Archive for the ‘Social Marketing’ Category

Good Vibes Content Marketing Examples: Who’s Doing It Right and Why This Content Matters – The Content Standard by Skyword

Youve heard of cause marketing, relationship marketing, brand marketing, experiential marketing, and even stealth marketing. But what do you know about joy marketing? Joy marketing is the use of simple happiness to promote a brand or message. At a time when joy seems elusive, this approach to marketing is now more appealing than ever before.

Since showing is often more helpful than telling, lets take a look at six content marketing examples that spark and spread joy. Then, well analyze why theyre so successful.

Cadbury has always associated itself closely with simple joy, the term coming in and out of multiple campaigns over the years. But no content so perfectly embodies the feeling quite like its Quest for the Joyville Taster, an online competition that prompted audiences to taste its sweet treat and describe it in creative new words.

Over 77,000 people took to Twitter to gush about the chocolate in never-before-uttered verbiage. The contest produced the most dramatic ever sales spike for Cadburys Dairy Milk Chocolates, driving a 20 percent revenue increase year over year. The winning word? Absoverylicious! *chefs kiss*

Dominos Pizza has flipped FOMO on its head by encouraging hungry audiences to instead embrace JOMO: the joy of missing out.

Although the brands joyous commercials are enough to make the point, they didnt stop there. Dominos also hired top artists to create new GIFs so it could update its custom GIPHY library, which is now loaded with the many joyful GIFeelings audiences use to express satisfaction in their decision to stay in with tasty Dominos products. To date, the jubilant branded expressions have earned over 516 million views on social and in messaging apps.

Dominos GIFeelings screenshot via Giphy.com.

Two years ago, Cupcake Vineyards launched an online contest showcasing the tagline, Choose Joy. The intention behind this campaign? To help audiences rejoice in the authentic, merry moments of everyday life. What sparked the campaign? The observation that wine has been welcomed into the special moments we experience amid our regular routines, and that it isnt just reserved for rare extravaganzas.

The occasion to drink wine has shifted from nice events and weddings to more impulsive celebrations rooted in feeling and joy, so we were inspired to create a campaign around a new set of life moments, said Laura Wimer of Mekanism, the creative agency that spearheaded the campaign, in an interview with The Drum (Scotland).

Cupcake Vineyards joy marketing has included both the user-generated social media contest and its ongoing sponsorship of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

In a push to increase awareness and attract visitors, the San Diego Tourism Authority launched five new content series, all of which were focused on the joy that region creates for guests. They appropriately dubbed the videos Guides to the Good Stuff, One Bright Idea, Sunny Seven, Positively Postable, and, as seen below, Bliss Break.

Viewers would normally be confused by random, unexplained clips of San Diego scenes, but the brand lets audiences off the thinking hook by clarifying that this is your 15-second bliss break, as if to say, Dont try to make more sense of it than that. Just enjoy this moment.

To date, the Bliss Break series alone has earned over 4 million views on YouTube. The San Diego Tourism Authority has since continued producing and publishing even higher-performing video content to cultivate joy and attract visitors.

In 2015, fast food joints were falling out of vogue with younger, more health-conscious customers who craved fresh foods that were less processed. Entire generations were shifting from KFC, Burger King, and McDonalds to options like True Food Kitchen, Chipotle, and Tropical Smoothie.

Noticing that these consumers also appreciated experiences over possessions, McDonalds decided to spend a boisterous 24 hours in 24 cities creating memories.

Marketing publications gave the buzzworthy campaign plenty of coverage, but only time would tell if it would achieve the lasting brand sentiment McDonalds leaders had hoped for. Today, analysts can look back at that moment and acknowledge the joyful campaign as the beginning of a long climb back to the top of the fray.

Data Source: Yahoo Finance.

Publix Super Markets produced the Recipe for Happiness campaign, a rich content experience full of lifestyle stories and advice, recipes, and rewards catered to millennial moms. The joy marketing initiative earned the brands agency a finalist slot at the Content Marketing Institutes 2019 Content Marketing Awards and a spot on Chief Marketers 200 Top Marketing Agencies of 2020 list.

Perhaps more importantly, the campaign achieved 111.1 million qualified, laser-targeted impressions. It also spurred a 39 percent growth in sales for Kraft, a program partner, and a 15 percent increase in unit sales for Pepsi, who also strategically partnered up. In retrospect, the content hub was indeed a recipe for happiness and one of historys best content marketing examples.

Before adding joy to your tagline and plastering the web with branded smiley faces, consider the too-common pitfalls of joy messaging. Well list them out in a moment, but first, lets observe a couple of them in the wild.

Try to spot the difference between the heartwarming examples above and this ad for Haribo Squidgy.

The brand denies that theres any negativity in the world whatsoeverthats a mistake. The most genuine, truly joy-filled messages are those that are purposefully constructed against the backdrop of real-life struggles. Without this dose of reality, brands are just lying to themselves and asking audiences to join them in the process. Tragedy and malevolence are an undeniable part of the human experience but antagonistic forces neednt negate real joy, in fact, when acknowledged respectfully, they accentuate it.

To preempt blame, marketing executives cover their butts by outlawing the least hint of anything negative in their ads, writes Robert McKee in his book Storynomics, which he coauthored with Tom Gerace. As an unfortunate result, negaphobia not only distorts their business judgment, but it also sucks the impact out of their messaging.

Exhibit two: This happy, happy spot for Godrej.

This video contains an even more common pitfall. Although the commercial includes a crisis, the turmoil on display is a beautiful middle-aged womans hair color and style. The product is predictably the solution and once the protagonist tries it, their life is outrageously, unbelievably good. Their joy is so extreme that theyand their whole familyscream in an unrealistic effusion.

What this and the Haribo spot have in common is hero confusion. The product alone brings joy, and thats impossible for viewers to believe.

Recall again McDonalds #imlovinit24 stunt. The brands goal was to thank and delight customers for their loyalty and solidify itself as a fun global brand. It didnt set up the events to say, Lets all celebrate our product today, as some campaigns do.

One sure-fire way to determine if your joy marketing idea has legs is to ask whether the content is meant to elicit a feeling or to give one. Rather than aiming to get something, such as a reaction, from audiences, your content should provide something, such as an experience or a memory.

Why should you invest in joyful marketing? For starters, audiences are hungry for uplifting content. Google trends show that consumers have been increasingly searching for good news contentand that trend started even before actor John Krasinskis homebrewed online show Some Good News first aired.

Secondly, users are more likely to support brands that understand their needs and right now, we all need an extra helping of joy. But remember, the best joyful content marketing examples are those that deposit feelings of warmth and happiness against truthful backdrops of reality. So dont just tell audiences that your products or services will make them happy, give them content and experiences that theyll be happy about. Youll know youre doing joyful marketing right when youre able to forge deep audience connections without pushing a sale.

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Featured image by Barbara Alcada on Unsplash.

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Good Vibes Content Marketing Examples: Who's Doing It Right and Why This Content Matters - The Content Standard by Skyword

What’s next for social ad spend as one third of brands plot hate-speech boycott? – The Drum

As brands continue to add their name to the growing list of companies boycotting Facebook, fresh research from the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) has painted a sobering picture of how marketers view the social network and its rivals.

Volkswagen and Mars are the latest corporations to halt ad spend with Facebook over its handling of damaging content and misinformation. The car marque and food giant join Levi's, Coca-Cola, Unilever and more in signing up to the 'Stop Profit for Hate campaign' which is backed by civil rights groups including the NAACP, Color of Change and the Anti-Defamation League.

The coalition has been calling on major corporations to put a pause on advertising on Facebook for the month of July, citing its "repeated failure to meaningfully address the vast proliferation of hate on its platforms".

Some brands have gone further, pulling the plug on all investment for the foreseeable future across all social networks.

The WFA's research has revealed a diminishing faith in not only Facebook, but also its bedfellows, to address the issue at hand.

The WFA's members control nearly $100bn in global ad spend. Following the news of the Facebook boycott, the trade body asked members about their policies on social media ad spend. 76 responded, representing 58 companies and $92bn in marketing dollars.

Almost one-third of these marketers (31%) said they will, or are likely to, suspend advertising on social media over platforms' failure to police hate speech. A further 40% said they were also considering doing so.

17% said they were unlikely to withhold spend. 12% said they had no plans to withhold spend.

Brands were also asked which other actions they'd taken or had considered. 53% said they'd already had direct conversations with social platforms about hate speech. 48% said their main approach was to work through industry bodies to deal with the issue. 32% said they weren't taking action for now and 13% said they were taking other actions.

If anything, the survey shows how divided the industry is on how to handle the issue. Some brands are set on pulling spend, where others remain undecided.

The WFA also released some anonymised qualitative responses as part of the research. Again, these are a mixed bag: one marketer laments that it's "simply depressing" how much the platforms are still falling short and says they would "appreciate support with identifying and viable alternatives for investments".

Another pointed out that neither the platforms nor the advertisers propping them up are perfect: "Advertisers may pull out of these platforms," the brand marketer continues, "but consumers will not.

Hate speech and how brands inadvertently fund it is an issue that has been on the WFA's radar for some time. Working with social networks to find a solution to the problem is already being prioritised by the trade body's Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM).

For its part, Facebook has promised new policies to connect people with authoritative information about voting, crack down on voter suppression, and fight hate speech.

Actions include labelling posts that are potentially harmful and even in violation of the platform's policies but are not censored by the platform because they are deemed newsworthy.

Facebook will also add a link to its voting information centre to posts that reference voting, including those made by politicians such as President Trump.

Speaking to the Financial Times earlier this week, chief executive of the WFA Stephen Loerke noted how this moment feels like a turning point amid the pressure of the 'Stop Hate for Profit' campaign.

Whats striking is the number of brands who are saying they are reassessing their longer-term media allocation strategies and demanding structural changes in the way platforms address racial intolerance, hate speech and harmful content, he explained.

The magnitude of the brand exodus wont really be clear until Facebook releases its Q3 results in October.

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What's next for social ad spend as one third of brands plot hate-speech boycott? - The Drum

Which companies have pulled their ads from Facebook so far? – NBC News

As Facebook continues to receive criticism for its handling of hate speech, corporations and advertisers are pulling away as part of #StopHateForProfit, an activist campaign forcing the social network to counteract harmful content on its platform.

The initiative created by a civil rights coalition that includes the Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP, Color of Change, and other nonprofits believes Facebook failed to censor President Donald Trump when he warned protesters in Minneapolis, "When the looting starts, the shooting starts.

The group organizing the boycott has called on businesses to pause Facebook advertising for the month of July. Facebook earns over 98 percent of its revenue from ads, which brought in $70 billion in 2019 alone.

Lets send Facebook a powerful message: Your profits will never be worth promoting hate, bigotry, racism, antisemitism and violence, the Anti-Defamation League wrote.

The campaign comes amid widespread racial justice protests across the U.S. The Anti-Defamation League claims Facebook allowed incitement to violence against protesters fighting for racial justice in America in the wake of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, Rayshard Brooks and so many others. Could they protect and support Black users? Could they call out Holocaust denial as hate? Could they help get out the vote? They absolutely could. But they are actively choosing not to do so, the organization wrote on #StopHateForProfits webpage.

We deeply respect any brands decision, and remain focused on the important work of removing hate speech and providing critical voting information, Carolyn Everson, Facebook's vice president for global marketing, told NBC News. Our conversations with marketers and civil rights organizations are about how, together, we can be a force for good.

One estimate suggests that more than 530 companies will participate in the boycott. Heres how some of these companies are addressing their connection to Facebook.

Volkswagen

In solidarity with #StopHateForProfit, Volkswagen Group of America is suspending central advertising on Facebook and Instagram for the month of July while we assess their fit as relevant platforms for our brand communications, a company spokesperson told NBC News.

VW firmly believes in the right to free speech for all. But hate and dangerous online misinformation should not go unchecked. We expect our advertising partners to reflect our values, and Volkswagen as well as other companies must hold them to the same standards we demand of ourselves.

Adidas and Reebok

Racist, discriminatory, and hateful online content have no place in our brand or in society, the company said in a statement. As we focus on better practices within our company and communities to ensure lasting change in the fight against racism, Adidas and Reebok will also pause advertising on Facebook and Instagram globally throughout July.

The company added that it would be developing criteria to hold ourselves and every one of our partners accountable for creating and maintaining safe environments.

Levi Strauss & Co.

We at Levi Strauss & Co. have a responsibility to speak up and take action when we see major issues arise that impact our employees, fans and community at large, Jen Sey, Levis chief marketing officer, wrote in a statement.

Thats why we are joining the #StopHateForProfit campaign, pausing all paid Facebook and Instagram advertising globally and across all our brands to hit pause on hate. We will suspend advertising at least through the end of July. When we re-engage will depend on Facebooks response, the statement continued.

Chipotle Mexican Grill

The fast casual restaurant chain has temporarily paused ads on Facebook and Instagram, saying Chipotle is committed to our brand purpose of cultivating a better world.

We are temporarily pausing paid advertising on Facebook and Instagram starting July 1 while we work together to better understand the changes they are making, said Chris Brandt, the companys chief marketing officer. We will continue to be part of the solution to fight systemic racism and create inclusive communities.

CVS Health

The health care giant said it would pause advertising on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for at least 30 days and said it will use that time to define our strategy going forward, built around the simple principle that we wont support any platform that isnt taking meaningful steps to eliminate hate speech and misinformation.

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Starbucks

Starbucks announced that it plans to suspend advertising on all social media platforms.

We believe in bringing communities together, both in person and online, and we stand against hate speech, the coffee giant said in a statement. We believe more must be done to create welcoming and inclusive online communities, and we believe both business leaders and policy makers need to come together to affect real change.

Intercontinental Hotels Group

Intercontinental Hotels Group, whose brands include Crowne Plaza, Kimpton, and Holiday Inn, has joined other companies in what has become a global boycott on Facebook. The company did not provide specifics on how long they would suspend ads on the platform.

Conagra Brands

We stand by our company values including broadmindedness and integrity, and believe there is no place for hate, intolerance and racism in the world or on social media, the packaged food company, which owns brands such as Orville Redenbachers and Chef Boyardee, told NBC News.

That's why Conagra Brands is pausing all paid Facebook and Instagram advertising in the U.S. across our brand portfolio throughout the rest of the calendar year.

Microsoft

Microsoft stopped advertising on Facebook in the U.S. in May and has now suspended its ad campaigns on the platform globally, according to a report from Axios.

"Based on concerns we had back in May we suspended all media spending on Facebook/Instagram in the U.S. and weve subsequently suspended all spending on Facebook/Instagram worldwide," Microsoft chief marketing officer Chris Capossela wrote in an internal post to company employees.

Microsoft, which is Facebooks third-largest advertiser, is mostly concerned about inappropriate content adjacent to its ads, Axios wrote.

Ford

We are pausing all national social media advertising for the next 30 days to re-evaluate our presence on these platforms, the auto giant said.

The existence of content that includes hate speech, violence and racial injustice on social platforms needs to be eradicated. We are actively engaged with industry initiatives led by the Association of National Advertisers to drive more accountability, transparency and trusted measurement to clean up the digital and social media ecosystem.

Clorox

The Clorox Company will stop advertising spending with Facebook, Inc. through December, the company wrote in a statement on its website.

As a people-centered company committed to our values, we feel compelled to take action against hate speech, which we believe will increase through the balance of the year. This creates an increasingly unhealthy environment for people and our purpose-driven brands.

Honda

For the month of July, American Honda will withhold its advertising on Facebook and Instagram, choosing to stand with people united against hate and racism, the company told NBC News. This is inalignment with our companys values, which are grounded in human respect.

Verizon

Verizon announced last week that it would suspend advertising on Facebook.

"We're pausing our advertising until Facebook can create an acceptable solution that makes us comfortable and is consistent with what we've done with YouTube and other partners," John Nitti, chief media officer for Verizon, said.

The company spends approximately $1billion each year on advertising.

Unilever

One of the largest advertisers in the world, Unilever announced last week it would pull its ads from Facebook in support for the #StopHateForProfit campaign.

Continuing to advertise on these platforms at this time would not add value to people and society," the company said. "We will be monitoring ongoing and will revisit our current position if necessary."

Ben & Jerrys

As of July 1, we will pause all paid advertising on Facebook and Instagram in the United States as part of the #StopHateForProfit campaign, the company told NBC. We call on Facebook, Inc. to take the clear and unequivocal actions called for by the campaign to stop its platform from being used to spread and amplify racism and hate.

Coca-Cola

The beverage giant said it will stop running ads on social media platforms for the next 30 days, as it reevaluates where it spends its advertising budget.

There is no place for racism in the world, and there is no place for racism on social media, CEO and chairman of the company James Quincey told Adweek.

Other brands participating in the massive campaign include Patagonia, The North Face, and Best Buy. While the campaign exists for the month of July, some companies including Conagra and Clorox plan to suspend their advertising on Facebook for the remainder of the year.

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Which companies have pulled their ads from Facebook so far? - NBC News

Emerging Courses: What is digital marketing and what are its career options? – The Indian Express

New Delhi | Published: July 1, 2020 5:12:24 pm

Written by Shrey Aggarwal

Digital marketing is about promoting products or services using digital channels. It is primarily focused on internet-based technologies. It also includes marketing to mobile and electronic devices.

A successful digital marketing campaign supports a companys business goals. It is often deployed in conjunction with traditional marketing, helping the business expand and develop its brand and reach, identify leads, and gain market share at a much more reasonable cost.

Digital marketing is extremely important for any business as it allows them to connect with consumers, where they spend a lot of their time online. It has many aspects to it and a few major ones are listed below:

Social Media Marketing (SMM): This can include paid as well as organic marketing on social media channels, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Quora, etc. This is becoming ever so important with the increasing popularity of social media channels.

Read| Emerging courses to pursue:Virology|Actuarial science| Pharma Marketing|FinTech|Coronavirus|Robotics | Healthcare Engineering | Cyber Security| Data Science | Petroleum and Energy | Design Strategy | Business analytics | Digital auditing

Search Engine Marketing (SEM): This is basically paid marketing on search engines of Google, Bing, Yahoo even though google is the major part of search engine marketing, Bing plays a big role if you are marketing globally.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO): For organic or non-paid search rankings, this is the most powerful tool in the long run. SEO is considered a very strategic channel by most companies and while it does not give instant results, you should invest heavily in SEO to get sustained benefits in the long run.

Content marketing: Writing relevant content to engage users in the form of blog posts, Quora answers, email content. Video content is also a part of content marketing and is gaining traction rapidly. A well-made and engaging video can help significantly in generating organic reach.

Affiliate marketing: Engaging affiliate website or partners to generate referral traffic is a major part of marketing when you are managing a business that has a significant scale.

There is a lot of cutting edge work that is being done in digital marketing by deploying skills such as machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Companies such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, Quora, are at the forefront of driving these marketing innovations.

Opportunities in digital marketing

According to Statista.com, the number of internet users in India as of January 2020 is around 629 million of which 400 million are active on social media, making India the second-largest internet market in the world. This number is supposed to grow by 20 per cent annually due to the availability of cheap data charges.

With such a growing digital footprint, companies are investing heavily in online marketing as it is the easiest and cheapest way to reach such audiences.

Read | How to apply for admission to the best universities in India

The digital advertising expenditure in India stood at 160 billion Indian rupees in the fiscal year 2019, with estimates to reach almost 540 billion rupees by the fiscal year 2024. This marks a good 28 percent growth rate in digital ad spends in the country, as per Statista.

With such robust growth in spends the market is surely in need of skilled digital marketers and one can grow in any of the following fields, for instance, as a digital marketing strategist, digital marketing executive, web content manager, SEO analyst, social media specialist, online leads manager, Google AdWords specialist, email marketing specialist, e-commerce specialist, online leads manager, web analyst, online reputation manager and many more roles.

Courses in digital marketing

Most digital marketing experts are self-taught in the current workforce, most learned on the job or from free content available on the Internet. This was feasible earlier as the scope of digital marketing was very limited, but as the function is growing day by day there is an increasing demand for skilled digital marketing professionals. This is where a structured online course for digital marketing comes into play which not only teaches fundamentals but also provides hands-on exposure to relevant tools and techniques.

One such course is delivered by Great Lakes Institute of Management in collaboration with Great Learning. Premiere management institutes like IIM-B also offer courses like marketing and digital marketing, digital and social media marketing, NIIT also offers digital marketing certification course, UPES has a BBA in digital marketing and AMA also offers professional certificate marketer (PCM) certifications. Several online courses from marketing experts and foreign universities are also available for students who are pursuing a course in different subjects and wish to top up their degree with digital marketing certification or degrees.

Read| Online courses to upskill during quarantine:Unique short courses to pursue online|Courses to enhance professional communication|Online courses that offer foreign degree|Online courses by Harvard University|Online courses with IIM certification|Women directors to forensic audit: List of short online courses by ICSI|Job-oriented Swayam Courses|Hours long courses|English grammar courses

The author is Senior Manager Digital Marketing, Great Learning

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Emerging Courses: What is digital marketing and what are its career options? - The Indian Express

#Transformers: Smart podcasts that could change you, and your business – MarkLives.com

by Charlie Mathews & Morgan Botha. Transformation, at its essence, is an expansive movement; its about reaching out, listening, learning and challenging yourself to be and do better, whatever better means to you. It takes hard work, and part of that is finding the right role models and mentors or education to propel you forward.

In business, Im a beast. Like, I will always be successful in business. I was, from six years old, and I am now. This self-confidence juggernaut is the marketing machine-cum-internet personality and best-selling author, Gary Vaynerchuk. Speaking on The Garyvee Audio Experience, he talks about looking at himself in the mirror when he was 30 [hes now 44] and realising that he was losing his edge. I revisited my hustle on my 30th birthday, and Ive never worked harder since. And it [the hard work] has been compounded. I am working harder this second than I have ever my entire life.

But this confidence doesnt just materialise; it takes a real toll. In a 13-minute piece called Hard Work Is the ONLY Thing You Can Control, the marketing master talks about a time he wasnt on top. I lost my hustle around 29, he confesses. There was a six-to-nine month period where it was clear to me that I was complacent. He recalls when his reckoning came: I remember riding to the store on my 30th birthday, looking in the rear-view mirror and saying: Youre full of shit. Your mouth is ahead of your actions.

Vaynerchuk is hard on himself but hes right. Transformation isnt achieved with cruise control. Striving and toil is how Garyvee moved forward, and work is one of his highest defining values. He is relentlessly hard-working but he works smart, too. A case in point is the recent 270-page deck he put out on how to create huge volumes of marketing material quickly. At the core of this thinking is what he calls pillar content. The idea is this: make meaningful long-form content and then slice and dice it cleverly so that one piece creates enough content for all your channels for a month. This helps to build vast libraries of content, which, if you iterate and understand SEO, gets better the more you make it.

Before we go any further, here are seven clever content tips from him that you can start using straight away to boost your social marketing:

Always relevant, the Garyvee Audio experience offers marketing advice that fits the now, whether hes speaking about how to market to Gen Z or offering insight on how TikTok may be used as part of a marketing strategy. Whats valuable about the podcast is that hes also created a space that acknowledges what a terrible time human beings are experiencing currently, and he offers pragmatic advice on how to deal with it. Vaynerchuk addresses people who, in his words, feel stuck in life, and its refreshing to see how plainly and authentically he counsels people not to feel overwhelmed.

Podcast consumption has soared in recent times, thanks to the pervasive growth of smartphones, the device most preferred by people for listening to this kind of digital audio. Reuters Institutes Digital News Report for 2020 interviewed 80000 online news consumers in 40 markets, and half of those under the age of 35 had consumed at least one podcast over the last month. Across countries, half of all respondents (50%) say that podcasts provide more depth and understanding than other types of media, the institute for the study of journalism reports.

Today, Spotify is the worlds biggest destination for podcasts, which is why Joe Rogans move to the Swedish-born streaming company has been such big news. In May 2020, The Wall Street Journal announced that Rogan and Spotify had inked an exclusive deal, valued at over US$100m, to move the comedian-turned-podcaster and his massive audience to the digital service. This means that he will now earn much more money than most of the musicians currently on Spotify.

Ted Gioia, music historian and critic, put this into perspective with his tweet: A musician would need to generate 23 billion streams on Spotify to earn what theyre paying Joe Rogan for his podcast rights (assuming a typical $.00437 payout per stream). In other words, Spotify values Rogan more than any musician in the history of the world. Sound fair to you?

This deal is likely to make the MMA commentator the wealthiest broadcaster in the world.

Does this mean that you, too, are likely to become rich and famous by starting a podcast? The BBC addresses hopefuls head-on by saying: It is generally difficult to make large amounts of money in the crowded world of podcasts. As most podcasts are free to download, many presenters and producers attempt to make money from endorsements and advertising. A platform-exclusive deal such as this is very rare.

However, podcasting has been used exceptionally well by news brands to build loyalty. The New York Times has a podcast, The Daily, which currently has some 2m listeners a day and which attracts substantial advertising revenues. Plus covid-19 has produced its own breakthroughs, such as a podcast created in Germany by one of that countrys top virologists, Das Coronavirus-Update, which is top of the podcast charts in that country.

Given that there are over a million podcasts to choose from, you will need to curate your podcast list to ensure you get extreme value. To get you on your way, MarkLives.com has selected the most-inspiring and -useful transformative business, life and marketing podcasts for you to enjoy.

South African celebrity, DJ Sbu, has created a podcast that is informative, authentic, and laid-back. With episodes such as How to Take Advantage of Lockdown, he encourages self-improvement and staying accountable to yourself. Sbu doesnt shy away from the tough, gritty issues such as HIV or dealing with the difficult parts of working and parenting. His focus is on the authentic genuine people, something big agencies sometimes lose sight of. The Hustlers Corner can be the wake-up call for creatives because it peels back the layer on the very humans that agencies create campaigns for.

South African best-selling author and entrepreneur, Matt Brown, has transformed his message into one of accepting the new world for what it is. Suffering only happens when you have a problem with reality, he says, opening his show. When you dont accept the fact that this is whats happening to you, that this is the reality now, its not what you planned for, its not what you hoped for, it certainly wasnt in your control, but yet youre the one suffering the consequences. This podcaster doesnt pull any punches, and Brown uses his platform to inspire, to expand minds, and share experiences. Each episode features an entrepreneur and, in the discussion, he talks about the hard stuff such as marketing in a recession, and the certainty of uncertainty. He doesnt avoid difficult topics such as race and poverty, and his conversations are well-researched.

With short episodes of 10 minutes or less, Neil Patel and Eric Siu break down easy-to-understand marketing advice. These episodes air daily and offer actionable steps for everyone, from a beginner with a small online store to a CMO of a massive corporation. Benefit from new perspectives Patel and Siu have those by the bucketload. This dynamic duo teaches how to adapt to the times, and how to ensure your business survives the novel coronavirus.

Patel and Siu are transformers whove found a smart way to help a busy audience thrown into the deep end of unfamiliar marketing waters with intelligent insights. This podcast is great for anyone who wants to reevaluate their tactics or marketing spend. In short: bite-sized insights that are easy to understand and that cover everything you need to know about content and how to become an ace marketer.

This is a very real and raw show, in which Courtland Allen hosts people whove started and grown businesses online, both large and small. These are usually developers, but the show is fascinating because it digs deep into how to grow digital products and projects, the fundamentals of how to start a business, how to test your ideas, where to find a market, how to hunt for your first customers and how to grow, grow, grow.

Right up there with Joe Rogan, The Tim Ferriss Show is the top business podcast on Apple and was selected by readers of Fortune in 2016 as their favourite podcast. Guests have included the likes of Tony Robbins, Maria Sharapova, Malcolm Gladwell, LinkedIns Reid Hoffman, and many more of the most-successful thinkers, intellectuals and business icons of our time.

If youve never listened to Ferris before, dive right into #124: Jamie Foxx on Workout Routines, Success Habits, and Untold Hollywood Stories, where the American actor, singer, comedian, songwriter, television host and producer tells Ferriss how he used US$400 to match a US$1m party thrown by Puff Daddy, and how he built up his network with Pharell, Kanye, and Jay-Z. You get to hear Foxx do impersonations of Ed Sheeran, Kermit the Frog, Sammy Davis Jr, LeBron James, and Mike Tyson. You also find out what he learnt from his grandma, and what his workout routine is.

Transformers Transform 2020 is a special series produced by MarkLives and HumanInsight and sponsored by the Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA), running JunSep 2020. Our objective is to explore and map new paths for brands and marketers to transform, adapt and build resilience while the world adapts to covid-19 and its resultant social, political and economic toll. This is an independently managed, journalism-driven research project.

As founder and CEO of HumanInsight, Charlie Mathews (@CharlesLeeZA) leads research on #HopePunk, #Transformation #DigitalEcosystems, and works with the worlds most-transformative technology brands. Morgan Botha is a columnist for MarkLives.com, where she co-writes #AdChamps. At work, she is a content strategist for Newlytics, a digital marketing platform that makes understanding online analytics easy and simple.

Sign up now for the MarkLives newsletter, including Ramify.biz headlines and become a MarkLives Member, too, to ensure continued coverage.

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