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Life & Work

"What works? What's BS?" with podcaster Matt B. Davis

3/31/2021

 
How do you make the "ask"? Maybe it's simpler than it seems. On this episode of the Grounded Content podcast I talk to my friend Matt B. Davis.  He's not an expert in marketing, or personal branding, or networking. He's the podcast host who created Obstacle Racing Media, a podcast & media business that has grown from a hobby to a full time job.  One that supports his family. He and I talk about this stuff a lot - about what we do to be successful in the independent media world, to market our shows (and for me my client's shows,) to market ourselves, and our products. What works, what's sketchy? What's the latest BS being peddled out there?

The reason I really invited him on is because he calls me out on my BS. This episode is really a "spirited" conversation between friends. It may be more conversational than some of the others, but there are some solid tactics and take aways in there too.
Curious About Podcast Coaching?
Matt's empire ​Obstacleracingmedia.com
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Editor Kris Zarnoch

"How the Guy That Get's Shxt Done Does It" with Steve D. Sims

3/22/2021

 
Steve D. Sims is my guest on theGrounded Content podcast. He's called "Real life Wizard of Oz," that's because he gets things done. I recommend his book "Bluefishing" if you haven't read it. But like most successful and interesting people, he's checked the box withBluefishing, and he's moved on to new things.

Steve was known as the guy that could get anything done creating incredible experiences for people. But as you know, to get anything good done, you need other people, and you need to convince them to do those things. That's what Steve talks about. Essentially, it's branding, it's marketing, and its relationships.

We cover a lot of things in this conversation including the true importance (from a practical and a moral standpoint) of just being yourself, some great networking tips, and some practical personal branding and sales tactics. Steve says, "anyone that did anything fantastical, didn't do it by copying everyone else."
More Grounded Content episodes and a place for your feedback.

Thank You:
to Jeffrey Madoff for the introduction, check out his book"Creative Careers"
to my EditorKris Zarnock

Steve D. Sims Links:
The Facebook Page Steve mentions An Entrepreneur's Advantage with Steve Sims
Steve's book Bluefishing
Steve's Instagram
Listen on your favorite podcast app

"How to Evaluate Your Creative Content" with Marion Abrams

3/17/2021

 
Rich Cardona shares tons of useful insights on his show Leadership Locker. It was a pleasure to be on his show and to share fun stories and talk about what makes great content. I'm looking forward to sharing some of his wisdom soon on the Grounded Content podcast .

"The Formula for Shareable Content" with Michael Roderick

3/14/2021

 
Michael Roderick joined me on the Groundeded Content podcast this week. How do you create content that others will share?  What if they would share the content without even being asked?  Michael Roderick has discovered a framework that you can use - whether you want to be talked about (in a good way) when you leave the room, get people to share your podcast, or need to accelerate the spread of your message.  Of course, as always, it's within the context of grounded, genuine conversations and we touch on the big picture philosophy and ethics behind the tactics.
Listen to the full epiosde
Listen on your favorite podcast app

There are So Many Brands of Everything! With Hilary and Amy from Brandsmiths

2/4/2021

 
Amy Swift Crosby and Hilary Laffer host the Brandsmiths podcast, join me on Grounded Content and we talk about EVERYTHING.

“Think about how many chocolate brands there were 10 years ago? Now think about how many there are today. Think about how many beers there were, water. Think about all the popcorn brands. How about self-help brands, and nutrition supplements. We're living in a world where not only is there more of everything, but the channels are endless”

The interview starts with some basic background about brand, what it is, and especially what it isn’t.  But then we start digging deeper. Their show, the Brandsmiths podcast, is different from other branding podcasts.  It’s a working session where they, on air give, advice to businesses. About halfway through our podcast interview they turned things around on me and started to give me advice on Grounded Content.

We really dig into why, especially now,  we should be thinking about this.  And ... they have some great suggestions for making a Grounded Content better.  

Later in the episode, I tell kind of an origin story about one of the client experiences that started me thinking about where these lines are, and what Amy and Hillary call the ultimate and inevitable paradox of selling.  The lines between manipulation and persuasion. 

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CREDITS:
Guests Hilary Laffer and Amy Swift Crosby "The Brandsmiths Podcast"
Editor: Kris Zarnoch
Show Host: Marion Abrams

Are You Doing Linkedin Right?

12/30/2020

 
Kate Paine shares advice for Linkedin, but also for understanding how to present yourself online in a broader sense. She shares Linkedin tactics and strategies, but her advice will help you grow your brand on every platform.
Listen to the complete episode:
Find Kate atStanding Out Online

B. Jeffrey Madoff on "Grounded Content" Podcast

10/29/2020

 
Jeffrey Madoff has pivoted from one creative career to the next. After success in the fashion business, he moved to film and commercials, and today is a teacher, playwright and author. Today on Grounded Content dig into brand.  What is it, what are the best and worst examples, and as always - where do ethics fit in. With examples from Nike, Uber, Patagonia, Ralph Lauren, Coke and others Madoff explains the elements of a brand and their importance not only in selling products but in guiding a company's growth strategy. 
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Find out more about his book "Creative Careers" featuring creatives like Ralph Lauren, Damond John, Joy-Ann Reid, Kathy Ireland and Tim Ferriss
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Jessica Kupferman on "Grounded Content" Podcast

10/14/2020

 
Jessica Kupferman , the co-founder of the largest online and in-person community for women podcasters, and an expert in community building and podcast marketing, joined me on the Grounded Content podcast.  I asked her how important  diversity is in marketing? What is the most effective way to grow your podcast? Where is the line between selling and sleaze? And we talk about selling itchy overstock T-shirts and metaphorical underwear sizes.  Hear more Grounded Content here.
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Joe Polish talks Marketing, Ethics & Addiction

9/22/2020

 
I'm honored to have Joe Polish as the the second guest on Grounded Content Podcast. He learned marketing to survive. Forged in fire his techniques are tested and proven. Joe co-hosts the "I Love Marketing Podcast," and says "I never thought I would consider [marketing] one of the most important ingredients to not only business success, but life success." Joe also founded the Genius Network and now operates Genius Recovery. We talk tactics, ethics, addiction, and recovery.
Find out more about the show and give feedback HERE.
​
Subscribe or listen:

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Listen to the complete episode:

"7 Ways Chris Brogan Won't Kill You if You Listen to This Episode"

9/7/2020

 
Grounded Content - Advertising, Marketing & Content Gets Real
With the launch of the "Grounded Content" podcast, I finally get to ask the best minds in marketing, messaging, advertising & content creation all the questions I want! In this clip from episode one my guest  Chris Brogan, author of the classic book "Trust Agents," founder of StoryLeader and host of the "Backpack Show" tells me  why he doesn't like the term "authenticity."  The episode title is a nod to fear driven sales tactics and listicles as well as Chris' quirky sense of humor.
Chris: I don't like the word authenticity, because I think that the most people trying to use it, utterly lack it and they are trying to emulate authenticity, which kind of goes against the word, right? So let's pretend I'm using it for now just because you like it.
Marion :  No, no, no, pick a better word. I pick a better word
Chris:  Just be helpful. You know, the advice I started giving in 2006. Anytime someone says whatever advice if you ask me this question, 20 minutes or now I'm gonna say be helpful.
Listen to the podcast at HERE or subscribe on your favorite podcast app:
Listen on Apple Podcasts

Social Media Lessons from a Statewide Political Campaign

9/13/2016

 
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Over a 10 month period this year, I consulted for a gubernatorial campaign on their digital goals, social media training, social media tactics, and managing their paid social media. Here are some of the lessons I took away.

Sometimes You Don't Have the Data You Want
Data is important, but it's not everything. If you're selling a product it's pretty straightforward, you can measure the success of every move you make against the sales of that product. In the online universe, success can be a matter of testing and interpreting the data to hone in on the audience and message that will generate the most sales at the lowest cost. In an election ultimately there's only one measurement that matters … votes. As we've seen in national elections, polling data is not reliable, the only solid data is election results - that information comes too late.

You Still Need Goals
Even though you have uncertainty you still you need to set goals and measure progress to be effective. We learned to set multiple goals and change them throughout the campaign.
  • Goal 1: Gain credibility. Measure: page likes, web traffic & email sign-ups generated.
  • Goal 2: Get and keep voter interest. Measure: engagement.
  • Goal 3: Get out the vote. Measure: reach.


Numbers Can Be Deceiving - Look Beyond the Numbers
If your goal is engagement and you see a spike, before you celebrate take a closer look to see if it's generated by positive or negative comments. A high relevance score and a low cost per engagement from Facebook might be misleading. Be sure you understand what's behind the numbers. If you set a Facebook campaign optimized for an action, take a closer look at how often that ad is being delivered to voters. How many voters are you turning off on the way to generating that click? This is why a hands on human approach is so important to paid social.

The Only Constant is Change
Be ready to make changes at any time. Humans just aren't as predictable as we like to tell ourselves. Take your research and make your best guess at what will work, test it and adjust. Then do it again... and again. Once you have it all figured out, expect everything to change as news events develop. Even if you've got the perfect system, if it runs more than a few months there's a good chance your social media platforms will change (for example Facebook added new audience targeting options and lead ads during our run.)

People Love to See themselves
Some of our must popular shares were photos from events our candidate attended. They say all politics is local, that means lots of visiting. The best way to win votes – meet voters. On social media, you can amplify the power of these visits by sharing photos of the candidate visiting neighborhood landmarks and leaders.

Be Nimble
We had a fantastic team, and we needed it. Keep a cache of engaging posts at the ready for slow days, there won't be many of them. The rest of the time be ready to react quickly. Responding to voter comments not only allowed us to set the record straight, it gave a good sense of what was important to our audience and made them feel heard.

Sometimes the Audience is Too Small
Common advice about paid advertising on Facebook pretty much boils down to finding the audience that allows for the lowest cost of customer acquisition. Our case was different. There's a finite set of people that are likely to vote. That's the target audience, like it or not. Even a statewide election, in Vermont anything we did to segment that audience by issue, demographics or location usually created an audience so small it became ineffective for Facebook campaigns. If you do define micro audience segments be sure to keep advertising budgets small, it's very easy to over saturate.

So what?
So how does all this apply to your next client? Every client is like a puzzle. You start with your gut instinct (informed by the client's research and experience) and then you start testing. It's the process we went through to understand how to effectively manage social media for this political campaign that is the takeaway.



    Back to Blog
    CREATIVE RESOURCES
    On March 27th I was envious of the "pause" to reassess and learn I kept hearing about. I was fortunate enough to still be working, so I committed to a more active blog.  This is my chance to think out loud about podcasting, messaging, story, nature, family  and life.
    ~ Marion Abrams

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  • Home
  • Blog
  • Bio
  • Contact
  • Grounded Content Podcast
  • CONTENT
    • Podcasts
    • About Creativity
    • How to: YouTube & Podcasting
    • Interviewing Technique
    • PROJECTS
      • Vermont Spotlight
      • Flood Bound Film
      • Farm & Wilderness
      • Forging Spartans Series