FIR Podcast Network

Futurum Research analyst (and frequent FIR contributor) Olivier Blanchard joins FIR host Shel Holtz to talk about Facebook’s role in the ongoing unrest in France. Also in this week’s episode:

* Google will introduce Stories to its search engine results pages, which could have an impact on the future of content marketing

* Any employee who goes above and beyond for a customer could wind up being the subject of a post that goes viral

* The news on Google Assistant will be like having a personal news radio station in your pocket or on your counter

* Americans still prefer to get their news on an old-fashioned TV screen

* The digital divide in America is far bigger than the FCC led us to believe

* There are algorithms that help journalists fact-check what people say, sometimes even before they say it

* “Brand purpose” is the marketing word of the year

* Pandora’s podcast genome is now open to everyone

* Facebook test seeks to improve the quality of comments

* Admins now have a lot of control over Stories for Facebook Groups

* Dan York reports on WordPress 5

Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.

You can find the stories from which FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog.

About Olivier Blanchard

Olivier Blanchard is a French-born, American-based Brand Management and Digital Marketing consultant, the author of two best-selling books, and an acclaimed keynote speaker. As a Senior Analyst with Futurum Research, Olivier helps organizations better understand the crucial role that emerging technologies like Cloud computing, Big Data, Virtualization, Augmented Reality, Smart Automation, IoT and AI will play their industries and markets over the next 10 to 20 years. Though based in the US, his geographic range extends beyond North America to Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia. Olivier is the author of the best-selling #1 social business desk reference for digital managers and business executives: Social Media ROI: Managing and Measuring Social Media Efforts In Your Organization (Que/Pearson). Olivier is also a sought-after subject-matter expert and corporate trainer.

Links from this episode:

* 12 Ways The ‘Stories’ Format Could Shape The Future Of Content

* Police find man who lost engagement ring over a Times Square grate after proposing

* Google is launching a voice-driven version of Google News for smart speakers and phones

* Collaborating on the future of audio news for the Assistant

* The new Google News: AI meets human intelligence

* Americans Still Prefer Watching to Reading the News – and Mostly Still Through Television

* Digital Divide is Wider Than We Think, Study Says

* An algorithmic nose for news

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This week, we cover a new Stories feature that LinkedIn is testing, the launch of another daily news podcast, this time from the Washington Post, and Facebook meets it match in the United Kingdom Parliament.

LinkedIn Stories — Putting wings on an elephant?

LinkedIn is beta testing a Stories feature called Student Voices. On one level, it sounds like a good idea. However, if aimed at younger users who have seen Snapchat Stories as ephemeral content that enabled them to be spontaneous and genuine without fear of their mistakes showing up in a data cache. When they use LinkedIn Student voices, will they bring this expectation only to discover that the information lingers on their profile and is being viewed by prospective recruiters? Maybe there is an argument for keeping different social networks separate according to use and audience.

The Washington Post enters the daily news podcast game with Post Reports

The Washington Post has launched Post Reports, an afternoon news podcast. It is the latest in a series of high quality news podcasts, including The Daily, Up First, and Front Burner, that collectively signal a significant shift in the news diet of an increasing number of people.

They also represent a challenge for PR Pros. The one thing these new podcasts all seem to have in common is that they are highly curated. There are limited slots for stories in the short format adopted by all of the news podcasts – and they are cherry picking for their line up from the stories covered on their companion traditional news outlet. So, getting a story placed and covered on the news podcasts is not a linear extension of the traditional pitch. PR pros will have to watch closely to understand the unique perspective and focus of each of the new podcasts in order to find a way to ease a story’s coverage. But a straight up pitch? Probably not.

Damian Collins shows Facebook that it’s dangerous to thumb your nose at Parliament

Facebook may have more members than any country has population. And Mark Zuckerberg may feel he’s too important to accept an invitation from legislators representing eight countries to testify before them. But Mark Zuckerberg definitely isn’t bigger than Damian Collins, MP. Last week, Collins made good on his promise to release the documents from Facebook vs Six4Three court case. And the picture they painted of Facebook’s competitive behaviour and Mark Zuckerberg’s role in decisions that would exploit Facebook user data to advantage Facebook and disadvantage its competitors was …. ugly.

Linkworthy

* LinkedIn launches its own Snapchat Stories. Here’s why it shouldn’t have, Josh Constine

* Jameson Hsu’s LinkedIn story example

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This episode will surely help you learn more about life as Mitchell Levy (http://aha.pub/MitchellLevy), TEDx speaker and the AHA Guy at AHAthat (https://AHAthat.com), and co-host Lisa McDonald (http://aha.pub/LisaMcDonald), author, motivational speaker, TV and radio host, and blogger (https://livingfearlesslywithlisa.com), together with their amazing guest, Dr. Marshall Goldsmith (http://aha.pub/DrMarshallGoldsmith), a world-renowned business educator, coach, author, professor, and executive (https://www.marshallgoldsmith.com), talk about the value of time and how paying it forward makes life worthwhile.

Dr. Marshall Goldsmith shares inspiring words about legacy, which is aligned with the topic for this month. According to Dr. Goldsmith, years pass very quickly and realistically speaking, we don’t work and live forever. Constraints are motivators, and we should be happy to have these constraints. The time you need to contribute to the world is NOW!

Here are a couple of AHA messages from the episode. See more in the “AHA Moments from Thought Leader Life” eBooks available in the social media-enabled eBook platform, AHAthat: https://AHAthat.com.

* Years pass very quickly and we don’t work and live forever. Stop wasting time and do something worthwhile. #Legacy #TLL http://aha.pub/DrMarshallGoldsmith=

* Pay it forward and be of service to other people. There’s always a way to utilize your skills and talents and to be that beacon of light for the rest of the world around you. #Legacy #TLL http://aha.pub/LisaMcDonald

* Use the knowledge you got from the people who inspired you to help others. If you can’t beat them, learn from them. #Legacy #TLL http://aha.pub/DrMarshallGoldsmith

* Many of us try to give back in some way or another. That service-leader focus is valuable. #Legacy #TLL http://aha.pub/MitchellLevy

* It doesn’t matter what scale you’re at on the hierarchy of success. You’re a human being, and there’s always a way you can give back. #Legacy #TLL http://aha.pub/LisaMcDonald

To learn more about Thought Leadership and how it can help you be successful, subscribe to the channel: http://youtube.com/user/thoughtleaderlife.

Nick Petroski of Promethean Research joined to talk about the outlook for digital marketing agencies in 2019 and beyond.

Among the findings of his firm’s research:

* There is a movement from retainer-based revenue to project work for many digital agencies, with 55% of revenue now coming from project-based engagements.

* Web design and development work remains the biggest revenue generator for most digital firms.

* Digital agency owners are optimistic about 2019 and see top- and bottom-line numbers rising.

* These firms expect growth to come largely at the expense of their competitors, although Promethean does see overall market growth likely.

Listen in for more details as well as other observations from Nick’s research.

[read the transcript]

Should you provide a profit-sharing program to benefit your employees? If so, what should it look like?

These are the questions that Chip Griffin and Gini Dietrich explore on this week’s episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast.

The co-hosts start by discussing what profit-sharing is, then they explore the pros and cons of different approaches.

[read the transcript]

Deirdre Breakenridge joins host Shel Holtz to explore how brands can benefit from starting and managing a Facebook Group. Also in this week’s episode:

* Amazon Web Services has come up with the coolest way ever to teach people a new technology

* The PR industry must condemn Definers Public Affairs

* A model for managing the non-content part of internal communications

* The “intelligent edge” may be the next hot technology trend

* Survey sheds light on the reviews people leave online about services

* How people worldwide think about online misinformation and disinformation

* Facebook launches a curated local-news feature in 400 American cities

* Illustrations are cropping up on some big-name website homepages

* A tool that’s way better than bookmarks

* Dan York reports on the Marriott data breach, WPML 4.1, running WordPress in a Docker container, and an update on the WikiTribune pilot

Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.

You can find the stories from which FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog.

About Deirdre Breakenridge

Deirdre Breakenridge is the CEO of Pure Performance Communications. A 25+ year veteran in PR and marketing, she is the author of six business books Deirdre speaks nationally and internationally on the topics of PR, marketing, branding, and social media. She is an adjunct professor at UMASS at Amherst and an online instructor at Rutgers University. She is also a LinkedIn video instructor. Deirdre hosts the podcast show, Women Worldwide and is a blogger at PR Expanded. She was named by Traackr as one of the top Social Media Engagers in 2014, awarded the Best 50 Women in Business by NJBIZ in 2015, and recognized on the Richtopia 250 Most Influential Women Leaders in the World List in 2016 and 2017.

Links from this week’s episode:

* SNCR Survey: 2018 Measuring Risks to Brand Equity — How Has It Changed in the Digital Era?

* SNCR Survey: 2018 Measuring the Impact of Data Privacy Compliance on Innovation

* AWS just launched a four-wheel drive mini-race car

* PRSA Forum: Statement on Definers Public Affairs

* The four layers of communication in a functional team

* How needs, narratives and networks can deradicalize extremists and build vibrant work cultures

* Intelligent Edge: A Definition

* The Intelligent Edge: What It Is, What It’s Not,

In this episode, Mitchell Levy (http://aha.pub/MitchellLevy), TEDx speaker and the AHA Guy at AHAthat (https://AHAthat.com), introduces his co-host for the month, Lisa McDonald (http://aha.pub/LisaMcDonald), an author, motivational speaker, and radio-TV show host, and they share views with Ben Gay III (http://aha.pub/BenGayIII), a top-notch salesman and sales trainer with over 40 years of professional experience.

Ben Gay III provides soulful insights about how a person should be remembered once they leave the world. A person’s actions speak much about the type of legacy they leave, which is why it is important to take action and never quit when pursuing something in life. Staying humble and grounded adds to the innate goodness a person has.

Here are a couple of AHA messages from the episode. See more in the “AHA Moments from Thought Leader Life” eBooks available in the social media-enabled eBook platform, AHAthat: https://AHAthat.com.

* A #Legacy makes a person unique by what they leave behind once they’re gone. #LeaveAMark #TLL http://aha.pub/BenGayIII

* When you die, the memories you leave behind speak much about how you lived your life. What memories have you left behind? #Legacy #TLL http://aha.pub/BenGayIII

* Don’t just keep on planning or visualizing tasks, #TakeAction right away! #Legacy #TLL http://aha.pub/BenGayIII

* When you have invested so much into something, the outright mindset is not to quit, and that’s definitely non-negotiable. #Legacy #TLL http://aha.pub/LisaMcDonald

* Be remembered as someone good and decent. Being a good-hearted human being is the best #Legacy you can leave to your children. #TLL http://aha.pub/BenGayIII

To learn more about Thought Leadership and how it can help you be successful, subscribe to the channel: http://youtube.com/user/thoughtleaderlife.

Patrick Rogan of Ignition HR joins to discuss how small and midsize agencies can meet their human resources needs with a combination of vendors, consultants, and in-house staff.

We explore when an agency needs to think about having in-house HR support and how part-time, fractional, and interim external resources can help.

Patrick also discusses why a good human resources function can help agencies perform better — and why ignoring it can introduce unnecessary risks.

[read the transcript]

The concept of user personas was originally developed for user interface design, but it’s a powerful tool for marketers, too. David Lloyd, who is the lead strategist and senior data analyst from Brilliant Noise in London. joins us to discuss his post this past summer about The dream of data-driven personas.

Personas, particularly ones that are deeply rooted in data, can help shape marketing campaigns. We talk about the differences between user experience and marketing personas and what are the typical data types that would be used to shape useful ones. His blog post talks about common mistakes that marketers make in creating personas and describes what a typical persona looks like, down to assigning them a name to make them more real. 

He also addresses why you don’t want to go too wide or too specific in creating your personas: the ideal number of personas a marketer should work with is about three. Also, the cloud has made it far easier to create and collect a great deal of online data that can be useful in creating personas. Lloyd tells how marketers can make personas more actionable as part of their marketing plans.

In this episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast, Chip Griffin and Gini Dietrich discuss the pros and cons of running a virtual agency.

Whether an agency is just getting started or looking to switch from an in-office-only culture to one that has some or all team members working remotely, this episode has useful advice.

Chip and Gini both have extensive experience running virtual teams and identify some of the challenges that they have faced — and how they addressed them.

[read the transcript]