When a company or agency looks to grow their client base, they often start blogging. While it’s true that with the right content marketing strategy, you can generate leads from Google, it also happens to be extremely competitive.
There are 600 million blogs on the World Wide Web and 700k podcasts. This imbalance in numbers highlights an opportunity for growth. Podcast hosting services like Podbean and Buzzsprout, mean it’s easy to get started. From there, all you need is a clear strategy in place to promote your content. Here are five tips, which should help you do just that.
The underlying formula for a successful podcast is to start with an interesting premise for your episode. Without a clear hook and a reason for your audience to engage with your content, there is very little reason why a listener will tune in to your episodes.
Coming up with solid content ideas for each episode is important, as it’s far easier to retain listeners to your podcast, and get word of mouth referrals than it is to acquire new listeners in the first place. With this obvious tip out of the way, we can focus on some methods for promoting your podcast.
The hardest part of any product launch is having a list of people in place to hit up when your offer goes live. Launching a new podcast is no exception.
There are a couple of different ways to grow an email list for the launch of your podcast. If you’re already running a website, a squeeze page to generate new leads is an obvious starting point. Other options include using PPC to send traffic to your page. The best platform for this kind of PPC campaign would undoubtedly be FB.
People like to binge on content. You only need to look at the success of Netflix to realise the truth of this. It’s something Pat Flynn was quick to realise when he launched his podcast.
“I actually received negative reviews from people who had listened to the first episode and were upset that there was only one.”
Having several episodes that people can listen to will help cement the interest of listeners. This will increase the likelihood of listeners coming back to listen to future episodes.
To maximise your reach, leverage the content you created for your podcast through multiple marketing channels. On your social media, do things like:
You should also create a file of social assets for your guests. Create things like:
Finally, consider how you can use the episode on different mediums. For example, by transcribing an episode and calling it “interview with GUEST NAME,” there’s a chance that your content will rank on Google. This is useful if you’re interviewing a famous person. You can also turn your podcast into a video and upload it to Youtube, which will result in the same benefits.
As a podcaster, you are part of an extensive community. This community contains people who have audiences that are far larger than yours, alongside podcasters with a similar-sized audience to you.
By collaborating and building relationships with people in this community, you can organically grow your audience. Keep in mind as you network, that a large part of your success will depend on the value you bring. Don’t just ask for things and offer nothing in return.
Networking should be an important and natural part of your podcast marketing strategy.
Launching a podcast is a proven way to engage and grow an audience for your business or agency. Like most things in life, growing a broad and engaged audience will take time and a lot of hard work. Hopefully, by following some of the tips laid out in this article, you’ll be in a good position to launch your podcast with a bang in 2020.
For many, B2B PR is a phantom concept – how can getting press coverage convert to B2B (business to business) acquisition? Why would the press want to cover businesses that work in niche markets? How would I even go about getting coverage?
With misconceptions about B2B PR spreading like wildfire, we at OggaDoon are here to put out your fires and debunk the 3 misconceptions we encounter the most. You can trust us: we secured over 188m reach for one B2B client in 6 months.
It’s easy to believe the press aren’t interested in a seemingly mundane story. But what’s mundane for one person is gold dust to another, and B2B PR is all about matching story with niche interest. Trust that if someone has subscribed to MIT Technology Review, they will be interested in your tech innovation, and that press title will be interested in you!
Your average day is disruptive to someone else, so let us do the hard work and though our cutting edge B2B PR strategy we will match you with the perfect title and audience.
‘The press’ is such a broad term often synonymous with national titles like The Guardian, The Independent, The Sun and the BBC, who care more about current affairs and human stories than business news.
But ‘the press’ is much more than that. There’s niche press in every corner of the UK with senior employees at potential client businesses reading every page and our B2B PR campaigns covers everything. Target these and your business will be seen by top decision makers and influential employees – as well as future investors and new hires.
If you think 51 pieces of coverage in one year and 89m+ reach in 12 months isn’t worth spending time on, think again. For previous SaaS clients we’ve delivered impactful B2B PR campaigns that have proven to make a difference. For Yellowdog, 1 creative content piece by OggaDoon helped to land a £15,000 project.
B2B PR at its best is all about the human side to a business, creating disruption and getting creative. Whether it’s your work, your founder, or your values, we can find an angle to your B2B business story. From this we can create a bespoke PR campaign that generates reach and most importantly, converts your business customers.
Sound good? To get started with your own B2B PR campaign get in touch by dropping us an email or by giving us a call on 07970233490.
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Want more? Read the full interview to find out about Keri’s thoughts on Bristol, her work with Cancer Research UK and why she decided to take the freelance route as a social media consultant.
What’s your favourite place in Bristol/this area?
Finzels Reach, hands down. Spicer + Cole is a great place for meetings and getting in a few hours of work over a coffee (or three). And Left Handed Giant is a great place to head in the evening (they have gin and tonic on tap – blows my mind!). They also have a great event space too – lovely local agency Maya recently held an art exhibition there with local artists to raise money for mental health charities: OTR and Bristol Mind.
Finzels is becoming a real creative hub too, with BDH and Channel 4 already calling it home and a co-working space due to open next year. Exciting times!
What are you most proud of as a business?
Definitely my work with Cancer Research UK, during which I was the social media lead for its mass participation events (such as Race for Life). I focused on driving event entries, encouraging fundraising, raising awareness of cancer prevention and educating our followers on our scientists’ work. While I love working for brands, working at CRUK allowed me to truly make a difference. I was able to track how much of the money raised through events could be attributed to social media – and it ran into the hundreds of thousands during my time there.
I also worked on the #nomakeupselfie campaign, which raised £8million in just a few days. The selfie challenge wasn’t actually planned – we saw it trending on Twitter and thought we’d jump on it and see what happens, and it just flew. A great example of being in the right place at the right time and capitalising on it.
What gadget could you not live without?
I couldn’t live without my phone (not a massive shock, coming from a social media consultant!). My favourite app is Twitter, I feel like it’s the only social platform that’s kept its original essence. It’s not bloated with ads, and the focus remains on the users. Of course, there are huge downsides – much needs to be done to combat trolls and bots. But it’s still the first place I turn to when something big happens. I love the drama! I’m also a big believer in curating your own social media feeds for self-care; I’ve got all sorts of words muted (‘Snowflake’ – ugh) and focus on following funny and interesting accounts.
What exciting plans have you got coming up?
Lots! I’m delivering an Instagram workshop with Bristol Media and Jess Siggers, giving a 2020 Social Media Trends talk, and I’m also excited for our next Glug Bristol event. We’re focusing on creativity for good, with talks from Ben Akers, Epoch and The Bard Collective, with all proceeds from the event donated to Caring in Bristol.
Whose work do you admire and why?
I want to give a massive shout out to Joyann Boyce for the work she’s doing to raise awareness of diversity in the industry. We need to make some big changes – and I’d fully encourage you to get in touch with her to start that discussion.
Also big up Tiny Giant for its brilliant AI experiments, McCann for its backwards poems campaign for domestic abuse charity Refuge, and Rubber Republic for its hilarious videos.
What encouraged you to go freelance when you first started out?
I’d always thought about going freelance; the freedom of being able to choose who I worked for, and when and where I worked were always attractive. But taking the jump was always a bit too scary; it was safer to stay employed. But then, at the end of 2017, I was made redundant – so I didn’t have much choice! I figured that I’d try freelancing out and see how it went, and two years later, I’m still going.
It’s definitely a challenge, but I’ve learnt a LOT. I’ve also been able to diversify. In my previous role, I managed the social media delivery team – so most of my focus was on creative strategy, client services and line management. Since going freelance, I’ve expanded my services into training, workshops and public talks, as well as offering general consultancy. And because I manage my time, I’ve also been able to carve out invaluable space to explore other projects, such as launching Glug Bristol. I never thought I’d run events, but here we are – 12 Glugs later!
Keen to feature your business? If you’d like to be part of our Featured Member series, get in touch for more information.
Digitally-centred marketing, shopper & sales promotion agency, Activation, has announced that it has appointed Claire Moyne as Client Services Director. Previously the Managing Director at Bristol-based Edo, a digital customer experience consultancy, Claire has joined to support Activation with it’s ambitious growth plans, leading and developing client relationships whilst heading the client services function within the agency as a member of the senior management team.
With 23% growth last year, and following a number of recent wins, Activation has a number of exciting brands on its books, and leading these relationships will be an area of focus for Claire. The agency also launched it’s reworked proposition in the summer, with a uniquely differentiated offering in digitally-centred brand, shopper and promotional marketing. This proposition is generating interest in the grocery sector, leading to a growing new business pipeline.
Matt Ramsay, MD of Activation comments – Claire brings with her a unique mix of skills with her experience in leadership, digital, customer and client experience and grocery brand promotions – we know Claire will be an asset to the business and we’re really looking forward to working together and introducing her to our clients, where her abilities will help us grow and improve our overall business. I’m delighted to welcome Claire to the A-Team
With this role, the agency has also embraced flexible working, with Claire also working the role around her recent purchase of a coffee shop in Bristol!
Liz Gadd, Co-Founder and Recruiter at Moxie and Mettle, is an experienced recruiter in PR, Communications, Digital, Social, Creative and Marketing.
In this workshop Liz will share with you some of her 30 years of experience placing freelance PR, marketing, creative and communications professionals. This includes…
Liz looks at CVs, Linked In, direct approaches, and general hints and tips about how to get the right work for you. It’s real world career advice with plenty of knowledge to share about what it’s really like and what really works in finding freelance work with clients and new job opportunities. Liz will also share how to create a perfect 10 second introduction for you and your services, when talking to prospective clients and new contacts.
This workshop will take place on Tuesday 20th November from 0930-1200 at The Ivy Clifton Brasserie, 42-44 Caledonia Place, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 4DN. Tickets are £20+VAT for Bristol Media members and £30+VAT for non-members. A light breakfast is included in the ticket price. Booking is via Eventbrite.
AMBITIOUS has been appointed by Whistle Punks Urban Axe Throwing to support the opening of its fourth UK and largest venue to date in Bristol with PR led marketing.
Founded in 2016, Whistle Punks is the first brand to bring axe throwing to the UK high street. Set to open mid-November, Whistle Punks Bristol boasts six lanes, a pumping soundtrack, a bar and a Pizzarova residency. An example of the continued growth of competitive socialising, Whistle Punks has designed an unforgettable experience to bring different people together in city spaces and inspire interaction between strangers. People are encouraged to step outside their comfort zone and try something new.
The brief for AMBITIOUS focuses on building the brand in Bristol and core inbound local markets as well as supporting launch activity including outreach to online and offline influencers.
Jemma Morgan, Marketing Director of Whistle Punks, said, “AMBITIOUS has a wealth of local knowledge, connections and corporate and consumer market experience.”
Sarah Woodhouse, Director, AMBITIOUS commented: “Whistle Punks has captured the zeitgeist for competitive socialising and we are looking forward to creating a successful market entry campaign.”
Whistle Punks sessions are 70 minutes long and take place on a lane consisting of two targets, each lane fits up to 10 players. The session begins with tips and coaching on how to safely and successfully sling an axe by expert instructors who stay with the group throughout the session. Once the practice is over, the competitive spirit kicks in and a tournament takes place in each lane. As soon as a winner is announced, then it’s celebration time in the adjoining bar.
Whistle Punks was the first to enter the UK market with axe throwing as a competitive social activity in a dedicated venue. Founded in 2016, the brand now has four locations across the UK in London, Manchester, Birmingham and the new premises in Bristol, which will boast no less than six axe throwing lanes.
Whistle Punks is leading the way in providing an unforgettable experience, which is all about bringing together new and different individuals and connecting them through the activity of axe throwing. Players reap the social and emotional benefits of a shared, competitive activity delivered in a safe environment.
Whistle Punks has recently received funding from Edition Capital, who are helping to fund the business’ expansion with the opening of further sites across the UK.
Whistle Punks was co-founded and is co-owned and managed by lifelong friends John Nimmons and Jools Whitehorn. After successfully running Battle Bows and London Bubble Football for a number of years, John and Jools founded Whistle Punks after witnessing the new boom of social competitive activities first hand.
Sustainability is a key Whistle Punks brand value. For every Exclusive Lane package booked, Whistle Punks donates £2 to Trees for Cities, a charity that plants trees in urban areas and communities across the UK.
For more informaiton about the launch and opening offers, please contact Greg at AMBITIOUS – [email protected]
The social space is constantly in flux. Content and digital techniques that were sweeping in the “likes” last month, may fail to win over those customers today. For companies – especially those without a full marketing team – it can be hard to keep up with these latest trends and updates. Don’t worry though… we at JMPUK have you covered. Here’s a list of some of this week’s latest updates across various social platforms which we think your brand should take note of.
Instagram is testing allowing businesses to turn their organic shopping posts into ads using Ads Manager, further integrating e-commerce into the feed. With over 130 million accounts tapping to reveal tags from Instagram shopping posts every month, this feature will make it even easier for users to shop the very moment inspiration hits.
Facebook is also testing out a Dynamic Ad variant. This will allow users to discover a product within the newsfeed and then purchase from the ad without ever leaving the platform. Dangerous for us shopaholics… but a golden opportunity for e-commerce brands!
“Businesses have found success with shopping posts and will be able to reach new targeted audiences in a way that’s familiar to people,” said a Facebook spokesperson.
The popular professional network site has added a “Find an Expert” post option, which looks to simplify the process of finding freelancers and professionals. Users can fill in a series of fields, detailing the service they are looking for. This comes after LinkedIn rolled out the “service listings” profile feature in July, allowing freelancers and SMBs to be found in search results for the services they provide. Excellent news for brands wanting to find great talent.
Ever found yourself frustrated with Twitter’s photo uploading feature? Well, you certainly aren’t the only one. Fortunately for us, the social media platform has launched the option to rearrange attached images through a simple drag and drop process. Now you can order your fantastic photos just how you desire!
Facebook is releasing new features and metrics which can be used by marketers to advance their video marketing efforts. This includes:
So there we have it – JMPUK’s round-up of this week’s social media updates. Let us know your thoughts on these, and don’t forget to check back for more!
Instagram has come a long way since its launch in 2010. What used to be a tool for artistically inclined users wanting to take filtered Polaroid-like photos, has now become the source for users to share, discover, and shop aplenty. The picture-sharing app just keeps on evolving. Let’s take a look at some of the platforms most recent updates.
Earlier this month, it was announced that a new feature will be coming that marketers everywhere have been longing for: the ability to schedule content for feed posts and IGTV.
Using the ‘Creator Studio’ by Facebook, users will now be able to add an Instagram account and schedule native content (not sponsored) to post at any time you wish.
This is fantastic news for time-constrained marketers who have, up until now, had to rely on third-party tools to schedule posts – with most of these options being limited due to Instagram’s API restrictions.
It seems that this new scheduling feature has been rolling out to users other the past month, so if you don’t have it yet – hold tight! You likely will soon.
The platform is also trying to think more about its social responsibility. In May, it was reported that Instagram had been testing removing the ability to see how many likes a post has in order to make Instagram a healthier place.
This month, the platform confirmed this test and announced that this was being rolled out to users in six more regions. With the removal of likes, this means that comments will become incredibly important for social proof.
While these tests are just tests at the moment – the fact that the platform has rolled it out to more regions is something to take note of.
In addition to this, the platform has just introduced a new sticker which makes it easy for users to donate to charity through Stories.
The platform recently announced that it will soon start placing ads within the Explore page, where users go to discover new content matching their interests.
These ads won’t appear on the Explore grid itself, but they will show once a user taps on an Explore post and then begins scrolling through the discovery feed.
As the Explore page is where users are really open to discovery, this makes this new ad format very exciting as people here will be most receptive to advertising.
The state of Instagram is one of constant evolution. And so, it is vital for marketers and influencers to keep up-to-date with the latest trends in order to get the most out of the much-loved platform.
The 2019 series of ITV’s Love Island came to an end on Monday and the contestants were released back into the world of social media, where they can expect to earn potentially astronomical amounts of money as ‘influencers’ by promoting brands, products and services through their social media accounts.
To help the Islanders navigate the regulatory dos and don’ts of online advertising, ITV in partnership with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) recently published this Cheat Sheet to Declaring Ads on Social Media, which provides a useful and accessible summary of ASA rules for anyone planning on using social media for commercial advertising. It’s a timely reminder of the key points to be aware of when advertising on social media.
What rules apply to advertising on social media?
A number of different regulations apply to advertising on social media, although the key rules which apply are the ASA’s CAP Code rules and consumer protection legislation, such as the Consumer Protection Act 2015, which is regulated by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). These rules apply to anyone who places an advert on social media.
Additional rules also apply if you are promoting age-restricted products (such as gambling or alcohol), food or health supplements, or running giveaways or prize draws
What is an advert?
In the context of social media, an ‘advert’ can include any of the following:
What does the CAP Code require?
The CAP Code states that adverts on social media must be “obviously identifiable” as such. This means that consumers should be able to recognise that something is an advert without having to click on it or otherwise interact with it. To comply with this rule, ASA advice suggests that:
What does consumer protection legislation require?
Consumer protection legislation requires that adverts placed on social media do not contain false or misleading information. This does not stop you from expressing an opinion – e.g. ‘this is the best makeup I have ever used’ – but it does stop you from expressing a fact unless you can back it up – e.g. if you say ‘this makeup is produced in the UK’ and it was actually produced in Spain, you could be in breach of consumer protection law.
What happens if someone breaches these rules?
If someone places an advert on social media which breaches the CAP Code rules, the consumer can complain to the ASA. The ASA will investigate and, if the advertiser is found guilty, the ASA can apply a number of sanctions, including requiring that the advert be withdrawn, that the advertiser be banned from placing adverts on social media, or that their adverts be vetted before they are placed online.
If someone breaches consumer protection legislation, they could expect to be sued by the consumer or investigated by the CMA, which can lead to sanctions including significant fines.
For further information, please contact Jennifer Agate at [email protected] or +44 20 7263 0011.
Social Media Week – a global conference held in over 25 cities worldwide – returned to Bristol in June for the third year running. Our content apprentice, Izzy, had an access-all-areas pass as part of the digital squad to capture content from the week. It was a packed schedule of over 40 sessions, and Izzy has listed the four highlight events from her week…
1. Social Media Trends 2020
“To kick off day 1 of Social Media Week, I attended the sold-out ‘Social Media Trends 2020’ with Drew Benvie from Battenhall. What I found particularly interesting about this talk was trend 2, ‘Insta reality’.
Insta reality is when Instagram users step away from the fake, idealised, seemingly perfect post and instead show a more real and authentic perspective; for example, a ‘woke-up-like-this’ selfie with yesterday’s makeup and bed hair. I for one am exhausted of cherry picking through my camera roll, so I’m excited to see if Insta reality will really take off.
2. Sketchnoting for social
One my favourite events from the conference was Liam Williams’ workshop. I’m a huge fan of doodling, so learning that it’s actually a more effective way of making notes than plain words was great news to me.
In the session, Liam talked us through the different aspects of sketchnoting: shapes, lines, text, icons and faces. At the end we were put the test to create our own sketchnote, and while I’m not an expert just yet, it did teach me that it’s not about drawing ability, it’s about listening and that we should all ditch the lined paper! Look out for some Vision keynote sketchnotes in the coming months…
3. Harnessing the Power of Play
A more niche event, Fat Media’s ‘Harnessing the power of play’ was all about gamification. I was quite shocked to learn that using game-based content creates much more engagement than standard images and videos as users can stay for 30 seconds plus on a game but might spend just a second on a photo. It definitely got me thinking about some ways Bristol Media could implement gamification into our marketing operations.
4. The Social Detail – Closing Party
At the closing party on Thursday night, SMW Bristol ambassadors talked through their highlights. Almost all of them made the connection that the most engaging events were the ones that inspired change. Joyann Boyce from The Social Detail gave an amazing talk about inclusive marketing and then went on to talk on the ‘Activism in the social and digital age’ panel alongside Pussy Riot last minute!
There was so much to take away from both these sessions, but the one key thing is this: ‘Being inclusive in your content should be standard. Being representative of the people around us and the community we live in should be the norm’ – Joyann Boyce.
While I’m glad I won’t be running from venue to venue in the rain again anytime soon, I am so grateful to have been part of the experience. I’ve taken away new skills and knowledge that I can put into practise moving forward in my career. I’ll definitely be signing up to take part again next year and would 100% recommend that everyone in our industry get involved in some way, shape or form as a speaker, sponsor, digital squad member, or just attendee. Bring on Social Media Week Bristol 2020!”
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