Vera Shafiq Podcast

Let's talk about NFTs, Co-Branding on IGTV and Nostalgic Marketing on TikTok! These are hot topics that featured on MarketingDive.com on March 18 2021.

Episode links:

• Charmin Jumps on NFT Trend 
• WholeFoods Pairs with Meditation App Headspace
• How Ocean Spray, NFL Embed Nostalgia in TikToks

Connect with Vera:

• Email me at [email protected]
• Visit my website at VeraShafiq.com
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Follow me on Instagram
• Connect with me on Clubhouse

In this first episode of Season 2, I discuss the Digital Flywheel of Success that includes Technology, Customer Experience and Digital Advertising as momentum-drivers.

Episode links:

• The Digital Flywheel of Success Blog Post
• Martech Landscape 2020

Connect with Vera:

• Email me at [email protected]
• Visit my website at VeraShafiq.com
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Follow me on Instagram
• Connect with me on Clubhouse

In this episode, I discuss the book Traction by Gino Wickman and the EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) that he describes.

It outlines the 6 Key Components of a business:

• Vision
• People
• Data
• Issues
• Process
• Traction

and is a comprehensive methodology on which you can scale and grow a business.

Episode links:

• Traction by Gino Wickman
• What the Heck is EOS? by Gino Wickman and Tom Bouwer

Connect with Vera:

• Subscribe to this podcast at iTunes
• Email me at [email protected]
• Visit my website at VeraShafiq.com
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Follow me on Instagram

In this episode I talk with Rachel Downey who's a marketer at heart and owns and operates a podcast agency called Share Your Genius. She's an expert in podcasting, and knows all about how to start and grow a podcast from branding, storytelling, planning and promoting it and what to keep your eyes on in terms of the ever-evolving podcast ecosystem.

In our conversation we cover:

• What makes podcasting such a unique and appealing channel?
• Things to consider when starting a podcast so that it has the most impact
• Formats, content and length for a podcast
• The importance of measuring attribution and impact of a podcast as a part of the holistic marketing strategy
• Defining what profitability vs. monetization are for a podcast
• Size of listenership doesn't matter - it's how much impact you're having based on your goals
• How much room for growth and opportunity there still is in podcasting
• The future for podcasting and which podcast hosting platforms will likely be the big players in the market.

Although much of what we cover is about podcasting for businesses, the same concepts apply to starting a personal podcast, so if you're looking to do that, you'll still get a ton of value from listening to this.

Episode links:

• Share Your Genius Agency
• Email Rachel
• Connect with Rachel on LinkedIn

Connect with Vera:

• Subscribe to this podcast at iTunes
• Email me at [email protected]
• Visit my website at VeraShafiq.com
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Follow me on Instagram

In this episode, I lay out in 4 steps, how you can get your website ready to rank for voice search. These are actions you can take today that will set you up for success as voice search becomes the accepted and preferred way that people get their information from the World Wide Web.

3:00 - Voice search stats
5:00 - Google's algorithm for Natural language Processing
7:15 - Examples of voice search vs. text search
8:10 - Step One - Featured Snippet
13:55 - Step Two - Longer Form Content
16:35 - Step Three - Optimize for Local Search
22:10 - Step Four - Page Speed and Secure Certificate
24:10 - Summary

Episode links:

• Answer the Public - free visual keyword research & content ideas tool
• Schema.org

Connect with Vera:

• Subscribe to this podcast at iTunes
• Email me at [email protected]
• Visit my website at VeraShafiq.com
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Follow me on Instagram

In this episode I talk to Louis Grenier. Louis is Content Lead at Hotjar, a company that specializes in website analysis and feedback, and he hosts his own podcast called "Everyone Hates Marketers", which I highly recommend for all marketing professionals. 

His podcast is strongly focused on conversations with marketing leaders and getting to the bottom of how to do marketing in a transparent, non-shady way - a topic very near and dear to my own heart!

Topics we cover in our conversation:

• Understanding what your customer really wants and how to adapt your website and simplify your message to improve the customer experience and drive better results
• The mission of eliminating fluff from the marketer's narrative and getting past the BS in order to get to the bottom of what's important
• Taking risks and taking a stand with your marketing purpose in order to make an impact
• Listening to your audience and having a feedback loop to be effective
• Focusing on the process and not the outcome to create a flywheel effect for any venture or business
• The reasons why today's marketers are forced to resort to poor tactics and how to overcome the pressures
• The importance of aligning yourself with and talking the same language as the C-Suite in order to align expectations

Episode links:

• Everyone Hates Marketers Podcast
• Hotjar
• Email Louis
• The 12 Powers of a Marketing Leader book

Connect with Vera:

• Subscribe to this podcast at iTunes
• Email me at [email protected]
• Visit my website at VeraShafiq.com
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Follow me on Instagram

You've probably seen the Martech 5000 Supergraphic that lays out all the marketing technology solutions available to date in a segmented format. Last year it featured 6,829 marketing technology solutions and this year's updated version comes out soon!

In this podcast, Scott Brinker talks about how to streamline and simplify your marketing technology stack, what the fundamentals of that stack should be, and how best to add new technology. He also gives some good advice on how to strike a balance between technology-based and human marketing.

If you're in marketing or business and would like some insights on the current state of marketing technology and what you need to do to stay on the cutting edge, you've got to listen to this episode because there's no one more well-versed in this topic than Scott Brinker!

Episode links:

• Chiefmartec blog
• Martech Conference
• Hacking Marketing Book
• Twitter: @chiefmartec
• Email Scott 
• Agile Sherpas
  
  

Connect with Vera:

• Subscribe to this podcast at iTunes
• Email me at [email protected]
• Visit my website at VeraShafiq.com
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Follow me on Instagram

Patty Soltis is Founder and CEO of StylEdge®, an image consultancy, and she knows everything there is to know about dressing the part and making a fantastic first impression! This is personal branding 101. Marketing yourself.

She talks about how you can wake up in the morning and have a perfect outfit, ready-to-wear, that makes you feel great and sets a positive tone for the rest of the day.

Patty also talks about how important it is to find the right look for YOU based on your body type and style and recommends investing in the right pieces of clothing so you can keep your looks timeless and sustainable.

You'll definitely want to listen to this one if you're looking to take your personal branding up a notch!

Guest links:

• StylEdge Consulting
• Patty Soltis on LinkedIn
• Dress for Success
• Helen Gordon Davis Centre for Women
• University of Tampa, Sykes School of Business
• University of South Florida, Women in Leadership and Philanthropy
• Miss Tampa Scholarship Foundation

Connect with Vera:

• Subscribe to this podcast at iTunes
• Email me at [email protected]
• Visit my website at VeraShafiq.com
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Follow me on Instagram

I take a stroll along the path of of data analytics and machine learning with Katie Robbert, CEO and Co-founder of Trust Insights, a data analytics consultancy for marketers. Katie shares how her company uses machine learning and AI to make sense of all the data that we, as marketers have. She explains how to get started with using various forms of analytics (foundational, prescriptive, predictive) to make better marketing decisions, faster. If you want to start leveraging AI to streamline your marketing efforts, then this is the podcast for you!

Guest links:

• Trust Insights 
• @trustinsights
• In-ear Insights Podcast
• Marketing Over Coffee Podcast
• @katierobbert
• Slack Group

Connect with Vera:

• Subscribe to this podcast at iTunes
• Email me at [email protected]
• Visit my website at VeraShafiq.com
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Follow me on Instagram

Let's talk sonic branding (or audio branding)! Sound has a deep emotional impact on us and can trigger feelings, memories and associations much more effectively than visuals. I examine this medium in more detail and play some very familiar brand sounds that have been ingrained in our memories. (I don't even want to know how many times I said the word "sound" in this podcast!!!)

References:

• Gary Vaynerchuck post on audio branding
• "The 10 Most Addictive Sounds in the World" - Fast Company

Connect with Vera:

• Subscribe to this podcast at iTunes
• Email me at [email protected]
• Visit my website at VeraShafiq.com
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Follow me on Instagram