On Brand with Nick Westergaard

“SEO isn’t done unless your done growing.” Growth is something that John Jantsch has helped countless small businesses with in his decades of experience. As the author of the classic Duct Tape Marketing and founder of the Duct Tape Marketing Consultant Network, Janstch has written five books on marketing. His latest, SEO for Growth, asks marketers and brand builders to rethink how they think about...

On this week's Social Sound Bite – recorded live at the KXIC studios in Iowa City – Jay and I discussed a recent article from Adweek, which noted that social platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter are getting away from the 'social' label. Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news, trends, and tips included in this week's show. Beyond the Sound Bite Why Snapcha...

“Brands don’t have stories. People have stories.” Paul Smith is an acclaimed speaker and expert trainer. Specifically his work focuses on how stories and storytelling can influence leadership and life. His latest book, Sell with a Story, looks at the impact stories have on the processes of selling. We discussed all of this and more on this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast. Enjoy This Episode...

“I always say it's not that a brand can't be successful. It's that they have already self-selected unsuccessful." As a Moz Associate, Ronell Smith helps brand builders at organizations big and small overcome obstacles in digital marketing today. He's also an advocate for being a generalist when it comes to marketing skills. We discussed all of this and more on this week’s episode of the On Brand p...

“If you’re not amplifying the positive stories around your brand, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity.” This past week, I had the pleasure of speaking at the Social Media Rockstar event in Minnesota alongside last week’s guest Lee Odden. Also speaking at the event was Aaron Weiche, CMO of GetFiveStars, an online review platform. I couldn’t wait to share his insights with you on this week’s ep...

“There's a gravity to shiny new objects and tactics that people can easily fall prey to." As CEO of TopRank Marketing, Lee Odden helps both B2B and B2C clients overcome the obstacles of today's shiny new things. He's also the author of Optimize and an expert on influencer marketing. We discussed all of this and more on this week’s episode of the podcast. About Lee Odden Lee Odden is the CEO of Top...

On this week's Social Sound Bite – recorded live at the KXIC studios in Iowa City – Jay and I discussed new data on Facebook video length from Q2. Best practices usually remind us to keep videos short and sweet but that may not be the best advice. Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news, trends, and tips included in this week's show. Beyond the Sound Bite What Video...

This week, we have something a little different for our podcast listeners. Recently, I was asked to do a reading of my new book, Get Scrappy: Smarter Digital Marketing for Businesses Big and Small at Prairie Lights Bookstore in Iowa City. Prairie Lights is something of a literary institution — both in the region and beyond. I was delighted to read from my book and answer a few questions. I thought...

“The new normal is that there is no normal.” Geoffrey Colon opened this week’s episode of the On Brand podcast with these daunting words. Colon, a self-described data punk, DJ, podcaster, and author, serves as a communications designer and Microsoft. He also just released a new book on this very topic Disruptive Marketing. We discussed all of this and more on this week’s episode of the podcast.  ...

“It’s brand or be branded.” That’s the ultimatum that Deb Gabor presented this week on the On Brand podcast. The founder and CEO of Sol Marketing and author of the new bestselling book Branding Is Sex explained that if you aren’t talking to your customers, finding out what’s important to them, and making that a part of your brand story, you run the risk of being branded by them. She discussed all...

On this week's Social Sound Bite – recorded live at the KXIC studios in Iowa City – Jay and I discussed the latest news out of Twitter. And it's not super great. With a recently downgraded market share of the US social networking space, Twitter is flailing — adding features, seeing what works, and trying to stop the bleeding. Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news,...

“Don’t be afraid to to embrace your brand ambassadors. Make them a part of your marketing.” Schwinn Bicycles is a historic brand that’s part of the lives of generations. As Associate Marketing Manager, it’s part of Samantha Hersil’s job to communicate this history while finding new stories from customers, advocates, and their own innovations. We discussed all of this on this week’s episode of the...

On this week’s Social Sound Bite – recorded live at the KXIC studios in Iowa City – Jay and I discussed an interesting development. Just as Facebook continues to offer their own robust advertising solutions, they’ve taken a big step to block the ad-blocking apps that many love. Let’s take a closer look. Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news, trends, and tips inclu...

“It’s almost cliche to say but the Internet is challenging. There’s so much noise. Why do weed another blog or another channel?” While digital media has provided more opportunities for building brands online, it’s also created a level of noise that’s hard to break through. Aaron Orendorff helps college students, speaking audiences, and marketing clients do just that. We discussed all of this on th...

“In marketing we’re trying to get people to do something. We need to understand why we do what we do. What motivates us?” Building on a career at Coca-Cola and brand consulting, Daryl Weber has devoted himself to connecting the dots of human behavior and branding. He’s the author of the new book Brand Seduction: How Neuroscience Can Help Marketers Build Memorable Brands. We discussed the book and...

“A bad marketer is one who does things based on their gut.” As the co-founder of Orbit Media, an author, and host of Content Jam in Chicago, Andy Crestodina helps marketers quantify those gut impulses with actionable data and strategies. Andy is also a speaker at Social Brand Forum 2016 in Iowa City this September, where he’ll be talking about Google Analytics Fundamentals: How to Measure What Mat...

On this week’s Social Sound Bite – recorded live at the KXIC studios in Iowa City – Jay and I discussed … Pokemon Go! Love it or hate it (and folks seem squarely in one of those two camps) Pokemon Go is lighting up the Internet this week. Let’s look at why. Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news, trends, and tips included in this week’s show. Beyond the Sound Bite...

“It doesn’t matter where you interact with us — you’re part of our community.” Being on the community team at SEO software giant Moz isn’t just focusing on social media. As senior community manager, Erica McGillivray interacts with the brand’s community both online and off. As you’ll learn, Erica also has a formidable comic book collection. We talked about all of this and more on this week’s On Br...

“Employees are trusted more than the organizations they work for.” Citing this simple stat from the Edelman Trust Barometer, Adobe’s Lauren Friedman described her job in a nutshell. As the head of Global Social Business Enablement, Friedman spends her time doing just that. Social engagement, activation, and advocacy across Adobe. We discussed all of this and more on this week’s episode of the On B...

On this week's Social Sound Bite – recorded live at the KXIC studios in Iowa City – Jay and I discussed the news that Facebook has redesigned their 'like' button. While this could sound trivial, consider the fact that the like button is a signature part of the Facebook experience and is part of millions of pages across the web. Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the new...

What sets apart good branded content? “Strategic tools, storytelling, and understanding your objectives.” Melanie Deziel helps brands and publishers better understand the shared goals and potential wins that are possible through native advertising. She’s worked with The New York Times, Time, Inc, Netflix, and more to do just that. We discussed all of this including her upcoming talk at Social Bran...

On this week’s Social Sound Bite – recorded live at the KXIC studios in Iowa City – Jay and I discussed some new numbers that Instagram shared this week. The popular Facebook-owned social network now boasts 500 million users and 300 million actives. This makes Instagram the second largest and second most used social network. Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news,...

“There’s something inherently valuable about viewing television.” Andy Bryant and Charlier Mawer would know. As the creative force behind the UK’s Red Bee agency, they help global clients such as the BBC, NBC Universal, and Fox market their networks and shows. They’re also co-authors of the new book The TV Brand Builders: How to Win Audiences and Influence Viewers. I couldn’t wait to discuss TV br...

“Everything we do as employees translates into the brand.” I’ve been fascinated by the Spiceworks brand since I first read about them in Jay Baer’s new book Hug Your Haters. This people-focused community platform for IT professionals is the very definition of an inside-out brand. I couldn’t wait to discuss this philosophy and more with Spiceworks’ Exec Brand Muse Jen Slaski on this week’s episode...

On this week's Social Sound Bite – recorded live at the KXIC studios in Iowa City – Jay and I discussed a shocking new stat about Snapchat's use numbers. This past week, Bloomberg reported that Snapchat overtook Twitter in number of daily users. Great news for Snapchat! Not so great for Twitter ... Listen for the full sound bite and enjoy these useful links to the news, trends, and tips included i...