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Classics: 4 Tips for Getting the Most Out of Paid Media with Amy Scalia, Local 12 and Cincinnati Refined: Show Notes & Transcript

Post | Nov 21, 2023

Welcome back to Marketing Smarts! From brand-building and marketing veterans Anne Candido and April Martini (that’s us) comes a podcast committed to cutting through all the confusing marketing BS so you can actually understand how to take action and change your business today. We deep-dive into topics most would gloss-over, infusing real-world examples from our combined 35+ years of corporate and agency experience. We tell it how it is so whether you are just starting out or have been in business awhile, you have the Marketing Smarts to immediately impact your business.

In this episode, we’re talking getting the most out of paid media with Amy Scalia. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and your other favorite podcast spots – follow and leave a 5-star review if you’re exercising your Marketing Smarts!

  • Episode Summary & Player
  • Show Notes
  • Marketing Smarts Summary
  • Transcript

Marketing Smarts: Classics: 4 Tips for Getting the Most Out of Paid Media with Amy Scalia, Local 12 and Cincinnati Refined

There’s organic media and paid media. The latter can bring about muuuuuch bigger results in your marketing efforts – if you do it right. So, how do you get the most out of paid media? You’ll want to leverage influencer marketing, invest enough to break through and create an ecosystem, amplify content and placements across your channels, and know how the paid media KPIs impact business KPIs. You’ll also be faced with the decision of hiring an influencer marketing agency or going at it yourself, determining the most effective paid media platforms, and overcoming common mistakes with paid media. We wanted you to learn from a dynamic leader who knows all sides of paid media, so we welcomed on Amy Scalia. She’s an on-air host for Local 12, the Managing Editor of Cincinnati Refined, and started and runs the foundation PSNEVERGIVEUP with her husband. This episode covers everything from paid media to KPIs. Here’s a small sample of what you will hear in this episode:

  • How do you get the most out of paid media?
  • Should you hire an agency to manage your influencer marketing or go at it on your own?
  • What are the most effective paid media platforms?
  • How do you leverage influencer marketing?
  • What are the biggest mistakes businesses make when it comes to paid media?
  • How much should you invest to break through?
  • What are the most important marketing channels?
  • How should you assess your KPIs?

And as always, if you need help in building your Marketing Smarts, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at: ForthRight-People.com.

Check out the episode, show notes, and transcript below:

Show Notes

What is Marketing Smarts?

From brand-building and marketing veterans Anne Candido and April Martini comes a podcast committed to cutting through all the confusing marketing BS so you can actually understand how to take action and change your business today. They deep-dive into topics most would gloss-over, infusing real-world examples from their combined 35+ years of corporate and agency experience. They tell it how it is so whether you are just starting out or have been in business awhile, you have the Marketing Smarts to immediately impact your business.

How do I exercise my Marketing Smarts?

Thanks for listening to Marketing Smarts. Get in touch here to become a savvier marketer. 

Transcript

Please note: this transcript is not 100% accurate.

Anne Candido 0:02
This is Marketing Smarts – a podcast committed to helping you become a savvier marketing leader, no matter your level. In each episode, we will dive into a relevant topic or challenge that marketing leaders are currently facing. We will also give you practical tools and applications that will help you put what you learn into practice today. And if you miss anything, don’t worry, we put worksheets on our website that summarize the key points. Now, let’s get to it. Welcome to Marketing Smarts. I’m Anne Candido.

April Martini 0:32
And I am April Martini. and today’s another Marketing Smarts Classics: four tips for getting the most out of paid media with Amy Scalia. We thought it was a good idea to bring this episode back because we continue to get lots of questions around how to best leverage paid media. And this episode, we discussed how paid media can bring about much bigger results in your marketing efforts than organic but only if you do it the right way, which is what we talked about so often on all topics. So how do you get the most out of paid media, you’ll want to leverage influencer marketing invest enough to break through and create an ecosystem, amplify content and placements across your channels and know how the paid media KPIs impact your business KPIs. All of which we cover in detail on this episode. And since we wanted you to learn from a dynamic leader who knows all sides of paid media, we welcomed Amy Scalia, she’s an on air host for Local 12, the managing editor of Cincinnati Refined and started and runs the foundation PSNEVERGIVEUP with her husband. So without further ado, let’s get into the episode.

Anne Candido 1:32
So in the world of social and digital, there’s no free lunch anymore in algorithms are really dictating how popular our content is, and therefore who gets to see it. So even on your own social following those people who have opted in to see you may not even actually see your content, actually a small percentage of them probably do. So think of this algorithm as a dragon and needs to be fed in order to get into the meta Google castle. You know, I like my analogy. So many metaphors and dragons very favorite food is money. So if you don’t feed the dragon, you’re gonna get scorched. Yeah.

April Martini 2:08
Which begs the question, how much do you need to feed the dragon? I’ll continue the analogy here. And are there ways of managing the spin to keep that dragon happy for longer so that you can get better results or more efficient results? So that’s what we’re going to talk about today. We are going to focus mostly in the digital social and print world have paid ads and content. So think things like Google and Facebook or Instagram ads or banner native ads or pay to play podcasts, webinars and future content, advertorials, print TV and radio ads and influencers. Okay, I think I covered it, I’ll be covered. I’ll cover it off. And yes, influencers that is part of paid media, but know that there are strategies for putting paid behind social posts to boost. So that should be part of your

Anne Candido 2:50
strategy as well. Yes. And to help us with this topic, I have a very special guest. Her name is Amy Scalia, she is the on-air host for Local 12. And she’s a managing editor of Cincinnati Refined. So Hi, Amy, thanks for being with us today. And once you introduce yourself,

Amy Scalia 3:05
hi, thank you. Well, I am the official dragon at Local 12. I love it.

Anne Candido 3:11
Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Amy Scalia 3:14
I like to say that I’m an influencer for the station. So you know, I am doing the content that you know and love TV stations for, but I’m jumping into that thing, instead of reporting on that thing happening over there, I’m telling you what it is like, and you know how it works or what I like about it. And it just adds that little bit of authenticity, or maybe a little objectivity that you don’t necessarily see. And that’s really what people want to see. And they want to hear that they want to be like, okay, but tell me the real deal. You know, like, what does that really like? And what’s it look like inside? And you know, what’s it really tastes like? You know, it’s just what people would talk about in normal conversation. And we’re bringing that to more traditional media and bridging that gap. So I know we’ll talk a little bit more about that. But that is the official title and what I do for the station and and what I’ve kind of made a career doing and love to do.

Anne Candido 4:16
Oh, that’s awesome. I’m so glad to have you because this is gonna be a fabulous conversation you’re bring so much to this. Alright, so let’s jump into how to get the most out of pay media. The first is to leverage influencer marketing and as April said influencer marketing is part of paid media. So we talk a lot about creating brand love, which is all about having that right message at the right time with the right channel to the right storyteller. And all this comes together to create this brand love connection, which is that real authentic relationship that you have with your target customer client consumer. But if you’re honest with yourself, you may not be the right person to actually tell that story. You might not be the most compelling voice and that is a lot of What influencer marketing is about because influencer marketing allows you to really tap into someone who already has that connection, somebody already has that influence over a consumer or a target, or a customer or a client that you really want to tap into. So that is what we’re going to be talking about. And that is a paid mechanism, right? So a lot of people used to be able to do influencers be like, Hey, I’m just gonna send you a product, and you’re gonna, like, write something good about it right? You know. So, that still happens to some extent, but there’s usually something more associated with that. So we want to make sure that you guys understand that as well. But influencers can also take on various forms. So like we said, and like Amy represents, you could be individuals, especially in a social, the digital, even the TV and Youtube world. They can be partners that serve as a credential like organizations and publications. It could be a physical presence, or a reputable event or conference. All this is really starting to kind of coalesce around the world of paid media, and specifically influencer marketing. So kind of what we tend to like put a bow around it, it’s like any time you’re like actually paying for access, right, you’re paying for access to somebody else’s following to help build your reputation and your credibility. Now, regardless of the path, the name of the game has authenticity, right? There are tons of caveats at how to do this authentically, which is so super crucial if you want it to pay off in a way that it’s going to really magnify your brand and your business and really develop those brand love connections. And this is especially true if you decide to do with an agency which we’ll get to in the in the trenches questions later. But here’s are some specifics about how to really make sure that it’s authentic. So first, you want to leverage the voice of the influencer. So don’t try and override it with your push messaging. This is a big mistake people make because they want to take what they do in a TV spot, or what they want to do in a sales or tagline. And they want to make the influencer say that and they want to make them say it loud and proud, right, don’t do that use influencers voice. You also want to have a clear contract with expectations. This is pricing exposure, number and timing of reviews of the content pieces and other mandatories that are really, really important for your brand. And if I’m social see if temperature is up into boosting the content, like April said, this is a really great way of kind of overcoming some of the algorithms, but it does take some finessing, because you either have to generally give them money or you have to have some administrative access, it’s harder to do that. But again, if you’re on social, make sure the employer is a verified account to so there’s a lot of still activity going on where people are paying for followers in order to boost their numbers. So that’s not what you’re looking for. And that’s not going to help build your business. So you want to make sure that they are actually for real. So Amy, what are your suggestions here? Since you are the expert and you navigate this so well, that I mean, like everybody’s gonna really appreciate we have to say here. Oh,

Amy Scalia 7:53
well, thank you. Well, you definitely covered a lot of really important topics that I share a lot. And, like the verification is something that I talk a lot about, because it’s something that people might not be really familiar with, they hear the word influencer, they think, Okay, I just got to look for someone with a lot of followers. And you really got to drill down into that, okay, so the quality of followers and you know, if they are a verified account, that means that they are essentially verified by meta, who owns Facebook, Instagram, and meta has done their homework on who this resource is. Because that was really their answer to misinformation that was out there. And so it’s their way of saying, in our battle against misinformation, this is a trusted resource of content. And so I think that that’s really important that, you know, whoever you’re partnering with, with your brand, that they have a verified account would be kind of the best case scenario. And then there’s also some ways that you can be able to make sure that they have quality followers, you know, even just going through their follower list and if they have some, you know, user names that aren’t really easy to you know, pronounce or a bunch of numbers, you know, those are bot accounts essentially, and bought vo T. And that’s a really simple way for you to be able to say Are these real because you can be able to pay for followers, I always say you either spend money or time and if you spend a little time to do your research upfront, you’ll save the money to be able to get a quality partnership. And so I think that that’s really important to make sure that who you’re working with has quality followers and that they really trust what that influencer has to say. Another thing that I would recommend is you know, if you niche down into you know, maybe that health and wellness space, if you think about that, if that particular influencer like maybe you sell protein powder do Here’s an example. That influencer has already sung the praises of 14 other protein powders that year, probably not the best fit for you, even though they have quality followers. So do your research on what they’re promoting. And is it already a saturated market? Some of those things are really important because influencers definitely a big buzzword right now people know that they need to do it just like when the the beginnings of social media, I need to do it. And even now, people know that they need to do it. But how do you do it? Right? How do I I’m just not throwing money at something because I hear I need to do it. How do I throw money in the right place where money gets thrown back at me, you know, so those are some of my my biggest recommendations and like what you mentioned, to having that boost, because even though you might have a verified account, and that does boost your organic content, it gets seen first. But above and beyond that, how do you drill down into a targeted demographic through the boosted posts where, you know, maybe you’re both building that audience kind of cross pollinating and finding new audience, but because it’s being said, by that third party, who isn’t you as a brand, it makes it feel so much more authentic of like, oh, you know, so and so loves this protein powder, and I relate to her and you start to hear that story, versus I’m a big brand, I’m the latest and greatest this and that, and it’s like, okay, there’s already a wall up. But if I hear it from somebody that I relate to, and you know, a busy mom saying focused, you know, energy, you know, fitting back into clothes that were pre quarantine, you know, that all those things. So, you know, just some of those things would be a great place to start. And and then once you get some experience with that, you tailor your campaign from that, like this worked really well, or oh, we learned our lesson on this one. But those are some good foundation places to start.

April Martini 12:00
Yeah, I think all of those are really good points. And I think what you’re hearing both Amy and an SE, is you have to be smart about this and being smart, you have to really do some homework. And I think we’ve gone from where influencer was this shiny new thing, although I still think it has a little bit of that to

Anne Candido 12:24
sparkle, all kinds of sparkle at

April Martini 12:25
Dragon sparkle the magical over here.

But I think it’s we’re now at a point where people are learning their lessons and learning when they can get burned and are wising up a little bit more. And so I think a big point of this episode, right is to shed some light on things and educate people on how to do this in a really good way. And I think you both brought up some specifics that people may or may not even know, first of all, or may or may not know how to think through and go and do. And so I think it’s everything from stuff like the verified account all the way through to I think, Amy, your example of the protein powder is so perfect, because I think, you know, authenticity is the name of the game here. I mean, you said it’s not a big brand, raising their hand and shouting and saying, Hey, look what we have. Now it’s a third party stating it but that makes it that much more important that that third party feels very authentic to what they are endorsing. And that then the audience on the other side can say, Oh, I love Amy, and she’s a super credible resource, and therefore I’m going to buy whatever is being sold versus Oh, Amy has spoken about protein powder now 15 times, guess what, I can sniff that out in an instant. And know that that’s not something that I’m going to align to or believe at that point in time. Right?

Amy Scalia 13:46
Right. I kind of think of influencer marketing as like an amplified version of what I would like a conversation with my friends. You know what I go to my friends 15 times in one month and be like, This is the new protein powder that I’m drinking? Oh my gosh. It’s like, well, last week, you were talking about this? What’s what’s going on Amy? But you know, you can be able to say, well, you know, I like this because it comes in a little like self serve packet. And that way, like I’m not scooping things in the morning, like I can grab and go, Oh, I understand why she’s talking about this now, you know, like just things that I would normally talk with friends about. And that’s really the way you have to see your audiences, you know, your friends, and what are they going to care about distill it down into what we would talk about face to face. And so I think that that’s really what where influencer marketing can come in really strong because it’s, you know, everyone knows the power of word of mouth. And it’s a very strategic word of mouth campaign, essentially. And you have a partner in that who has an existing audience that you want to be in front of. You give them all the important things, they say it in their own words and through their own experiences. And that’s what makes it powerful. Yeah, I

Anne Candido 14:56
think that’s right on and i It seems so informal, but it’s actually a business. And I think that’s sometimes where people kind of, especially other brands, and businesses can miss the nuance of the fact that this is how people are actually making a living. And they’ve worked really hard to cultivate their following. So this is something that has to be respected, especially when you’re going in partnership with someone else. So I think that’s really perfect about what you said in that in that context, because I think it really just helps to reinforce that point. And I know I believe we have another episode on influencer marketing too. So if people want more details on that, obviously, they can go listen to that episode, they can contact you, Amy, and really understand all the ins and outs of the whole campaign of influencer marketing, because it’s a lot to take in and a lot to process through and choose the right way to go. The second tip for getting the most out of paid media is to invest enough to break through and create an ecosystem. So this is just the reality of the situation that there is a minimum amount of effort needed to break through the barrage of inputs that are actually coming at your target at any one moment in time. I mean, yes, he as a social media now feels like really accessible. And like, like you said, like the shininess maybe has like, diminished a little bit. But that doesn’t make it any less complex with how to actually navigate the entire system. So you actually have to really think about it from a strategic standpoint about how you’re going to engage how much money it’s going to take you to actually have enough of a presence have enough of a connection, in order to be able to break through everything that is happening. And do you have time in order to go do that, too. So those are a couple of those factors that you really need to think through. Now what we like to do, and we like we encourage a lot of people to do on many different facets of business is really to test and learn. Now, that can be very easily done in some processes, especially on social and in Google where you can do paid and social and you can a B test. And you could kind of see what’s being offered up and what people are being attracted to. And you can then invest in what works and what doesn’t work. But you also have to realize that there’s an amount of again, time and money that’s needed to invest in order to let those things work. And some people get very quick to the buzzer, and are like that one’s done out, that one’s done out because they want to see results right away. So you have to really think about what it’s going to take a be very knowledgeable about what it’s going to take in order for some of these things to work. Now, what I always like to say to you, when you’re talking about breakthrough and success is that it’s really a combination of quality plus frequency, and you’d mentioned this early Amy, about the quality of the actual influencers. And not just the number of influencers, I mean, you want to have both of those kind of combined together in order to really generate that breakthrough engagement that you really want to see. That’s the same with any of these things, right. So you have to consider both of those, because what you need to do is the second part of what I mentioned is that you need to create this ecosystem around whoever your target is, because this ecosystem is going to what’s going to help you generate that five to seven times as somebody who needs sometimes need to see a message in order for them to take any action on it. So if you can really take a holistic approach to like, okay, how am I going to really reach my consumer, my customer, my or my client, in a concentrated way that it’s going, they’re gonna see in multiple different ways and multiple different places, it starts to have some validity, it starts to have some credibility. So as an example of this, and I’m gonna ask Amy to share her platform, because I think your platform is a really big example of this is one of paid media in publication. So that’s a really popular one that a lot of people will do when they have paid media is I’ll do some sort of digital ads, or they’ll even do sometimes print ads, right? And both of those have, there’s time in place. Now, instead of just doing the paid ad and thinking about okay, well, yes, I’m want that exposure, but how am I going to really then generate that ecosystem around my my target here in order to make that work as hard that it can possibly work for me. You may want to ask, Do you have any other platforms that I can activate on? Is there a podcast that I can be on? Is there a webinar? Do you have an event? Can we coordinate, all these things are on the same amount of time? So I can develop this ecosystem? So I can have a very efficient spend? Do they share on their social or they get pushed it out through their email or their newsletter? Do they have influencers over promoted? Now everybody says, Well, yeah, that’s gonna cost me more. But yeah, it might cost you more. But the incremental value there might be better and more valuable to you, frankly, than just the small amount of spending that’s gonna take because your dollars are working harder for you. So Amy, I’d love to share how you do this, how you create that ecosystem? And then how do you help others really think about it in that way?

Amy Scalia 19:45
So we have a very clear and concise package that we offer, and it’s like you mentioned, it’s all itemized, so that they know how many mentions how it’s going to be mentioned, and they’re in control of timing. And that’s really where the Beauty comes in is that I think before when people had been featured, you know, in the news or whatever, and it’s like, well, they didn’t mention this or, you know, they, I would have said it this way or, you know, they, they weren’t really able to control the content and the message. So this gives them the best of all worlds where it’s reaching that audience that they want to reach. But it’s also using that list of talking points and all the important things that they they say, you know, this is this has to be mentioned, or, you know, these are the important things that, you know, say it in your own words, but these are the things that, you know, are the important things that we want to communicate. And, and so, that way, I’m able to work all of that in, you know, I think that it’s really important to that they are able to control the timing and all of that, too. That’s part of the influencer marketing. So when you’re working with your influencer partner, have that list of when are we going to be mentioned? How are we going to be mentioned? Where is it going to be?

You know, living?

Is it on your website? Is it on your social media, and just have all of that clear and concise and all planned out?

April Martini 21:06
Yeah, I think that those are great points, because I love what you said, Actually, Amy about being able to control the message a little bit more, but then also on the other side, having it in your own words. And I think that is really the beauty of what we’re talking about here. Because we’ve all seen or experienced on our side, my side, especially in the agency, where we’re like, that’s not how we would have said it or we miss we forgot that point. Or they didn’t say the one thing stated, right. So all of that can be agreed to ahead of time. And I think having the package really spelled out for clarity is such a useful way to approach it, because then everybody’s on the same page. And then I think on the other side of that, and to some of the points you made, it’s around asking for more, right? So if you don’t see what’s in that package, you know, things that you want, or things that you’re like, Oh, well, I really would prefer that there’s this or I know they have a podcast. So why isn’t that included, you can have that conversation and align on what the final list is. But I think it’s so great to have, alright, this is what we typically offer or recommend. And then on the other side of that be clear with whoever the business or brand or client is on. Okay, and then here’s where we’re going to nuance are the things I must say, in my own words, all of those types of things. Because I think the ecosystem can be hugely powerful, when it’s done with a thoughtful, proactive planned out approach, instead of kind of just letting things happen as they will, or as an afterthought. And I think that’s really the beauty of this whole, the way that paid media has sort of morphed, and all these different channels we have now is that you can create an ecosystem fairly easily, if you do it at the beginning. Yeah,

Anne Candido 22:53
and I gotta say, too, I mean, Amy, the way that you have thought through this, too, I think is super smart. And because you leverage and access points, you that’s really, really hard to get outside of you. So getting on like local news stations, it’s not easy to get on anymore. I mean, they it’s a very tough pitching process, because they’re so lean, they’re so selective. And then, you know, the thoughts are so small, like, they’re small timeframe, but there’s also a very limited number of them. So you’re able to provide that amplification around it so that a piece of content can live on multiple channels and be leveraged across multiple channels in a very consistent and cohesive way. And you give them that access point to some of these traditionally hard to get on media channels that they think that it’s going to be beneficial to them and so but it’s so it’s like the bundle together, but it’s highly coveted too, in that way that you have pieced it together. But again, it’s not like siloed which is what a lot of people will try to do is like okay, I’m gonna go get you know, my TV here and I’m gonna go get you know, this this publication here and now I’m gonna go to my influencers bringing it all together so that they can be very intentionally like you said, April and Amy very intentionally curated so that it all kind of comes across as being a holistic presence, a holistic experience, it starts to tell a story. And I think that’s really really important and everything that you do with your clients.

Amy Scalia 24:19
Yeah, I love it because it runs as a story and Cincinnati refined a write up the client gets to see before it ever runs. And then we also have the TV element and the 9am and the 4pm news. And that video is a two minute video So like you said before, it you know you’re very limited typically on what the news will cover and it’s sometimes only like, you know, spot here or there. This is a full two minutes to be able to tell your story. It runs alongside news and it has that that look and feel that it belongs in the in the newscast but you have control over that content and It’s just that great blending of the two worlds. So that video is embedded in the story. And then we also do a social push, and you get to control all the timing. So it has all those great elements, like you mentioned, that are typically very siloed off TV advertorial and social media, influencer marketing. And then, you know, if the client wants to do a dedicated email, maybe it’s an event that they want to invite people to. So we can do an email invite and add that into the package. But you know, everything is very itemized, and you know, what you’re getting with it. And you can always add and customize from there. But it gives a really great template that people say, Oh, my gosh, I didn’t have to work with a million different people and lose that message through the game of telephone. It’s you’re working with one person to do all these different elements. And you know that it’s going to be done right, verified accounts. And it’s a great partner to be able to execute a campaign like this.

Anne Candido 25:59
Yeah, political model. Yep. All right. So the third tip for getting the most out of paid media is to amplify content and placements across your channels. Alright, so we tend to think the business is done when the influencer and the paid media vehicles all does it on their channels. But it’s not, you’re leaving a lot on the table if you just decide to stop there. So when you amplify it on your channels, it serves two benefits. First, it gets more exposure for the content, and directly to a following that is connected to you. And it also increases your credibility. As you had mentioned, Amy, it’s a third party credible source that’s coming on in basically standing in their own words, why they advocate for you, right? So this helps to build that credibility, but also helps you to look more popular, too. So what does this look like? How can you leverage this content across your channels, I’m going to give you a few. And then I’m going to ask me to build here. So first is to repost key social posts in good content. So as you’re talking about the embedded video, then embedded videos should also be on your site and your own channels. It could be in the context of that post, it can be context of the video, just as it is, you decide what works best for you. But also make sure you tag and use a copy to your benefit in order to really give the story behind what the content is, is meant to portray and what people are supposed to take away from that content. And like I said, tag the right people so that they can see it too. And then they can build from it and they can share it. So you kind of started again, creating that ecosystem, that word of mouth ecosystem to start to really share this through a very natural progression. A one that a lot of people don’t do, but I think is is really a really big key one is to include an as seen in on your website. So a lot of people will just put like, you know, Forbes and all sorts of things. Yeah. Okay, that that has some credibility for some people. But when you start showing that a bunch of influencers or a bunch of other paid media sites are, are using your content in certain ways that Ashley also has a lot of credibility, right? Again, it makes you look more popular. And some people will say, Well, yeah, we paid for that. Well, fine. That I’ll tell you, though, it’s not necessarily the fact that you paid for it is the quality of the execution, there really has a validity. So let people make up their own mind, put it on there and see what they have to say about it. You can also slice and dice video content or leverages to summarize and endorsements, this is a really, really good way of making sure that content that you’re spending some money and creating can get that leverage that you need in other different ways. You can showcase how you’re showing up in events through social posts, right. So again, if you are going to an event or if you’re part of an event, show that you were there, show what your presence looked like show how you showed up there, show that you’re part of the community. These are all great ways of making sure you’re leveraging however you’re paying to play in those publications or in those events. Write a blog that coincides with the message or the placement. This is a really big one. So if you have a paid advertorial is talking about a certain topic, like you know, protein powder, make sure you write, make sure you write a blog that says what your point of view is about protein powder and fitness and all of those sorts of things. It starts building your credibility again as a thought leader, but it also allows you to reference that advertorial and then you start getting that cross pollination that crosslinking and SEO really, really likes that when you start seeing this, that content coming up multiple times you start thinking, Oh, this is popular content. I’m gonna start serving this up more. So again, that’s the Google Dragon Slayer, the Google Dragon, okay. And then also included in pitch decks and presentations, make sure people know where you’re showing up again, it adds an element of like, oh, okay, it’s a differentiating factor. So I think that’s really, really important for your overall presence and your overall overall brand reputation. So, Amy, I’m gonna stop talking for a second as

Amy Scalia 29:45
well, I think those are all really great points. That’s something that I talk with a lot of my clients about, too, is that you know, share it on your end. You know, guess what people are saying about us, you know, or Amy was just visiting, you know, and share some behind the scenes of us doing the Video Production love that yeah, and really build that excitement that, hey, we’re a place to be featured, you know, have some FOMO fear of missing out, you know, you’re, there’s a big buzz out here and we want you to be a part of it, and just showcasing that and eventually that plants enough seeds that they’re gonna grow. And so yeah, I definitely encourage people to share that process, people love to see behind the scenes, they love to hear relatable stories. And you know, that’s what the influencer comes in to share. They aren’t the big brand. They’re an end user, and they are someone that another person can relate to. And it’s just like we were talking about in that friend scenario, it’s like, okay, what are your friends talk about? And, you know, they’re sharing things that they like, and, you know, one of the things that I love to do just as like, incorporating in, like frequently asked questions, you know, when you’re developing those talking points for the influencer, go to that resource of your FAQs. What are people frequently asking about? And how can I get that incorporated into her segment or his segment? You know, whoever the influencer is, but so they can get some of those really important questions that are typically asked him like, oh, you know, is that good for kids? Not only do I use that protein powder, I actually, you know, mix it up, and I’ll send it off to my, you know, pack lunches, or, you know, whatever, you know, I’m just using an example. But, you know, answer those questions through real life scenarios, because obviously, it’s on your FAQs for a reason people are asking it. So in terms of reusing that content, I think, you know, testimonial Tuesdays or throwback Thursdays, you know, things like that, where you can be able to rehash some of the things that people are saying, one of your biggest tools for marketing is to share those testimonials. And essentially, your work with an influencer is a testimonial, it’s just on a whole nother level. So I think that revisiting it as much as possible, one of the things that I love to do is to be able to set up a drop box, you know, all the footage that we’re shooting for our segments, you know, we use it for our segment, but we only use, you know, little snippets of it, but we’ll create a drop box so that they can have all that B roll, and they can be able to use that content later. And so they can use it as a sneak peek of like, here’s something that’s coming soon, we’re going to be featured on local 12 Here at the end of the month, and, you know, here’s some sneak peeks of some of what they captured or, and then even after the fact, video is so visual, and so that’s really important to work with your, your influencer on like, hey, is there any way that you can share some of those really great shots that you got, and we can use that and tag you and create that relationship? So it’s not a one and done, you know, we’re tagging you, maybe you’re resharing and saying, oh my gosh, I love my time at the spa, or, you know, I, there’s my favorite protein drink, or whatever it might be, or, you know, just a way for them to rehash to their audience and keep that going as more of an ongoing relationship. And, you know, that might be something that you work into your package of like, okay, this isn’t just a one and done here. How about we make this into an annual campaign and we have, you know, 10 more mentions throughout the year, or, you know, whenever we tag you, we’d love for you to be able to reshare that and just developing that think of it more of a relationship and ongoing instead of the one and done. And then that way, to those viewers of the influencer, that audience of theirs, they see that as an ongoing thing, just like with your friends, if they saw that, you know, you were always using you know that, that lipstick, and you know, that is always your favorite, you’re eventually going to say like, what is that? You know, I want to know what you you know, you’re doing. So I think that repeated exposure is so good for your brand, and it develops your relationship with these influencers. And it’s showing up more authentically on an ongoing basis to Yeah,

April Martini 34:02
I think so much of what you both said is so important. I mean, going back, first of all, I’m always left scratching my head when people don’t share across their channels, because I’m like, you’ve missed a huge opportunity, right. But the other thing that I was thinking as you’re both talking, quite frankly, is there are so many different ways to slice and dice content. And I feel like so many companies or businesses and brands just barely scratched the surface of what they could be doing with anything that they’re shooting or putting out there, etc. And then they’re on to the next thing. And so I love what you said Amy about making it a relationship and making it more ongoing because I think then that helps to build just an infrastructure for continuing to use your content to the best of your ability and make it more evergreen in nature so that you can start to think about okay, what else could we doing with this and where else could we show it? And how do we make this an even bigger campaign or like what you said, like, next year, let’s do 12 segments instead. Or as I was thinking about that, I was like, well, if it’s a reoccurring thing every year, you could be planting it in August when it’s not till December, right. So I think you can see how you can build momentum. And I think one of the things that’s really hard for people is all of the things we’re discussing today can feel like a little bit of a black box, or like, if and if I haven’t done this before, I’m not sure I can do it. And I think when you start to chip off, like, Okay, we’re gonna do this one thing, but we’re gonna let that content continue to live out there, it makes it a lot more manageable. To undertake it, instead of feeling like you’re always going to have to be creating new content, because I think we just create so much like your dropbox example is perfect. It’s like to give your clients access to all that B roll, they might be able to use that in ways that have nothing to do what the segment you’re producing, right. But it gives them more tools in their toolkit. And we don’t always have to be recreating from scratch every time.

Anne Candido 36:02
Yeah. Yeah, I think that’s super important. I would I sum that up to is it this is all orchestrated, like, you know, it’s all planned out, there’s a strategic intent and plan behind it. And even though you might be surprised by how well some content does, you should be prepared for the fact that it could go well, so therefore, you know, what are we going to do about it, which is goes to the point about being, you know, the one and done and having this done in all in an isolated environment, which doesn’t propagate the ecosystem, right. So the ecosystem can be a moment in time, you know, can be days, so ecosystem can be yours, right, depending on how you orchestrate the content and how you continue to fuel the system in order to continue to keep yourself top of mind, in really in the in the zeitgeist. So I think that is all really important. And it could be different channels to so you can feel different channels, and you can turn on and turn off different channels, depending on what’s relevant or where your consumer, your customer, or client is at that time. So think about that, too. And that starts to look more like campaigns, which I think is a really great way of being able to really consolidate the thinking so that you are efficient in the use of your content. So you do maximize your content, and then eventually, it will wear out and that’s fine, but it wears out. It takes a lot longer to wear out than most people think. Yeah, okay, so the next tip for getting the most out of paid media is know how to pay media KPIs impact business KPIs. And this is incredibly important. Because when you do pay media, you’re gonna get a lot of random analytics, that won’t mean anything on their own, your favorite thing to talk about, yeah. So this can look like impressions, click through rate, reach, engagement, cost per click, or some variation of that circulation CPM, which is cost per 1000, impressions, watch time, or some variation of that. And there are many, many, many, many more. So what you need to know and this is part of the strategic planning that I just alluded to, is that you need to know what these metrics mean, for your business. And so you have to intentionally then create your pay media campaigns, so that they’re actually going to be maximizing for that analytic. So you need to understand primarily what business goals you are trying to achieve with this pay media, this isn’t something that you’re just going to want to throw money out. And just, we’ll just see what happens unless you have all the money in the world, you don’t really care, but just not most of us, right. So for example, if you’re trying to get your name out there, a lot of times you’ll want to maximize based on depression. So you want to be doing some sort of paid media that actually maximizes for impressions, we talked about word of mouth being really important. If that’s something that you want to generate, then shares will be a big deal, because that’s how that spreads or the way that we talked about how you tag people. And so then they are then become the basis for the content and they share. So that starts to become a really fortuitous cycle. If you’re trying to get people to your website, where you feel you can close a deal, because that’s where you want to sell, then you want to be looking at click through rate and some sort of mechanism that’s driving a call to action to click through. Once you start learning what’s working, you just are maximizing based on that. So the moral of the story here is your pay me is only as good as your understanding of its impact. And this is where a lot of people start to fall off. And they start to wonder what the benefit of all this is, is because you don’t understand that piece. This is what also will make us sure that you can actually evaluate what’s working and not working. And this is how you manage your spend. So you don’t start overspending with paid media, which is what a lot of people start thinking that they’re doing is that they’re putting money into a black box and they get these analytics out, then they don’t know what it actually means. And then that ROI question comes up, right. So, Amy, what do you do here? What’s your advice here for folks?

Amy Scalia 39:43
Well, I think that taking a look at the analytics is one of the most important things that you can do because, you know, good or bad, you’re going to be able to see where you strike a chord and the analytics are going to share that. I think that that’s so important to do. And if you’re not familiar on how To analyze those definitely have someone who can kind of decode those. But with any marketing campaign influencers, it’s really easy, especially on social media, to be able to just take a look at the performance results of those and to be able to see all of those elements that you were just talking about, and to be able to see how well it performed. So definitely take a look at those and, and really see where you struck a chord and then do more of that. And even like when you work with the same influencer, and maybe one campaign or one message was better than the next, it performed really well. So take a look at that and say, Okay, we really need to hone in this is the message that strikes a chord for their audience, and perform the best for us. So maybe all this other stuff was too much noise, and we really just need to hone in here. So really take a look at that and not, you know, okay, these were the results from our influencer work with this person and everything’s lumped in really take a look at each and every message that is communicated and also which platform you know did video perform better Did you know the reels perform better, whatever it might be, take a look at everything because Mehta that’s one thing that they do very well is very good, easy to understand reporting, and everything to with the reels with the stories, I mean, everything, you’re able to dissect the data so well. And that’s so important because you’re going to find out how well it performed regardless, and uh, you know, if you’re just throwing money at something, you’ll find out eventually, once it all dries up, or you can be very strategic and how you, you’re looking at what strikes a chord, and then do more of that hone in on that. So taking a look at those and and then, like you mentioned, having that be on your into resharing that and because your audience, the idea isn’t to always be working with all the the influencer marketing, eventually you get to a point where you know, you you have a great organic audience, and they’re doing that that word of mouth sharing, too. So it’s really important for you to extend that campaign and develop that long term relationship. But always looking at the data and seeing what strikes a chord with that audience. Yeah,

April Martini 42:28
I think having KPIs ensures that everybody is on the same page, regardless of savviness, too, which I think is huge, because as you both said, if you’re going to throw money at things, and then you’re not going to know what to do with the data that comes back, that’s really tough, versus if you set it up beforehand. And you can also do some education as part of that, too. It’s not to say that everyone that works on the staff or has an influence has to be in the data and understand what all that means. But I think when you set up proper KPIs from the beginning, then you can educate on Well, this is why we think we should choose these. And then when the data comes back, we’re looking for these types of things. And that helps to set up the potential success and longevity of whatever you’re investing in. It also prevents it from being a one off thing. And you said in the beginning of this episode, something around the idea that you know, you throw the money in, it’s like, okay, that one’s over. Now, we’re running to the next one, right, which is what we’re saying you don’t necessarily want to do that Nick also can be completely unnecessary. But I think when you put the KPIs in place, and then Amy like you said, you have people that know how to use the data and understand what that means, then you can hone in on those things that are working really well for you and then optimize coming out of that because I always think about it in terms of levers, right? Like okay, if I pull this lever this will happen or this will happen, but you do have to dig in and say is it the platform? Is it the message? Is that the influencer? Is it something that happened in the audience shifted? Like what are the things that we’re dealing with in this moment that then we can say okay, we’re gonna take a run at these things in the future to continue to get better versus having the weld drop off or dry up for any various reason the month the funds are pulled, people don’t understand. Or you just run the course you know, all of those different things that can happen when you’re not on top of this. Yeah,

Anne Candido 44:17
and if you really have no idea where to start ask your whoever’s providing you the paid media opportunity, what their benchmarks are, so they should have some level of benchmarks for anything that they’re doing. If it’s for social influencers, they’ll have benchmarks for their regular posts and their loved ones for their branded posts. If it’s a paid media publication now she’ll have like all their analytics for industry standard and then for your specific vertical so ask them what they are. If they don’t have them, then this know that they’re testing and learning with you that you should price accordingly. That’s exactly good. Watch out. Oh, yeah. All right. So just to summarize four tips for getting the most out of paid media. Leverage influencer marketing when forging brand love connection sometimes over A storyteller isn’t you sometimes you have to borrow the reputation a little bit. Second, invest enough to break through and create an ecosystem, there is a minimum amount of effort needed to break through the barrage of inputs based on your target, maximize your effort and spend to create an ecosystem. Third, amplify content and placements across your channels. This serves two benefits, it gets more exposure for the content. And it increases your credibility as it comes from a credible source so that we’ve been talking and makes you look popular. And finally know how to pay media KPIs impact business KPIs, this is so important, because you’re gonna get a lot of random analytics, that won’t mean anything on their own. And we’re gonna head into our next segment, which is in the trenches, this is where we give real world examples specific industries and situations but but broad application for anyone to digest and put it into action. So first, should I hire an agency to manage my influence or marketing or go at it on my own? And I know, Amy, you’re going to have a point of view on this one. So I’ll, I’ll give my and I’m going to invite you to to provide yours as well. My point of view is if you want to do influencer marketing at scale, especially social influencers, you might benefit from hiring an influencer marketing agency who already has the processes and the relationships that you could benefit from, especially if you want higher profile influencers, because some of these won’t even take the calls of somebody like you or me, that’s just like, hey, I would like you to talk about my sponsor, or my little widget. They’re like, I don’t know who you are. So and so I have a business to my businesses this and so therefore, you’re not big enough for me to actually even pay attention to that can happen. Yeah, agency also has contracted and negotiated rate. So sometimes they can get that that at scale. Because they can leverage how many times they’re going to that influencer in the if the influencer finds that beneficial, they could give them some scaled rates. But I say all this and then I’m going to tell you that you better prepare to dish out a minimum of at least 25 to 30,000, just for the most basic package, which can be very pricey, and may be too high for a lot of small, medium sized businesses, especially as a price of entry, especially if you’re talking about testing and learning and all of those sorts of things. Now, if you have a bit of sadness, you can do what, frankly, which is I do some Google Google searching to see who kind of pops up right. And basically, this is how I found Amy for one of our recent campaigns. So I think I did pretty good here. So

April Martini 47:16
you know, while I’m Amy’s doing pretty good if she popped up in the right way of what you were looking for. So

Anne Candido 47:21
there you go. Well, yeah, I give her more credit than I get. But I feel like I’m super smart for like refining. Yeah, yeah. But you know, I did my vetting too. So we made sure it was gonna be the right campaign and the right client for both Amy and for us. And so making sure that all kind of fit into the right package. And then as you mentioned, ami, like, once you start having these, you start developing these relationships, and these relationships continue to have longevity that continues to pay dividends for both. But no matter what, and I said this before, and I’m gonna say it again, you should expect to have to compensate in some way. So a lot of people are still in the mindset that I’m just going to shoot out, you know, 100 influencers, my widget, and I’m hoping that maybe one or two will say something about it, like that does not happen anymore. These are businesses, they see it as a business. And so if you want to have that engagement with them, you need to treat them with that respect that they are indeed a business. So, Amy, I’d love to hear what your thoughts are on this, because I’m sure you know, you might agree with me, you might disagree with me and feel free to do either.

Amy Scalia 48:26
Well, we work with a variety of different clients. You know, some are startups, and they just want to get the word out there and don’t really know how to go about it. We work with some agencies like yourself, and a lot more savvy, a lot more strategic. And so we really have a lot of experience working with the spectrum, and kind of protocols in place that can be able to help any of those, and try to be able to meet them where they are budget wise to. Because we know that because some of the most interesting stories, as you can imagine, are those startups and they have a great story to tell it’s what people want to see. And it feels like news content, this type of stuff that the station would be covering or, you know, the Cincinnati refined lifestyle content would be covering, it’s like, we want to uncover those things and we want to make it affordable. And to be able to have the sponsored content model makes it a win win for everyone. You get to control the timing and the content and be able to have that guaranteed coverage that you know when you are doing a PR campaign, it’s like alright, I just sent out a bunch of press releases. I hope someone calls me back and and on the other end of that, that email, they’re getting inundated with 1000s of press releases and may or may not get covered. So, you know, we try to have a variety of price points. You know, if there’s TV involved, then there’s the minimum for that is like a $4,000 campaign, but like you mentioned, you know, a really well thought out And while Laird campaign is going to be upward, like you mentioned, like the 25, something like that. So depending on what your budget might be, I think that there are a lot of different, you know, price structures out there. And there’s some that very few, I think you’ll find that work in trade anymore. Before it was like, that’s kind of how a lot of influencers got started, but can’t pay the bills with gift certificates. So be kind of nice. Yeah, yeah. So I do think that if you are going to go that route, and it’s worth anything, you get what you pay for you, you do need to see this as part of your marketing plan. And just like, you wouldn’t go to the newspaper and say, Hey, I’ve got these gift cards, or you know, whatever, you know, really work it into that marketing budget. But it is a little bit more hands on. So you have someone in place that can walk this influencer through and get them to experience it, that’s another thing is that the influencer really needs to experience it before they go into production mode, and like, Okay, I’m going to be doing this and they need to be really familiar with the brand, and really develop an affinity and find those things that they truly love about it. So that’s something to think of, too, in terms of timing, because a lot of times people come to you and say, like, we needed this to be promoted yesterday, you know, because there’s a little bit more planning in that where, you know, depending on what the product or the service is to work in that, that time for them to really truly experience it. So that it’s an authentic testimonial, essentially, as they are sharing that about, but yeah, you’ll you’ll find a variety, depending on the audience and the scope and what you’re asking the, the influencer to do and say, if there’s video production included, and all that stuff, you know, obviously there’s, there’s more to that. But you can always customize that campaign and things like asking for the B roll and things like that. So you don’t have to hire a videographer later for, you know, that great video, social content you’re already shooting it might as well set up a dropbox link, you know, different things like that can save you money in the end, if you just ask for it. And a lot of times, you know, as part of the partnership, they’ll they’ll include that. Yeah, you’ll you’ll definitely see a variety out there. It’s sort of a wild west right now. Just as it’s getting more structured, and as it’s being seen as more of a as a marketing channel. And less, you know, it’s kind of up there now with you know, there’s the traditional media and influencer marketing is edging its way into that list. And so I think that you’re going to see the price structures scale accordingly.

April Martini 52:51
Yeah, I mean, I feel like my favorite answer is the answer to this, which is it depends whether you should hire a

marketing or an agency or if you can go

on on your own. But I think what I’m hearing you guys say is there are options across the board. I think one of the big things is to be realistic in your expectations. Because the trade option really is no more I mean, I think your points really well taken on you can’t live on gift cards. I’m gonna guess technically you could you can pay the bills for sure. It

Anne Candido 53:21
would be very difficult. Yeah. You do a trade with Electric Company. Yeah, exact give you a gift card for free electricity.

Amy Scalia 53:28
You guys call me if you have something like that.

Anne Candido 53:33
I seen as a point of how ridiculous that sounds. So of course, you would think you should pay an influencer? Because,

Amy Scalia 53:37
yeah, okay. There’s work involved. Yeah, yes, yes.

April Martini 53:40
But I do think that where this can sometimes break down is in the realistic expectations on all sides, right. So making sure that you as the business are clear on what you want, but also, what is the currency for the other parties involved. And I think that the the whole idea of not paying for these kinds of things is just kind of gone. So maybe eliminate that from your head. But then I also think you have to be crystal clear in whatever contract is agreed to right and getting creative, maybe in some of those additional asks, so that you feel like you’re getting value, the influencer feels like they’re getting value. And if you’re hiring an agency or someone else to help with this, that they also are paying their own bills, right. So I think you have to think about the entire ecosystem of what you’re doing and where you’re spending your dollars and then be realistic about what it does cost to play in this space based on what your expectations are, whether it’s what the KPIs are, what you’re trying to build, or what outcomes you’re looking for thinking about it all the way through.

Amy Scalia 54:44
It also helps with like, we were talking about the analytics, and it’s really kind of on the front end of the planning on, you know, how does this fit into the master plan, and then, you know, working with an agency helps to be that translator of Okay, they provided us with this. And then, you know, we’re able to translate into whatever your metrics are and what’s important to you like KPIs. So it sort of works in the in the strategy upfront, and then also as a translator afterwards of, okay, here’s how well they performed. Here’s how this informs our next steps and working on another campaign or with another influencer. So it really helps to analyze on the front end and on the on the back end.

Anne Candido 55:31
Yeah, I think that’s a really, really good point. I also like the point where you said if you wanted ask for it, because like sometimes some things that are apparent to you may not have even crossed the minds of the influencer as being important to you. So just ask for it. I mean, you may or may not get it at least ask for it. Right.

Amy Scalia 55:48
That’s how the dropbox link thing came about. A client asked for it. I was like, I never thought of it, we’re shooting it might as well, you know, use it, you know, or much of it. And it’s already done. And then that saves you a lot of time and resources, as well. And so that came about because someone had the courage to ask for it. So yeah, that’s a great, good point. Good

Anne Candido 56:10
point. All right, our second in the trenches question, what are the most effective paid media platforms. And I’ll steal April’s answer, which is, it really depends on your business, your industry and your target consumer, customer and client. But here’s some that have worked well for our clients and how they’ve successfully leveraged paid media. So if you’re trying to generate word of mouth for a new product, or a new piece of news, social influencers tends to be still the biggest way to go, or it’s or some level of influencer marketing, because almost everyone is engaging in social in some way. They’re not necessarily engaging all in the same channels and the same veracity. But they’re all engaging in some way. You have to be mindful about how so that you can cultivate it and customize it appropriately. Like we’ve talked already. If you’re trying to build awareness, reputation in your industry, trade media ads, or advertorials is a really good way. Again, as we talked about before, especially if the pup pushes it out, that creates some really great crosslinking that starts to generate some favorable activity and SEO and your content starts to starts to rise to the top engagement against a digital call to action. Facebook, and Instagram ads are really, really good for that Google Ads can be to, to some extent, but they are much more expensive. And so that’s something you have to really consider if you have enough budget, and you have enough time to really break through there. If you’re looking for broad awareness among a general population, but still with a defined demographic, your TV, radio and print ads can be really good. Again, that tends to get kind of costly, because you’re not generally going to one, you’re generally going to multiples, and you want to get that exposure and multiple different publications in order for that general audience to really be penetrated in a big enough in it broad enough wet manner. But otherwise, your message just gets diluted, and it kind of falls below all the noise. So like, I really love what Amy does, because she bundles it all together for you, it makes it very, very easy. Again, I think that is the gold standard. But if you need like, was something that you should avoid, I would say that Google ads are probably the one that I go to last just because of the nature of how those work and operate. And you need to invest a whole lot more time and money in those but me what are your thoughts here what it was, where is everybody winning, that you’ve seen or losing in some cases. So

Amy Scalia 58:31
in terms of where they perform the best, it really depends on the client and what their objectives are, there are some social channels that are more friendly for one versus the other. Sometimes their analytics of the algorithm is, for example, if you put a video on YouTube, and then you link that on your Facebook page, they want it organically on Facebook, they want that, that video to be uploaded to Facebook and live there and not some outside source. So always kind of think about, you know, this will perform better if I play well with them. And things like with reels. And there’s now the ability to be able to have interactivity, like with polls or links. So things like that perform really well because it’s in that environment. People love to share their opinions and to be able to do things like that. So and if it’s more interactivity that you’re looking for Instagram is really great. And so those are kind of the the two social channels that I play well with in terms of TV, a lot of people that’s a very broad audience. And so if you’re looking to cast a nice wide net, and also to have that credibility that the news is covering you and so if that’s an objective, that’s something that I recommend going in that direction, to be able to have that that segment running alongside news. And it offers that great credibility cast that wide net, so that you’re getting your name out there to the community and sharing your story with a great two minute segment. And then you get a little bit more granular when you’re doing the boosting into Okay, now I’m gonna get this in front of a very specific audience and target, who we’re boosting this to. And then we can have a lot of fun with the interactivity of when we posted on social and things like that. So I really think it just depends on what the objectives are, what the client is wanting to promote. And then you can kind of go in different directions. But that gives you some examples of how to make it perform the best on social channels. And then also, you know, what you might be looking for if you’re if you’re wanting to go in the TV direction.

April Martini 1:00:51
Yeah, I think those are all really good point. And I think that the granular examples really help because it gets at some specificity of things to think about. So you had mentioned to me that it is a little bit of a wild, wild west. And I think what you’re hearing us say is to give you consideration points so that you’re thinking about how all the pieces go together, but you’re also making decisions based on those KPIs that we talked about before. And then I also think the package can be really helpful. So that’s somewhere where if you’re nervous, and you’re not quite sure, then have people like Amy educate you on the package and kind of the whys. And those really specific things around what types of content even perform really well? Or like what are the rules, quote, unquote, that you have to play by right? This isn’t a space where you should feel like you have to come in and know all the details and have all the solutions. And whether you leverage agencies or you go direct, or whatever you decide to do asking the right questions, so that you can become more educated is also really important so that you learn enough to be dangerous about how to leverage the channels and then use the partners around you to make sure that you’re thinking about it in the right way.

Amy Scalia 1:02:02
Absolutely. And one thing that I wanted to share as well, I think that influencer marketing is really versatile in the way that you can leverage it, it doesn’t have to be a finished polished brand, yet, like I just worked with a local furniture company. It’s like an customizable office furniture company. And they’re still in formulation mode. So they’re wanting to generate some buzz about this is coming soon. But they also wanted to do some interactivity of help us develop our first product line, you know, would you choose this or that? Do you like this color versus this color, we can have all the colors in the world when we launch. So it helps us to generate a lot of great buzz. And people love to share their opinions and they feel a part of it. And then that that affinity grows. So when they do see the big launch, and they do see it actualized they feel a part of it. And so that’s a great way to be able to leverage influencer marketing, when you are getting it started. You don’t have to have it all polished and pretty yet, you can engage with influencer marketing as you build. And that’s essentially getting some market research in there too. Because we, as part of our analytic reporting, we provided the results of all the polls of the this or that and the in the product preferences. And that was invaluable. We got hundreds and hundreds of responses for them. And they’re like, oh, my gosh, this would have been great to, you know, we would have spent so much time and effort doing the market research for this. And this is exactly what we needed to know. That’s super

Anne Candido 1:03:36
smart. Super smart. I love that. All right are third in the trenches question, what are the biggest mistakes you see businesses make when it comes to paid media. And we hit on these already, I think through the course of the conversation, so I’m just going to pinpoint them. And then Amy will let you add any ones that we might have missed. But one is they don’t think about what comes after the paid medias so that they can continue to leverage the buzz they create. We’ve talked about that and about how to be strategic and especially in orchestrating everything. Second is there a one and done. So we’ve talked about that is that usually pay me requires some consistency. So either in regular placement or in a series and developing those relationships continue to be a really great way of continuing to get that organic and natural news versus having to make it very pushed in that way. And people tend to under over invest. And this is again, we’re making sure you know the thresholds and then testing and learning where you can even to the point that you just mentioned what the furniture company is like it we’re just gonna put our toe in the water and see if we can get some engagement here. So our building that following and it takes some time. You know, you don’t turn on, you know, social channels and then all of a sudden you have like 100,000 followers. I mean, it takes time to cultivate that following and that reputation. So any other ones I missed here or what other ones do you see as people making mistakes? Well,

Amy Scalia 1:04:53
in terms of, you know, with the influencer marketing, I think, to really make sure that It’s authentic. And how does this how can we kind of personalize this message to you as an influencer? Like, why do people follow you if people follow me because they know I’m a mom and balancing all the things that is life. And, you know, I’m going to talk about how that product makes my life easier for me and better. And because that’s something that I know my audience relates really well to, and they know that that’s authentic to me, you know, don’t just have your canned list of talking points that you send to them all. I think it’s really important to customize what messages and again, letting them test out the product or the service or whatever it might be, so that they can also come up with that authentic messaging and make it their own. But I think it’s really important to take a look at these outlets that you’re partnering with, and how can you be able to personalize that because the more authenticity, the better, this isn’t your typical, okay, we developed a full page ad, and we’re gonna put it in all the places that take full page ads, you know, this is not that it’s very customized. But that’s what makes it work is that each and every one of these influencers or paid media outlets, they have their own individual audiences, and the reasons why they are following them. And when you can hone in on this is what makes this audience special. And we’re going to tailor our messaging to that, and let them share that in their own words. That’s where the magic is, huh. Yeah, I

April Martini 1:06:29
think that’s amazing. And I think the only thing that I’ll add, which we have talked about is the relationship aspect, which you were just touching on, Amy, but I think we’ve called out and summarized all of the things we’ve talked about. But that piece, and I don’t think that before this conversation, I necessarily thought about it that way. But through the conversation, I think the power of building actual relationships makes this whole world so much easier.

Anne Candido 1:06:54
Yeah, and I would say to you on the other side of that, is that a big mistake people make is that they forget that there’s something in it for the other side, too. Yeah. Right. They think it’s just all about them. But it’s like, no, they want to have good response in good numbers, and good, because that generates a better following for them makes them more marketable, whether it’s an influencer or pay media publication, or a TV station or whatever. Like, they all have those metrics too. So you need to think about how you’re going to add value to them. And that’s one way of being able want to generate really, really good quality content, but also to have them choose you. I mean, because they have they they’re able to make those choices, they don’t have to suddenly have to choose you. It’s Ted, that’s another big thing for a lot of people to understand, right? Yes,

Amy Scalia 1:07:37
that’s true. Yeah. And that’s the thing, as well, you were mentioning about like Facebook ad budget, and having budget that is incorporated into the campaign, where, you know, if you’re if you have X amount to spend on a Facebook ad campaign, and you as your big brand is going to spend a lot of money marketing as you but think of that as part of your influencer marketing campaign, because that’s beneficial to them, because that is reaching new people for them. So they all of a sudden see, this huge chunk of your budget is also going to be promoting them as an influencer, that is going to sweeten the deal where they might not have as much take home, but they’re getting their name out there with this huge Facebook budget that you already allotted. It’s going to be spent somewhere on Facebook. But that’s another thing to think of is that it’s a huge incentive for them to want to work with you if they’re getting kind of that cross pollination of audiences. And they’re getting promoted as an influencer, too. So that’s the what’s in it for them. I

Anne Candido 1:08:43
love that’s a super fantastic point. All right. Our third and final segment is generally our marketing smarts moment. But when we have a guest, we turn it over to them to kind of wrap us up. So Amy, what else should we know about this? Anything else you want to add anything else that you’re involved in? You want people to know? And then tell people where to find you?

Amy Scalia 1:09:00
Sure. Oh, gosh. Okay. So, you know, I think that is important for you, if you are going to be working with influencer marketing and things like that, to follow them and see what they’re posting and make sure that that aligns well with your brand. That’s one thing that I didn’t talk about too much. But just kind of be in the audience and be like, Okay, what does the experience feel like? And does that feel like it aligns well with my brand, and then the reach outs can happen, because there’s a lot of little things like in stories and this and that, what are they sharing and things like that? So, I think that that’s important to take into consideration. Because these are real people and sometimes that’s good. Sometimes that’s bad. Just be an audience member. And just as you know, you would want to read the publications and all that influencer, just kind of considered as, as on that level that you want to To be part of that audience so that you can see what your audience is seeing in terms of how to find me. So I do Amy on the go segments on local 12. Those are every Wednesday, and they’re getting ready to expand to more dates in 2023, which is really exciting. All right, we also have a home show that’s on one Saturday, a month on local 12. And star 64, which is another station that Sinclair here locally owns. And that’s a 30 minute show, and it’s everything home. So that’s something to think about as well, we started to have a lot of features with me on the go, that were home related. And I thought, hey, you know, this is a great idea, especially as people are coming off of COVID, they, they all of a sudden have lots of ideas about things they want to do with their home and crazy housing market, they’re like, well, we’re not moving anytime soon, you get to do some more at home, and make it you know, workable for them and, and be able to ebb and flow with where their life is now. So we’ve got the AMI on the go segments, and the Home Show, and then Cincinnati refined, which is all about lifestyle and lifestyle content in Cincinnati, and great stories to tell on their great social following. So Cincinnati refine.com. And I’m right on the homepage, there, you can contact me through that. And then follow along, since you will find on Instagram and just facebook.com/cincinnati refined on Facebook. And if you want to reach out to me, I have my websites, AmyScalia.com SCA li a, everybody always asked if I’m related was related to Justice Scalia. And I’m like, depends how big of trouble are you in? So yeah, so it’s AmyScalia.com is how you can find me and my website. And just a little side note. So my husband and I’m, we started a nonprofit and a really cool site called PSNEVERGIVEUP. My husband’s name is Pete. So that’s his initials PS. And we went through a long process to start our family and he has rheumatoid arthritis. And so we started to realize that there’s a strong correlation between chronic illness and fertility issues. And so that’s what the nonprofit provides. We provide grants and resources to those who have chronic illnesses who are seeking fertility treatments. And on the PSNEVERGIVEUP website, you’ll see blogs and podcasts where we interview people about their never give up moments. So it’s really motivational and inspiring. And we have an online shop where a portion of proceeds goes to the foundation, they just wanted to put a little plug in for that that’s sort of a passion project that got started at the end of COVID. We were like we need good things to focus on. And, and sometimes after you’ve come through a difficult situation, you want to make sense of it. So this is our way of making sense of sort of the rocky road we were traveling on. We want to make it a little smoother for others that we know there’s a lot of people out there. But the PSNEVERGIVEUP message. It relates to so many people and it whatever it is that you’re going through doesn’t have to necessarily relate to what it meant for us. So if you’re looking for a little pick me up and little inspiration PSNEVERGIVEUP.com is a great place to visit. Oh, I

Anne Candido 1:13:30
love that. Thank you for sharing. Yeah. Thank you for being here.

Amy Scalia 1:13:34
Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for having me. I was absolutely honored. love working with you. And I just love what you’re building and this is really great information. It’s difficult to come across this great insight and to have it all with resources that are on the front lines that are learning is this monster the dragon grow. It’s great to really get this information that is ever evolving and hear it from the experts.

Anne Candido 1:14:08
Well thank you and I so appreciate you bringing it back to the dragon. Absolutely. So just to recap the four tips for getting the most out of paid media first leverage influencer marketing when forging brand love connection sometimes the right storytellers and you second invest enough to break through and create an ecosystem there’s a minimum amount of effort needed to break through the barrage of inputs based on your target maximize your effort and spend to create an ecosystem. Third, amplify content and placements across your channels. This serves two benefits it gets more exposure for the content and increases your credibility as it comes from a credible source and makes you look popular. And finally know how to pay media KPIs impact business KPIs. This is so important because you’re going to get a lot of random analytics I won’t mean anything on their own. And what that will say go and exercise your Marketing Smarts.

April Martini 1:14:56
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