The Marketing Companion

Mark Schaefer and Mathew Sweezey talk about some of the landmark marketing events of 2022 and project what might be important in the coming year. 

Mark Schaefer is a strategy consultant, college educator, keynote speaker and the author of 10 books including "KNOWN" and "Marketing Rebellion." His annual marketing retreat is The Uprising

Mathew Sweezey is the Co-Founder of Salesforces Web3 Studio where he helps Salesforce and their top customers transition into Web3. Mathew is also a best selling author, and avid adventurer. 

Direct download: MarkDec15.mp3
Category:Social Media Marketing -- posted at: 9:00am GMT

In five days, one million people signed up for ChatGPT, a sophisticated artificual intelligence program now broadly available in a user-friendly interface. At a minimum this upends our approach to content, social media, research, and strategy. For many, it will be the end of their careers as they've known it. 

To help us figure out what's next, I turned to a revered tech analyst, Shelly Palmer. In this special episode, Shelly explains why he things ChatGPT "changes everything," the opportunities and limitations, and his career strategy.

Mark Schaefer is a strategy consultant, college educator, keynote speaker and the author of 10 books including "KNOWN" and "Marketing Rebellion." His annual marketing retreat is The Uprising

Shelly Palmer is an author, speaker, educator, and tech analyst. 

Direct download: Mark_DEC-FINAL.mp3
Category:Social Media Marketing -- posted at: 9:17pm GMT

Mark Schaefer and Jay Acunzo re-think content marketing from the ground up, contending that that the personal brand and their trusted audiences may drive strategy more than "helpful content." 

Instead of a content department, Mark and Jay think through what a "content culture" would look like that nurtures in-house creators, establishes a space for outside industry thought leaders, and assigns full-time creative duties at an executive level. 

This is a model that is already happening at media companies. Why not transfer these best practices to the corporate and agency world?

Mark Schaefer is a strategy consultant, college educator, keynote speaker and the author of 10 books including "KNOWN" and "Marketing Rebellion." His annual marketing retreat is The Uprising

Jay Acunzo is an author, speaker, and host of the podcast Unthinkable -- the show about marketers who trusted their intuition, not the best practices, and all the unconventional, refreshing things they did to build their brands and leave their legacies. Learn more and find a Starter Pack of episodes at https://jayacunzo.com/unthinkable-podcast 

Direct download: Mark_Dec2.mp3
Category:Social Media Marketing -- posted at: 9:43am GMT

Amanda Russell relates an amazing story of how she cuts through the clutter to surround herself with powerful business relationships. This is a graduate level class about networking strategy and gaining attention of thought leaders in a busy world.
 
Some themes:
  • Deep research on potential connections
  • Creating value that cuts through the noise
  • Continual effort to build on momentum
  • Establishing a mutually-beneficial relationship
  • Focus on the individual, not the ask
  • Prioritizing follow up and follow through
  • Establishing reciprocity
  • The role of community
Mark and Amanda also discuss the phenomenon of imposter syndrome. It seems to be everywhere but neither one of them has this condition. How do they approach scary new situations and ambiguity with confidence?
 
Amanda Russell is a college educator at the University of Texas, author of The Influencer Code, and consultant on influencer marketing. 
 
Mark Schaefer is a strategy consultant, college educator, keynote speaker and the author of 10 books including "KNOWN" and "Marketing Rebellion." His annual marketing retreat is The Uprising.
 
Direct download: Mark-FINAL.mp3
Category:Social Media Marketing -- posted at: 3:45pm GMT

Mark Schaefer and Keith Jennings explore a vastly overlooked aspect of marketing -- status. While this may seem like a taboo topic, seeking status drives almost every aspect of our lives from where we live to our art, music, and brand devotion. Mark and Keith connect the dots between status and key cultural trends, especially the shifts we are seeing from Gen Z.
 
Direct download: Mark-Nov6.mp3
Category:Social Media Marketing -- posted at: 12:09pm GMT

NFTs have been in the news so much lately, and there's so much to learn! In this show, Mark Schaefer and Mathew Sweezey talk about NFTs as a tool to build community, loyalty, and brand identity through some exciting new use cases.

Direct download: MarkOct24-EDITED.mp3
Category:Social Media Marketing -- posted at: 2:06pm GMT

Social listening platforms are meaningless when it comes to young people today. Gen Z is hiding out in their digital campfires on Fortnite, Roblox and other hard-to-reach places. Mark Schaefer and Sara Wilson discuss how this new generation of tastemakers are re-defining community, marketing, and how we reach our customers.

Sara Wilson is a journalist-turned-social-marketer (former Facebook & Instagram) who works with brands, publications, and platforms like YouTube, Nike, Bumble, the New York Times and many others find, engage and grow obsessive communities across digital channels through her consultancy SW Projects. Sara also writes frequently on the subject of digital marketing trends; she coined the term "digital campfires" in the Harvard Business Review to describe the types of spaces where young audiences are gathering online today, and often speaks and leads workshops on this and other topics related to social innovation, web3, and Gen Z consumption trends to companies around the world such as Microsoft and McKinsey.  

Direct download: MarkOct5.mp3
Category:Social Media Marketing -- posted at: 1:00pm GMT

Mark Schaefer and Dennis Yu get out their crystal balls to look at the biggest impacts on marketers in the next two years. Will it be the metaverse? NFTs? Influencer marketing? The hosts don't always agree on this but you'll gain a fascinating perspective on what's coming next! 

Direct download: MarkSep-FIXED.mp3
Category:Social Media Marketing -- posted at: 5:30pm GMT

Put down your smartphone, shut down the metaverse, and close TikTok for a moment to re-visit one of the most important marketing theories of all-time, the Four Ps of marketing. Mark Schaefer and Robbie Fitzwater provide a fresh, surprising, and perhaps controversial take on what the theory means to marketers today.

Direct download: Mark_Sep11.mp3
Category:Social Media Marketing -- posted at: 9:14am GMT

Mark Schaefer and Amanda Russell both have globally-recognized brands but took drastically different routes regarding their self-promotion strategies. In this show, the co-hosts discuss their pitfalls and challenges, the need to evolve strategies over time, the limits of self-disclosure, being "on-brand," over-sharing, and more.

Direct download: Amanda-FINAL.mp3
Category:Social Media Marketing -- posted at: 9:28am GMT

Have you considered how brand and marketing messaging evolve over time? Have you noticed a trend from product attributes to values? Mark Schaefer and Keith Jennings offer a new way to think about marketing in a changing world with implications for how you and your business can stand out in a noisy world. 

Direct download: Mark_AUG14-FINAL.mp3
Category:Social Media Marketing -- posted at: 8:28am GMT

Digital marketing pioneer Dennis Yu and futurist Mark Schaefer debate the state of the marketing jobs market. The market is red hot but can it stay that way? What job skills are needed to compete now in and in the future? And how can we take advantage of technology to fill marketing jobs in creative new ways? It's a can't-miss show!

Direct download: Mark_AUG1-FINAL.mp3
Category:Social Media Marketing -- posted at: 9:43am GMT

Mark Schaefer and co-host Brooke Sellas talk about a ground-breaking new book that covers the essential online customer care strategies. They discuss the elevated emotional furor on the web today, the risk that comes with taking a stand, the impact of Web3 on customer service, and practical strategies for nurturing meaningful customer connections. 

Direct download: Mark-JULY16-FINAL.mp3
Category:Social Media Marketing -- posted at: 8:55am GMT

Mark Schaefer and Mathew Sweezey have a wide-ranging conversation exploring the truth and consequences of crypto winter, co-creating brands, NFTs as the future of CRM and much more. This is an amazing opportunity to peer into the mechanics of Web3 with an industry futurist and thought leader. 

Direct download: Mark-July4-FINAL.mp3
Category:Social Media Marketing -- posted at: 9:35am GMT

Like many of us, Mark Masters struggled to build his marketing agency. His own marketing and advertising weren't creating momentum for his business. And he felt rather empty with the transitory, transactional nature of marketing. So he tried a bold experiment. He started a learning community that revolutionized his business. This is a bold discussion that may point to the future of marketing.

Direct download: MARK_FINAL_20.mp3
Category:Social Media Marketing -- posted at: 9:19am GMT

Mark Schaefer and Amanda Russell dive into their consulting practice secrets. How do they keep the clients coming in? When do you "fire" a customer? What is their best consulting advice? All this and more in this jam-packed episode. 

Direct download: MarkJune6-FINAL.mp3
Category:Social Media Marketing -- posted at: 9:12am GMT

Mark Schaefer and Keith Jennings discuss a creative new way to think about products and services that opens up new marketing strategy possibilities.
Direct download: Mark-May22-FINAL.mp3
Category:Social Media Marketing -- posted at: 7:58am GMT

Dennis Yu just published the bestselling book on TikTok and had unprecedented access to the inner workings of the company. This is a fun show filled with surprises, insights, and practical ideas. 

Direct download: MARK_May9.mp3
Category:Social Media Marketing -- posted at: 8:31am GMT

Mark Schaefer and Brooke Sellas explore the vital role of conversation in the marketing mix. How has the pandemic changed customer care? AI? The metaverse? How are marketing leaders grossly misunderstanding the connection between sales and marketing conversations? All this and more in this fascinating episode! 

Direct download: Mark-APR25.mp3
Category:Social Media Marketing -- posted at: 3:24pm GMT

Traditional marketing is fracturing before our eyes. Web3, NFTs, and the metaverse will become the standard way of connecting to a new generation. Mathew Sweezey helps us navigate this bold new world and understand the implications of a post-cookie, post-SEO, post-content world. 
Direct download: MarkApril11.mp3
Category:Social Media Marketing -- posted at: 4:16pm GMT

Is it possible to create a meaningful and effective digital presence for even boring companies? Commodity products? This is a surprising discussion between Mark Schaefer and Jay Acunzo that will push your brain in some new directions! Let's take a fresh look at marketing boring companies and products!

Direct download: Mark-March28.mp3
Category:Social Media Marketing -- posted at: 9:06am GMT

Amanda Russell occupies the epicenter of influence marketing and in this show, we cover the dirty secrets, the corruption, and the true opportunity for influence marketing in the digital era. You'll also hear a world premiere announcement of a significant new development that could have a far-ranging impact on the marketing world!

Direct download: MARK_MARCH14-FINAL.mp3
Category:Social Media Marketing -- posted at: 6:30pm GMT

This is an epic discussion between Mark Schaefer and Keith Jennings exploring 50 years of cognitive research and a conclusion that it is almost impossible to change a person's deeply-held beliefs. Certainly this is a massive marketing challenge. But at least under three conditions, change is possible. And in fact, we may be in the perfect storm of opportunity. Get out your pen and paper. You're going to be taking notes on this one! 

Direct download: Mark-Feb26.mp3
Category:Social Media Marketing -- posted at: 8:25am GMT

Marketing legend Sandy Carter joins the show to talk about the hottest topic in marketing: Web3. Is it over-hyped, the future of our field, or a little of both. Tune in to hear Mark Schaefer and Sandy sort it out. 

Direct download: Mark_FEB14.mp3
Category:Social Media Marketing -- posted at: 9:08am GMT

In this revealing show, Mark Schaefer and Brooke Sellas look at the rapidly changing world of civil activism and "woke" movements on company culture and marketing strategy. We are in an unprecedented time when outside forces unrelated to our company and product can influence marketing strategy in unprecedented ways. This is an unmissable episode

Direct download: Mark-Jan31.mp3
Category:Social Media Marketing -- posted at: 2:26pm GMT

Mark Schaefer and Mathew Sweezey apply a rapid-fire approach to marketing trend analysis in this fast-paced show. What's hot, what's not? Is it social media, content marketing, podcasts, web3? You won't want to miss this expert analysis. 

Direct download: 2ND_TRY.mp3
Category:Social Media Marketing -- posted at: 5:24pm GMT

Mark Schaefer and Jay Acunzo break down their creative journeys and the relationship between money and creativity. This episode is full of unique insights as they talk about resources versus resourcefulness, the bane of money, the future of creativity, and the poetic inspiration of "Rocky."

Direct download: MarkJan-FINAL2022.mp3
Category:Social Media Marketing -- posted at: 2:52pm GMT

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