Info

Focus Is Your Friend: How to double down on marketing that matters

Marketing matters, but some marketing efforts matter a lot more for your business than other efforts. If you want to learn the secrets of doubling down on what matters for your business, this is the podcast for you. Get advice from experts on how to focus on the marketing, events, PR, social media and email marketing that will move the needle for your business and brand. Stop trying to hope your resources are going to the right places and decide to focus on what matters, with Focus Is Your Friend.
RSS Feed
Focus Is Your Friend: How to double down on marketing that matters
2017
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2016
December
November
October


All Episodes
Archives
Now displaying: February, 2017
Feb 28, 2017

In our final episode of February, we look back at some of the best social media and storytelling lessons we learned this month from Heather Hawkins, Liz O'Donnell, and host Lee Caraher’s solocast about activism.  

“When your business and your message do not line up, you’re at risk. It’s marketing’s job to make them line up.” - Lee Caraher

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • Why you need to start telling your story (Heather Hawkins)
  • How to start telling your story if you’ve never done it (Heather Hawkins)
  • Why you have to get so good at telling your story that telling it becomes second nature (Heather Hawkins)
  • Why your story must be told from an authentic place (Heather Hawkins)
  • Don’t be tone deaf: why you can’t post “normal” content during inappropriate times and why you must turn social off when something hits (Liz O’Donnell)
  • How to use Twitter Moments and Trending Topics to stay on top of current events on social (Liz O’Donnell)
  • Why you need to up your social game (Liz O’Donnell)
  • Listening to what others are saying on social media (Liz O’Donnell)
  • FACE: why frequency, authenticity, consistency, and engagement are the key to building trust (Liz O’Donnell)
  • Why you need to be able to walk the walk with your activism (Lee Caraher)
  • Why you need to fully flesh out your company’s point of view (Lee Caraher)
  • Why you need the infrastructure to manage the result of becoming an activist company (Lee Caraher)
  • Why you need to prepare your social media before you take the activist plunge (Lee Caraher)
  • Why you must thank the supporters of you and your activism (Lee Caraher)
  • Why there’s no turning back once you get into the activist arena and what your future will look like once you take the plunge (Lee Caraher)

Full interviews:

Ways to contact Heather:

Ways to contact Liz:

Feb 16, 2017

Heather helps companies in the wellness and outdoor industries elevate their brand message to increase the positive impact they have on their consumers and communities. She believes a thoughtful communication program is about more than just volume, it's about identifying who matters most to your company in order to reach them in an authentic way. With an ever-expanding arsenal of earned, owned and paid communication tools, it's more important than ever to match the right consumer to the right channel and the right message for the past two-plus decades, she's been doing just that for consumer brands including CLIF Bar, Camelbak, Sega of America, Bell Helmets, Sony Computer Entertainment, Maroon 5 and more. She’d love to hear how she can help you, too.

Away from her laptop, she's an endurance junkie who lives and breathes the wellness and outdoor lifestyle-- trail ultras, road marathons, triathlons, Mudders and more. If it sounds like a miserable way to spend a Sunday morning to most sane people, it's probably right up her alley. She’s also a lifelong learner, certified personal trainer and fitness nutrition coach who loves to geek out on the finer points of sports nutrition and physiology.  

“Focus on one thing and see what the results are before moving on to the next thing. Otherwise, how do you know what moved the needle for you?” - Heather Hawkins

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • Why an authentic founding story is a great marketing tool, how to tell a great one, and what you should focus on if you don’t have that founding story
  • Why you need to work on telling your story until you can tell it naturally
  • Why authenticity is key in telling your story
  • How to educate your consumers about what you do well and not have it feel self-serving
  • Why it’s okay to adapt the way your company does business when new research comes out
  • Why you should focus on one initiative at a time

Ways to contact Heather:

Resources:

Feb 14, 2017

Activism is the new black for brands in 2017. What does this mean for you?  

“Walk the Walk. Don’t profess a point of view that your company can not back up with policy or facts.” - Lee Caraher

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • The increase of company activism under President Trump
  • The Super Bowl ads that were politically charged and presented the points of view of different brands
  • Why activism is a business decision that brands are making and the financial consequences those decisions are having, positive and negative
  • Why you have to be able to back up what you’re advocating for
  • Why consumers will look behind the curtain and why this matters
  • Why you need to fully articulate your point of view
  • Why you need to make sure your web team is ready for the outcomes of your activism
  • Why you must thank your supporters
  • What you have to think about for the future after entering into the activism arena

Resources:

Feb 9, 2017

We liked her so much we kept talking!

Liz O’Donnell is Double Forte’s Chief Content Officer, responsible for the firm’s and its client’s digital marketing and social media strategies. She blogs regularly for the agency on the dynamic world of social media, digital communication and being heard in a very loud world.

Liz is the author of Mogul, Mom & Maid: The Balancing Act of the Modern Woman, a book that picks up where other business books leave off – understanding the impact women’s personal lives have on their careers and the ways business can support working women. Her website WorkingDaughter.com supports women who are balancing caring for an aging parent and their career. She is a frequent speaker and consultant to women who want to thrive and the organizations that want to reach and mobilize women.

Active in her community, Liz is a member of her town’s warrant and finance committee and co-founded Women in Democracy, a non-partisan organization that encourages women to run for local office.  

“Instagram is not Insta-gram anymore. Instagram is a portfolio of the best stuff.” - Liz O'Donnell

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • Liz’s 7 New Year's resolutions for communication in 2017
  • Posting with intention: figuring out your cornerstone messages
  • Being spontaneous and relevant on social
  • Leveraging your great content
  • How to earn trust through engagement
  • Why you must do live video
  • Why you need to figure out how to have fun with social media
  • Twitter auto DM’s: why you need to stop doing them
  • Why you have to keep an eye on your analytics
  • Why you need to have a podcast -- or at least be a guest on podcasts
  • Why you need to cut down on the business speak
  • Automation tools: why you can’t do all of your social media manually
  • Why you should blog less in 2017
  • Tips for making the most of LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat

Ways to contact Liz:

Resources:

Feb 7, 2017

Liz O’Donnell is Double Forte’s Chief Content Officer, responsible for the firm’s and its client’s digital marketing and social media strategies. She blogs regularly for the agency on the dynamic world of social media, digital communication and being heard in a very loud world.

Liz is the author of Mogul, Mom & Maid: The Balancing Act of the Modern Woman, a book that picks up where other business books leave off – understanding the impact women’s personal lives have on their careers and the ways business can support working women. Her website WorkingDaughter.com supports women who are balancing caring for an aging parent and their career. She is a frequent speaker and consultant to women who want to thrive and the organizations that want to reach and mobilize women.

Active in her community, Liz is a member of her town’s warrant and finance committee and co-founded Women in Democracy, a non-partisan organization that encourages women to run for local office.  

“If you’re going to do communications the way that you did them in the past, you might as well whisper.” - Liz O'Donnell

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • How President Trump has changed everything with Twitter
  • Don’t be tone deaf: why you can’t post “normal” content during inappropriate times and why you must turn social off when something hits
  • Why you need to be tuned into Twitter Moments and Trending Topics
  • Why now is the best time to up your social game
  • FACE: why frequency, authenticity, consistency, and engagement are the key to building trust
  • Platforms vs. third party tools: what should you be using to judge trends
  • What to give interns -- and what to not give them
  • Why you need to be really careful when you try to bring in humor
  • When to play it safe -- and when playing it safe is the wrong move
  • How to choose your social media platform

Ways to contact Liz:

Resources:

Feb 2, 2017

Doris Hobbs is an accomplished, published writer, marketing and media consultant with a successful history of leading her clients to deliver business results and sale solutions.

Doris understands all aspects of today’s complex media and marketing landscape given her 10+ years of experience across traditional and digital publication platforms, integrated media with a digital focus, publishing and social media marketing.

Doris is recognized around the world for helping luxury brands get published in magazines, elevating social media presence, where she provides modeling, product placement, brand marketing, skilled writing, and professional photography. Her past clients have obtained multiple pages within a number of premier magazine publications which have included cover exposure, exclusive profile interviews and profitable media campaigns.

She writes and models on topics of business, branding, fashion news, and style trends for a number of publications, not to mention, her own website at www.richinlovefashion.com.  

“If you’re not being authentic, it’s going to show.” - Doris Hobbs

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • What makes the luxury category different from other brands
  • How Doris helps her luxury brand clients set the right price point
  • Why authenticity is the #1 most important thing for any brand
  • Why you need great photography on your Instagram feed
  • Why you can’t do social media on the fly
  • How to use one project to launch another one (and why this is the best way to maximize limited resources)
  • Why -- if she could do anything -- Doris would expand her business into motivational speaking
  • Doris’ Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis and how she didn’t allow it to control her
  • Why you need to keep the 5-by-5 rule close to you (if it won’t matter in 5 years, don’t give it 5 minutes of your time)
  • Doris’ cross media marketing strategy that gives her clients the most bang for their buck

Ways to contact Doris:

1