Hanson & Hunt

Arik examines the complex topic of companies and brands making the decision to take a public stand on politics and key societal issues. LINKSMost Loved Brands 2020Survey reaffirms consumers are serious about brands taking standsBest Buy says 30% of 1,000 new tech hires will be people of color or womenMORE INFORMATIONTheTalkingPointsPodcast.comApple Podcasts pageSpotify pageSubscribe to Arik's week...

In our August 2020 episode, we discuss:Instagram Reels (3:00)Cision’s State of the Press Release (5:50)Employee perspectives on COVID-19 (9:05)Spotlight: Country Time's bailout relief fund (13:25)Our "hills to die on" (15:10)The benefits of mixternal collaboration (28:55)How to brag better (35:45)QUICK NEWS & QUICK TAKESFacebook launches its new TikTok clone, Instagram ReelsLet’s be Reels! Can Ins...

In our July 2020 episode, we discuss:Edelman's Trust Barometer Special Report: Brand Trust in 2020 (3:40)What Black Lives Matter supporters want brands to do (4:45)What companies and employees are posting on LinkedIn (5:55)COVID-19’s impact on marketing (7:00)Spotlight: Arby’s audio tweets (9:05)The impact of the Facebook boycott (11:15)Andy Krall of Brandpoint (18:00)Reuters Institute Digital New...

Arik interviews Marsha Pitts-Phillips, the Diversity and Inclusion Officer for the Minnesota chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, and the president and founder of MRPP & Associates Communications. They discuss a variety of topics relevant to the communications landscape right now, including what companies are saying during this period of social unrest, the vulnerability of leaders,...

In our June 2020 episode, we discuss: The aftermath of the death of George Floyd and the communications aspects (2:30) Instagram's new payouts for influencers (12:00) How podcasting has weathered the pandemic (14:00) Muck Rack's "The State of Journalism 2020" (16:35) Spotlight: 'Your job seems too boring' (20:05) The impact of partisan politics on PR and comms (21:20) The return of the video news...

Arik interviews Casey Hall of Lumberjack Social. They discuss several trends in social media to pay attention to during the COVID-19 pandemic: Executive use of social media, brand journalism, Instagram, TikTok, pandemic-related content from brands, and Twitch. LINKSLumberjack SocialKey insights: Day one post COVID-19, the mobile app economy takes centre stage, the martech-scape and moreU.S. consum...

In our May 2020 episode, we discuss: Cision's 2020 Global State of the Media Report (3:50) CEOs seeing record engagement on LinkedIn (5:20) The role of social during COVID-19 (7:50) Spotlight: Kaiser Permanente's TikTok win (10:10) Disastertising (12:55) Ideas to prepare for the pandemic rebound (24:50) Bosses who micromanage remote workers (30:35) QUICK NEWS & QUICK TAKESCision's 2020 Global Stat...

GlobalWebIndex Social media flagship report: The latest social media trends to know for 2020MORE INFORMATIONTheTalkingPointsPodcast.comApple Podcasts pageSpotify pageSubscribe to Arik's weekly emailSPONSORBrandpoint Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thank you for listening. We understandably devoted most of our time in this episode to discussing various aspects of COVID-19 communications. Please take note of a Minnesota PRSA event you also may find helpful, that we mention toward the end of the show: "Communicating during COVID-19: A virtual town hall for communicators by communicators."In our April 2020 episode, we discuss: COVID-19: Observa...

LINKSHow social networks are surging and changing during the COVID-19 outbreak Content marketing that is truly making a difference during the COVID-19 outbreakBlue Cross joins Allina to launch skilled volunteer effort to create masks for hospitals and clinics LinkedIn: Life Time Inc. How to take your next conference call from your "tent"Brands are creating Zoom backgrounds to class up your quarant...

Note: One of our discussion items this month is about the communications aspects of the coronavirus (COVID-19). This episode was recorded before March 11, before the most recent developments (the classification of the virus as a pandemic, the restrictions on U.S. travel related to Europe, the NBA's decision to suspend its season, etc...)In our March 2020 episode, we discuss: The impact of the coro...

Arik interviews Shahbaz Khan, director of digital content for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx. LINKS Shahbaz Khan - TwitterTimberwolves - TwitterTimberwolves - InstagramTimberwolves - FacebookMORE INFORMATIONTheTalkingPointsPodcast.comApple Podcasts pageSpotify pageSubscribe to Arik's weekly emailSPONSORS   David James GroupBrandpoint Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone...

In our February 2020 episode, we discuss: Is it time for brands to hold their tongues on hot topics? (2:05) Poppulo's Employee Communications Report 2020 (3:55) LinkedIn's growth (5:40) Spotlight: An IG account mocking influencers (8:55) Spotlight: Winona, Minnesota's response to Winona Ryder (10:40) Are we in the era of antisocial social media? (16:25) Lessons from the 2020 Edelman Trust Baromete...

LINKSIn 2020, social media will be less social13 top B2B social media marketing trends and predictions for 202012 social media trends to watch in 2020MORE INFORMATIONTheTalkingPointsPodcast.comApple Podcasts pageSpotify pageSubscribe to Arik's weekly emailSPONSORS   David James GroupBrandpoint Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our January 2020 episode, we discuss: Facebook's ban on deepfakes (3:00) A study that says comms directors are in “content chaos” (4:50) How social media 'stumps' marketers (7:00) Spotlight: Panera addresses angry tweets (9:45) The differences between a heritage brand and an innovator brand (12:05) Gen Z's impact on social media marketing (19:20) The skills communicators need to succeed (26:50)...

We're closing out 2019 with this interview episode featuring Nick Westergaard, chief strategist and partner at Brand Driven Digital. Nick also teaches at the University of Iowa, speaks at numerous conferences, hosts the "On Brand" podcast, and has written two books: "Brand Now" and "Get Scrappy."We talked with Nick in his office in Iowa City about his background, what organizations should consider...

In our December 2019 episode, we discuss: The FTC's new advertising disclosures guidance for online influencers (2:30) The Spoken Word Audio Report from NPR/Edison Research (3:55) Content marketing planning for 2020 (4:55) Spotlight: South Dakota is on meth (7:10) Cision and PRWeek's 2019 Global Comms Report (15:20) The 2020 Relevance Report from the USC Center for Public Relations (18:35) Doug Ke...

Our interview episode for November features Lisa Grimm, former director of social media and influencer marketing at Whole Foods. She previously held marketing and communications at space150 and Mall of America, among others. She talks about how she's spending her time during her current sabbatical, shares some great takeaways and tips from her responsibilities and projects while navigating the evo...

In our November 2019 episode, we discuss: Social Media Breakfast MSP's podcasting event (2:20) PRWeek & Boston University's 2019 Bellwether Survey (3:10) How to promote podcasts (4:20) Results from a poll of B2B marketers (6:30) Spotlight: An issue for Panera (10:00) Ideas for a behind-the-scenes video series (12:45) How blogging has changed (18:40) Using paid social for PR (24:50) Shoutout interv...

Our interview episode for October features Scott Severson, president of Brandpoint. He talks about the content marketing strategies and tactics involved in employer branding. And he offers ideas for getting started, measurement and how a positive employer brand supports an organization's recruiting and reputation. MORE INFORMATIONShow page and linksFacebook GroupApple Podcasts pageSpotify pageSubs...

In our October 2019 episode, we discuss: Social Media Breakfast MSP's podcasting event (2:05) The Page Society's CCO report (3:40) A PESO primer (6:15) Why fewer people see brands as political (7:45) Spotlight: P&G's TV show (10:40) The impact of employee social advocacy programs on personal brands (12:30) If YouTube should be getting more attention (20:30) 7 social media trends to be aware of bef...

Our latest “Hot Topics” edition focuses on podcasting for businesses and organizations. We’re joined by Gary Jordan from NASA's "Houston We Have a Podcast," Marie McGehee from Verizon's "Up To Speed" and LouAnn Berglund Haaf from Cambria's "Beyond the Surface." Kevin also joins in as a guest, to talk about the "A Taste of General Mills" podcast that he oversees at General Mills. In this discussion...

In our September 2019 episode, we discuss: The death of the click in Google searches (3:45) Adobe's 2019 Brand Content Survey (5:35) Facebook's move to remove Like counts (7:25) Spotlight: A perhaps strategic Twitter war win for Popeye's (9:40)  The fading relevance of AP style (14:30) Why you and your coworkers should be more active on LinkedIn (25:00) What to do when your channel audiences "ghos...

Our interview episode for August features Drew Navolio, vice president of Client Services; and Dan Jasker, director of Digital Services, at David James Group. They talk about their work with the Society of Women Engineers and the organization's blog: “All Together Now.” Plus, they discuss blog platforms, content strategy and blogging best practices. MORE INFORMATIONLinks and show page: TheTalkingP...

In their August 2019 episode, Arik Hanson and Kevin Hunt discuss: The "demetrication" trend in social media (2:00) A lesson from news websites about how not to overwhelm your online readers (4:10) Edelman's employee backlash (6:30) Spotlight: REI's new magazine (9:25) Arik's advice for your personal social media activity (10:50) Does taking risks in a marketing campaign make it more effective? (17...