Talking Social Business

Professional development budgets are pretty common in large organizations.

Whether you sign up for workshops, attend conferences, or take an online course, those costs are often accounted for ahead of time, and people are encouraged to take part.

But if you work for a smaller organization, are the boss, or a solopreneur, the professional development budgets are often zilch, zero, nada, none.

So you need to get creative on how you’ll keep up with the latest industry trends and continue to hone your skills.

At Spin Sucks, I consider my team pretty darn lucky.

They get to have all of the training we provide the communications industry for free.

They can take all of the courses, attend all of the group coaching, get instant reviews of their homework, and, best of all, have access to our coaches, their content, and their brains. It’s professional development on steroids for them.

I’ve experienced all levels of professional development throughout my career—from watching my boss read every morning and use that knowledge to help our clients through one-on-one coaching with some of the best business coaches out there.

And there are many ways to approach it.

That’s what we talk about in this episode of the Spin Sucks podcast.

In this show you’ll learn:

My six-year-old loves learning. I’m constantly peppered with “Did you know…” questions throughout the day, every day.

We probably should all look to children and their curiosity about the world as a model for our continuing education and PD.

How do you plan your professional development? Do you consider yourself a lifelong learner?

Share your stories in the comments.

The post Spin Sucks Podcast #76: Professional Development appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

I once worked with a business coach who told me I had to stop smiling at men during meetings because it could be interpreted as me flirting with them.

Yes, you read that right.

What kind of world do we live in when a smile is misinterpreted as flirting in the business world?

You probably don’t need to guess that coach wasn’t around for very long.

Women get a lot of advice about how to succeed at work.

Not only is much of it conflicting, but it’s also extraordinarily offensive.

And, even though we’ve come pretty far—even during my career—we still have a long way to go.

A few weeks ago, someone in our Spin Sucks Community posted this article from the Huffington Post about how women working at Ernst & Young are instructed to behave, dress, and act.

As of 2018, Ernst & Young didn’t have very many women working for their organization.

As a way to  “empower” the women who do work there, and possibly build morale and an inclusive culture, and attract more women, they created an internal program called: Power, Presence, Purpose.

The purpose of the PPP program is to help women learn how to grow their networks, negotiate, and build stronger, high-performing teams.

Unfortunately, it has done the exact opposite of what they intended because of the “advice” they provide.

Let’s take a look at some of the quotes from the unbelievably misogynistic presentation that was obtained by the Huffington Post:

Women’s brains absorb information like pancakes soak up syrup so it’s hard for them to focus. Men’s brains are more like waffles. They’re better able to focus because the information collects in each little waffle square.

PANCAKES.

That tidbit and more about how women should behave in front of their men coworkers were included in the presentation.

Not only does it enforce outdated stereotypes and hold women to an impossible standard, but it also completely ignores other areas of privilege such as race, age, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

That’s why we’re taking a closer look at diversity issues in the communications industry.

In this episode of the Spin Sucks Podcast you’ll hear about:

What’s your experience with diversity in the workplace? How did you handle it? Are there certain situations you look out for now because of your experiences?

The comments belong to you.

The post Spin Sucks Podcast #75: Diversity Issues in the Comms Industry appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

We love creating themed content, especially around the holidays.

One of my favorite Halloween posts features some of the worst villains in literary history.

Then we have our 12 Days of Christmas in December, which are fun to produce.

We use them to celebrate everyone from our clients to our community.

If you hit the mark, holiday-themed content is an ideal way to generate lots of engagement and connect with your audience.

However, if you do it poorly, people will be talking about it for years to come.

Ok, it may not be that dramatic, but it will definitely start some cringe-inducing conversations.

There are many ways to present a holiday-themed campaign, including as a video series, a group of related articles, or a series of images and photos.

It can come from your organization or be generated by your community.

You can post it on social media, your own site, or your YouTube channel.

Of course, the best place for it to live is somewhere on your site.

Then you can share it on social media, in an email campaign, or on other platforms.

Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s get into some of the do’s and don’ts.

In this episode of the Spin Sucks Podcast, we talk about:

What are your most memorable examples of holiday-themed content? Are you and your team planning to create any this season?

We want to hear about it. Let us know in the comments what you have planned for the upcoming holiday season.

The comments belong to you!

The post Spin Sucks Podcast #74: The Do’s and Don’ts of Holiday-Themed Content Campaigns appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Have you ever wondered how many mobile apps there are in both the Google Play and Apple app stores combined?

It’s probably not something you think about on a regular basis but the number is staggering.

It’s over 2.5 million.

There’s no way you could ever weed through all of those apps to find ones that work best for you without wasting an exorbitant amount of time.

There are apps for everything imaginable.

So, the last thing you want is another one to download, right?

But before you log off, hear me out.

There many apps available that can make your life easier, help you get more done, become happier, and connect with more people.

Not every mobile app is right for you and just because all of your friends are raving about one that’s made their life easier doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to work for you.

This is why you need to set certain criteria when you’re searching for a new app.

So how do you decide which apps get the honor of hanging out on your phone?

In this episode of the Spin Sucks podcast, we talk about all the apps and how to decide which ones are for you.

In this episode of the podcast, we talk about:

I’m always looking for new mobile apps I can add to my phone, but they have to make the cut based on my criteria.

Are there certain apps you can’t live without?

Are there ones you thought were great at first but promptly fizzled out?

Let’s hear about all of your favorite and not-so-favorite mobile apps. The comments belong to you.

The post Spin Sucks Podcast #72: Mobile Apps for All Seasons appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Do all roads lead to email?

They should.

Or could if you do things correctly.

I’m not your boss so I can’t really force you to do everything I say.

But I am the boss of this podcast, so I’m going to use this episode to talk about how we like when our paid media makes that leap into our owned media, and from there into email marketing.

We do it, so we recommend it for you too.

This episode will tell you exactly how to do just that.

No matter how much we plan, we can’t control all the outcomes, all the time.

Even with our best planning we’ll happen to catch someone at a bad time or even just on a bad day.

That can lead to them deleting your emails without a second thought.

It’s totally normal and not at all personal but… it still sucks.

That’s why you can’t solely depend on email marketing alone.

That’s one of the reasons we love the PESO model.

It doesn’t depend on one aspect of media alone. When you integrate the four media types, you have influencer engagement, partnerships, and incentive programs that extend beyond your internal walls.

The PESO model also brings all of our communications together. I feel like a broken record, but let me say it again: Public relations is not media relations. Media relations is not public relations.

Are all the elements of the PESO model different? Yes. They all have unique functions.

But when they come together they complement each other and create a cohesive strategy.

Where does email marketing fit? Why should we plan how a topic idea will move from one type of media to another?

Let’s look at each step in more detail.

Let’s start with your paid media.

Paid media doesn’t refer to big, fancy commercials and highly creative print ads.

Nope, paid media for a PR program is social media advertising, sponsored content, and email marketing.

Paid media covers everything from sponsored tweets and Facebook posts, content syndication and distribution, to sponsored content in other media, as well as lead generation email campaigns.

The easiest way to think about it is if you’re paying for content to reach certain audiences, you have a paid media program.

In order for a paid media program to work effectively, you have to be willing to fork over loads of cash, right?

Wrong.

There are so many options now that you can execute a paid media program for about the same price as a latte from Starbucks.

Facebook is the least expensive, but it’s also the most effective so it’s totally worth delving into and creating some ads that work for your organization.

Your owned media is the content you create and own. Think – blog, website, landing pages, keynote, white papers.

You’re in charge of the messaging and you control how the story is told.

The key here is turning your paid media into owned media.

All aspects of the PESO model coincide and work together.

For example, if an organization uses Facebook ads to start promoting a product (paid media) and eventually the target audience has a few standouts who absolutely love the product.

They begin to promote the product on their personal pages, which inevitably brings more customers to your brand.

From there this group of loyal customers continues to grow and they zealously promote your product to anyone who will listen.

These outspoken proponents of your business become an external salesforce of sorts, who sometimes aren’t incentivized with anything more than a little recognition

In this podcast we dig into what you can do with email marketing and how you can make it a valuable part of your marketing strategy.

In this episode of the Spin Sucks podcast you’ll learn how:

What content do you repurpose for your email marketing strategies? Do you have a tried and true method?

Tell us your stories here in the comments or join the Spin Sucks Community.

The post Spin Sucks Podcast #71: All Roads Lead to Email appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Raise your hand if you love clicking onto your favorite site only to be immediately bombarded by pop-ups?

Everyone have your hands raised?

Of course not!

I’m willing to bet many of you think pop-ups are simply annoying.

However, whether you love or hate them, they can be effective in converting customers.

I know … probably not what you wanted to hear, right?

Because we intuitively know how much everyone dislikes pop-ups, we spend a lot of time discussing whether or not we should use them in our marketing strategies.

Well, we looked at the stats and the general conversion rate from pop-ups is around 3%, and can go as high as 9%!

Most other online conversion rates range anywhere from 1% to 3%.

Of course, it’s important to keep in mind that just slapping some pop-ups on your site isn’t enough to achieve that sort of success.

Pop-ups have to be integrated into your marketing strategy, that’s already using the PESO model.

Which is exactly the topic of this week’s Spin Sucks podcast.

In this week’s episode, you’ll learn:

Do you love or hate pop-ups? Have you found an effective way to work them into your marketing strategy? We’d love to hear about it.

Tell us how you feel about pop-ups in the comments below!

The post Spin Sucks Podcast #70: Pop-Ups—Love ‘Em or Leave ‘Em appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Did you know we have less than 100 days until Christmas?

You may feel like you just celebrated New Year’s Eve last week.

But … according to the calendar, we’re right around the corner from 2020.

Fall is always the busiest time of the year with so many deadlines and so much work to get done.

But what if part of the reason you’re staying so busy is because of digital clutter?

If you’re like most people, email subscriptions, free trials, and other digital clutter easily add up.

We’re so crunched for time it’s easy to overlook them and think, “I’ll handle that later. It’s not urgent.”

The problem with that line of thinking is it eventually creates a bottleneck that’s going to clog up other areas of your day.

To top it off, it’s taking up real estate in your brain that you can use for other more important aspects of your job.

The digital decluttering process might seem overwhelming, but when it’s broken down into manageable pieces, you’ll find it’s not so scary after all.

Let’s take a breath and tackle digital decluttering one step at a time.

In this episode of the Spin Sucks podcast you’ll learn:

How often do you tackle digital decluttering? Do you have a regimented schedule that keeps you on track? We’d love to hear about your process!

The post Spin Sucks Podcast #69: Digital Decluttering appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Nobody enjoys a negative customer experience.

Not the unhappy customers, nor the business owner.

But it’s something we’ll experience on one side of the fence or the other, over and over again.

Back in the day, word of mouth was all we had to really worry about.

Now, the internet and social media take any and all privacy out of negative customer experiences if the customer feels like venting to an audience.

Off the top of your head can you think of an instance when a bad customer experience made the news?

I can. 

The amount of sites people complain on is staggering.

Not just your basic social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

People leave reviews on Google, Yahoo, and even job search sites like Glassdoor and Indeed.

Social media has given everyone their own version of a megaphone. 

A soapbox.

A sounding horn.

Whatever you want to call it.

Of course, organizations would love to deal with the problems in private.

But whether we like it or not, that isn’t how things work anymore.

So, let’s talk about what to do with unhappy customers who make sure everyone hears about their negative experience.

When a customer is unhappy with your products or services, you probably have an ideal image in your head about how this will all play out.

You’ll apologize, they’ll be grateful, and you’ll rectify the situation and keep a valued customer. 

That is ONE of a whole spectrum of possibilities.

And the chance a customer chooses this scenario is pretty darn slim.

Because of this, you should be prepared to deal with as much as you can.

Above all else, you want unhappy customers to come to you with their problem so you can fix it.

You’re the expert on the subject and (hopefully) they trust you to know how to handle it.

This is a topic you should cover during your onboarding process.

We have a great blog post on the subject called Extraordinary Onboarding and talked about it in episode 60 of the podcast. 

If your organization doesn’t have a policy to handle customer complaints, it’s something you need to add. 

It will give you a solid set of guidelines to follow in situations where you might get rattled or thrown off your game.

Plus, you’re not the only person who handles customer complaints. 

You can’t be everywhere at once and at some point, a complaint is going to arise when you aren’t available. 

This will help your customer-facing team members know what to do and follow the guidelines as well.

And it keeps your reactions consistent, which is a bonus.

That said, it’s likely unhappy customers will take their complaints online.

Whether they’re angry and want a group of people standing behind them or they aren’t sure exactly where to go to address their complaint, there’s a pretty good chance they’re going to air their grievances publicly and loudly on social media.

Some industries are more prone to it than others, but all organizations run the risk of it happening to them.

And it’s important to know how to calm the emotions and solve the customer’s problem in a way that shows your community you’re listening and committed to helping.

We’ve packed a lot of great information into this podcast including:

How do you handle customer complaints? Is it the same every time? Do you have any tips to add? We’d love to hear them!

The post Spin Sucks Podcast #68: Dealing with Unhappy Customers—Off and Online appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

The numbers are in and, well, when it comes to loving work, things aren’t looking so hot.

More than half of us aren’t happy with our jobs says a Conference Board report.

To add insult to injury, 79% of people who quit their jobs do so because they don’t feel appreciated.

According to a Harvard Business Review survey, 58% of us more comfortable trusting strangers than our own boss.

Strangers!

It’s not shocking most workers hate their jobs.

But what do you do if you’re the boss?

Who do you turn to and how do you fix things?

It can feel like you’ve backed yourself into a corner.

Plus, it’s incredibly discouraging to feel like you’re doing everything you possibly can to make your team happy only to read stats like these.

Who’s taking care of you?

It seems like everything we read about entrepreneurship tells us we should be happy.

We’ve achieved one of our dreams so why on earth would we not? How could we not be passionate about our career?

But this isn’t true.

There are times when we need to put ourselves first in order to make sure the rest of our team gets what they need too.

In this episode of the Spin Sucks podcast, we talk about what to do if you don’t like your boss, but the boss is you.

Today’s show covers:

Even if you achieved the ultimate dream of running an agency or organization in an industry we’re passionate about, it’s OK to feel like you need a breather.

Do you ever wish you loved your job more? What do you do to get out of those slumps? Tell us in the comments or over in our Spin Sucks community.

We can’t wait to hear from you.

Until next time!

The post Spin Sucks Podcast #66: When You Don’t Like Your Boss and Your Boss is You appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.