Times have changed!  The "cloud" has evolved for business technology users.

In particular, software has evolved, shifting from computer software to web software.

What we used to need to do with 5 CD's to install on computer is now available online, anytime and on our phones!

In this livecast recording, we dive into web tools for productivity including a load of the latest tools for small and medium-sized businesses.  As well, we discuss how the shift to cloud software impacts business productivity.

I'm joined by Now Marketing Group President, Jessika Phillips, and MOS Training founder Donna Gilliland in this Halftime Mike episode discussing new tools and their uses.  

More than just social media tools, we dive into core business use apps and tools that we use online.  Jessika is an early tech adopter and discusses the tools her business uses along with their core product for clients, HubSpot.  Donna is a tool trainer!  From social media, to Microsoft, to mobile apps, Donna is hired by businesses and business units to deliver staff training on how to use the tools productively.  

It's a grand lineup of educated business folk and we each deliver tools and learn about new tools from each other!

Catch all the tools here on MikeGingerich.com >>

Is your sales, marketing and customer support model evolving?

It had better be!

People and businesses want more care and connection with their chosen business.  The days of sales blasts and obnoxious salesmen are dwindling.

Business today that lasts is built on RELATIONSHIPS!

In this episode of Halftime Mike I have three guests and we dive into a live Blab on the ways business has changed and what relationship sales, marketing, and customer service looks like today!

My guests:

Ravi Shukle is from London England!  Ravi is a customer service specialist who helps businesses online to increase customer loyalty, word of mouth and sales through customer service.

April Heavens-Woodcock is co-founder along with husband, Kevin, of Touching Clients in Connecticut….a digital marketing agency  helping small businesses with social media, digital ads, and more.  April is also part of the extended team of Relationship Marketing pro Mari Smith.

Jessika Philips is President of Now Marketing Group in Ohio and helps businesses build long-last relationship with their ideal audience.  She’s also the creator of “The Relationship Marketing System”

We dive in for a lively discussion on how business has changed and what the new relationship business looks like and why it's so important for growth.

>> SEE POST

Social Media Contests....All the rage, but how do you get results?

Is your business considering ways to up your game online using social media contests but you're not confident on the process?

Needing a game plan for a social media contest?  There's more to a social media contest than simply tossing up a message announcing that the contest is open!

It's about equipping your business to be successful with a social contest online that helps you reach business objectives!

Learn what you need to succeed!

Full show details here: Mike Gingerich Contest Code

Pinterest is driving traffic to websites in amazing fashion!

Did you know that e-commerce purchases right on Pinterest have started?

All this and more on Pinterest updates for business marketing in this podcast!

It’s all about informing you on the latest trends on Pinterest.  From, driving traffic toRich Pins and more, we cover it!

This week I am joined by Azure Collier, Content Manager for Constant Contact. However, we’re not really talking email marketing today!  Rather, we’re talkingPinterest for business, one of Azure’s areas of expertise she performs for Constant Contact! 

Want some tips and insights?  Listen in!

It's raw, it's uncut!

It's all about what's happening with video and livestreaming!

Sunny Lenarduzzi is spectacular and informative....Mike's audio improves as the interview goes on....

It's all about informing you on the latest trends in online video today!  From YouTube to Facebook video, Instagram video to Periscope and Meerkat, we cover it.

Sunny Lenarduzzi is an award winning social media strategist, YouTuber and broadcaster. Sunny’s been seen on Hootsuite’s Social Update, Breakfast Television Edmonton and Vancouver, The Huffington Post, and a weekly social trends report on Rogers' Radio stations across Canada. Sunny thrives on sharing the latest developments in the digital space and I'm privileged to have her  join me!

Want some inspiration and steps to drastic life results?  Listen in!

Have you thought about running Crowdfunding campaigns?

Are you familiar with how they operate?

Would you like to learn the Secret Sauce from a successful Kickstarter campaign?

Join me as I dive into this and more in this "Part 2" Podcast episode with the founders of KOOSHOO.

Jesse and Rachel, husband and wife yoga teachers based out of North Vancouver, Canada, continue our interview in this episode of the Halftime Mike podcast. In last week's show we dove into how they together with a small, tight-knit team, set out to create a lifestyle company that does good at every level – in forming their e-commerce store KOOSHOO.  It's an amazing story of their startup journey!  This time we dive deeper into the digital side with their Kickstarter campaign, content marketing and email strategies.

If you like to learn from what others are doing successfully...this is the interview for you!

As a way to launch a new KOOSHOO product, the Journey Shawl, the KOOSHOO team ran a Kickstarter Campaign.  To say they had a successful campaign is a massive understatement!

In just 4 days they reached their goal of $10,000 and the campaign went on to garner $24,511 CAD helping them to a successful launch and now one of their ongoing top-selling products.

They left their jobs in corporate America.

Purchasing one-way tickets, they headed to Asia.

She's from a tiny island called Norfolk, that's roughly 3 miles by 5 miles in size and between New Zealand and Australia.

Their background and experiences ultimately led them to start a ecommerce store called KOOSHOO, centered around the meaning of that word...Feeling Good.

It's a story you don't want to miss!

Jesse and Rachel, husband and wife yoga teachers based out of North Vancouver, Canada, are my guests in this episode of Halftime Mike. Together with a small, tight-knit team, they set out to create a lifestyle company that does good at every level – from the communities growing the textiles to the people wearing the final yoga headbands, hairties and fashion scarves that they sell in their e-commerce store.  It's informative and inspiring!

www.mikegingerich.com/kooshoo-ecommerce-feeling-good-doing-good

It's a FIRST!

I recorded my podcast LIVE on Periscope!

Yes, I use the Twitter tool and talked Facebook, producing my podcast in real-time video and then simply creating this post and loading the file to my podcaster service, Libsyn.

I think you'll want to listen in because this is something that I think is BIG but hasn't gotten a lot of press as of yet.

Basically, on July 9, Facebook made a change and is giving user CONTROL of what they see FIRST on Facebook!  For all those saying that Facebook isn't listening or it's just getting too big, this is a HUGE win for the user.  You and Me!

What it means for brands is still to be determined.  

I can tell you it means they need to pay attention to their community and find some content that users will like because fans have choices now!

The Update: Facebook News Feed Personalization with "See First" Option

Now in the Mobile App "News Feed Preferences" as well as on any Page or personal Profile on Facebook there is a "See First" option.  For the App, it populates icons of your Pages and Friends to select from. Note: I have not seen Groups accessible at all!  

When on a Page or Profile, click the "Following" button and in the dropdown you can see and select the "See First" icon.

How many can you add to "See First"? Not sure of a limit.  I haven't reached it yet and there doesn't seem to be one.  Of course if you add too many you defeat the purpose of fine-tuning your News Feed!

That's a wrap.  Go check it out and do tell me what you thought of this "Periscope-first" version!

Find the full episode with screenshots and details at MikeGingerich.com/facebook-news-feed-personalization.

How many of us would like to see some drastic life results??

Have you had some bumps and setbacks, or are you struggling to get that online business to the next level?

You’ll want to listen into this interview about drastic life results with Toni Harris!

Toni Harris is my guest on this episode of the Halftime Mike podcast!  Toni is a speaker, author, trainer, and all-around high octane change artist who lives it and walks it!

She’s been down and out, I’m talking about on death’s doorstep, and made an amazing turnaround to thrive and talk about it!

Full episode and show notes:  View here >>

Mike Gingerich

Content online has proliferated.

You've heard all the tips about regular publishing of great content, creating quality images that communicate, and more.

Yet everyone is doing that.  Great content is everywhere.  So how can you compete?

More importantly, if you have great content, but no one sees it, is it really working for you?  What can you do about?

Mark Schaefer is my guest on this episode of Halftime Mike!  Mark is a globally-recognized author, speaker, educator, and business consultant who blogs at {grow} – one of the top marketing blogs of the world. He teaches graduate marketing classes at Rutgers University and has written four best-selling books including The Tao of Twitter (the best-selling book on Twitter in the world) and Return On Influence, which was named one of the top business titles of the year by the American Library Association. His clients include Dell, Adidas, and the US Air Force. He has been a keynote speaker at prestigious events all over the world including SXSW, Marketing Summit Tokyo, and the Institute for International and European Affairs.

Want to learn the next life stage of content marketing?  

Join us as we dive into a discussion on his latest book Content Code, and how to ignite your content!

<< Listen in! >>