Marketing Mistakes (And How To Avoid Them)
Michael Greenberg and Stacy Jones discuss their experience as podcasters and the importance of Authority Marketing on the Marketing Mistakes Podcast.
Michael Greenberg
Michael Greenberg is the founder of both Gentleman of Technology, a growth consulting firm and Call For Content, a Podcasting Agency.
Gentleman of Technology is a growth consulting firm and Call For Content is a full-service podcasting agency for content marketing, audience growth, and monetization strategies. Michael talks about authority marketing, discussing why you need it, how to implement it, and the common misconceptions most people have about it.
But can we start off talking a little bit about your background and what got you to where you are today and share why you think podcasting is such an awesome tool? (01:14)
- Michael dropped out of school when he was 20 and went to a coding boot camp. He started working for a startup based originally in San Francisco and then moved with them down south to South Carolina. He really loved the sales, marketing, and operations, so when he left the company, he started consulting and founded Gentleman of Technology doing growth strategy consulting.
- He founded Call For Content when he discovered that if you built agencies the right way from the start, you could build something that didn’t take a lot of time to manage, with consistent revenue. Call For Content started as a B2B content marketing agency with white label podcasting launched nine months later and authority marketing following that.
- On a per-word basis, podcasts, starting with a podcast and then turning it into other kinds of content is the cheapest way to go about it from a cost perspective and you get to meet amazing people who also have podcasts all over the world.
- He says that if the average person listens up to 7 or 10 hours of podcasts and is then dedicated to the brand that owns that podcast, that from a marketing perspective is pretty much the best thing he can ask for.
- A lot of the shows Call for Content produces are drive-time shows as most of their listeners are commuting, and once you know how the people that you want to be listening listen, then you’re really able to dig in and create content for that time period.
Do you want to talk a little bit about Authority Marketing as a whole and what it means? (07:10)
- Authority marketing as we look at it at Call for Content is a content marketing strategy designed for high ticket B2B lead gen primarily for expert-run businesses.
- Authority marketing is about positioning with content and using that to assist in sales and lead generation efforts, starting with the client using that podcast to gather case studies from past clients they’ve worked with, and then introducing them to some new partners.
- Authority marketing is all about making those situations happen, building those relationships out for the current and the future. There is an entire playbook on that on the website called the B2B Podcast Playbook, the number one way we use podcasts for lead generation
Are there other ways besides podcasting? What made you all decide to start with podcasting? Just because it’s simpler or easier or is the most economical? (09:41)
- Michael says it’s a little bit of everything. Hiring and working with ghostwriters is hard and he does not want to put his clients through that. I
- All content starts with doing subject matter expert interviews to create that content and then positioning the conversation so that you have a podcast?.
- He says that you plan around the content, starting with an ebook, interviews, and topics for the show, testing the individual concepts along the way. Rather like where you plan the different stripes of the tent first around the different kinds of content you’re producing.
- Michael feels people should pay for the extra internal knowledge, not the process. He says that with retargeting pixel and an audience already from the prior pieces, you are able to know that these people have some interest in these topics already and bring them back for that larger download.
- What people are looking for is the value that you’re receiving from the expertise. Hopefully, you’ve made more mistakes than your client has done and learned from your mistakes.
What are you using the retargeting pixel for when you are working with your podcasts and looking for your audience? How are you doing that? (15:30)
- Retargeting pixel is some new stuff. You’re getting your pixels through attribution. Companies like Podsights are able to measure podcast ads and have this attribution built-in. As soon as you have attribution, you have the opportunity to re-target. He uses Omni Studio as it has everything you need.
- He pushes you to subscribe to his newsletter to learn about the podcast and associated events and other content so that he has a more valuable measurement. A large part of his work is pushing traffic through the Web at some point for retargeting.
- Starting with researching customers and audience is the first step to determine the way in which we use the podcast going forward.
- Working together, telling your clients what’s happening, and then building the topics and the content from that, helps to decide if the podcast is going to be a solo conversation or if there are guests. Guests bring in potential clients and build even more authority to actually help you promote your podcast.
- The best focus is to be outwards with the podcast. Gen Xer is really your magic. we’re going to know from the start that this content is almost entirely going to be consumed in a readable format.
Inviting guests, figuring out who you’re doing outreach for and how you’re doing outreach for them. How do you go about that? (21:10)
- Michael has a big list of expert guests if somebody with something specific is needed and then he is likely to go to LinkedIn first to find the person he is looking for. Depending on the kind of person he then determines whether or not social media or email is the best way to reach out.
- Some of the shows have much higher profile guests, and in those cases, it’s really easy because then it’s just scheduling. It is easy when you have two people who know each other as they have shared something or other so they already have that instant connection. Scheduling a 15-minute call between the host and guest a couple of weeks in advance helps to build a rapport.
- Michael generally focuses on two channels for promoting a show, paid and podcast placements. Placing the host of the show on other podcasts is a great idea, but having one to bring your audience to is even better. On the paid side, it really depends on the budget and on the audience. You can also outreach to influencers around the episodes, but generally, you have to then work with a third party.
- One of the biggest issues in placing brands as part of the storylines, subjects, and conversations inside podcasts is based on how many people are actually listening to that podcast
- B2B and B2C podcasts are at the higher end of success, so they’re still selling pretty high ticket items. Working with coaches is also a helpful process and sponsorships on a commission-only basis for clients that want it. Most of the monetization is through products or services associated with the show.
What else do our listeners need to know about authority marketing and how to make it work for them? (33:32)
You want to be as specific as possible, and floodlight versus a laser helps explain this. If you’re a digital marketing agency, that’s a floodlight. a very broad positioning. If you’re an entertainment-focused digital marketing agency, that’s a spotlight. If you’re an entertainment marketing agency who specializes in influencer partnerships and branded content that’s a laser. People know exactly what you do. Agencies gain traction faster when they have that laser positioning because then it’s easier to get into the budget.
- For authority marketing, it is important to be closer to a laser. The more narrow you start, the easier it is to build authority, and the faster you see results.
- You can find Michael on social media, @gentoftech and if you want to actually speak with him or if you want to learn more about authority marketing or the podcasting work that he does, go to callforcontent.com. If you go into the bottom-right corner there’ll be a little chat widget, and it’ll ask you if you want to schedule office hours, and just say yes, and then you can chat. Office hours are Michael’s time to talk with his audience and answer questions and get great ideas for new content, so it really works out in everyone’s favor.