Top 10 Marketing Podcasts

Today, more of us get our news and industry updates from digital channels. So, it’s no surprise that the popularity of podcasts is on the rise: According to Nielsen, 50% of all U.S. homes are podcast fans, with more than 525,000 active podcasts and over 18.5 million episodes (Fast Company 2018).

With all that content out there, how do you know which marketing podcasts are worth your time? This Entrepreneur article https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/293333 outlines the top 28 marketing podcasts for entrepreneurs. The list is comprehensive and, in addition to marketing thought leadership, also includes a host of freelance and business resources.

If you don’t have time to sift through all 28, following is my curated top10 list (with active links and summaries borrowed directly from the article): 

1. Unthinkable Podcast
One of the hottest new marketing podcasts out there, Jay Acunzo sails Unthinkable through the murky waters of content marketing and how entrepreneurs can create truly interesting and valuable content without falling prey to “hacks” and shortcuts.

2. The Marketing Companion
Boldly claiming to be the “world’s most entertaining marketing podcast," The Marketing Companion claims to bring laugh-out-loud comedy, “celebrity” guest appearances and cutting-edge marketing insights each episode. Hosts Mark Schaefer and Tom Webster combine to bring expertise and commentary which has attracted thousands of subscribers.

3. Six Pixels of Separation
Mirum President, Mitch Joel, brings you digital insights and media hacking insights and provocation from his “always on/always” connected world.

4. Social Pros Podcast
Social Pros is one of the most popular marketing podcasts, and was recently named the best podcast at the Content Marketing Awards. Listen for real insight on the real people doing real work in social media. You get the inside stories and behind-the-scenes secrets about how companies like Ford, Dell, IBM, ESPN and dozens more staff, operate and measure their social-media programs.

5. Duct Tape Marketing
Based on the book of the same name, this podcast covers simple, effective and affordable small-business marketing strategies.

6. Content Warfare
Content Warfare help brands and businesses find their audience, tell their story and win the battle for attention online. Host Ryan Hanley helps you create content that converts each episode.

7. Marketing Over Coffee
Marketing Over Coffee is audio on demand that covers both classic and new marketing. Hosts John J. Wall and Christopher S. Penn record the show in a local coffee shop every week and publish the show on Thursday mornings. Each show is about 20 minutes long and covers marketing tips and tricks in a casual conversation format.

8. Social Zoom Factor
SocialZoomFactor is a social media marketing, branding, business and lifestyle podcast created for you – the business and marketing leader at companies ranging from startups to enterprise organizations. Each episode brings you actionable tactics and strategies you can implement today for real business results. Host Pam Moore is CEO and founder of Marketing Nutz and was ranked as a Top 10 Social Media Power Influencer by Forbes.

9. Copyblogger FM
A short-form broadcast hosted by Sonia Simone. Each week, she and a cast of rotating experts analyze the week in content marketing, copywriting, email marketing, conversion optimization, mindset and much more.

10. Web Marketing That Works Podcast
Hosted by real-life marketing experts Adam Franklin and Toby Jenkins who authored a book of the same name, their guests discuss their failures and reveal the truth about what really works on the web.

Like most of you, I’m committed to continuous learning and these podcasts are excellent resources for new perspectives and up-to-date industry and technology trends. Are there any you’d add to the list? Join the conversation on our facebook page.

Ellen Moriarty

6 Tips For Productive Sales Meetings

Like many sales organizations, Shamrock gathers our team for an annual sales meeting to provide updates, share new ideas and build team camaraderie. For companies like ours with geographically dispersed locations, it’s even more important to bring the entire team together at one time, in one place, to create connections and allow for face-to-face conversations: These interactions are essential to our team-centered culture. 

Over the years, we’ve developed our own formula for managing engaging, productive sales meetings. We start by creating a theme for our annual sales meetings to frame content and messaging. And we bring in vendor partners as guest speakers to provide timely, insightful presentations about marketing solutions relevant to every sales rep.

While Shamrock usually opts for an offsite venue, this year we held the meeting at our corporate headquarters, which allowed sales reps to connect and integrate with the rest of our employees at the home office. More than 30 years in sales has taught us: Change is good and mixing things up helps keep the entire team energized.

If you’re preparing for your team’s meeting, consider these tips below from Entrepreneur magazine for organizing a productive sales meeting:

1.    Start with an energizer. Engage the group right from the start to set the tone for the meeting…introduce a motivational speaker, a video, or a group ice breaker.
2.    Keep it simple. As you build your agenda, ask yourself: “Does this need to be included as part of the group meeting…or is this best managed as a sidebar?”
3.    Manage individual updates. Give yourself a time allotment for updates—and stick to it.
4.    Motivate and reward. Build motivation into the team meeting by making sales reps feel supported and appreciated. Use awards—funny, team challenges, performance-based—or simple hand-written thank-you’s.
5.    Capability activity. Make sure reps walk away with new information that they can use to better manage and grow their business—whether that’s a new CRM platform or tips for bolstering social media presence.
6.    Keep to a standard agenda. By following the above steps, you’ve created your agenda: Use it to keep you focused and on track.   

Do you have unique elements or program features that are part of your annual sales meeting? We’d like to hear from you.