Podcasts have surged in popularity over the past decade, evolving from a niche medium to a mainstream form of entertainment and education. With the rise of smartphones and audio platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts, people are now consuming more on-the-go content than ever before. This growing accessibility and the low cost of production have made podcasts an attractive platform for individuals, businesses, and nonprofits to share their messages and connect with audiences on a more personal level. Creagent Marketing has produced five podcasts within the community:
Overall, we’ve reached over 4,000 downloads across 5 podcasts and 120 episodes.
In a Paesanos Podcast episode, owner of Creagent Marketing Sean Lukasik sat down with Maddy Masiello, an Audio Production Manager for The New York Times. In this episode they talk about podcast and audio content and why the internet can’t seem to get enough. When asked why she thinks podcasts and audio content are thriving the way they are today, Masiello explained, “podcasting is to radio the same way streaming services are to cable, they’re becoming a new normal. You’ve taken something that not many people produced and made it on demand for everybody. It’s easy to manipulate, it’s easy to iterate and it’s very accessible in ways that other media isn’t.” This shift has opened the door for creators, businesses, and nonprofits to share their messages more freely, connecting with audiences on a deeper and more personal level than traditional media allows.
For small businesses and nonprofits, having a podcast can offer a significant impact. It provides a unique way to build a loyal community by sharing the organization’s story, mission, and values in an engaging, conversational format. “I’d like to highlight the good of podcasting. It can really bring communities together,” said Masiello. She went on to explain her experience working on a show with incredibly devoted listeners. “They created a fan base and had live shows that felt like family reunions.” Podcasts create a platform for in-depth discussions, interviews with industry professionals, and the opportunity to showcase success stories, offering value to listeners while subtly promoting services or causes. Podcasts can also help expand an organization’s reach, tapping into new audiences who prefer audio content over traditional media. For nonprofits, this can be particularly effective in fostering relationships with donors, volunteers, and supporters. For small businesses, it can help drive customer loyalty and engagement.
Are you looking to create a deeper, more personal connection with your audience? A podcast might just be exactly what you need. Interested in learning more? Click here to listen to the Paesanos Podcast episode that was discussed in this blog!
Alix Earle is one of the most popular influencers right now. She originally blew up for her “Get Ready With Me” TikTok videos for events at the University of Miami, and she now has 5.6 million TikTok followers along with 2.9 million on Instagram. She would simply prop her phone up on her makeup table in her college apartment and start filming her getting ready routine. She talked to her audience the entire time, either about the products she was using, the event she was getting ready for, or just stuff going on in her life. They were very casual videos and it felt like she was just talking to her friends. She recently graduated, but has continued to make these Get Ready With Me videos as well as many other types of TikToks.
Alix is the perfect example of an influencer that brands would want to establish a deal with. She has a large audience that trusts her opinion, and while she is relatable she also has a very fun life that people want to watch. She has a large influence on her audience, and I’ll admit I myself have bought multiple items that she has shown in her videos. It even became a big trend on TikTok to recreate her makeup routine, and she has gotten an incredible amount of brand deals the past year and is invited to movie premieres and brand trips. People were influenced to buy the white eyeliner she uses, her favorite mascara and bronzer, as well as many other products she loves.
Advertising strategies have clearly changed a lot over the past couple of decades. What used to just be posters, TV commercials and newspaper ads has turned into 15 second videos on TikTok generating millions of views. I know I spend too much time on my phone, and I’m sure millions of people could agree. But, this makes social media the perfect place for companies to advertise. Establishing brand deals with influencers is one of the most effective ways for companies to do this.
Companies have the ability to gain a ton of exposure from influencers. While some of their posts might be paid brand deals, a lot of them are just creators showing off products they like, giving the company free exposure to their audience. An influencer may show their daily routine and rave about a certain product they love, leading many members of their audience to purchase that product. This is a leg up from any other form of ad, as the audience already knows and trusts this influencer.
On top of that, a brand can measure every step in the sales process from the first exposure on an influencer page to the final sale in an online shopping cart. TV ads are effective for exposure, but don’t offer the same level of analytics. These analytics can really help companies with picking which influencers to continue working with and allows them to know just how much influencer marketing is working.
Millions of people scroll through TikTok every single day and are constantly being exposed to new products. Lately, a lot more time is spent on social media than watching TV; and even when people are watching TV, it is often on streaming services with no ads or they are scrolling through their phones while watching.
Most brands have adopted influencer marketing in some way. It is an incredibly effective way to build brand recognition and generate sales. I can only see this type of marketing continuing to grow, and see past types start to gradually decrease. Companies are wanting to put much more of their advertising budget into this marketing, and for good reason; Alix Earle’s brand deals can prove this.
In a recent upheaval to the social media landscape, Meta introduced Threads. In less than a week, the platform attracted more than 100 million users, becoming the fastest network to reach that milestone. Threads served the first real external blow to Twitter, which has been losing users and money as a result of self-inflicted wounds since the company’s change in ownership.
Here at Creagent Marketing (and Urban Corning), we wanted to be early adopters of the app. Our intern, Olivia Proudfoot, quickly created a Threads account for Urban Corning less than 24 hours after the app was launched. Below are five of her initial observations:
Users can start out with a base of followers, making it easy to get started
Right when you first open the app, the Instagram accounts you own are listed and you can easily log into any of them. You can even import your Instagram bio and website URL in one click. Then you are brought to a screen listing everyone you already follow on Instagram; you can instantly follow all of those same accounts with one click. This makes it incredibly easy to get started on the app without having to spend time searching for the hundreds of accounts you follow on Instagram. It also gives you a base followers right from the start. I think it feels a lot easier to get started on an app when you know you’re going to see familiar friends and content from the start.
People were very fast to download the app and be active on it
As I first looked at the feed section, I was surprised to see how many large companies and celebrities were already on the app and posting. I created Urban Corning’s account less than a day after the app was released, yet many companies and celebrities already had a number of “threads” posted and a lot of activity on those threads.
Companies are taking a casual, funny approach to their posts
Companies are being very casual on the platform. The way companies are using the app reminds me of how they use TikTok. Companies use both of these apps with a more casual, funny, and personable approach. I have always enjoyed seeing big, well-known brands post funny videos or comments on TikTok that make it seem like they are just a normal user of the app, and it seems this approach is what’s being used on Threads so far.
People are actively comparing Threads with Twitter
I have noticed there have already been many posts shading Twitter. The first thing I learned about the app when it was released was that it is extremely similar to Twitter, and many think it could replace Twitter altogether. I wondered how high the chances were that this app replaces Twitter, because when Instagram added Reels it did not seem to affect TikTok usage at all. But with all the controversy happening with Twitter and all of the posts on the app I am seeing that are talking negatively about Twitter, I think it is possible Threads will be a strong competitor.
My predictions for Threads
I really do think that Threads will end up being successful based on what I have already seen on the app. Many influencers that I follow on Instagram already have an account and are encouraging people to join the app and follow them. While I do not think it could completely replace Twitter, I think it is going to be a major competitor for the platform. Threads is new and exciting, and it’s gained popularity fast. I can see Threads sticking around for a while and being really successful.
Social media is such a significant part of our daily lives now, so it’s really interesting to see a new app be launched that could potentially become one of the platforms we check every day. As a brand new app there is some room for improvement, but I was overall really impressed with the app right from the beginning. I’m excited to see where the app goes and to see if it will become as popular as TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram.
Creagent Marketing and the Guthrie Strategic Planning and Marketing team have been recognized by Ragan Communications for three Employee Communications Awards. The team won the category for Best Employer Branding for their campaign titled “Your Career in Full Color” in PR Daily’s Social Media & Digital Awards. The campaign was also awarded Best Recruitment Video and was runner-up for Best Recruitment Campaign.
Through billboards, direct mail, social media ads, and television commercials, Guthrie was able to successfully share nursing opportunities with the community. The campaign focused on the career benefits and competitive advantages Guthrie offers for their nurses. This campaign was successful in its mission, ultimately increasing the hiring of full-time nurses by ten percent.
“Winning the Ragan Employee Communications Award and PR Daily Social Media & Digital Award for our recruitment marketing campaign was an incredible honor,” said Maria Knapp, Marketing Manager at Guthrie. “It was a testament to the hard work of everyone involved in creating, executing, and managing the campaign. Our success is a direct result of our team’s commitment to delivering creative solutions that resonate with our target audience. Winning these awards has been a major milestone for our team, and I am proud of the recognition we received.”
Guthrie is focused on improving the health and well-being of the communities it serves, while providing an environment of compassion, learning, and discovery.
“We’re extremely proud of these awards, which reflect the hard work that everyone put in on behalf of our client,” said Sean Lukasik, owner of Creagent Marketing. “Our team – including Erin Panosian and Dave Rochelle – worked seamlessly with the Guthrie Marketing department to make this campaign a success.”
Creagent Marketing is dedicated to helping their clients stay on brand while capturing followers and leads along the way. Focusing on design, content development, and comprehensive digital marketing campaigns, the company has been successful in generating content that helps clients reach their customers in various ways. From creating new company logos to building video and podcast series, the team at Creagent Marketing has a wide variety of skills and knowledge. Examples of clients include Arbor Housing and Development, Corning Civic Music, and the Community Foundation of Elmira Corning and the Finger Lakes.
Ragan Communications has been delivering “trusted news, training and intelligence for more than 50 years to internal and external communicators, HR professionals and business executives.”
“It’s an honor to see our work next to some of the other winners like PepsiCo, Capital One, Disney Parks, and John Deere,” added Lukasik. This is the first time Creagent Marketing has been recognized by Ragan Communications.
My first thought when a friend or family member tells me about a home renovation or building project is, “I’ll be right over to take some before photos!”
In many cases, when faced with a lengthy or costly project, people understandably concentrate on the job at hand. But the opportunity to document “the before” is fleeting. Too many times I have heard from folks that it occurred to them to take photos or video only after the project was complete.
Take a cue from the myriad home improvement shows that document the transformation of a property. The benchmarking shots they take before any work begins become invaluable at the show’s conclusion when we see them dissolve into the newly re-done space. The juxtaposition of those before and after shots creates maximum impact for viewers.
Telling your audience what something used to look like is one thing, showing them is another altogether.
Original Brick House Brewery website… and our recent re-design for them
At Creagent, we regularly catalog the before & after in the work we do for clients – that not only helps them see the value in the work we have done, but it also builds a strong portfolio we can show to future clients.
Some of what we do is showcasing the before and after of the work our clients themselves do. For example, the Corning Housing Partnership is all about transforming neighborhoods in our City. The most effective way to show how far we’ve come in cleaning up and improving properties around the City, is to show where we were before the work began. This recent film we made for the Partnership – showing the state of several areas of Corning, both “now” and “then” – would not have the same impact without video and photographs that were taken several years ago.
Before & after shots of Arbor Housing and Development’s Lamphear Court
Make capturing before images part of your planning process for any transformative project.
At approximately 2:27 p.m. EST, on Sunday, April 14, Twitter erupted.
At that exact moment, Tiger Woods sank a two-foot putt, winning the 2019 Masters and successfully completing one of the sports world’s most remarkable comebacks.
Just minutes later, Nike dropped a 52-second video on its social media channels starring the golfer. In a matter of moments, the video was viral – garnering more than 26 million views on Twitter and another 13 million on Instagram. Three times as many people as Nike has total followers viewed, shared, and commented on the posts.
Nike’s tweet wasn’t all that special, when you think about it. It was just a quick video, a short caption, and a hashtag. The video even lacked a narrator, it was just a collection of clips from Tiger’s past and a pretty standard music bed. Nowhere in the tweet did Nike even congratulate the golfer.
The words that flashed across the screen along with the video’s images simply read:
It’s crazy to think a 43-year-old, who has experienced every high and every low and has just won his 15th major is chasing the same dream as a 3-year-old. Just do it.
-Nike
It’s exactly that script and what the tweet didn’t say that made it so viral.
Undoubtedly, Tiger Woods is one of the most accomplished athletes in the world. His success on the links is internationally recognized, and the failures in his personal life have become just as public. He has played both the hero and the villain of his own story. People love to love him, and people love to hate him. And people really, really love to talk about him.
Once Tiger made that putt, millions of tweets – recognizing everything from his incredible comeback win to those above-mentioned personal shortcomings – were shared. Nike took full advantage of that. Their tweet simply contributed to the conversation. It was a conversation that they didn’t start themselves, so they didn’t try to control its narrative. Nike’s content was specific to Tiger Woods and incredibly relevant in the moment, yet just broad enough that people were able to take the content and make it their own.
People quoted and shared Nike’s tweet as they added their own opinions and gave their unique takes on the situation. As they continued to contribute to that global conversation, Nike’s tweet earned more and more impressions and its video collected millions of views.
Nike is a global brand, so it’s sometimes easy to assume that each piece of its marketing strategy is supported by millions of dollars worth of research and creative. That’s probably true. But, at its core, Nike’s very simple and very viral tweet can still serve as a lesson for all marketers, regardless of the size of our businesses, our budgets, or our clients.
Here are some common themes of a successful tweet that we can all take away:
Interact with your followers and attract new fans by participating in the global conversation
Increase engagement by sharing original, highly relevant content
Make that content more shareable by limiting how “salesy” it is
Don’t try to control the narrative, join a conversation and let your fans, your content, and your do the work
Nike did all of the above. Its homage to Tiger wasn’t just a congratulatory nod. It was a well-timed, calculated yet simple, extremely successful social media marketing effort – one that deserves just as much recognition as Tiger’s historic victory.
I walked into the Creagent Marketing office for my first day of work as a Social Media & Public Relations Specialist on June 15, 2015. For nearly four years, I’ve had the immense pleasure of working with some of the region’s most dedicated nonprofits, exciting small businesses, and world-renowned tourism partners, alongside two of the most forward-thinking digital marketing professionals I’ve ever met.
Creagent wasn’t my first job – I had spent the previous year working as a Marketing & Communications Specialist for a small nonprofit – but it was definitely the one that’s shaped me the most as a young professional and pointed me in the direction I’ve always wanted my career to take. It’s been an incredibly rewarding experience, filled with both personal and professional success.
Each coworker and intern I’ve worked alongside has been an invaluable source of information, and the experience of working with various clients has taught me many different things about the marketing industry as a whole. Although some of what I’ve learned can only be applied to specific situations, a few key themes were always present. They are what I will take with me as I continue my journey as a marketing professional.
Here are four of those takeaways:
Data Is King
The most important aspect of any kind of marketing is evaluation. I’ve know this in theory since I was a freshmen at Susquehanna University, but thanks to the resources made available to me at Creagent I was able to really put this theory to work.
With certain software, I was able to dig deeply into my clients’s digital footprints. I was able to quickly determine who were were talking to on their behalf, and why those people mattered to their businesses. This data influenced everything – and I literally mean everything – we did for our clients, from their social media management, to ad buying, to influencer relations. Additionally, having high quality data to back us up allowed us to effectively convey to our clients why the strategies we suggested for them were in their best interests. Numbers don’t lie, after all.
Less Is More
Quality over quantity can sometimes sound like a cliché, but when it comes to social media marketing it’s absolute fact.
This was sometimes difficult to convey to clients who, with the best of intentions in mind, wanted to see daily Facebook or Instagram posts. Algorithms are scary, and as major social media platforms seemingly altered theirs daily, some clients were nervous that if they weren’t posting a lot of content, that they simply weren’t going to succeed online. We knew this not to be true. It sometimes took a little trial and error, but with the above-mentioned data in mind, we always found just the right amount of social media content to post each week.
What I came to realize was that small amounts of high quality, highly engaging, and highly relevant information was much more effective on social media than posts that were unauthentic and “posted just to be posted.” Less content always netted more reach, fans, and engagement in the end.
Take A Hands On Approach
I’ve had the pleasure of working with a variety of clients across a variety of industries, each with various wants and needs. As Creagent’s primary social media manager, I’ve directly managed each of our clients’ social media channels in one way or another, spending hours each day on their Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.
As a small agency, it might have been more efficient to plan and schedule posts ahead of time, allowing me to put time and energy into other tasks at hand, but I definitely wouldn’t have learned as much about each client’s brand if I had done so. By taking a hands on approach and spending time manually crafting posts, engaging with their followers, and actively contributing to their industries’ conversations, I learned much more about who our clients and their ideal customers were, and better understood their role within their respective industries.
Learn From Your Coworkers
The Creagent Marketing office is an extremely collaborative environment. Collaborating with my coworkers allowed me to develop new skills and ultimately made me a more well-rounded marketing professional.
Perhaps it was a lack of that collaboration in my previous working environment that led me to believe I would only stick to what I was good at – social media management and public relations – while my coworkers focused on their own unique sets of skills. This couldn’t have been further from the truth.
I did spend the majority of my time managing social media and interfacing with influencers and the media, but I was also writing blog posts, helping on video shoots, and lending a hand on website rebuilds almost as soon as I stepped foot in the Creagent office. After time, I wasn’t just helping with these projects, I was leading some of them. Thanks to those opportunities, the videos I’ve directed and the websites I’ve redesigned have become some of the pieces in my portfolio that I’m most proud of.
Looking back, the last four years have been truly transformative. I’m incredibly appreciative of the experience that I’ve gained and the skills that I’ve honed, and I’ll be forever thankful of the people I’ve met along the way who’ve taught me, encouraged me, and most importantly, become my friends and family.
Every time there’s a new social media feature, a Snapchat ghost gets its wings. This month, Instagram launched a multiple choice quiz option for stories, LinkedIn added “reactions” to its timeline posts, and Snapchat updated its Android app altogether.
I know I know… you’re going to mention that Facebook owns Instagram. But even though the company is the same, the brands are very different. Facebook may be able to copy the most popular IG features anytime, but it’s a lot more difficult to borrow good will. Guess they’ll have to keep hunting.
Carbonation Transformation
MillerCoors is taking a stab at a new marketing campaign by integrating its products into original Hulu programming. Product placement is not a new technique, but it’s a gamble on behalf of all beer advertisers that Adweek says is Hulu’s “most expansive integration ever.”
On the softer side of carbonated beverages, Coca-Cola just bought its way into the coffee business. It’s unclear whether they are just trying to get into a new market or they need more caffeine in their portfolio, but I’m sure investors’ blood pressure is going up either way.
In a world where kombucha beverages and flavored sparkling water are taking up more shelf space, these moves seem a little desperate. But at the end of the day, nothing is more American than drinking Coca-Cola, coffee, and Miller Lite.
You’re reading this on the latest version of the Creagent Marketing website, which means we’ve gone through another internal update. Just like moving into a new home or apartment, designing a new website is an opportunity to de-clutter and focus on only the best stuff. As a website design agency, this is a secondary benefit to our services.
I focus on designing websites for other businesses all the time. So being my own client is an opportunity to assess the approach and process. And ideally make it even better for future clients.
Here are a few things I learned:
Identifying model websites is a MUST.
I always ask my clients to dig up a few designs they really love or specific elements that stand out. The process helps me understand their aesthetic, but it can also be a tool for becoming un-stuck. As I worked on the new Creagent Marketing site, there were times when I was at a loss for how to lay out certain sections. Reviewing other agency sites served as an inspiration. It also provided specific ideas that led me down the right creative path.
Photography is the number one asset.
There was a noticeable difference from the last time I re-designed our website because we had fewer photos to use back then. This time, it was luxurious to be able to dig through several years of pictures. For those businesses who don’t have an extensive library of photos, I suggest budgeting for a photographer as part of a website redesign moving forward. It’s not absolutely necessary, but it makes a huge difference.
One piece of “pillar content” is a great launchpad.
Search engine compatibility and optimization is one of the most important features of any website. An emerging trend is for businesses to generate “content clusters,” or a series of pages and posts around one primary topic. In 2018, I worked on an ebook about travel consumer segments, which became a central piece of content for our new website. In blog and social media posts moving forward, we’ll be able to reference this ebook to increase visitors and leads. This is something I will encourage businesses to attempt in the future. Having a central piece of content helps visitors find and navigate the site. It also establishes a strong, authoritative voice around a specific topic. The benefits are endless.
I enjoyed the opportunity to learn more about my work. This process revealed more tools that can be used for future projects and clients. As always, I look forward to implementing these – and many other – lessons into our upcoming website designs.
It’s often stated as a disadvantage that large businesses cannot turn on a dime. Change requires monumental efforts; new processes and employee buy-in, soft launches, layers of approval, and hundreds of power point presentations. This culture certainly deserves its share of criticism, but it’s not all bad.
Small businesses have the luxury of quick pivots. At various stages of growth and development, it’s easy to adopt new software and new ideas. An organization with 20 clients can communicate more effectively than an organization with 20,000 customers or more.
Combine those small business advantages with the ever-changing world of social media and suddenly the communication possibilities seem endless. “My last Facebook post didn’t do so well, I’m going to try something different.”
But perhaps this is the point where big corporations can teach us a thing or two about branding and patience. It’s not without much deliberation that a Fortune 500 company launches a Twitter account. Marketing managers work with social media agencies to research target demographics, understand the customers’ persona, and develop the right tone with which to Tweet. Full time employees are solely in charge of social media, not interns or “whoever’s young enough to understand this stuff.”
As a small business, it’s important to understand this distinction and see it for its advantages. You don’t need a 20-page manifesto to start posting to Facebook, but you should have a basic understanding of your clients and customers. You don’t have to be so rigid that the strategy doesn’t leave room for adjustment, but you should establish some consistency and let your audience grow organically over time.
It can be very frustrating to work hard trying to build that social media following and feel like you’re spinning your tires; still no major engagement after several weeks or even a couple months! But over the long run, consistency will build a foundation of trust and your customers will know what to expect from you.
Take a cue from big corporations on this one – draft a social media strategy and stick with it. Make small adjustments over time, but always communicate with one cohesive voice. You’ll never get out of the woods by walking in circles; it may take a while, but walk in a straight line and you’ll eventually find a road.
