FIR Podcast Network

A few weeks ago, we highlighted data from a recent survey that MuckRack did with journalists to gain knowledge on how they like to be pitched, how the industry has evolved in the past year, and how their relationships with communicators are going. Since then, OnePitch released their own survey of journalists because, as they told me, they thought the MuckRack report was lacking specifically what journalists want and tactics for pitching them more effectively. 

If you do any earned media, you know how challenging it is to gain coverage for your organization, your products or services, your executives, and/or your subject matter experts. Back in the day, I was so well-connected with the top-tier media that it was almost easy. But then the Great Recession hit and many of my journalist friends were laid off or furloughed and then laid off…and I had to start all over again. 

It’s gotten even harder in the past 13 months and has become a dog eat dog world—or “doggy dog world” as Gloria from Modern Family would say.

So what is one to do?

That, my friends, is what we discuss during this week’s episode of the Spin Sucks podcast.

Resources Included

* MuckRack Survey

* Superhuman

* OnePitch Report

* Michael Smart

* Spin Sucks Community

#651: Mark Samuel and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Helping organizations who are stuck to create breakthrough results. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Mark Samuel (https://www.linkedin.com/in/markssamuel/). He is the CEO and Founder of IMPAQ Corp., and the Author of “B STATE: A New Roadmap for Bold Leadership, Brave Culture and Breakthrough Results.” His methodology represents a new model and roadmap for rapidly renovating an organization’s business and culture at the same time.

Mark Samuel is considered a “practical visionary” by top executives in many Fortune 500 companies. CNBC, Bloomberg and Fortune Magazine have recognized him as a top authority on how companies can end blame in the ranks and create a place where people want to work because they can produce results. Mark’s unique systems break down functional silos and create cross-functional accountability to successfully implement global changes that increase profitability, build trust and increase efficiency.

If you want to talk about strategizing any kind of issue, to get more articles and to get more content about his work, you can visit his website at https://BState.com or by reaching out through LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/markssamuel/.

Here are a couple of AHA messages from this episode:

* Organizations who are #Stuck should reach out to Mark Samuel by visiting his website at https://BState.com or his LinkedIn profile at https://www.linkedin.com/in/markssamuel/.

* We go into organizations and we work with leadership teams to create #Breakthrough results. In other words, how did they change their game in months, not years. https://www.linkedin.com/in/markssamuel/ @MarkSSamuel

* It’s amazing when you get a shared ownership towards those key projects, they’re going to create #Breakthrough change inside of the year. https://www.linkedin.com/in/markssamuel/ @MarkSSamuel

* We’re not just talking about results within a year, we’re also talking about sustainable results that evolve as the market changes for that company. #Stuck #Breakthrough https://www.linkedin.com/in/markssamuel/ @MarkSSamuel

* We want everyone to be able to do this kind of work in organizations to get #Breakthrough results. In fact, we care more about our organizations being successful than we do ourselves sometimes being profitable. https://www.linkedin.com/in/markssamuel/ @MarkSSamuel

To view the video interview click here.

#652: Alex Sharpe and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Unlock the business value through digital transformation. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Alex Sharpe (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-sharpe-3rd/), who is a management consultant and the principal of Sharpe Management Consulting LLC.

Alex helps make businesses more robust and people’s lives better with technology throughout the ecosystem. He has expertise in leveraging strategies, as well as process and organizational change management.

If you need to unlock value from today’s contemporary technology and you’re looking for someone to help you, Alex Sharpe is the best person to reach out to.

The April installment of The Hobson & Holtz Report includes reports on these stories:

* Reuters’ website goes behind a paywall

* NFTs are still hot as problems (and possible solutions) emerge

* Advertisers like podcasts but want better measurement

* CEOs and brands are pushing COVID-19 vaccinations

* Volkswagen tarnished its already dicey reputation with an ill-conceived April Fool’s prank

* Is Clubhouse cooling off already?

* Dan York reports on Unsplash’s acquisition by Getty Images, Wix’s challenge to WordPress, TikTok, Clubhouse, and Substack facing competition, Google’s revamp of Feedburner, Core Web Vitals’ change to Google search ranking, and Instagram Lite.

Our FIR recording sessions are now being streamed live, because why not? We already stream it in order to capture a backup recording on YouTube; we’ve just been making these restricted streams. We have decided to make them public so you can watch and comment. Our next recording is Saturday, April 17 at noon ET. You’ll see our pre-recording conversation as well as seeing how the sausage gets made. Watch live here.

(You can watch the video of the making of this episode, though it’s clearly too late to share comments we can read right into the show.)

We are hosting an FIR Communicators Zoom Chat each Thursday during the stay-at-home period at 1 p.m. ET. For credentials needed to participate, contact Shel or Neville directly or request the credentials in our Facebook group or send an email to [email protected]. Spread the word to your communications community.

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

You can find the stories from which Shel’s FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog. Neville’s link blog, Outbox, is available, as well.

Links from This Month’s Episode

* Reuters website goes behind paywall in new strategy

* Reuters finally decides to charge you for its online news stories with a paywall

* Topps debuts its first NFT baseball card collection

* NFTs Arrive in the Watch World

* WWE dropping a set of NFTs ahead of WrestleMania

* Tom Brady is launching an NFT company

* Do You Really Own Your NFT? Chances Are, You Don’t

* People’s Expensive NFTs Keep Vanishing. This Is Why

* Time magazine is selling NFTs and will begin accepting cryptocurrencies for digital subscriptions within 30 days

* NFT prices are plummeting. What could this mean for the art world?

*

Return on Investment (ROI) is a term that is tossed around loosely in some circles. Strictly speaking, ROI is expressed as a percentage determined by dividing the return (or benefit) of a monetary investment by the cost of the investment. That’s not what most communicators measure, yet the industry frequently refers to the ROI of communication. Is that a number that applies to communication? Can communication contribute to an organization’s overall ROI? What are valid alternatives to ROI that company leaders will appreciate when communicators share them?

Four IABC Fellows gathered at noon ET on Thursday, April 15, 2021, to discuss these and other questions.

About the panel

Diane Gayeski is recognized as a thought leader in the practice and teaching of business communications.  She is Dean and Professor of Strategic Communications at the Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College, and provides consulting in communications analysis and strategies through Gayeski Analytics.  Diane was recently inducted as an IABC Fellow; she’s been active in IABC for more than 30 years as a featured speaker and think tank leader at the international conference, the author of 3 editions of the IABC-published book, Managing the Communications Function, and the advisor to Ithaca College’s student chapter.  She’s led more than 300 client engagements for clients including the US Navy, Bank of Montreal, Fiat, Sony, Abbott Diagnostics, and Borg-Warner focusing on assessing and building the capacities and new technologies for workplace communications and learning teams.

Jane’s career began at the BBC in London on live TV programmes. She moved on to producing award-winning films and videos for public and private sector organisations and developed ground breaking employee engagement programmes. Since 2006 when she formed her own consultancy, she now guides organisations, (some of which have experienced cultural trauma), with embedding values and ethics through understanding culture and leadership and their link to high performing sustainable organisations. She has worked with Top 100 companies across the world, is a regular conference speaker and writer, and a Director of two highly successful UK-based agencies. Jane has been a member of IABC since 2008 and has had the privilege on serving on local, regional and International IABC Boards. She is currently Chair of the 2021 World Conference and was awarded the honour of IABC Fellow in March.

Jim Shaffer is a business adviser, leadership coach, author, and speaker. As leader of the Jim Shaffer Group, he helps organizations accelerate results through superior strategy execution. The Jim Shaffer Group creates hard business results by translating the business strategy to the people who need to implement it, aligning systems, processes, and culture to make the gains sustainable. The firm has improved quality, service, sales, safety, turnover, productivity, speed and costs with some returns exceeding more than 1,600 percent. He designed and produced the IABC Academy courses, “Managing Communication to Drive Results and Value” and “How to Add Value as a Strategic Adviser”. Some of his clients have included: Hallmark, ConAgra Foods, FedEx, IBM, Marriott, Mayo Clinic, Verizon, Owens Corning, Pfizer, and Toyota.

Angela Sinickas is the founder of Sinickas Communications, which has worked with companies, organizations, and governments in 32 countries on six continents. Her clients include 25% of the Forbes Top 100 largest global companies. Before starting her own consulting firm, she held positions from editor to vice president in for-profit and government organizations and worked as a senior consultant and practice leader at Hewitt and Mercer. She is the author of a manual, How to Measure Your Communication Programs (now in its third edition), and chapters in several books.

#648: Chuck Garcia and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Coaching executives at financial institutions and NY tech companies on public speaking, leadership communication, and emotional intelligence. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Chuck Garcia (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuck-garcia-015128/) who is an executive coach, best-selling author, and radio show host.

Chuck leverages his business experience and hobby of mountain climbing to provide an effective teaching narrative for professionals applying my proprietary tools and techniques. Having scaled mountains worldwide including Kilimanjaro, Elbrus, and the Matterhorn, we use the lessons learned during these expeditions to provide powerful presentations and engaging training about leadership, enduring hardships, and perseverance during the ups and downs of career climbing.

If you’re an executive in a financial firm or you know of people who have not been trained how to lead, reach out to Chuck Garcia by going to https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuck-garcia-015128/ or https://chuckgarcia.com/.

Here are a couple of AHA messages from this episode:

* C-level executives in financial firms who were not trained to lead should reach out to Chuck Garcia. https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuck-garcia-015128/

* I train majority of people in one-on-one training. I customize a plan for a C-level person to help them solve a problem or develop a new phase in their business. https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuck-garcia-015128/

* I was a finance major in college and I joined this company called Bloomberg where I was the 198th employee. https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuck-garcia-015128/

* I was known as the public spokesman. I traveled around the world doing anywhere from 100 to 250 speaking engagements a year on stages and in forums. https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuck-garcia-015128/

* I’m an Amazon bestselling author for a book called “A Climb to the Top.” It’s a book on leadership and communication, and it’s a framework that I developed over the many years that I worked at Bloomberg. https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuck-garcia-015128/

To view the video interview click here.

#649: John Coles and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Helping organizations with digital transformation, business optimization, and knowledge management. This episode feature #ThoughtLeader and #Expert John Coles (https://www.linkedin.com/in/johncoles100/), who is a Knowledge Management & Digital Transformation Consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton.

John has 30 years of experience working at companies such as Apple, Dell, and Booz Allen Hamilton. His specialties include developing internal and external customer journeys to create an effortless experience.

If you’re looking for a little bit more organizational productivity, you should reach out to John Coles by going to https://www.linkedin.com/in/johncoles100/.

Here are a couple of AHA messages from this episode:

* Organizations that want to effectively manage the flow of information and knowledge across their organization...

Last week, I had a conversation with Amanda Milligan at Fractl about cognitive biases.

We talked about the importance of communicators understanding how our biases affect the way we message and communicate with all audiences.

This makes our jobs challenging, of course, because we have to consider ALL perspectives, which isn’t easy to do when we each have our own biases and look at things through different lenses.

Even something as simple as the curse of knowledge can affect how we position things—it’s hard to keep a learner’s mindset when we have an expertise, but it’s necessary if we want to be great at our jobs.

At the same time, we have to consider how certain things, such as holidays or the death of a celebrity, might seem innocuous to some, but could really be hurtful to others.

I was talking to my mom and she said she’d started receiving emails from companies about Mother’s Day.

But they’re not marketing emails (yet). Instead, they are compassion-filled emails asking people if they’d like to unsubscribe from the forthcoming Mother’s Day messages.

Here is the one from Sizzix:

Mother’s Day is just around the corner and we know that it can be a difficult time for a lot of us. That’s why we are giving our customers the option to opt out of receiving emails about it. Please click here and we will make sure we don’t send you any communications about any upcoming Mother’s Day collections or content. Don’t worry, you will still be updated on everything else Sizzix!

While Mother’s Day is not a real holiday (says the woman who fully expects jewelry this year!), there are people who’ve lost their moms, don’t want to be moms, or can’t be moms, and being reminded of that hurt or loss every year is hard.

Other organizations that tend to cater to women have followed in the footsteps of Sizzix. 

Decisions Are Made On Emotion

Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio once said:

We are not thinking machines that feel rather, we are feeling machines that think.

Every human decision depends on emotion. Every, single one. 

We already know that humans buy based on emotion. And we already know the importance of building trust, from everything to toothpaste and laundry detergent to car and appliance purchases. Even in B2B, we buy based on emotion because we are human beings. 

If we’ve learned anything in the past year, it’s that we need to lead our communications with compassion, while keeping our biases in check.

The organizations that are proactive enough to say, “Hey, listen. Mother’s Day is coming up and we’re going to be marketing around it. If you don’t want those messages, that’s totally cool. Here is an easy way to unsubscribe” are the organizations that understand this on an intimate level. 

And that, my friends, is precisely what we discuss on this week’s Spinsucks podcast episode.

Resources Included

* Sizzix

* Spin Sucks Community

#644: Stephanie Angelo and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Attract and retain employees with a healthy work culture to decrease turnover and increase profitability. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Stephanie Angelo (https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanieangelosphr/), keynote speaker, trainer, workshop facilitator on Strategic Thinking and Collaborative Accountability, eSpeakers Certified Virtual Presenter, and professional member of National Speakers Association. She has written a book, invented two (2) board games, one of which is the wildly popular “Company Culture – a Game of Workplace Traction not Transaction,” and has been featured in publications including the Arizona Republic and The Phoenix Business Journal.

Stephanie has 30 years of experience working with companies like Doubletree Hotels, Scottsdale Healthcare and CopperPoint Mutual to grow and thrive. She has also worked with Faist GreenTec, Intel and Raytheon. Stephanie is passionate in coaching companies to develop strong cultures with customized programs to create traction, not transaction.

If you’re a CEO, CFO, business owner or HR professional responsible for a company culture that needs to be improved, consider reaching out to Stephanie Angelo by visiting her websites https://stephanieangelo.com/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanieangelosphr/.

Here are a couple of AHA messages from this episode:

* Companies needing to continuously improve their company culture should reach out to Stephanie Angelo. https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanieangelosphr/

* My role is to create specific initiatives that are organized and customized for your organization that will impact your company culture. #TractionNotTransaction https://stephanieangelo.com/ @stephanieangelo

* I can help your employees gain emotional traction to grow within your organization and build long-term engagement. #TractionNotTransaction https://stephanieangelo.com/ @stephanieangelo

* With my guidance, I can show you how to have higher productivity, sales, and profitability through creating a company culture that helps your team do better on their jobs. #TractionNotTransaction https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanieangelosphr/

* I can teach you how to create a thriving workplace by developing a culture of #TractionNotTransaction for your people to grow within the organization well beyond transactional fulfilling of job duties. https://stephanieangelo.com/ @stephanieangelo

To view the video interview click here.

#645: Tom Flick and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Lead change and accelerate personal and organizational performance. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Tom Flick (https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomflick/), leadership expert and former NFL quarterback (7 years) who has garnered a reputation around the world as an authority on leadership by helping organizations such as Google, Starbucks, Amazon, NASA, and Pentagon to develop leaders and for companies to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

Tom worked with the world’s foremost authority on ...

#641: Daniel Ramsey and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Leverage your time and energy with virtual professionals to drive revenue and business growth. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Daniel Ramsey (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dramseyinc/), founder/CEO of MyOutDesk, the highest rated virtual assistant company in the marketplace with over 5000 verified, five-star reviews and over 13 years of experience serving more than 6000 clients across industries. He also hosts his MOD Virtual Webinar and podcast talking to entrepreneurs, CEOs, and business owners in building virtual mastermind groups to inspire other leaders to thrive, learn and engage with each other.

Daniel is passionate in providing companies with indispensable leverage through his site’s Virtual Professionals to aid them in buying their time back and have the ability to grow their business, all while reducing costs.

To learn more about Daniel Ramsey’s work in scaling businesses for profitability, visit his websites https://myoutdesk.com/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/dramseyinc/.

Here are a couple of AHA messages from this episode:

* Entrepreneurs without enough time should reach out to Daniel Ramsey. https://www.linkedin.com/in/dramseyinc/

* My role is to connect you with the right talent and create a strategy to help you implement and make sure you have success finding that talent. #ScaleWithVirtualProfessionals https://www.myoutdesk.com/ @myoutdesk

* Having worked with some of the largest companies in some of the fastest growing industries in sales, technology, insurance and real estate gives me credibility to help you #ScaleWithVirtualProfessionals and be profitable. https://www.myoutdesk.com/ @myoutdesk

* I can show you how to reduce costs and rapidly scale your business with practical and tactical advice and strategies in hiring talented virtual professionals. #ScaleWithVirtualProfessionals https://www.linkedin.com/in/dramseyinc/

* With an innovative talent matching process that combines top-tier talent sourcing with profile matching and background checks, I can provide you with a system to build your staff and employ. #ScaleWithVirtualProfessionals https://www.myoutdesk.com/ @myoutdesk

To view the video interview click here.

#642: Helena Demuynck and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Catapult business performance through authentic leadership. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Helena Demuynck (https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenademuynck/), the Authentic Leadership Coach of oxygen4leadership.

Helena Demuynck has a mission to help leaders to tap into their energy, adopt an abundance mindset and build confidence to lead and to live. As the Authentic Leadership Coach, she acts as a catalyst to drive business performance and for the organization as well.

If you are a business leader who needs to go from knowledge to wisdom, consider reaching out to Helena Demuynck via her website, oxygen4leadership.com or through https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenademuynck.

Here are a couple of AHA messages from this episo...

I’m just coming off of Spring Break and I had every intention of recording a new podcast episode, but it turns out that the weather in Chicago has been absolutely glorious: sunny and 60 degrees.

Nearly early day of our Spring Break, we played outside, we rode our bikes, and we went to the dog beach.

We did all sorts of things and truth be told, I’m exhausted! I’m in great shape and I’m exhausted!

So I took a look at the most popular content from 2019, and it turns out you really love to learn about adding additional revenue streams to your income.

If you’re an employee, you want to know how to add streams of income to your family’s bottom line.

If you’re an agency owner, you might be looking to do it to expand your business and weather storms like we just had.

No matter which position you’re in, you want to be more in control of your income destiny.

So that is what we’ll talk about today…a bit of a re-run from the topic in 2019.

Creating Diversified Streams of Income

In late 2o19, I smelled a rat. For those of you following along with my Facebook isolation diary, it’s not that kind of rat (though I’m up to 18 or 19 of them being rested at my feet now, like some proud trophy—ick!).

Rather, something seemed amiss in the business world.

Having taken my business through the Great Recession, it felt eerily similar.

Retainers were drying up. Prospects were opting for project work. And the sales cycle took twice as long as normal.

Of course, I could not have predicted what was actually coming. That shocked pretty much everyone except maybe Bill Gates.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that we all have a way to control our own destinies through what I like to call additional revenue streams—or income diversification.

A friend of mine was telling me that his dad before he retired, was in the National Guard, was a high school teacher, AND he bought and sold apartment buildings. That’s some serious income diversification. 

You can certainly go a similar route, or you can use your intellectual property—the skills in your brain—to protect yourself, your business, or the company for which you work.

For this episode’s purpose, diversified means that the money you earn in your life or business doesn’t all come from the same place, and you have different streams of income from different kinds of products or services that make up your total income.

Resources Included

* Spin Sucks Community

* PESO Model Certification

* Agency Jumpstart

* Close More Clients

* Marketing In the Round

* Spin Sucks

* 30-Day Communications Challenge

* The Communicator’s Playbook

#638: Tracey Lawrence and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Enabling companies to support and retain valued employees by focusing on the challenges of a growing epidemic. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Tracey Lawrence (https://www.linkedin.com/in/traceyslawrence/), who is a family caregiving expert, professional speaker, trainer, and author.

With her humorous and approachable style, Tracey takes her audiences on a journey through the complexities of the current crises through the lens of her ground-breaking book, “Dementia Sucks.” She lends her expertise to audiences throughout the New York metro area, and is available for international groups. Her message saves lives while promoting productivity.

If you’re running an organization and you’re not attracting the right talent because everything is so strange these days, reach out to Tracy Lawrence by going to https://www.linkedin.com/in/traceyslawrence/ or https://traceyslawrence.com/.

Here are a couple of AHA messages from this episode:

* Companies who want to support and retain valued employees in this growing epidemic should reach out to Tracey Lawrence. https://www.linkedin.com/in/traceyslawrence/

* I show employers how to give their employees tools so that they can be more productive and effective, both in the office at home. https://www.linkedin.com/in/traceyslawrence/

* I build the employers a training course that’s custom-designed for them to enable themselves. https://www.linkedin.com/in/traceyslawrence/

* I work with the employer to determine what benefits they already offer and help frame those benefits in a way that allows the employees to utilize them more intelligently and be more productive. https://www.linkedin.com/in/traceyslawrence/

* I am the author of “Dementia Sucks” which is a reflection of my great experience on caregiving. https://www.linkedin.com/in/traceyslawrence/

To view the video interview click here.

#639: Neil Anderson and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Delivering effective marketing strategies and executable plans to help you achieve your vision for growth. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Neil Anderson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilandersonlinkedin/), who is a partner and CMO of Chief Outsiders, and Fractional Chief Marketing Officers for Accelerating Growth.

Neil has a twenty five-year track record of general business management and marketing success. He has angel-funded early stage startups to mid-sized privately held companies to large publicly traded corporations. Neil is recognized for building and leading teams that consistently deliver remarkable and measurable business success.

If you’re a CEO and you’ve got dreams for growth and have not been able to hit those dreams yet, reach out to Neil by going to https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilandersonlinkedin/ or https://www.chiefoutsiders.com/.

Here are a couple of AHA messages from this episode:

* CEOs who have a vision for growth but are unable achieve ...