Ponderings from the Perch

Are you struggling with using LinkedIn to effectively grow your network and generate leads? You’re not alone! In this episode of Ponderings from the Perch, host and LinkedIn wiz Priscilla McKinney chats with Advanced LinkedIn Strategies Coach Andy Foote. Andy is the author of “3 Stunningly Good LinkedIn Profile Summaries,” author of the LinkedInsights blog, and host of the Foote-Notes Podcast. Together, they discuss commonly seen but seldom diagnosed missteps on LinkedIn interactions, including “set and forget” mentality on profiles and posts, comments that disrupt or inhibit interaction, and unwillingness to share thought leadership and accomplishments. Check out the full episode to learn immediately actionable mindset shifts that can help you up your LinkedIn game. 

Sponsors:

Global sampling, field management, data collection and more - Gazelle Global’s ad hoc services give you access to global experts as an extension of your team, without the extra overhead. Our team is ready to lend our expertise to complete projects to your specifications today. Visit our website to learn more!

You remember regular-old in-person conference fatigue, right? The packing, traveling, and reservations…the seminars, breakout groups and after-parties…the (slightly-tipsy) 2 am bedtime, and (still-tipsy) return to the fray? By contrast, one might assume that attending virtual conferences from either the office or the comfort of one’s home would be a walk in the park. And yet, digital conferences somehow combine all the frenetic information overload of in-person conferences, the focus struggle of online classes, and the eye strain of bingewatching all 9 seasons of Seinfeld into one tidy little package known as digital conference fatigue.

In the “Dear Priscilla” series, host and Little Bird Marketing CEO Priscilla McKinney, along with Executive Director Ashley Le Blanc provide answers to the sometimes-abstruse, oft-embarassing marketing questions that everyone has — and everyone is afraid to ask. This week they discuss ways of avoiding digital conference fatigue. Guess what? A lot of the steps that can help facilitate learning and meaningful connections in-person can be transferred to the virtual format! That includes planning and goal-setting, genuine and strategic connection with guests and speakers, active note-taking and social interaction, and sometimes - a personal afterparty with tiny hotel-sized liquor bottles.

Check out the full episode to start making the most of digital conferences!

Sponsors:

Global sampling, field management, data collection and more - Gazelle Global’s ad hoc services give you access to global experts as an extension of your team, without the extra overhead. Our team is ready to lend our expertise to complete projects to your specifications today. Visit our website to learn more!

During Greenbook’s IIeX North America 2020 event, Priscilla McKinney hosted a live visual podcast with Bianca Pryor, VP of Consumer Insights at BET, and Chrystal Day, Global Head of Marketing Measurement at Google. 

While 2020 has had its share (and more!) of hardship and struggle, it has also fostered many new opportunities for increased representation and social impact. Bianca and Chrystal discuss their roles, and the opportunities they are finding to champion diversity and inclusion in the MRX space and beyond. They talk about respect for data, new avenues and platforms for sharing, collaboration and mentorship, and dream projects they’d love to work on. 

Check out:

BET’s #Reclaimyourvote campaign - This campaign began in February and was intended to feature in-person events, but was able to pivot toward virtual events.

Youtube’s Continuing the Conversation about Racial Injustice playlist

Insights In Color

Colour of Research

At Greenbook’s IIEX NA 2020, Priscilla McKinney, Little Bird CEO and Momma Bird sat down for a fireside chat with Mary Martha Stasinopoulos, Head of Consumer Insights at Kairos. Stasinopoulos came to Kairos after serving as Head of Consumer Insights at Glossier, and previously Insights Manager at HBO - each with wildly diverse internal insights configurations. Mary Martha discusses the differences between working in a well-established, process-oriented team versus starting from the ground up with from-scratch culture creation. 

Kairos is a startup studio focused on making life more affordable. They focus on critical life stages where old industries have failed to mee the needs of everyday individuals around the world, partnering with the brightest entrepreneurial minds to build solutions for these issues. 

Mary Martha and Priscilla discuss a variety of topics, including preparation and tools, accountability and the speed of delivery for insights (never fast enough!) The fireside chat concludes with a brief QA session with live listeners. 

In this episode, host and Momma Bird Priscilla McKinney talks to QualSights Head of Operations Courtney Williams about continuous improvement, the industry-wide race toward better and faster insights, and the importance of the consumer voice. 

Growth, in any industry, poses an opportunity for reinvention and improvement. Sometimes, however, the growth becomes the focus, and the quality inadvertently falls by the wayside. Courtney’s work with QualSights, a visual insights platform, is centered around consistently improving quality by creating frameworks to better support researchers and consumers. 

Williams offers many insights about the future of panel, the role of AI, and stewardship of the consumer. 

“No matter what you’re doing, you can do better,” Williams says. 

SPONSORS

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What constitutes “quality?” As Mark Menig, CPO at PureSpectrum points out, the phrase “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” perfectly illustrates that quality is a subjective construct. 

In this episode, host and Little Bird Marketing CEO Priscilla McKinney geeks out with Menig about how PureSpectrum uses advanced machine learning to process unfathomable amounts of data and objectively identify patterns. 

Menig discusses the responsibility in the market research technology industry for first to utilize the best available technology, as well as PureSpectrum’s proprietary quality scoring system.

ALSO! In celebration of the launch of this podcast, the team at PureSpectrum is giving away an unforgettable virtual wine tasting “in Napa!” Sample some of the best wines from the region from the safety of home. Click here to enter: https://www.purespectrum.com/giveaway/

In the “Dear Priscilla” series, host and Little Bird Marketing CEO Priscilla McKinney, along with Executive Director Ashley Le Blanc provide answers to the sometimes-weird, oft-embarassing marketing questions that everyone has — and everyone is afraid to ask. 

This episode is all about LinkedIn’s SSI Score. What is it? Where does it live in LinkedIn? What is it used for? If your SSI score is low, can you pay half a million dollars and still get into a top university?

The SSI Score (Social Selling Index) is an indicator of how strong LinkedIn thinks your personal brand on LinkedIn is. Priscilla believes it’s important, but only to an extent. 

“Once you hit 70 as a score, maybe 75, I don’t think the score matters anymore.”

The good news is that if you are doing the things you should be doing on LinkedIn anyway, your SSI score will reflect that. Those things include publishing content regularly, commenting on other people’s posts, interacting like a normal human being in a social setting - as Priscilla summarizes, “Get out of the mailbox and into the feed!”

This episode contains tons of immediately actionable behavior shifts, insights and tricks to improve your LinkedIn connectivity, interactions, and social selling - and that is what the SSI Score is all about. For a more in-depth look at the SSI visit bit.ly/lbm-ssi. 

Little Bird also has a plethora of additional blogs and resources on this topic.  

Do you have a burning question about marketing that you’ve been too afraid to ask? Send inquiries to [email protected] - we’re making a list (and checking it twice) for future episodes, and we value your input. 

Our notion of online quizzes is largely limited to ideas like, “Which Bertie Botts Every Flavor Bean Are You?” or “How Would You Die in an Agatha Christie Novel?” However, Josh Haynam, cofounder of Interact is proving that quizzes have a lot more to offer in terms of lead generation. 

Interact helps businesses (like Eventbrite, Forbes, American Red Cross, and Marie Forleo) build beautiful and engaging quizzes. Those quizzes are founded on the principle of curating helpful interactions with potential clients. Haynam, also a former Ponderings podcast guest, shares his ideas of the best quiz structures: Quizzes that provide the most helpful information to the right audience, based on their own participation. Priscilla and Josh discuss the creation process, customization of outcomes, and implementation strategies that work best. Haynam believes that one of the format’s main benefits is the genuineness of connection, which presents a positive shift to the consumer insights industry. 

“I think we’ve really moved into a phase of human-to-human connection, and actually trying to be helpful with products and services,” he says. 

As a bonus, Priscilla also tests Josh with the Little Bird Thought Leadership quiz! Listen to the episode to find out what type of thought leader he is! Oh, and then take the quiz yourself!

PS - this is the 200th episode of Ponderings from the Perch. We’ll be at your house in 25 minutes with some confetti!

Sponsors:

Global sampling, field management, data collection and more - Gazelle Global’s ad hoc services give you access to global experts as an extension of your team, without the extra overhead. Our team is ready to lend our expertise to complete projects to your specifications today. Visit our website to learn more!

So, you’ve got questions about marketing. Not the type of questions you can just raise your hand and ask in the middle of a crowded auditorium. No, no. These are the questions you’re maybe a little…embarrassed to ask. Maybe you’re afraid you should already know the answer. Maybe you think you’re the only one with this particular problem. Fear not: you’re not alone!

Between immeasurable speaking engagements, industry events, consultations, and online interactions, Little Bird CEO and podcast host Priscilla McKinney has heard it all. Guess what? A lot of people are asking the same types of questions. 

“Dear Priscilla” is a new series founded on the basis of answering those hushed-tone pain point questions in an anonymous judgement-free format that’s accessible to everyone. Or, as Priscilla says:

“What’s running good marketing? What’s running good social selling? It shouldn’t be hidden in a mystery.”

This episode addresses one of Priscilla’s most frequently asked questions: “Should I be paying for LinkedIn?” 

Priscilla and Executive Director Ashley Le Blanc discuss the pros (better access, better intel, video courses, etc.) and cons (it’s not cheap!) of paid accounts on LinkedIn, as well as addressing the specific use cases for which a paid account is immensely beneficial. They also talk about aligning platform use with specific goals, quick tips to increase views, and how to get a more in-depth look at Digital Transformation. 

Do you have a burning question about marketing that you’ve been too afraid to ask? Send inquiries to [email protected] - we’re making a list (and checking it twice) for future episodes, and we value your input. 

Sponsors:

Global sampling, field management, data collection and more - Gazelle Global’s ad hoc services give you access to global experts as an extension of your team, without the extra overhead. Our team is ready to lend our expertise to complete projects to your specifications today. Visit our website to learn more!

No, it’s not Christmas, but in this episode we unwrap the truths of research during the pandemic. Katrina Noelle of KNow Research returns to the podcast and comes bearing the gift of insights. Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal.

In this episode, Priscilla McKinney and Katrina elaborate on the recent collaboration between KNow Research and Logica Research and how brands are hungry for deeper insights.

They two companies planned their partnership pre-pandemic, but quickly shifted directions in response to the world-wide outbreak. Katrina shares about the pivot and her experience with continuing research in the pandemic atmosphere.

Katrina is also the co-founder of Scoot Insights, which strives to fuel the wicked challenges of consumer insights. Her partner Janet Standen help decision-makers drive business forward with real-time, accurate insights.

Sponsors:

Global sampling, field management, data collection and more - Gazelle Global’s ad hoc services give you access to global experts as an extension of your team, without the extra overhead. Our team is ready to lend our expertise to complete projects to your specifications today. Visit our website to learn more!