By now you’re probably fed up with surfing the internet. You’ve been staring at random business tips and how-to marketing videos but are no closer to finding the answers to your business questions. I’d like to help you make headway, with these top six marketing podcasts that have caught my attention.

1) Small Business Big Marketing Show: This is an opportunity to hear from small business owners about how their marketing strategies have helped them achieve success. These stories will inspire you and allow you to tailor these tips to your own ventures. The interviews are very informal and full of firsthand business advice.

2) How to Make Money and Do A World of Good: For those of you who are looking to do some good in the world and make some cash while you’re at it, Streat co-founder Rebecca Scott’s podcast is what you need. There is no doubt that social responsibility is on the minds of many but how exactly can you integrate it into your business? Learn more about social entrepreneurship and how to market it.

3) Funny Business: This is another interesting podcast by people who have made humor their business. Guests include Ben Huh, CEO of the Cheezburger Network and Ryan Dolan owner of 30Watt and former business developer for The Onion. Cheezburger takes full responsibility for initiatives such as FailBlog, ICanHazCheezburger and ThereIFixedIt.

4) Eight Stories You Must Tell to Built An Epic Business: Valerie Khoo is a journalist, speaker and small business commentator. This posdcast is filled with Valerie’s accounts of how storytelling can be used as a powerful marketing tool that can not only transform your brand but turn your clients into valuable allies. Subscribe on iTunes to download this fantastic resource.

5) Foolish Adventure: Tim Conley looks at the adventures of internet entrepreneurs who have made it part of their lifestyle to innovate, experiment and experience business online. Businesses and innovation come in all shapes and sizes. Foolish Adventures is proof that if we step outside the “norm” we can succeed.

6) Automate My Small Business: Have you ever wanted to take a vacation and not worry about how your business is doing without you? Well, it’s all in the title. These guys go out of their way to show you exactly how to automate your small business so that all you have to do is reap the fruit of your success. How do you do this? By using cutting edge technology and online management tools that allow you to set it and forget it!

All of these podcasts can be found on ITunes. So get to it, and enjoy!

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Un-Marketing takes marketing as we know it, and flips it on its head. It’s a lesson in the new ways to market in our new connected, social media aware world. The book has a total of 56 chapters that are two to ten pages long, short and easy go digest. Each gives us real, applicable advice. People first, customers second.

The book itself is more like a conversation rather than a preaching or a sales pitch. At the heart of Un-Marketing is active engagement not hard core marketing. Scott’s language is simple and genuine. His case studies are funny and familiar. It’s a book that does not play by the rules; in fact it tosses them right out the window. He shows us that Un-Marketing is about letting people know you care. The section on the trust gap and experience gap are what resonated with me. In this chapter Scott makes an excellent point: “The space between the best services, often what a new customer receives, and the worst experience is what I call the Experience Gap. As a business owner your goal needs to be having no gap at all, optimizing every point of contact with your customer.”

Stratten offers his readers a wealth of rather unconventional ideas, stories, and resources to enable them to think outside the box. He touches on the ideas of platforming and social currency. It’s the idea that when it comes to marketing, social relationships are far more rewarding than the mere exchange of goods and services. In this case honesty, authenticity and transparency are vital to business success. Engaging with clients helps motivate then and establishes an environment of trust. These relationships are social currency that can be used in a positive and impassioned manner to further people’s confidence in a product or service. “Investing your social currency means giving your time, your knowledge and your efforts to that channel. People don’t care about your business until they know you care about them”. Today doing business, means putting people first. It’s about starting conversations and building a platform that stems from shared values and understanding.

The way we do marketing today is rapidly changing. Thus the question we have to ask ourselves is; would we rather flop, follow or get ahead? When most of us are fighting to stay afloat, Scott tells us it’s time to change gears and reevaluate our priorities as far as social engagement. Viral, Social and Authentic Marketing all of which Scott is an expert, fall under the umbrella of what is known as Un-Marketing.
The central message of the book is that when we truly allow ourselves to understand people, and allow for these relationships to grow it inevitably leads to trust and generates instant results. What’s more is that Scott’s Un-Marketing tactics aren’t that different from those we apply to real-life situations and people, which makes this that much more doable. With ten years experience under his belt, Scott has been fortunate enough to work with the likes of Cirque du Soleil, Fidelity Investments and more. All of them have sought Stratton’s guidance when it comes to navigating the realm of social, viral and relationship media.

By reading this book we are once again reminded that market relevance is the key to success. “It is not about quantity but rather quality” says Scott, that if we use our best judgment and apply some common sense to the way we deal with others the market will always follow regardless of the competition. As long as we learn to foster and maintain these important relationships the marketing will take care of itself.

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A good business review should be written with care. If you consciously make the decision to become emotionally invested in the success of your business clients the payoff will be worthwhile. There is nothing worse than a sloppy review that fails to clearly make its argument.  It is important to thoroughly assess submission type and content then tailor your feedback to reflect the goals and objectives of the specific business clients. When writing quality professional reviews it’s important to have a clear understanding of your companies’ direction, motivation and purpose. 

The following are my eight simple steps to writing a professional review:  

1. The language you choose must be clear and concise. There is nothing worse than failure to make your point.
2. Your advice should be useful, insightful and applicable depending on the type of submission. Comments such as “I don’t think this is good” come across as sloppy and discouraging. Nor do they help clients achieve their business goals. 
3. Your advice must be realistic and feasible. Business clients want to know exactly what to do and how to do it.   
4. Stay positive. Negative feedback is disempowering and does not inspire confidence. Remember there is always a way to critique without criticizing. 
5. Your advice should be both constructive and encouraging. The truth is more often than not business clients are intuitive and well aware there is a problem they just may need that extra nudge to point them in the right direction. Identify issues by pointing out the areas that need improvement. 
6. Similarly, if a client has done something particularly well let them know that you’ve noticed. You could even go as far as explaining why a certain point has captured your attention  
7. Honesty is always the best policy; your clients will love you for it. 
8. Last but not least, remember that by giving clients quality feedback on their work you begin to cultivate trust and being trusted by clients is the best kind of leverage a business advisor can have. 

Now, I know that giving great business advice isn’t always easy. These eight simple steps will help you stay focused. Who knows, you might even surprise yourself. In the meantime keep at it and good luck. 

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