Halftime Mike - The Mike Gingerich Podcast on Business, Leadership & Life

Times have changed!  The "cloud" has evolved for business technology users. In particular, software has evolved, shifting from computer software to web software. What we used to need to do with 5 CD's to install on computer is now available online, anytime and on our phones! In this livecast recording, we dive into web tools for productivity including a load of the latest tools for small and medium-sized businesses.  As well, we discuss how the shift to cloud software impacts business productivity. I'm joined by Now Marketing Group President, Jessika Phillips, and MOS Training founder Donna Gilliland in this Halftime Mike episode discussing new tools and their uses.   More than just social media tools, we dive into core business use apps and tools that we use online.  Jessika is an early tech adopter and discusses the tools her business uses along with their core product for clients, HubSpot.  Donna is a tool trainer!  From social media, to Microsoft, to mobile apps, Donna is hired by businesses and business

Is your sales, marketing and customer support model evolving? It had better be! People and businesses want more care and connection with their chosen business.  The days of sales blasts and obnoxious salesmen are dwindling. Business today that lasts is built on RELATIONSHIPS! In this episode of Halftime Mike I have three guests and we dive into a live Blab on the ways business has changed and what relationship sales, marketing, and customer service looks like today! My guests: Ravi Shukle is from London England!  Ravi is a customer service specialist who helps businesses online to increase customer loyalty, word of mouth and sales through customer service. April Heavens-Woodcock is co-founder along with husband, Kevin, of Touching Clients in Connecticut….a digital marketing agency  helping small businesses with social media, digital ads, and more.  April is also part of the extended team of Relationship Marketing pro Mari Smith. Jessika Philips is President of Now Marketing Group in Ohio and helps businesses

Social Media Contests....All the rage, but how do you get results? Is your business considering ways to up your game online using social media contests but you're not confident on the process? Needing a game plan for a social media contest?  There's more to a social media contest than simply tossing up a message announcing that the contest is open!   Social Media Contests for Business Success: - How your business can grow leads with a contest- Keys to the length and awards you offer- The details for pre-contest prep- How to safeguard your contest with rules and security- Ways to increase sign-ups and participation- What to do after the contest- and more! It's about equipping your business to be successful with a social contest online that helps you reach business objectives! Learn what you need to succeed! Full show details here: Mike Gingerich Contest Code   --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/halftime-mike-mike-gingerich/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/halftime-mike-mike-ginger

Pinterest is driving traffic to websites in amazing fashion! Did you know that e-commerce purchases right on Pinterest have started? All this and more on Pinterest updates for business marketing in this podcast! It’s all about informing you on the latest trends on Pinterest.  From, driving traffic toRich Pins and more, we cover it! This week I am joined by Azure Collier, Content Manager for Constant Contact. However, we’re not really talking email marketing today!  Rather, we’re talkingPinterest for business, one of Azure’s areas of expertise she performs for Constant Contact!  Want some tips and insights?  Listen in! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/halftime-mike-mike-gingerich/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/halftime-mike-mike-gingerich/support

It's raw, it's uncut! It's all about what's happening with video and livestreaming! Sunny Lenarduzzi is spectacular and informative....Mike's audio improves as the interview goes on.... It's all about informing you on the latest trends in online video today!  From YouTube to Facebook video, Instagram video to Periscope and Meerkat, we cover it. Sunny Lenarduzzi is an award winning social media strategist, YouTuber and broadcaster. Sunny’s been seen on Hootsuite’s Social Update, Breakfast Television Edmonton and Vancouver, The Huffington Post, and a weekly social trends report on Rogers' Radio stations across Canada. Sunny thrives on sharing the latest developments in the digital space and I'm privileged to have her  join me! Want some inspiration and steps to drastic life results?  Listen in! Listen Now: --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/halftime-mike-mike-gingerich/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/halftime-mike-mike-gingerich/support

Have you thought about running Crowdfunding campaigns? Are you familiar with how they operate? Would you like to learn the Secret Sauce from a successful Kickstarter campaign? Join me as I dive into this and more in this "Part 2" Podcast episode with the founders of KOOSHOO.   Jesse and Rachel, husband and wife yoga teachers based out of North Vancouver, Canada, continue our interview in this episode of the Halftime Mike podcast. In last week's show we dove into how they together with a small, tight-knit team, set out to create a lifestyle company that does good at every level – in forming their e-commerce store KOOSHOO.  It's an amazing story of their startup journey!  This time we dive deeper into the digital side with their Kickstarter campaign, content marketing and email strategies. If you like to learn from what others are doing successfully...this is the interview for you! Crowdfunding Campaigns: A Kickstarter Success Story Crowdfunding Campaigns: How KOOSHOO Ran a Wildly Successful Kickstarter Campai

They left their jobs in corporate America. Purchasing one-way tickets, they headed to Asia. She's from a tiny island called Norfolk, that's roughly 3 miles by 5 miles in size and between New Zealand and Australia. Their background and experiences ultimately led them to start a ecommerce store called KOOSHOO, centered around the meaning of that word...Feeling Good. It's a story you don't want to miss!   Jesse and Rachel, husband and wife yoga teachers based out of North Vancouver, Canada, are my guests in this episode of Halftime Mike. Together with a small, tight-knit team, they set out to create a lifestyle company that does good at every level – from the communities growing the textiles to the people wearing the final yoga headbands, hairties and fashion scarves that they sell in their e-commerce store.  It's informative and inspiring! Listen Now! www.mikegingerich.com/kooshoo-ecommerce-feeling-good-doing-good     --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/halftime-mike-mike-gingerich/message Suppor

It's a FIRST! I recorded my podcast LIVE on Periscope! Yes, I use the Twitter tool and talked Facebook, producing my podcast in real-time video and then simply creating this post and loading the file to my podcaster service, Libsyn. I think you'll want to listen in because this is something that I think is BIG but hasn't gotten a lot of press as of yet. Basically, on July 9, Facebook made a change and is giving user CONTROL of what they see FIRST on Facebook!  For all those saying that Facebook isn't listening or it's just getting too big, this is a HUGE win for the user.  You and Me! What it means for brands is still to be determined.   I can tell you it means they need to pay attention to their community and find some content that users will like because fans have choices now! The Update: Facebook News Feed Personalization with "See First" Option Now in the Mobile App "News Feed Preferences" as well as on any Page or personal Profile on Facebook there is a "See First" option.  For the App, it populates icon

How many of us would like to see some drastic life results?? Have you had some bumps and setbacks, or are you struggling to get that online business to the next level? You’ll want to listen into this interview about drastic life results with Toni Harris! Toni Harris is my guest on this episode of the Halftime Mike podcast!  Toni is a speaker, author, trainer, and all-around high octane change artist who lives it and walks it! She’s been down and out, I’m talking about on death’s doorstep, and made an amazing turnaround to thrive and talk about it! Full episode and show notes:  View here >>   Mike Gingerich --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/halftime-mike-mike-gingerich/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/halftime-mike-mike-gingerich/support

Content online has proliferated. You've heard all the tips about regular publishing of great content, creating quality images that communicate, and more. Yet everyone is doing that.  Great content is everywhere.  So how can you compete? More importantly, if you have great content, but no one sees it, is it really working for you?  What can you do about? Mark Schaefer is my guest on this episode of Halftime Mike!  Mark is a globally-recognized author, speaker, educator, and business consultant who blogs at {grow} – one of the top marketing blogs of the world. He teaches graduate marketing classes at Rutgers University and has written four best-selling books including The Tao of Twitter (the best-selling book on Twitter in the world) and Return On Influence, which was named one of the top business titles of the year by the American Library Association. His clients include Dell, Adidas, and the US Air Force. He has been a keynote speaker at prestigious events all over the world including SXSW, Marketing Summit T

Yes, I used the term "sexy" when talking about blogging, and in this case video blogging! Blogging and video blogging may not seem sexy, but Amy Schmittauer makes it so! Amy is my guest on this episode of the Halftime Mike podcast.  She's the founder and personality behind Savvy Sexy Social and leader of Vlog Boss Studios. We dive in and get gold from Amy on video blogging. Want to learn how video blogging can help your business and how to do it?  Listen in to this episode of the Halftime Mike Podcast!   Mike Gingerich MikeGingerich.com/video-blogging-thats-savvy-sexy-and-social     --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/halftime-mike-mike-gingerich/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/halftime-mike-mike-gingerich/support

Want ideas on how to grow blog traffic? Interested in ways to generate revenue from your blog? All this and more covered in this episode of the Halftime Mike podcast with guest Ricky Shetty, The Daddy Blogger! Ricky shares his personal story of growing a business online and along the way offers specific tips that can help your business. This week I am joined by Ricky Shetty, known online as the Daddy Blogger.  Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Ricky owns and operates Daddyblogger.com where he writes about parenting from a father's perspective and has a load of other "dad friendly resources".  He also runs YVR Media Group which has a number of sites and focus areas for the Vancouver area for blogging, dads, food, and conferences.  Ricky is also most proud of being the father of daughter Rianne and son Ryan, as well as husband to Anne. Ricky likes to live life large, make a splash and have an impact.  One example of making a splash was his coordination of a "flash mob" in the Vancouver Airport to help him

What is currently the post type on Facebook that gets the most reach? Did you know it's video? Do you know what type of video and how to make those videos? Did you know YOU can make those videos?  I review 4 apps that can be used to easily edit and produce your videos on your phone and give you my process for it all! Facebook Videos: How to Create Optimized Videos with Apps: It's true, Facebook video is getting the most reach by far of any post type for most Facebook Pages.  Facebook Pages should be reviewing their Insights and testing post types to see what works for them.  In my tests on TabSite, Digital Hill, and Mike Gingerich.com, it's been video by far getting the most reach. Note: Reach is the amount of people on Facebook that see a post. Facebook Link Post vs. Facebook Video Post: Here's one example from my tests: I created two posts on TabSite within 2 minutes of each other.  I used the exact same text and and linked to the same blog post.  I let them run just over 30 minutes and checked the results.

How is your Facebook marketing going? Looking for a source of good Facebook marketing information? Are you tired of complex answers and want to hear it straight in simple terms? Then you'll enjoy this show where I interview Jenny Brennan on "What works on Facebook today?"   See the full show details here >>   Topics Covered in What Works on Facebook Today: Jenny's personal story of business failure, birth, and change The evolution of Facebook as a platform and communications network The essentials of reaching customers on Facebook Jenny's thoughts on Photos vs Videos on Facebook Training options offered by Jenny on Facebook Marketing and Facebook Ads --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/halftime-mike-mike-gingerich/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/halftime-mike-mike-gingerich/support

Everyone wants to grow their business. In many industries today, what worked the previous two decades is no longer working today.  Are you in that boat?  Has your business climate shifted? The Digital World, basically the web and social media, has changed that.  Processes are different, customer acquisition and support are different, and new models for doing business are needed. Enter “The Enchanting Way.” >> Full POST HERE   --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/halftime-mike-mike-gingerich/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/halftime-mike-mike-gingerich/support

What are tips for how to grow your career with social media?  What are pitfalls to avoid? Is "flash mob law" a real  thing? If a person sends someone naked pics digitally, can the recipient post them online? All this and more covered in a great interview with lawyer, author, and speaker Ruth Carter! Ruth is an out-of-the-box attorney in Phoenix, Arizona, who loves solving problems, particularly in the areas of Internet Law, Social Media Law and Flash Mob Law.  Ruth lives and breathes social media and is co-founder of  Improv AZ, a prank & flash mob troupe in Phoenix.  In addition to her practice, Ruth speaks on how new graduates and law firms can use social media to enhance their career and grow their practice. Ruth has authored a number of books, including, "The Legal Side of Blogging: How Not to get Sued, Fired, Arrested, or Killed".  I had the pleasure of meeting Ruth in the law office of our fellow friend, the Enchanting Lawyer, Jacob Sapochnick in San Diego, earlier this year where she was on a road

Do you have a frequent flyer card? How about a credit card with rewards?  We're familiar with those types of loyalty programs, but... Are you using any loyalty programs in your social media?  Perhaps you should be! In this episode of the Halftime Mike podcast I go "down under" to interview Antonio Calero in Melbourne, Australia. Antonio's specialty is behavioral social media and how users respond uniquely to content they see, often based on their culture, background, and related behaviors.  This is critical for the business marketer to understand in order to truly reach well their ideal audience.  We dive into social media loyalty programs and you'd be surprised to find out how simple they can be to setup, and yet how important they can be to making that connection that alters the behavior of a purchaser! Listen Now: --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/halftime-mike-mike-gingerich/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/halftime-mike-mike-gingerich/support