Duct Tape Marketing

Ethan Beute, Chief Evangelist of BombBomb and co-author of the book Rehumanize Your Business, stops by the podcast to chat about the power of video marketing. BombBomb believes that we are all better in person, and they enable you to build a deeper connection with your prospects and customers by putting a face to your name over digital communications with the use of personalized video. Beute talks about why he's passionate about personalized video, shares use cases for the technology, and talks about how he sees personalized video changing the landscape of sales and marketing.

Dr. Melanie Katzman is a clinical psychologist and business consultant, and over the years she's noticed a lot of overlap between the hurdles her clients face in both areas of focus. People feel devalued and dispirited in their work, and a lot of that comes from issues in communication. She's brought all her advice together in a new book, Connect First, to help people everywhere find meaning and a sense of accomplishment in the work that they do. On this episode, she shares some of the 52 action steps from her book.

Today's guest on the podcast is Mike Stelzner, founder and CEO of Social Media Examiner and the producer of the Social Media Marketing World conference. Stelzner has been immersed in the world of social media for years, so he has his finger on the pulse of the biggest trends that small business owners need to be paying attention to. If your business is on social media, you don't want to miss these insights!

Joel Goldberg, public speaker on leadership and culture and longtime Kansas City Royals broadcaster, stops by the podcast to discuss the intersection of sports and business. Sure, you've heard people draw parallels between sports and business before, but when, like Goldberg, you've had a front-row seat to the world of professional sports for over 25 years, you gain some deep insights that others might miss.

Kate Bradley Chernis is the co-founder and CEO of Lately, an AI-powered social media writing tool. In today's marketing landscape, you can't stand out without creating a lot of content. But the trick is that it can't be junky content; it still needs to provide value for your followers. That's where a tool like Lately comes in. By using AI to analyze your existing long-form content, Lately is able to craft tons of high-quality short-form social media posts. Bradley Chernis shares more about how the tool works, why it's effective, and how you can start creating more meaningful content for your business.

John Livesay is a sales keynote speaker and author - he's also known as the Pitch Whisperer. He's here on the show to talk about his book Better Selling Through Storytelling, where he shares tips for applying the four essential elements of great storytelling to the art of selling. Today's businesses can't simply rely on a list of past accomplishments to sell to prospects; instead, they need to craft a compelling story to win business. Livesay demonstrates how to do just that.

Rohit Bhargava is an innovation and marketing expert and the founder of the Non-Obvious Company. The company has spawned a series of books under the Non-Obvious banner, including his latest Non-Obvious Megatrends. Bhargava discusses his process for identifying the biggest trends shaping business, shares what disruptive trends business owners need to be on the lookout for, and provides insight into how anyone can learn to spot megatrends in their industry.

How do you create content that stands out online and inspires folks to share your message with their friends? On this episode, John sits down with Tim Staples, CEO of Shareability and author of "Break Through the Noise." Staples' firm is behind the creation of numerous viral campaigns and videos, so he knows what it takes to capture attention online. In this episode he discusses how small business owners can create highly shareable content.

John sits down with Drew McLellan, who owns and runs Agency Management Institute (AMI). Most agency owners feel like they're on an island, doing the hard work of running a business without someone to guide them. AMI serves as a resource for these entrepreneurs, and in this episode, McLellan shares tons of advice for owners - from his insights on the latest marketing trends to how to manage hiring within your agency.

When it comes to marketing your business, it's not really about the tactics, like social media or email marketing. At the end of the day, it's building a fandom that helps you win the day. Marketing expert and author David Meerman Scott stops by to discuss his latest book, "Fanocracy," and shares how any business can build a fanocracy that will keep customers coming back again and again.

John Jantsch closes out the year by sharing his insights on where to focus your attention with your 2020 marketing strategy. What approaches will actually move the needle and win you new customers (or help you keep old ones) in the new year? John's got answers for you.

Lukas Haensch, former Google UX manager and founder of Pathmonk, stops by the podcast to discuss the importance of page speed. A slow-loading website might not be at the top of your list of issues to address, but it should be. Haensch discusses the potential damage a slow site can cause, and he shares how to quickly evaluate your website and eliminate any issues with load time.

Early Twitter employee and digital media expert Claire Diaz-Ortiz stops by the podcast to discuss her latest book, Social Media Success for Every Brand. Diaz-Ortiz dives into the StoryBrand pillars and the complementary SHARE model to help business owners craft social media plans that actually boost engagement (and, ultimately, sales). 

Mike Yan, CEO of chat marketing platform ManyChat, sits down with John to discuss all things chat. Yan sees chat becoming an even more integral part of every business's marketing efforts in  the next handful of years, so he has helpful tips to help anyone get started with a chat marketing program.

Deanna Singh is a speaker, author, and the founder and Chief Change Agent at Flying Elephant. Singh defines her purpose in life as shifting power to marginalized communities, and she's dedicated to doing that through all of her work, including her latest book, Purposeful Hustle. In this episode, she shares why it's important to discover your purpose, how you can find yours, and what to do once you've uncovered it.

Alisa Meredith, visual marketing expert, content marketing manager at Tailwind, and self-proclaimed "Pinterest nerd," stops by the podcast to talk about social media in general and Pinterest in particular. Pinterest is often overlooked by content marketers, but Meredith contends that, if you know how to use it, Pinterest can become an integral part in helping you meet business objectives.

Tom Cronin, the co-creator of The Portal movie and the leader of a global movement to get one billion people to meditate daily, stopped by the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. Cronin began meditating more than two decades ago, when the stresses of a job in the fast-paced world of finance started causing problems in his life. Now, he's a passionate advocate for the powerful good that can come from meditation, and he shares with us why it can not only transform your life, but humanity at large.

John sits down with Yaniv Masjedi, chief marketing officer at Nextiva. Masjedi has been with the company since its founding, and has played a part in its expansion from a cloud phone service to a unified and integrated platform for communications. He talks about the journey the company's taken over the years, and what the team has done to stay true to the essence of their core business as they grow their teams and provide new products and services.

Ron Tite, founder and CEO of the advertising agency Church + State and author of Think Do Say, sits down with John Jantsch to discuss the secrets to standing out in a crowded marketing world. Hint: it's not about leaning into the latest gimmick, it's about being authentic in what you think, do, and say.

Dr. Sabrina Starling, author of How to Hire the Best and the founder of Tap the Potential, stops by the podcast to share the secrets to effective hiring for small businesses. When you can attract top-level talent, you're able to build a happy team that enjoys work/life balance while still growing a great company.