FIR Podcast Network

A couple of weeks ago, a friend forwarded a post from a colleague that said she was in a meeting where the CEO said that most engineers consider most PR people call girls. And another exec piped in with something along the lines of it actually being the PR pros who hire the call girls.

I’m glad I wasn’t in that meeting. There would be a former client with a broken nose.

(I also recognize that sometimes stuff like that happens and you’re so shocked, you don’t really absorb it all until later. But I’d still want to break the guy’s nose.)

But y’all. This is 2021. We work with a bunch of engineers for a couple of clients and if I EVER heard them snicker like this behind our backs, there would be hell to pay. Not to mention the jerk executives repeating it.

The fact that the PR industry STILL has such a bad reputation is disgusting. And that is what we are going to discuss on this week’s episode of the Spin Sucks podcast.

Resources Included

* The Economist

* PESO Model

* Spin Sucks Community

For years Paul and David have used Help A Reporter Out. The service — now owned by Cision —  aims to eliminate the gatekeeping middleman role of corporate PR, and put sources directly in touch with the journalists that want to quote them. HARO, as it is known, has been less useful as of late, but there is a new, venture-backed startup called Qwoted that is making some important inroads. We spoke to its CEO and co-founder, Dan Simon. He told us Qwoted had close to a thousand inquires last month and is growing. The service has a free tier (individuals can make three monthly requests, agencies five) and a paid tier.

Qwoted flips the PR paradigm on its head by letting journalists initiate the conversation and cutting out the need for pitches.

Simon has lots of pointers to help PR and marketing staff get the most out of his service. He is deeply steeped in the field, having been president of Cognito, a New York financial services agency, among other roles. Simon recommends that you use the tools he provides to search on previous successful match-ups and examine the job titles more carefully, as well as to fill out the profiles to make your expertise more transparent and compelling.

#728: Craig Arthur James and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Helping leaders who need to stop and think to provide help and support others. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Craig Arthur James (https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigarthurjames/). He is the Managing Partner and Co-Founder of CatStrat Service. He is also a Strategic Advisor, Executive Coach, Speaker, Show Host, Convener, Facilitator, Sales & Sales Process Coach and a Writer.

He  helps organizations stop—and think. He helps you get unstuck. Makes you realize and achieve Vision & Goals. Giving you a Big-picture Strategy married with Actionable Planning and Implementation.

If you or you know somebody who needs stop—and think,you should reach out to Craig Arthur James by visiting hs website at https://cat-strat.com/ or https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigarthurjames/

Here are a couple of AHA messages from this episode:

* Leaders who are needing to #StopAndThink should reach out to Craig Arthur James by visiting his website at https://cat-strat.com/ or https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigarthurjames/.

* The pandemic steals from us as leaders, the opportunity to look within and to unveil our gifts and our superpowers, to help and support others. #StopAndThink https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigarthurjames/

* The real love is executive coaching and so now the magic here is creating the space, especially in executive coaching to make it safe. #StopAndThink https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigarthurjames/

* Through the years of experience doing business, it gives us a dose of credibility, knowledge, and, more importantly, experience to be able to help. #StopAndThink https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigarthurjames/

* Doing a good job, caring like crazy to make sure you’re providing the value and that’s what builds the credibility it spreads on its own, you don’t have to push it. https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigarthurjames/

To view the video interview click here.

#729: Emily Harman and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Achieving your dream and creating a life that you really love. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Emily Harman (https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-harman-8580413/). She is the Founder of Onward Movement. She is also a Podcast Host, Veteran, Retired SES, Coach and a Bestselling Author.

She seeks to inspire people to join her on a journey to bravely embrace authenticity and release fear of judgment so they can create the life of their dreams with confidence. We do this by connecting them to an engaged, compassionate community that offers tools, resources, and support as we bravely embrace our authentic selves.

If you have forgotten your dreams, you should reach out to Emily Harman by visiting her website at https://emilyharman.com or through https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-harman-8580413/

Here are a couple of AHA messages from this episode:

* Women who have forgotten how to #Dream should reach out to Emily Harman by visiting her website ...

#726: Ed Evarts and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Raise your visibility and value to charge your career and change your life. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Ed Evarts (https://www.linkedin.com/in/edevarts/), leadership coach, team coach, strategist, professional speaker, and author of the book “Drive Your Career.” He is the founder of Excellius Leadership Development and host of the “Be Brave At Work” podcast.

Ed has over 25 years of innovative leadership and management experience who has the ability to build awareness, create action, and deliver results. He is passionate in helping successful leaders raise their visibility and value in their organization and industry.

If you are a leader who recognizes your blind spots, consider reaching out to Ed Evarts by visiting his websites https://www.excellius.com/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/edevarts/.

Here are a couple of AHA messages from this episode:

* Leaders aware of blind spots should reach out to Ed Evarts. https://www.linkedin.com/in/edevarts/

* My role is to help you in exploring clarity and communication in your organization to give way to choices that create progress and success. #BlindSpots https://www.excellius.com/

* Are your employees falling behind? I can show you and your team how to add value and proactively work to be visible in traversing conflict and change. #BlindSpots https://www.excellius.com/

* I can show you where there might be #BlindSpots that are negatively impacting your progress personally and professionally. https://www.linkedin.com/in/edevarts/

* With my guidance, I can work with you to really clarify, understand, and create action plans around those #BlindSpots so they don’t become obstacles or hurdles to your growth. https://www.excellius.com/

To view the video interview click here.

#727: Ann Hession and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Reach the zenith of success with heart-centered sales. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert, Ann Hession (https://www.linkedin.com/in/annhession-soulpreneursuccesscode/), the founder and owner of Soulpreneur Success Code.

Ann Hession pivots ordinary sales into heart-centered sales — an entirely different paradigm — like no other! A heart-based guru, she makes it possible for entrepreneurs to sell their offerings and services without being fake, pushy, or salesy.

If you’re a heart-centered entrepreneur, but you’re allergic to sales, it is best to reach out to Ann Hession by visiting her website at http://www.turningproblemsintoprofits.com/ or by joining her Facebook group, Success Conversations for Heart-centered Entrepreneurs.

Here are several AHA messages from this episode:

* Heart-centered entrepreneurs who are allergic to #Sales should reach out to Ann Hession. https://www.linkedin.com/in/annhession-soulpreneursuccesscode/ @Ann_Hession

* I’ve been studying, learning, and doing various things in an alternative, you know, heart-centered, soul-inspired space for over 30 years.

Welcome back to the Spin Sucks podcast. I’m Gini Dietrich. At least one hundred years ago, we were doing restaurant media relations.

I think every agency owner, as they’re starting out and trying to figure out the business side of running an agency, starts with restaurants, tourism, and/or small businesses.

Of course, many of us quickly realize it’s challenging to be profitable working in those industries and there is only so much you can do for free food and wine…try as you might!

(It wasn’t really that long ago that I started my agency—that or I look freaking amazing for being 120 years old—but so much has happened, it feels that way sometimes.)

But I hadn’t quite figured that out yet and we were doing restaurant media relations and working with some of the top brands in the country.

I had a background in food PR and had spent several years with celebrity chefs, who weren’t yet celebrity chefs.

There was a lot of work with The Food Network and Epicurious and the famous food and wine publications. I knew what I was doing and I had a crackerjack team under my tutelage.

A very famous restaurant was moving its way east and was opening a location in Chicago. They hired us to help.

They were opening in February, which is Chicago’s snowiest month, and we made some early recommendations to perhaps think about that timing. They patted us on the head and said they knew what they were doing. They had hired us to fill the room with influencers and to garner media coverage, not to comment on the weather. So we shrugged our shoulders and went about doing our job.

I remember even laughing with some reporters about the timing, but also saying, “Eh, they think it’ll be fine…so can you be there?”

We garnered a ton of media coverage for them but did a bunch of pre-event interviews and early morning news satellite tours and videos with their chef and sommelier…just in case. Of course, attendance at the opening event by some of the city’s most influential people was one of our goals, so we worked hard to secure RSVPs. And we did. There were nearly 200 people confirmed to attend.

Then Chicago got one of its major snowstorms (more than two feet at once) and everything shut down for two days. The first six hours of that snowstorm were during the event. Not one person showed up. Not even me and my team. We couldn’t get there!

We did our best to salvage it and many reporters still did stories because it was big food and wine news. But the event itself was a complete debacle and the client blamed us for not pushing harder about the timing of it (as if we could control Mother Nature somehow).

Of course, hindsight is 20/20, but I would have absolutely put my foot down today. I just didn’t have the confidence, especially in running my own agency, yet. And I let them dictate the timing even though I knew it wouldn’t work. There have been lots of times throughout my career that a terrorist attack or Mother Nature or the economy or going to war or some other crisis has stopped our plans in their tracks.

We’ve had to make do with what was handed to us. But we’ve never been blamed like this client blamed us. They acted like it was a PR crisis and that we had caused the whole thing to go belly up. Of course, it wasn’t our fault and I know that, but it still doesn’t feel good to be blamed, not to have your reputation sullied by something outside of your control.

I have lots of stories like this from my career—some ended superbly and some, like the media tour that journalists had flown in for on September 11, 2001—never happened at all. You get really good at having plans B, C, D, E, and sometimes even F. And PR is almost always to blame.

For some reason, when companies hit the headlines for the wrong reasons,

#724: David Asarnow and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Leverage marketing in monetizing  your business and creating your legacy. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert David Asarnow (https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidasarnow/), visionary entrepreneur, digital marketing leader, and CEO of Business Nitrogen, the highest award-winning ClickFunnels Certified Consultant. He hosts The Infinite Business Podcast and he has over 7 Two Comma Club Awards and a Two Comma Club X award.

David is passionate about helping entrepreneurs and thought leaders create massive value leverage and profit through his proprietary strategies. He is an authority on monetizing businesses and he has personally sold over $200 million in products, goods and services over the past 25 years, not to mention the millions of dollars his consulting clients have made, building multiple seven and eight-figure businesses in niches that have nothing to do with marketing and advertising even.

If you’re looking to create a successful marketing funnel, consider reaching out to David Asarnow by visiting his websites https://businessnitrogen.com/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidasarnow/.

Here are a couple of AHA messages from this episode:

* Business owners and entrepreneurs creating a successful marketing funnel should reach out to David Asarnow. #FunnelMarketing https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidasarnow/

* My role is to help you execute your business strategies to increase conversions and amplify profits sustainably. #FunnelMarketing https://businessnitrogen.com/

* I can teach you how to track the source of every lead coming into your business, calculate the lifetime value of your customer and create marketing designed to convert. #FunnelMarketing https://businessnitrogen.com/

* With my guidance, I can show you how to monetize your company vision through #FunnelMarketing and accelerate your business results. https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidasarnow/

* I can counsel you with high quality strategies to crack the lead generation code in order to unlock modern solutions to your biggest marketing challenges. #FunnelMarketing https://businessnitrogen.com/

To view the video interview click here.

#725: Amira Alvarez and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Hit the invisible block in your life to break through and fully express yourself. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Amira Alvarez (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amiraalvarez/). She is the founder and CEO of The Unstoppable Woman, a global coaching company helping thousands of driven women, entrepreneurs, and self-employed professionals achieve their financial breakthrough.

As someone who has made a quantum leap, she knows exactly what mindset shifts are required to get out of your own way, master the art of success, and gain the confidence and freedom to keep growing. Amira has served individuals in a wide range of industries including real estate, business consulting, the arts, coaching, law, medicine as well as leaders in corporate positions.

If you are a high-performing woman, but you’re hitting some invisible blocks that are not allowing you to break through, you should reach out to Amira Alvarez by visiting her website at

On this bi-weekly episode of Inside PR, Joe Thornley, Martin Waxman, and Gini Dietrich discuss the plumbing of the internet, from Feedburner and its replacements to how marketing automation works in the deep dark areas of the web and how video continues to evolve as we adapt.

These are things we all take for granted, sort of like the sewer beneath our cities, but they are necessary for making things work.

And there are things that have transformed the way we’ve done business in the past 18 months. While we certainly used Google Video or Skype or Zoom, it tended to be once or twice a month—at the most.

Now we’ve found that video chat is the primary way work is done and we now all take for granted that it’s the preferred way to communicate.

Even as some organizations go to a hybrid model or even back to the office full-time, there will be times that video is warranted.

And, as schools reflect on the best learning, some students will be in-person while others are at home. Martin speaks to his experience teaching in a hyflex classroom, which is hybrid and flexible.

The classroom is like a studio and students have to sign up to be there in person.

For those that are learning at home, the teacher (Martin, in this case) has a camera that follows them around automatically, capturing the lecture—and then everyone in the class, in-person included, will all Zoom in and any group work will be done through breakout sessions.

It’s a new way of working and, certainly, the plumbing of the internet will continue to evolve as we adapt to new ways of learning, working, and living.

Join us for this episode to learn more!

#722: Trevor Young and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Improve sales for your business with PR-driven content. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Trevor Young (https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevoryoung/), the PR Warrior.

Trevor Young is a PR and communications strategist and coach who helps leaders and experts build recognition and reputation for greater influence and impact. Committed to mentoring in-house social media and content teams, he crafts communications for a complex digital-first world.

If you’re an entrepreneur and you have personal brand confusion, it is best to reach out to Trevor Young by visiting his LinkedIn profile at https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevoryoung/ or his website at http://trevor.world/.

Here are several AHA messages from this episode:

* Entrepreneurs with personal brand confusion should reach out to Trevor Young. #PR https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevoryoung/ @TrevorYoung

* I empower entrepreneurs and teach them to establish their voice and to enhance the credibility of their voice, and then extend their reach so they can grow their influence and hopefully have a greater impact! #PR https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevoryoung/ @TrevorYoung

* Unfortunately, for many of the people that I work with, they’ve been around the block. They’ve got the credibility. But they are really confused as to how to get going. So that’s where I come in; I work with them! #PR https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevoryoung/ @TrevorYoung

* You know, it’s crazy out there. It’s so loud and noisy, and as you know, so many platitudes. And as Tony Robbins once said, we’re drowning in information but we’re starving for wisdom! #PR https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevoryoung/ @TrevorYoung

* I try to get that authenticity across to my clients, and when I see that they are showing a bit of themselves, that’s when I’ve probably had a win because that’s what’s going to make them shine out there in the world! #PR https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevoryoung/ @TrevorYoung

To view the video interview click here.

#723: Sejal Thakkar and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Providing a positive, safe and respectful environment to create a better workplace. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Sejal Thakkar (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sejalthakkar/), who is the Chief Civility Officer of TrainXtra. Sejal is also a Passionate Attorney and Educator with focus on delivering specifically tailored employment law and human resources training for employers on a variety of topics including harassment, bullying, discrimination, unconscious bias, diversity and inclusion and leadership training.

She helps companies create positive, safe and respectful workplaces by providing effective customized training programs. My highly experiential workshops are tailored to bring the courtroom to the training room in an interactive, engaging environment that favors human stories over complia...

A new report on social media usage by the channel by Jay McBain of Forrester Research finds that the groups people use and the way they use them is changing amid a 13.2%, 490 million-user surge in social media use in 2020.

The report lists major tech channel groups that both managed service providers and channel managers should know about for each social network. McBain’s informal research found that Facebook Groups have replaced LinkedIn as the place to talk tech. He claims many LinkedIn groups have become ghost towns overrun by spam. Half of his respondents to his survey were disappointed with engagement levels on the platform.

The report prompted David to realize that he belonged to more than 50 groups and couldn’t remember the last time he posted — or even clicked on content on any of them. McBain has identified more than 40 FaceBook Groups that IT folks should take a closer look at. 

One of the more important lessons of this research is that social media groups aren’t an ad medium but a way to engage potential partners on a grassroots level. Too often we both have seen plenty of spam or vendor posts that don’t really encourage discussion. The speed at which channel firms have apparently abandoned LinkedIn groups shows how quickly attitudes can change if group members don’t believe their needs are being respected.

McBain also reviewed several other social networks, some of which we hadn’t heard of. Up-and-comers include the audio- and app-oriented Clubhouse and Discord, which was originally for gamers but which has broadened its scope. McBain rates Twitter the second most popular spot for tech content, even though it really doesn’t have the community engagement tools to match Facebook or LinkedIn. And he advises B2B companies to keep an eye on Reddit, which had 52 million daily active users worldwide at the end of 2020, up 44% year-over-year.

Although the report is aimed at technology channel companies, it’s a useful way for any B2B marketer to take a fresh look at the social groups you use to get your message across.

It’s no surprise that the role of the communicator has been elevated pretty significantly in the past 18 months. I’ve personally never had more clients and new business prospects ask me about internal and crisis communications—in an effort to finally, finally bring them to the forefront of the organization. 

If 2020 taught us anything, it was that everyone, not just Millennials and Gen Z but everyone, reexamined the brands we buy from, the technology we support, the companies we invest in, and where we want to work.

And now, as organizations are beginning to communicate the “new normal” for their employees, the difference in morale and culture and engagement comes down to internal communications. 

Many business leaders learned last year that just sending an email wasn’t enough. It had to be messaged correctly and it had to relay empathy. Yet, even with that very close in their rearview mirrors, they’re making mistakes in communicating the back-to-work plans.

On today’s episode of the Spin Sucks podcast, we are going to talk about the importance of internal communications, the companies that are doing it well, and how you can broach it with your leadership—particularly if they’re not all too interested in change.

Resources Included

* How to Create Work-Life Balance By Saying “Heck, Yes!”

* The Googler Virtual Orchestra

* Airbnb Experiences

* Donut

* Slack

* HubSpot