their time and resources effectively. We talk about the value of focusing on longtail keywords instead of going up against international companies with large budgets and marketing teams. We also chat about on-page optimisation, ranking factors, the challenges of understanding technical SEO, and more.