GRIN Gets Real

On this Aftershow podcast special, host Katya Allison is joined by Content Creators Nya Bryanna Henry, Joy Baker and Calvin Kang to answer listener questions about creator and brand partnerships.

To hear these three creators tell it, aspiring influencers should keep several important principles in mind when making content:

- A consistent posting schedule is foundational to building a strong social media following.

- Going viral is often a product of creating intentional, high-quality content, not gimmicky social media strategies.

- Agency partnerships can help creators know their worth and keep them from undervaluing their content.

- Authentic content often gets better engagement than sponsored content and even ads should embody a creator’s genuine persona.

- The best brand relationships develop organically from a creator’s authentic interest in a product.

These foundational ideas have shaped Nya, Joy and Calvin’s approach to content creation and have generated numerous fruitful brand partnerships.

- Nya Bryanna Henry | https://twitter.com/nyabryanna

- Joy Baker | https://joynavon.wordpress.com/

- Calvin Kang | https://cooklikeimbook.com/about/

- GRIN | https://twitter.com/GrowWithGrin

- Katya Allison | https://www.linkedin.com/in/katyaallison/

If you enjoyed today’s show, please leave a review and subscribe so you never miss an episode. For more information and links to all of the resources mentioned in today’s episode, visit Grin.co.

#Content #PR #Affiliatemarketing #Influencermarketing #Creatormanagement

On today’s episode, host Katya Allison is joined by Rand Fishkin, Co-Founder and CEO at SparkToro, to hear how brands can more accurately market to their target demographic.

Rand offers several insights into best practices for better, targeted marketing:

- Focus on targeting your audience, not just your potential buyers.

- People who don’t buy your product can still amplify your brand voice to reach new buyers.

- Influence isn’t always about reaching a bigger audience but about reaching the right audience.

- Don’t try to market to everyone. No product is perfect for everyone. An audience that’s too broad can dilute your marketing impact.

- To help find an audience, think of your product in terms of what problem it solves.

- Never underestimate the value of data in shaping a targeted marketing campaign.

As Rand tells it, differentiating between an audience and buyers is foundational to gaining traction with brand marketing.

- Rand Fishkin | https://twitter.com/randfish

- SparkToro | https://sparktoro.com/

- SparkToro | https://twitter.com/sparktoro

- Katya Allison | https://www.linkedin.com/in/katyaallison/

- GRIN | https://www.linkedin.com/company/grin-inc-/

If you enjoyed today’s show, please leave a review and subscribe so you never miss an episode. For more information and links to all of the resources mentioned in today’s episode, visit Grin.co.

#Content #PR #Affiliatemarketing #Influencermarketing #Creatormanagement

On today’s episode, host Katya Allison is joined by Kim Arnold, author of “Email Attraction” and Chief Executive at Kim Arnold Consulting and Training.

When it comes to sending emails, Kim has some words of wisdom to offer:

- Be intentional with how you craft non-marketing emails.

- Simpler is often better — emails should be easy to read and understand.

- Most emails should be no longer than five or six sentences.

- Find a balance between a professional tone and your unique personal voice.

- Write like you speak.

- Use a ‘read aloud’ function to hear your emails read back to you to help refine your writing.

- Remember that all emails, to customers and colleagues, represent your brand.

Kim’s approach to email can help marketers be engaging and memorable while still maintaining a sense of authority and professionalism.

- Kim Arnold | https://twitter.com/KimArnold5

- Kim Arnold | https://www.kimarnold.co.uk/

- Email Attraction | https://www.kimarnold.co.uk/email-attraction/

- Katya Allison | https://www.linkedin.com/in/katyaallison/

- GRIN | https://www.linkedin.com/company/grin-inc-/

If you enjoyed today’s show, please leave a review and subscribe so you never miss an episode. For more information and links to all of the resources mentioned in today’s episode, visit Grin.co.

#content #PR #Affiliatemarketing #influencermarketing #creatormanagement

On this aftershow episode, host Katya Allison is joined by Rachel Davidson, Sarah Crow, Caroline Stern, Rebecca Beach and Kristen Gioscia, Influencer Marketing Strategists at GRIN.

Looking back at 2022, and ahead to 2023, the GRIN team has several insights into the future of influencer marketing:

- The uncertainty of TikTok’s future has put a spotlight on how some brands have invested too heavily in a single platform without diversifying their online presence.

- Economic shifts will likely lead to a rise in affiliate marketing campaigns as brands reevaluate their marketing budget.

- Historic metrics aren’t as authoritative as they used to be and sentiment analysis is becoming a more useful data set.

- Product seeding will find greater future success through authentic reviews, not just exposure from large-scale influencers.

These words of marketing wisdom prepare brands and influencers to launch into 2023 with a strategy for success.

- GRIN

- Katya Allison

If you enjoyed today’s show, please leave a review and subscribe so you never miss an episode. For more information and links to all of the resources mentioned in today’s episode, visit Grin.co.

#Content #PR #Affiliatemarketing #Influencermarketing #Creatormanagement

On today’s episode, host Katya Allison is joined by Jamie Beckland, Co-Founder and President at Contxt, to hear how marketers should approach issues of data privacy and security.

With privacy being such an important topic in today’s digital environment, marketers should take note of several important points:

• Marketing is about building a relationship, and proper data etiquette can build strong relationships with brands and customers.
• Customer data is like a conversation and data harvesters should never ask for too much information at the beginning of that conversation.
• Privacy regulations differ from country to country and, in the case of the US, from state to state.
• Regulation is constantly changing, so marketers should pay careful attention to the relevant legislation surrounding data acquisition and use.

Good marketing depends on good data but harvesting and using that data is a delicate dance of building customer trust. Gather information without souring customer relationships.

• Jamie Beckland | Twitter - https://twitter.com/beckland?lang=en
• Contxt | Website - https://www.bycontxt.com/
• Contxt - Twitter - https://twitter.com/bycontxt
• Katya Allison | LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/katyaallison/
• GRIN | LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/grin-inc-/

If you enjoyed today’s show, please leave a review and subscribe so you never miss an episode. For more information and links to all of the resources mentioned in today’s episode, visit Grin.co.

#content #PR #Affiliatemarketing #influencermarketing #creatormanagement

On today’s episode, host Katya Allison is joined by David Allison, Founder of Valuegraphics, to learn about a more effective way to create a targeted marketing strategic plan.

The concept of valuegraphics offers marketers some new perspectives on market segmentation:

• Individual values inform purchasing decisions more than traditional demographics like age or gender.
• Values may seem abstract but can be quantified and analyzed just like any other data point.
• Understanding personal values can build customer personas that are less clichéd; therefore, more effective.
• Because values inform action, building valuegraphic profiles can help marketers better predict potential customer behavior.
• Despite their value, valuegraphics should be viewed as a starting point for market research and planning, not a silver bullet solution.

For David, understanding who a person is starts with understanding their values, and that knowledge helps drive marketing strategy.

• David Allison | Twitter - https://twitter.com/DavidAllisonInc
• Valuegraphics | Website - https://valuegraphics.com/
• Valuegraphics | Twitter - https://twitter.com/valuegraphics_?lang=en
• We Are All the Same Age Now | https://valuegraphics.com/books
• Katya Allison | LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/katyaallison/
• GRIN | LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/grin-inc-/

If you enjoyed today’s show, please leave a review and subscribe so you never miss an episode. For more information and links to all of the resources mentioned in today’s episode, visit Grin.co.

#content #PR #Affiliatemarketing #influencermarketing #creatormanagement

On today’s episode, host Katya Allison is joined by Mark Pollard, Host and CEO at Sweathead and Author of “Strategy is Your Words”, for a discussion about creativity in the marketing space.

Sometimes, marketers can get bogged down by data and it causes brands to lose the human spark that made them compelling. Mark offers a few words of wisdom to combat this:

- Clarify common department language and create definitions that everyone can clearly understand.

- Learn to view ideas as combinations of thoughts that are specific and novel.

- Rework the way creative briefs are formulated. Simple, creative and interesting briefs produce better content than long, data-centric briefs.

- Use data but don’t let your team be chained down by it. Once data starts squelching creativity then it’s no longer helpful.

Mark’s approach to marketing hopes to reinvigorate the creativity and empathy that he believes many businesses are lacking.

• Mark Pollard | Twitter - https://twitter.com/markpollard
• Sweathead | Website - https://sweathead.com/
• Sweathead | Twitter- https://twitter.com/Sweathead
• Strategy is Your Words | https://sweathead.com/products/strategy-is-your-words/
• Katya Allison | LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/katyaallison/
• GRIN | LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/grin-inc-/

If you enjoyed today’s show, please leave a review and subscribe so you never miss an episode. For more information and links to all of the resources mentioned in today’s episode, visit Grin.co.

#content #PR #Affiliate #marketing #influencermarketing #creatormanagement

On today’s episode, host Katya Allison welcomes Jon Mowat, MD, Marketing Consultant and Author at Hurricane.

For Jon, leveraging video effectively means keeping a few things in mind:

- Tailor different types of video to target different parts of the marketing funnel.

- Use video to create an emotional response that can then drive customer action.

- Use other marketing channels to provide product information and features. Video is meant to provoke emotional decision-making.

- Embedded YouTube links drive traffic away from your site, so host native videos using another platform.

- Fill marketing videos with genuinely useful and compelling information to keep the audience engaged.

- Research and planning have to precede video production to effectively target a specific market segment.

As Jon sees it, video is one of the most valuable assets marketers have. Using it well can be transformational for a brand’s approach to storytelling.

Use the code VIDEOMK20 for 20% off Jon’s book, “Video Marketing.”

• Jon Mowat | Twitter - https://twitter.com/jon_hurricane?lang=en
• Hurricane | https://www.hurricanemedia.co.uk/
• Hurricane | Twitter - https://mobile.twitter.com/hurricanemedia
• Katya Allison | LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/katyaallison/
• GRIN | LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/grin-inc-/

If you enjoyed today’s show, please leave a review and subscribe so you never miss an episode. For more information and links to all of the resources mentioned in today’s episode, visit Grin.co.

#content #PR #Affiliatemarketing #influencermarketing #creatormanagement

On today’s episode, host Katya Allison is joined by Margherita Maspero, Head of Brand and Communications at Know Your Customer.

Margherita is an exceptional B2B marketer, working to provide businesses with the technology needed to meet their industry regulations. For marketers in similar positions, she offers some words of advice:

- Finding a voice and marketing niche is just as important for B2B marketing as it is for B2C marketing.

- B2B marketing revolves more around logical reasoning than emotional decision-making.

- There’s still room for differentiation in B2B marketing, even if there’s a limited number of sales arguments to be made.

- Data has to be the primary driver in deciding when to let go of a particular marketing campaign.

- Patience is essential. Don’t let a campaign go too early just because it doesn’t see immediate success.

Margherita’s advice can help B2B marketers refine marketing efforts to find greater success.

Margherita Maspero | Twitter - https://twitter.com/maggiemaspero

Know Your Customer - https://knowyourcustomer.com/

Know Your Customer | Twitter - https://twitter.com/KYC_ltd

Katya Allison | LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/katyaallison/

GRIN | LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/grin-inc-/

If you enjoyed today’s show, please leave a review and subscribe so you never miss an episode. For more information and links to all of the resources mentioned in today’s episode, visit Grin.co.

#Content #influencermarketing #ecommerce #creatormanagement

On today’s episode, host Katya Allison is joined by two members of Historic Agency: Mark Miller, Co-Founder and President, and Ted Vaughn, Partner - Brand, Culture and Strategy.

Mark and Ted literally wrote the book on company culture and, in their conversation, they share a few key insights into building a brand’s cultural identity:

- Culture has to have concrete mechanics attached to it; it can’t be abstract.

- Brand alignment can be more important than a traditional “healthy” culture.

- Don’t sacrifice good culture for the sake of keeping one high-performing employee.

- A successful cultural framework can turn your employees into brand ambassadors.

- Employees should have the same experience with a brand’s identity and culture as customers.

Company culture is intrinsically connected to brand identity and should be a part of all marketing conversations within an organization.

- Mark Miller - Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/markdotdo/?hl=en

- Ted Vaughn - Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tedvaughn/?hl=en

- Historic Agency - https://historicagency.com/

- Historic Agency - Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/historicagency/

- Culture Built My Brand - https://www.culturebuiltmybrand.com/

- Katya Allison - https://www.linkedin.com/in/katyaallison/

- GRIN - LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/grin-inc-/

If you enjoyed today’s show, please leave a review and subscribe so you never miss an episode. For more information and links to all of the resources mentioned in today’s episode, visit Grin.co.

#Content #influencermarketing #ecommerce #creatormanagement