Partnership Unpacked

By now you’ve no doubt seen how incredible generative AI can be at helping to create outlines, emails, scripts and articles. And the imagery and video that AI is capable of producing is advancing swiftly. But all of that content is based on creative work that already exists, and that could potentially include your work! Is that something you need to protect yourself against? Where do you even star...

CMOs and Partnership Leaders today are facing increasing amounts of pressure. Pressure to do more with less. Pressure to show their stakeholders, internal and external, real results. Pressure to take their partner programs to the next level. All the books and courses and webinars in the world can’t help if you don’t have the right mindset. So where do we begin? That’s what we’re covering in today’...

In the early 2000’s, when I was the sales manager for a local IT company in Ohio, I needed to meet and build relationships with other business owners in the area so that when they had an IT need come up, like upgrading their server or expanding their network, my company and I were top of mind. So I attended weekly breakfast networking meetings, and showed up at fundraisers and other community even...

Robin Dimond once said to me, “Partnerships are a long term relationship. You don’t expect to wife up right away. Same thing with a partnership. You have to work that relationship and really get to know them on every level.” But in today’s world of short form video and voice texting and Slack messages… how do we really get to know partners and potential partners? Are long term relationships really...

Imagine who a few of the biggest brands are in your industry. Got a few companies in mind? Now imagine you’re responsible for working with them on partnerships that measure revenue in the millions of dollars. Where do you start? How do you keep on top of it all? That’s what we’re covering in today’s episode of Partnership Unpacked. Welcome back to Partnership Unpacked, where I selfishly use this t...

  Whenever we talk about partnerships, it always boils down to cooperation between two or more entities. Whether that’s a couple of brands, a brand and an influencer, or some other combination. And while we might enter into these partnerships with the best of intentions and the highest of hopes… what happens when things don’t go as planned? What do we do when, say, one of the partners doesn’t hold...

At the Social Pulse Summit: ROI Edition event that I hosted in March, I asked attendees of the influencer marketing panel what their biggest challenges were. 31.8% reported that measuring and proving ROI was their greatest challenge, while 22.7% said finding and working with the right influencers was their Achilles heel. Does that resonate with you? Perhaps you, too, have struggled to find great i...

Campaigns. Assets. Tracking links. Reach. These are important concepts when it comes to influencer marketing… but are they missing the point? Is it possible that we’ve gotten so caught up in the output and tactics of influencer marketing that we’ve lost sight of the purpose of the strategy, and the actual outcomes we hoped to achieve? Where should we shift our focus, and how can we make influence...

Are partnerships integrated into every aspect of your company, or are you still working in a silo, struggling to gain traction? Does it seem like you’re the only one who sees how powerful and impactful strategic partnerships can be? Fortunately, you’re not alone. You’re not the only one who needs help communicating and persuading executives and other departments to adopt a partnership mindset and...

Check this out. 98% of employees use at least one social media site for personal use, but only 50% post about their company. And yet, we know that a recommendation from a friend or family member makes 83% of Americans more likely to purchase that product or service. If word of mouth is that effective, and businesses have a treasure trove of employees and social channels to leverage… why aren’t the...

The number of enterprises in the marketing agency industry in the United States increased by 12.0% annually between 2017 and 2022. How can your agency stand apart from a growing number of competitors? Through partnerships. Partnerships with other agencies and brands, and partnerships with your clients themselves. Your clients are tired of traditional client-agency relationships that often feel tra...

James Cash Penney, founder of the JCPenney franchise in 1898, once famously said, “Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together.” And his is a classic American story of entrepreneurship and growth and expansion. He started as a partial partner in a new store in Wyoming and quickly leveraged his experience and business acumen to open more and more stores, eventually b...

Coresight Research has estimated that the US livestreaming market would hit $20 billion last year. Then, by 2026, it will more than triple to an estimated $68 billion in sales. And interestingly, 50% of Millennials trust product recommendations from influencers.  So it would seem that combining an influencer with a live shopping event that showcases your brand and product offerings would be a lucr...

According to a survey by TopRank Marketing, 78% of B2B marketers say that influencer marketing is effective, even with small campaigns. And we know that B2B buyers are more likely to purchase a product or service if it has been recommended by an industry influencer. And yet, influencer marketing is still a challenge and a mystery to many brands. From finding influencers to measuring results, compa...

We work with thousands of marketing agencies at Agorapulse and when we asked them what they struggle with the most, the number one answer was always how to grow and scale their agency. But when we drill down, we find that the problems, and the solutions, change as agencies grow. New and boutique agencies struggle with messaging, targeting, and lead nurture. It’s a near-constant battle to keep the...

Have you noticed how some full time employees are able to simultaneously balance having a side hustle as an influencer? How do they do it? And what about the folks who quit their nine to five and lean into their role as an influencer and full time creator… Does that sound frightening to you, and maybe just a little bit exciting? Because the truth is, the creator economy is booming and there’s ampl...

Imagine how your business might benefit from partnering with the largest brand in your industry. How would that extend your reach or establish your authority? Whether you’re a solopreneur or the CEO of an established brand, partnering with a company that’s much, much larger than yours is called a Sumo Advantage. But where do you start? That’s what we’re covering in today’s episode of Partnership U...

  73% of B2B marketers cite an increased interest in influencer marketing this year. And that’s good, because it’s been shown conclusively that buyers are eager to make purchases based on the recommendations of influencers and content creators. And yet, there’s still a tremendous amount of confusion and trepidation when it comes to influencer marketing. Is it just for B2C brands? Is Instagram losi...

Over half of B2B buyers say that they rely on industry thought leaders and influencers to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and developments in their field. It’s no wonder then that 59% of B2B marketers say that they plan to increase their influencer marketing budget in the coming year. In an industry that reached $16.1 billion in 2022, influencer marketing has become extremely lucrative, and c...

Are you by yourself right now? No, I don’t mean are you alone… I mean, are you the only one in your organization managing partnerships? I know I am! And in that respect we aren’t alone… in a recent survey of 664 professionals by Hubspot and Partnership Leaders, 59.6% of the respondents reported having at least one employee working full time on partner operations. The report went on to share some p...

According to our friends at Top Rank Marketing, 86% of B2B brands consider their influencer marketing successful, and 85% say they plan to increase their investment in influencers over the next twelve months. And yet, these same brands continue to report that their biggest challenges lie in identifying and maintaining relationships with key influencers. They’re struggling to find the perfect folks...

Stop me if this sounds familiar. You open LinkedIn on your phone and there at the top of the feed, LinkedIn has recommended a post by the CMO of a huge brand you know your sales team is targeting. You tap on their profile and figure if you could connect with them on LinkedIn, maybe you could strike up a conversation and build a case for your solution. So you smash that connect button and smile at...

How’s your affiliate program looking? Have you noticed how most of your affiliate traffic and referrals are from less than 20% of your channel partners? Picture your top affiliate. What would it look like if you had 5, 10, 50 more affiliates just. like. them. But friends… I’ve got a problem. I’m looking at our channel partner program in FirstPromoter and I have to be honest, the vast majority of m...

How would you like the low-down on what B2B influencers are really looking for when they work with brands? Wouldn’t it be nice to know what might make an influencer truly excited to partner with you? All too often, brands approach influencers assuming that they only care about money#, or that the prestige of working with the brand will suffice. And while those things can be important, they’re not...

Harvard Business Review found that omnichannel customers spend 10% more online, and a shocking 73% of customers prefer shopping through multiple channels. And Google found that omnichannel customers are worth 30% more! The challenge, of course, is finding ways to create a seamless experience for customers across all of a brand’s channels. Could partnerships play a role? That’s what Robin Dimond is...