Marketing Study Lab

Ever wondered what SaaS is? No I don't mean to be a bit cheeky, I mean the acronym SaaS. I’ll explain more later. But first, my guest, Maiten Panella, a doctor of psychology with 15 years’ experience in supporting International organisations with branding, planning, consulting, communications and of course digital marketing. Takeaways - Local and international Marketing are majorly different, although they both revolve around the customer, the audience will always be different. Different strategies are required per country or even different parts of a country, depending on the different cultures, history, language and dialect. Speak the language of the customer. - Maiten says you need to consider the following when Marketing on an international scale: - Daily life of the customer – the way of living, thinking and day-to-day living - The different business practices in specific countries - Remembering the smaller stuff, particularly around legislation – take GDPR for example – important in the EU, not so in La

I want to introduce you to Post-It Marketing, which is posted on all the relevant social platforms, but mainly LinkedIn. These are 30 to 60 second videos about a Marketing topic to give you an insight into the industry and some of its nuances, but more of that later. But first, let's have a chat with Phil Nottingham, from Wistia the go to chap for Video Marketing, which is integral to consider in todays Marketing communication planning. We’ll find out how to create compelling videos and how they can help with SEO. Takeaways - Remember that the story, is all about the story regardless of the production value. It’s the narrative and the message that will win out and putting people front and centre. Phil says that the best videos are those that reduce the barrier that technology has put in our way. A more human way of communicating. - How do you create compelling video (regardless of your budget)…. 1 – You need to understand your goals and positioning of the brand 2 – The main goals for the video, which links to

Well, well, well, you may have missed the last few episodes, that time of year, but we just cracked on, soz about that.  Anyway, for those who are joining us for the first time, welcome and for those that are regulars, it’s time to put down the turkey and lets get back to business as its regular programming from here on in. Just a quick note on a new Facebook Group we’ve launched, aptly named the Marketing Study Lab Facebook Group, so before we move on, head over to Facebook and join the group. The more people that join the better the ‘bants’ will be. But in all seriousness, join us and keep the knowledge flowing. It’s someone’s birthday, well tomorrow it is, yep, it’s our guest this week, Catherine Gladwyn’s birthday tomorrow. What a present, to be on the Marketing Study Lab podcast. I haven’t got you a card so again, soz about that! So who is the birthday girl? Catherine is an efficient, self motivated, proactive, dependable VA (Virtual Assistant) who specialises in MailChimp, WordPress and social media man

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Wow, we're now into 2019, which is Marketing Study Lab's second year... so old. The last episode was on Christmas day and this one is on New Years Day, heart timing Pete, great timing. What better way to kick off 2019 than to take a look back the Marketing Study Labs two top tips of 2018. A look back, to look forward in a way. Happy New Year Marketing!

As it's supposed to be a 'quite' time of the year, for friends and family, I thought I'd do what came naturally and publish a podcast on Christmas Day...... Nice one! So what can I possible have to say. We'll quite a lot actually, or my guests do as I have decided to make this a recap show of my journey into podcasting and some of the amazing guests I've had on already. In this episode we say hello again to: Tracey Tait Spencer Waldron PR Smith Dave Chaffey Dr Carl Marci Luke Southern John Espirian But I'd like to thank EVERYONE who has listened or taken part in any way shape or form in this or any other podcast. I am truly honoured to speak to each and everyone of you and humbled that each and every one of you are listening. Happy Marketing

I want to get right into introducing our guest who holds a Ph.D, is a Professor, Digital Learning Consultant, Educator Entrepreneurship consultant, speak and blogger. Recently featured in Forbes, Ai Addyson-Zhang has a fascinating story to tell about how social media can be taught…. Using social media as the platform to teach in! This episode is a belter and blew me away a little. Takeaways - So to recap, Social Media Pedagogy (Ped-a-Goge-ee) – Nailed it! is coaching people how to use social media, using social media as the training tool, making it practical and insightful from the start. It’s amazing to hear stories of students saying even this way of learning can be hard which goes to show that sometimes what we think is basic, can actually be quite complicated.  - Let’s Globalise the classroom! What a great statement and one that may sound impossible, but in reality, isn’t! Using the different platforms practically may be hard to implement in a society that has used the same methods of education for many d

Let's meet Dan Charles, who is the Owner of Be Fair Marketing who doesn’t believe in trying to blind his clients with the ‘dark arts’ of SEO or charging a customer for what is essentially an automated PPC report. Dan is of the opinion that being open and honest is just good business sense.   Takeaways- There are so many unethical practices out there, many leading to poor customer communications and service. Dan explained the following as things to watch out for: - Ryanair website UX patterns - Fake urgency - Upsells that are automatically added to a shopping cart - The false positives to get you to do something (i.e. click a button’) - Pop-ups that have negative or positive connotations - Dan highlighted how to create a great PPC strategy: - Create a customer persona (which you can hear more about in episode 30 with Tracey Tait) - Make sure you know a list of ‘negative’ keywords (one’s you don’t want to rank for) and you’ll find, this on top of a persona will make your PPC very targeted - TEST, always test, u

I don't like to over promise and under deliver and I don't think I have with yet another special episode. This wasn't supposed to be a special, but as its all about podcasting, I think I got a bit caught up in the whole discussion and that was so easy to do with my guest today, John Lim. John is an Entrepreneur, no doubt. A TEDx and public speaker, podcast host and author, which includes an adult colouring book! Check it out (links in the show notes as usual) to all the good stuff) John is the executive producer and host of the podcast series, Moving Forward, which has reached listeners in over 50 countries, where John speaks to entrepreneurs, artists, and influencers, so he is in the perfect position to give us the low-down on podcasting and why it needs to be part of your comms mix.   Takeaways - Podcasting can be a powerful tool as it allows you to learn and share. If it wasn't for the power of the podcast, I wouldn't have had the pleasure in talking to John and you wouldn't have the honour of listening to

What is your bedtime ritual? Hopefully it’s not as bad as most peoples? How many hours sleep should you be getting? Do you get them? In this weeks top tip that’s what we’ll be talking about, sleep. But now its time to introduce our guest, Jono Alderson from Yoast.com, now I have to say at this point the first few minutes there audio isn’t as good as it usually is but we resolve this issue very early on so just stick with it as you really don’t want to miss this one. Jono has over a decade of experience in web development, SEO, analytics, brand and campaign strategy, lead generation, eCRM, conversion rate optimisation and helping companies deliver SEO, content, analytics and brand strategies at an international level. Jono is also a keynote speaker with a passion that oozes through in everything he does. With this passion itching to come through in this interview I thought I would start by asking Jono, what is your favorite toast condiment?   Takeaways - Let’s get SEO right. Its more than keywords, we are more

Brain food, what food can help you with your studies. We’ll find out later, but first, lets find out what being a virtual assistant is all about as we chat to Louisa van Vessem, who is the owner and VA for Workflow Virtual Assistant. Louisa’s mantra is to run straight ahead at those things that put fear into you. Scared of heights? Why not do a skydive? Introverted and don’t like talking to crowds – do a podcast or stand up on stage! That’s why in this episode Louisa talks about Time Terrorists and Money Laundering, oh and also all things VA.   Takeaways - A Virtual Assistants (VA’s) job can vary massively from admin tasks to web design. They can even be used as a sounding board – so getting the right fit with a client is hugely important for Louisa, which is great to hear as this means all of her clients will be as much of a great fit for her as Louisa is for them, win / win. - Admin tasks have changed. We are taking on more and more without the increase of any time (we all still have 24 hours in a day), whi

Let’s have a conversation with Hannah Thorpe, the MD of white.net, about all things SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) – and I must apologise as some of the audio may be a little clicky, but let see how it goes. Hannah is an SEO specialist, covering everything from technical issues to marketing campaigns so Hannah has a lot of experience to share with us. This means Hannah is the perfect person to answer that all important question, do you know anyone that uses the ‘I’m Feeling Lucky’ button on Google?   Takeaways - Any strategy should have objectives attributed to it, especially digital as there is no excuse to not monitor and learn from the findings - Using an external agency has many benefits and as Hannah points out they can bring the experience that may not be available internally, experience from other sectors that can be invaluable and possibly create a USP for an organisation. Because of this versatility over different markets, spotting trends is also a key ingredient of outsourcing SEO capabilities. -

We’re talking to Korbinian Lehner, who is a Senior Digital Native for Telekom Deutschland (you may know them better as T-Mobile). Korbinian opens up the world of innovation in a way you may never have considered before and does this through the skills he has learnt and a lot of enthusiasm.   Takeaways- Innovation is crucial to make forward progress, but this must be done in a structured way in order for us to make sense of it all. - The two digital trends Korbinian will be looking out for as: - Blockchain and the speed, plus security this software can provide. Conisder moving house and how complex this is, blockchain has the potential to do all this within days if not hours, safely and securely - AI (Artificial Intelligence), but not in the way we are probably thinking, but using it for the ability to make decisions and from this generate new and better intel - Social media has the power not only to connect each other, but connect the information we place in it. This combined with the personal touch and emoti

It's a Marketing Study Lab special! Regular programming will resume shortly but for today, enjoy as we talk all things creative! Yes, the first special, needs a special guest and I am delighted to be accompanied on this episode by Mr. Dave Birss, who amongst some other titles, which we’ll find out about a bit later on is the author of ‘How to Get to Great Ideas?’ a book all about, well, getting great ideas. Before we get stuck into the innovative world that Dave has create in this book I just want to let you all know that it is out tomorrow, links in the show notes as always, but forget the notes, just go to Amazon, type in Dave Birss and you’ll see it – its yellow and has squiggles on the front. Once you’ve pre-ordered it, you will be given an access code that will allow you to listen to the rest of this episode in any language you want – so keep a look out for that code, if you cant find it, not to worry, the default language is English / Scottish so you should be fine if you’ve understood the first part of

When entering an exam, did you know that if you can understand the time you have and how it is broken down it can help you maximise the potential to gain the most marks. If not, don’t worry, we’ll be covering it later. Before we get to all that, let’s talk to John Espirian, a freelance technical copywriter who has the nack to make the complex, simple. Not only that, but he shares a wealth of knowledge at every single touch point, just checkout his website – espirian.co.uk, which is jammed packed with guidance on a whole host of topics, not just copywriting, of which some of these topics and a link to the website can be found in the show notes, so you know John will be bringing the same level of knowledge from these to this eposide. Go check it out: espirian.co.uk   Takeaways I told you John was full of hints, tips, guidance and knowledge…. So how do you unpack all of this, hmmmmm. Here are my top takeaways from this chat: - John Espirian’s 5 fundamentals for starting as a copywriter are: - Find your niche and

Let’s have a little natter with Darren Goldsby, the Chief Digital Officer for The Jamie Oliver Group. But what you think a Chief Digital Officer does and what they actually do are probably two very different thinks as Darren goes on to explain, it’s a lot more than just a website, clicks and followers.   Takeaways - Digital touches everything, whether you realise it or not. It is available to effectively help a business grow and develop. This doesn't just mean a website. It can be customer focused, internally focused, process driven, supplier driven, but it is utilising the appropriate levels of technology and data within the business that makes it work - Use examples to sell your ideas, which Darren has to do when trying to convince the digitally uneducated. And this is what I preach all the time, especially when writing for an assignment. Real life examples can help to back up your statements and produce compelling answers. Darren’s  example of searching for commercial property online is a great one as it s

Let’s meet Tea drinking Tracey Tait, who is an Independent Marketing Consultant based in Newcastle, don’t let her accent deceive you, she is definitely based in the North East. What should make Tracey’s story compelling to you is the fact she has worked for large global organisations as well as SME’s and will be able to give us all a well-rounded view on all things Marketing. Her methods are Simple, effective and time-saving and who doesn’t want that.   Takeaways - Tracey provided us with the ultimate 6 step guide to building an ideal client / persona / avatar and this is the one and only takeaway I want to focus on as its so important to get this right. So these six steps are: 1 – Demographic (age, gender, marital status, vocation, level of education, etc) 2 – What is going with them? They obviously have a problem that you can solve, what is that? What are their pain points and challenges? And are they the decision maker, if not who is, as these are the people who will have the final say? 3 – Where are these

Let's talk to Louise Shanahan, a copywriter for The Copy Prescription, and I love that name as Louise writes within two niche marketplaces – yep - health and the Government. Louise is also a fitness nerd and a former civil-servant, which helps as she is writing about these two things A LOT!  Go figure, someone who knows an industry, has a passion for it and has gone niche, actually making a living from these things, well I never!!!   Takeaways - What is your skill, what is your niche? Louise career has been guided, some would say by her personal life but she always utilised this to her advantage, which is now also the niche she is thriving in. From Wooden Spoon to Gym Fanatic – you make your own future, what will yours be? - But once you have your niche, how do you thrive in this particular community. Well, Louise maximised her knowledge of Government and Health as well a being very relatable, genuine and trustworthy – and video Marketing can prove to be a great platform to do this as long as the message you

Today we’re going to chat with someone that knows a thing or two about Global Employer Branding, which may sound familiar as back in episode 23 we chatted to Kim Kunze from Siemens about Employer Branding. Siemens we kind enough to let me not only talk to Kim, but also her colleague Andrea Scheerbaum (apologies about the pronunciation)! Andrea, who believes her English isn’t up to scratch, well Andrea, I can tell you now if this is poor English, I’m certainly no Englishman! Onto the serious side now and Andrea has had many jobs at Siemens including Global Employer Branding, but her passion firmly lies with PRIDE@siemens, but I won’t steal her thunder as we get to that later on in our chat after we’ve discussed global employer branding, encouraging graduates to participate in activities and how it is important to have a mixture of experience and the right qualifications.   Takeaways - Be curious as it opens doors. Quite simply, if you don't ask, you don't end up getting. Andrea started by trying to understand

We need to get back to our interview with Gill Andrews, who is a copywriter and a web consultant placing her in the prime position to discuss all things copy, communications and web design, which we started to do on the previous episode (episode 26). We left Gill discussing why no one cares if you are ‘number 1 in the marketplace’ or an ‘innovate company’, but they do care about how you are going to solve their problems!   Takeaways - Be careful of new trends and tools that can creep onto your website. Just because it’s new doesn't mean it is right for your audience. Moving parts can be a distraction for users and detract, rather than improve a user experience.  - It’s not a shame not to know, it’s a shame not to learn – what do you not understand. Any gaps in your marketing knowledge that you may need a little refresh on? Take baby steps, learn the rope and increase your skill set and knowledge. - Gill went into geek mode for us, describing the future of web design and although some of it may have gone over

I would like to introduce you to Gill Andrews, who is a copywriter and a web consultant placing her in the prime position to discuss all things copy, communications and web design – the perfect combo. I must point out though  , yet again my guest has stepped up to the plate and delivered so much value I’ve had to split this chat into two – so this is part 1 of 2!   Takeaways - I love a good analogy and hearing Gill discuss why copy is so important using a classic game (which for this Gill mentioned a train on a track, where as I would say the absolute classic – Lemmings! (not one for the younger generation that – but take a look at what I mean, link in the show notes). Once you’ve set something in motion it needs to guide people through a journey – which is what good copy does  - Gill describes tips as harmful as they are all encompassing, whereas she firmly believes that a system or strategy with specific tips included, is a more engaging way to produce copy for a target audience or niche within a marketplac