Ponderings from the Perch

An SEO strategy for business success is a powerful investment. It can also be a daunting task. In this episode, we give insider information about what it takes to build a successful SEO strategy. The fundamentals are creating a list of core topics, assembling keywords based on topics, building web pages, maintaining a blog, creating a link-building plan, keeping up with SEO changes and measuring success.

We get into some details about the importance of creating a targeted list of core topics, finding short and long-tail keywords, and building web pages that are optimized with keywords and links. We discuss how starting a blog and implementing content writing strategies can help keep the website fresh and relevant. We also talk about the importance of creating a link-building plan to increase the website's authority and drive traffic.

We leave you with some great resources including Hubspot, Moz and The Orbit Blog by our lovely friend Andy Crestodina at Orbit Media Studios so you can keep current with SEO changes, news and best practices. We finish with some thoughts on tracking and evaluating your plan.

If you want to learn how to create a successful SEO strategy and optimize your website for search engines, this podcast is a must-listen. It's an investment in your business success and good marketing strategy. Tune in now and take your first step towards SEO success.

Need an expert to handle your SEO strategy? We’d love to hear about your goals! https://littlebirdmarketing.com/marketing-contact/

Special thanks to this episode’s sponsor Fieldwork.

Searching for a research partner to handle the details of your next qualitative project? When we say Fieldwork can handle it all, we mean it. From world-class facilities to low-incidents recruitment, their team of experts handles the details so you can stay focused on the research. Say goodbye to traditional focus group rooms and recruitment tactics. As market research has grown from the standard focus group to incorporate other innovative methodologies and technologies, Fieldwork has expanded along with it with facilities nationwide and sophisticated global recruitment services. Their detail-oriented staff partners with you to achieve great insights. Focus on the research Fieldwork will do the rest. 

The Market Research Podcast Award is back and it's time to nominate your favorite kickass market research podcast for a chance to win the coveted title of MR podcast of the Year. Nominations are open now through June 30th, and voting will open from July 1st to August 1st. The winner will be announced at Insights Marketing Day on September 28th. Make your nominations today at littlebirdmarketing.com/MR-podcast-award Will your favorite insights podcast make the cut?

Why does a $300 million business with almost 6 decades of name recognition choose to rebrand?

In this episode of Ponderings from the Perch, we have the pleasure of hearing from Isaac Rogers, the President of SAGO, previously Schlesinger Group. Isaac is a seasoned leader who has brought his extensive experience to the company where he is focused on driving change and new growth within the corporation.

Isaac shares the story behind the decision to rebrand Sago, a company that had been a staple of market research for six decades. He discusses the overall process of the rebrand and how they picked partners and the team to drive the initiative. Isaac also touches on a few mistakes or fumbles that occurred during the process.

Isaac highlights how SAGO became the name for the rebrand and the industry response to the change. He also provides a glimpse into what's next for Sago and the euphoria of getting a rebrand right in all of the meaningful ways.

If you’re considering a rebrand, Isaac emphasizes the importance of clarity and knowing what your brand stands for. He shares his insights and experience on how to drive innovation and growth within an organization while staying true to the company's values and vision and the future is bright for SAGO!

Shoutout to this episode’s sponsors: Gazelle Global.

Are you looking for experts and tools to collect research data worldwide? Global sampling, field management and data collection are just some of the services that Gazelle Global provides. Visit gazelleglobal.com to learn more about how our expertise can help you unearth quality data that drives meaningful insights. Get your research done anywhere around the world quickly and efficiently. Visit gazelleglobal.com today.

Buyers, and their journeys, are rapidly changing. Before the pandemic, brands had more control over when consumers saw an ad or a product. Now, the script is flipped. The consumer carves a unique path to find a brand, product or service and they aren’t doing it like they have in the past. 

The consumer is in control of WHERE they see your brand. 

The consumer is in control of WHEN they see your brand. 

The consumer is in control of HOW to see your brand. 

Brands need to work harder to find their consumers and to ensure that they are in the right spaces and places at the right time, engaging with them in the right way. 

Janeen Hazel, VP of Business Development and Marketing at Luth Research, joins Priscilla McKinney, CEO of Little Bird Marketing, to discuss how to drill down on when consumers want to hear from a brand and wants to see the brand. Innovation is the name of the game. With the digital landscape in a constant state of evolution, brands have to innovate to still keep a pulse on their ideal consumers - Everything from iOS changing how companies can see inside apps, to Amazon shifting their categories impacts how consumers find, understand and interact with your brand and so much more. 

Talk about innovation! As a woman-owned business, founded in 1977 by Janeen’s mother, Roseanne Luth, paved the way for other women in the marketing research industry. Luth was at the forefront of the digital revolution in 1999 with the launch of SurveySavvy®, their patented online research panel. SurveySavvy® is a cash-incentive panel, and in 2020 Luth launched SurveyShares® which is a company shares-incentive panel. 

Did you get that? They offer payment OR shares in the company to participate in surveys! Treating their panelists like GOLD is at the core of Luth’s values and not lip service.  By paying panelists well or by offering them company shares, Luth’s panelists are invested in the success of the brands they are sharing their data with. This makes humanity, and brands, MORE than a little bit better.

To sign-up for SurveySavvy® follow this link: https://surveysavvy.com

To sign-up for SurveyShares®  follow this link: https://www.savvyshares.com

Unlock career-changing breakthroughs by enrolling in Little Bird Marketing's 12-week social selling course. This personalized program delivers expert instruction and practical experience to build lasting relationships at scale. Learn how to expand your influence and establish authority. Enroll today at https://littlebirdmarketing.com/social-influence-course/.

It was a dark and stormy Thursday. The small office, normally peaceful, was a flurry of anxious murmurs and frantic typing. Tony the intern had brought donuts, but who could eat at a time like this? There had been a disappearance.

On tonight's episode of Palm Springs from the Purge, we dig deep to discover what dastardly fate has befallen the online presence of a well-established business. Was it saboteurs? Spies? Walls of fire? Join us as we inspect the crime scene, talk with eyewitnesses, consult with experts, and dredge the lake before making a bone-chilling discovery.

A word of forewarning - this episode is not for the faint of heart!

While Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman won’t be joining us, Little Bird Marketing CEO, Priscilla McKinney, rises to the challenge of being the official SEO MythBuster.

People have pulled Priscilla aside on numerous occasions to ask her to confirm or deny SEO rumors and gossip. Enough people were asking. It was time for her to get talking. As always, she pulls back the curtain and starts from square one, eliminating jargon and outlining what all the acronyms actually mean. 

The reason people have so many legitimate questions is that in this incredibly noisy market of tons of websites, it’s a struggle to be seen. How do we get your website to rank high and be optimized for search engines? It all starts with Google thumbs, and with knowing that Google wants to deliver a “wow” experience to their users. 

Google Thumbs

See, we left behind jargon and then created some ourselves. But this is an important acknowledgement that how anyone (your 13 yo son, or your 83 yo mom and even your most ideal client buyer) is using their thumbs on Google to find answers to life’s more pressing questions (and where to get the best pizza…) 

How Google Works

Knowing how Google and other search engines really look at your content is absolutely vital to your SEO strategy. This comes down to the trifecta: Experience, Authority, and Trustworthiness. Expertise is Google crawling your website and taking a look at everything that you have to say. You want to talk about your key topic clusters “six ways to Sunday,” as Priscilla says. Authority deals with hyperlinks — other websites linking to your website and your own website linking to itself. Trustworthiness also deals with links, but it’s about the links that you share, also called outbound links. Google checks to see if the websites you are linking to are reputable and high-quality. 

Time to get myth-busting?

MYTH: Google only ranks new content.

TRUTH: There is a difference between new content and the “freshness” of content. 

MYTH: Longer content has more value.

TRUTH: More does not always equal more.

MYTH: Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising helps ranking.

TRUTH: False. PPC and SEO and SEM are different and we break them down. 

MYTH: SEO takes at least 90 days to have an effect.

TRUTH: Changes take time for the search engine bots to process, but there is no magic to day 90 of your work. We break down what happens quickly and what can take a long time. 

SEO strategy is not one-size-fits-all, and there are a lot of nuances to the ever-changing, alive and kicking algorithm. Need a little help? We’re happy to be of service: https://littlebirdmarketing.com/work/

Shoutout to this episode’s sponsors: Fieldwork and The Insights Association 2023 Conference.

We're looking forward to being in glorious Hilton Head, South Carolina, April 24th through the 26th for the Insights Association Annual Conference. Known for providing exclusive research and objective brand presented content. The agenda for this year's IA Annual has been expanded to deeply examine four important disciplines: qualitative research, experience management, data analytics and quantitative, and behavioral research. Within each, we'll explore immerging trends, quality advancements, DEI progress and tangible business impact. More information on the agenda, which includes presenters from TD Bank, Mondelez, Masonite, Delta Faucet Company, Fidelity Investments, AARP and many other leading brands can be found at insightsassociation.org Use promo code ACBird to get 15% off your registration. We hope to see you there.

Hi, I’m Priscilla McKinney, CEO and Momma Bird here at Little Bird Marketing and I’m a St. Patrick’s Day birthday! Everyone wants to party on my birthday and have fun. I am a fun person - very outgoing and funny (if you agree, please call one of my kids and let them know). But people often think I am a people person. I’m really not. I’m a “my kind of people” person. What I mean by that is I like people who are overtly helpful, bring energy into the room, give without thinking of getting and don’t take themselves too seriously.

I love this industry and have met so many colleagues who have become friends - like really good friends. I had a lot of friends before I got into this industry, but I made room for more. Do you see how much fun I’m having and want to be a part of it? Good news! In this episode I scrap the rules, call my bestie, Sarah Kotva and gossip about people in the industry.

It’s all good and you’ll have a great time. So grab a glass of wine with us and let us introduce you to people you HAVE TO KNOW in market research. Then, go forth and connect with them online. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll be in on all the jokes!

Let’s do this!

Cheat sheet:

Sarah Kotva https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahkotva/

Patrick Olszowski https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickolszowski/

Ivka Markovic https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivka-markovic/

Aryn O’Donnell https://www.linkedin.com/in/arynodonnell/

Adam Dietrich https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-dietrich/

James Endersby https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesendersby/

Adam Jolley https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamjolley/

Alex Hunt https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-hunt-540ba910/

Vivek Bhaskaran https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivekbhaskaran/

Cynthia Harris https://www.linkedin.com/in/cdharris/

Michaela Gascon https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelagascon/

Lisa Wilding-Brown https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisawildingbrown/

Bob Quesreshi https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobqureshi/

Ryan Barry https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-barry-8354036/

Dominic Carter https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominiccarterjapan/

Ted Pulsifer https://www.linkedin.com/in/tedpulsifer/

Dexter Chew https://www.linkedin.com/in/dexterchewtoronto/

Pravin Shekar https://www.linkedin.com/in/pravinshekaroutliermarketer/

Tony Cheevers https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonycheevers/

Jamin Brazil https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaminbrazil/

Kristin Luck https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinluck/

Sandy Casey https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandy-casey-a3aa702/

Leigh Caldwell https://www.linkedin.com/in/leighcaldwell/

It’s time to talk about the D-word. 

Disruption.

Angel Bellon, Senior Director of Insights and Cultural Intelligence at Paramount, joins Little Bird Marketing’s CEO, Priscilla McKinney, and divulges a deluge of facts, hacks, and insights around disruption and trend forecasting. It’s a drenching downpour of mindset-shifting expertise that will change YOUR game.

The truth is that business cannot go on as usual. The ever-changing digital landscape and especially *cough cough* Gen Z are disrupting the role of marketing altogether. It’s the role of generations to disrupt, but we’re now living in constant disruption with generational disruption on top of a fast pace of technological disruption and it’s a lot to make sense of at once. It’s even harder for brands to move forward in a meaningful way. 

To operationalize disruption, we first need to get clear on the definition. While innovation and disruption are often used interchangeably, they are not the same. Innovation is something new. Disruption is a shift in the industry or with an audience, by redefining how a category typically is perceived. 

On the flip side, “a trend is a shift in consumer behavior and values,” says Angel. They discuss why trend forecasting much start with not only understanding your consumer but also being willing to look at your “anti-consumer.” You must ask difficult questions like: 

Who is not buying my brand?

Who does not value our category? 

Who are we repelling with our marketing messages or strategies? 

To tackle this holistic endeavor, Angel created a trend toolkit workshop at Paramount, and he generously reveals a significant portion of its content, providing us with valuable perspectives and strategies. 

After this episode, you’ll feel like you're drunk from a firehouse, but you’ll at least realize you’re not alone. 

Angel Bellon is a Senior Director of Insights and Cultural Intelligence at Paramount. A hybrid strategist and cultural anthropologist with over 15 years of experience, Angel fuses consumer insight with cultural foresight to forecast consumer behavior. At Paramount, Angel oversees thought leadership studies to push organizational thinking both internally and externally with Paramount’s advertising partners as well as inject culture-forward inspiration into the branded content creative process. Previously, Angel founded the Cultural Anthropology department at VaynerMedia, which included designing the agency’s insights methodology and overseeing the department’s output across all agency accounts and agency deliverables such as digital and social campaigns, audio/voice and brand strategy. Angel has presented at Advertising Week, Social Media Week, WPP Stream and the United Nations. Angel holds a Master’s in Media Studies from The New School and is a frequent guest lecturer at The University of Southern California (USC).

*All opinions in this episode are of Angel Bellon, not Paramount.”

Shoutout to this episode’s sponsor: The Insights Association 2023 Conference. 

We're looking forward to being in glorious Hilton Head, South Carolina, April 24th through the 26th for the Insights Association Annual Conference. Known for providing exclusive research and objective brand-presented content. The agenda for this year's IA Annual has been expanded to deeply examine four important disciplines: qualitative research, experience management, data analytics and quantitative, and behavioral research. Within each, we'll explore immerging trends, quality advancements, DEI progress and tangible business impact. More information on the agenda, which includes presenters from TD Bank, Mondelez, Masonite, Delta Faucet Company, Fidelity Investments, AARP and many other leading brands can be found at insightsassociation.org Use promo code ACBird to get 15% off your registration. We hope to see you there.

Reality is reality and finances are finances. There’s a cost and a loss for not finding the right company or the right candidate at the right time. While there is a pendulum swing between when it is a company’s market or a candidate’s market, the pendulum's rate is accelerating— faster than it ever has oscillated before and if you’re not careful it can give you whiplash!

Bob Ferro, Founder of the executive recruiting firm Trusted Talent, joins Priscilla McKinney, Little Bird Marketing’s CEO, to discuss the current job market from a company and candidate perspective, as well as the pros and cons of delaying hiring.

From Bob’s perch, he’s seeing a huge slowing down in hiring. In fact, he describes it as a pause. However, it’s vital to understand that “if you don't hire a salesperson for a quarter, you've lost two quarters' worth of revenue - minimum.”

They also discuss retaining talent. As Bob says, “My number one asset isn't my product and my market and my customers, it's my talent. It's the people that make this company work. We're going to see successful companies shift from recruiting to retention, from the churn of using people as commodities to focusing on them as an asset that they can retain and that those people will have the heart to continue to contribute.”

If you are on the hunt for a few tips for candidates searching for jobs in this highly competitive market, you’re in luck! 

As an industry-leading sales professional, Bob Ferro’s experience includes both technology and market research. Bob has worked with a variety of industry giants like Apple, Greenfield Online, SSI, Western Wats, Dapresy, Passenger, and Fulcrum. Bob founded Trusted Talent, an executive recruiting firm that specializes in helping Market Research firms find the right talent for the right jobs, and insights professionals find new opportunities. 

Shoutout to this episode’s sponsors: Fieldwork and The Insights Association 2023 Conference. 

We're looking forward to being in glorious Hilton Head, South Carolina, April 24th through the 26th for the Insights Association Annual Conference. Known for providing exclusive research and objective brand-presented content. The agenda for this year's IA Annual has been expanded to deeply examine four important disciplines: qualitative research, experience management, data analytics and quantitative, and behavioral research. Within each, we'll explore immerging trends, quality advancements, DEI progress and tangible business impact. More information on the agenda, which includes presenters from TD Bank, Mondelez, Masonite, Delta Faucet Company, Fidelity Investments, AARP and many other leading brands can be found at insightsassociation.org Use promo code ACBird to get 15% off your registration. We hope to see you there.

Uncomfortable, squirmy and guilty? Those are the common side effects when thinking about fundraising. But, fundraising isn’t a dirty word.

Like any other business or entity right now, non-profits are facing a dilemma: 

How do you break through the noise?

How do you keep up your own resilience around messaging when it feels like it’s falling on deaf ears?

We’re in an attention economy and translating your mission and message into bite-sized pieces is more important than ever. That being said, non-profits’ marketing and fundraising marketing efforts are held to a different standard. No one might complain about getting thirty emails from Lululemon about holiday sales, but getting a half-dozen messages from a non-profit about end-of-year fundraising goals can make people huff and puff and blow your email right until the dreaded trash can.

Executive coach and fundraising consultant, Mallory Erickson, joins CEO and Little Bird Momma, Priscilla McKinney, on the podcast to discuss strategy work at the intersection of fundraising and marketing.

Mallory Erickson is aimed at supporting non-profit leaders to change the way they lead and fundraise fundamentally. Through her signature framework, the Power Partners Formula™️, Mallory provides unique tools to help nonprofits fundraise more from foundations, corporate partners, and individuals. She has trained over 40,000 fundraisers using her unique win-win framework, which combines best practices from executive coaching, science-backed behavior design, and fundraising strategy. She is also the host of the What the Fundraising podcast. 

In their conversation, Mallory and Priscilla unpack how to help people frame the idea of relevance and urgency, and how to clarify your message authentically through storytelling. Mallory also brings up human behavioral design and her studies under Dr. BJ Fogg. According to Mallory, “Fundraising, at its best, is us aligning our core identity and deep desires with the identity and mission and desires of the organization. It's a human coming together with a nonprofit and saying, ‘We both want to see this change being possible and we have different skills and assets to do that. I have some money. You have the skills to create change in the community. How do we come together and do that?’” 

If there’s a culture of philanthropy with your donors, then there needs to be a culture of fundraising inside of your organization. “And the very first step of that is that fundraising is not a bad word.”

Positively brimming with actionable insight and fodder for a solid mindset shift, this episode is not one you want to miss!

So you want to be the top dog, or rather the top bird? How do you do that? It starts with breaking down the journey from Point A to Point B.

Join Little Bird Marketing CEO, Priscilla McKinney as she guides you through organizing your marketing, proactive planning and mindset shifting needed to put your goals together T

Since organized marketers are 674% more likely to report success and proactive planners are 3x more likely to report success, the proof is in the pudding. Success means planning your marketing strategy in advance. Yet you can’t start planning without understanding your current marketing efforts. This is where clarity comes in. What is your “Point A”?

Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix. While Little Bird Marketing won’t be offering anyone a train ticket to Hogwarts, Priscilla shares tons of free resources, including the Order of the Phoenix Marketing Assessment Quiz to evaluate your brand’s marketing strategy and the best way to push your efforts forward. Everyone loves a good quiz!

Once you get clear about where you are currently, she offers clear steps needed to move to what you define as “Point B”.  Using the super helpful (and really crib-able) Little Bird Marketing proprietary SOAR™ System she explains how it can be done systematically. In fact, with the SOAR™ System, our team creates a sustainable lead generation system in just 90 days. Our approach is designed to confidently achieve both short-term and long-term revenue goals, without sacrificing your other priorities. Learn more about the “done for you” and “do it yourself” approaches to the SOAR™ System. 

So are you a Parakeet, Parrot, Peacock, or Phoenix? Take the Marketing Assessment quiz to get the pulse on your marketing strategy. Whiz on over and take the quiz: https://littlebirdmarketing.com/marketing-assessment/

Shoutout to our episode sponsor: Fieldwork!

Searching for a research partner to handle the details of your next qualitative project? When we say Fieldwork can handle it all, we mean it. From world-class facilities to low incidents recruitment, their team of experts handles the details so you can stay focused on the research. Say goodbye to traditional focus group rooms and recruitment tactics. As market research has grown from the standard focus group to incorporate other innovative methodologies and technologies, Fieldwork has expanded along with it with facilities nationwide and sophisticated global recruitment services. Their detail-oriented staff partners with you to achieve great insights. Focus on the research Fieldwork will do the rest.