AI and search

New research shows that 27% of adults are using AI platforms for traditional search functions. I am getting about a dozen direct inquiries on my site from ChatGPT, and I’ve secured two customers through AI.

So, how is this going to work? It seems that Google is in trouble, but how can you bet against the world’s number-one search engine?

That’s the subject of the new episode of The Marketing Companion. I welcome a new co-host, Andy Crestodina, one of the premier digital marketing wizards around. Andy has some well-informed views of what is happening, what is likely, and how we need to think about search in the next few years.

We also delve into a topic that is a bit more controversial (believe it or not!) LinkedIn newsletters. Historically, I have not been a fan. You’re turning over your email list, SEO value, and perhaps even content discoverability to LinkedIn. And hey, who ever heard of a newsletter going viral?

But Andy has had some success in this area and presents a compelling case for the platform. An interesting debate!  To hear it all, simply click here:

Click here to enjoy Marketing Companion Episode 310

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Too short for a blog post, too important to ignore, here are some short takes from the world of marketing and beyond.

Money drives social isolation

Recently I posted about how an unintended consequence of the massive amount of personalized content choices has sent young people into sociological siloes. They consume content in isolation and have fewer shared experiences than their parents.

This launched a debate about why this is happening. I think the answer is simple: Money.

Money drives everything. What are we trying to accomplish as marketers? Personalization. For your business, for any business, it’s about personalization. The more we personalize, the happier our customers are because they get exactly what they want.

There is no “deep state” making us personalize content as part of a master plan to control us. We personalize and segment people because it’s good business. But what one customer wants is different than what you and I want, so now we’re in our own content silos — by choice. We have EXTREME individual choice regarding content and entertainment — in fact, far too many options. But nobody wants to go back to the days of one daily newspaper and three network TV channels, right?

Our individual choices put us in silos because we want content our way, supporting views of the world aligned with our own views. In a weird way, there is a business benefit to social isolation. But personalization in the extreme creates loneliness.

Weird LinkedIn Tricks

All of a sudden, I’m getting LinkedIn notifications that people are responding to posts that are three, four, and even five years old. This is unexpected and weird. So I asked LinkedIn expert Richard Bliss what the heck is going on. He pointed to three possible factors:

1. I had been asked to participate in collaborative articles through LinkedIn. I’m not sure what I’ve done that put me into that category. But Richard said this is putting me in front of a new audience that is checking out old content.
2. An algorithm change is trying to put relevant content before a new audience. It is possible your content is being indexed and then served to small groups interested in that topic.
3. The recent partnership between LinkedIn and Google means your articles are now being indexed by Google and showing up in search results.

Apple is different

In a recent post, I forecast that the speed of marketing is one of the most pressing and interesting trends.

A member of my RISE community asked, “Is Apple the exception to the importance of speed in marketing? They don’t participate in memes or other in-the-moment-marketing.”

Great question. Apple is different because it is a luxury good. They’ll never be part of the social media track meet (like Gucci or Lamborghini). They are never first to market, but they’re never too late either.

Luxury good marketing has a completely different flow and pace. I discussed this in a podcast episode with Amanda Russell — one of the most fascinating discussions!

AI and humanity

I had a Twitter discussion with a friend who claimed, “We can’t trust humanity.”

I responded, “I agree that humanity can’t be trusted. But there are people who we trust. Those are the ones who can transcend the AI misinformation onslaught. There are individuals you’ll always turn to.”

The business case for the personal brand!

The big question

The most important question for marketers in the future will be: “Can an AI bot do this?”

This will push us to be more creative, more weird, and more human, or we will be replaced. Truly, the most human company wins.

No, it’s not

I’ve been preparing for a big new speech about brand communities and have found lots of articles touting community successes. Many people confuse a loyalty program with a community.

Loyalty programs are great, but that’s not a community. Having a loyalty card shows you love the brand, but it’s not a group of people working toward a common purpose. A community needs to know each other.

Let’s bust an AI myth

Here is advice I see over and over, and it drives me crazy: “AI isn’t going to take your job, but someone who knows AI will.”

This implies that if you know AI you will somehow be safe. This is false. AI will overtake many knowledge worker jobs whether you know AI or not. And there may not necessarily be a person behind that AI. The technology will become ubiquitous and companies will use it to reduce headcount ruthlessly. This is already happening in the tech industry.

This advice is like telling a person who made horse buggies in the 1920s: “The automobile won’t take your job, but somebody who knows automobiles will.” No, automobiles eliminated their job, not some person. And even if you “know” automobiles, your buggy business is dead, no matter how much re-training you have.

I’m a positive person, but I also want to be realistic about what is happening.

Distrust is the default

I couldn’t sleep after a long overseas flight, and while flipping through Instagram, I saw a post featuring other-worldly, mesmerizing butterflies. Then I wondered, “Is this real? Is nature really this beautiful, or did somebody make this up?” There was no way to tell.

It saddens me that I can’t even look at butterflies these days without being skeptical. Distrust is the default now.

And now, some good news

Over the next few months, we will hear A LOT of bad news about AI. Deep fakes. Political misinformation. Bullying and chaos.

The bad stuff makes great headlines, but don’t miss out on the extreme new levels of discovery, innovation, and beauty that have been unleashed by AI.

A non-profit called The Earth Species Project aims to use AI to interpret animal communication systems. That makes my heart skip a beat.

So embrace the chaos and look at how AI is bringing new beauty into the world.

Need a keynote speaker? Mark Schaefer is the most trusted voice in marketing. Your conference guests will buzz about his insights long after your event! Mark is the author of some of the world’s bestselling marketing books, a college educator, and an advisor to many of the world’s largest brands. Contact Mark to have him bring a fun, meaningful, and memorable presentation to your company event or conference.

Follow Mark on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram

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OK, I’ve had enough of this. In four out of my last five coaching calls, the business leader on the other end of Zoom told me their main platform for content is LinkedIn. No blog. No content on a website. Just LinkedIn.

No, no, no. Also, no.

It’s time to stop the insanity. Today I’m turning you from the dark side and explaining why LinkedIn cannot be your primary content platform.

Back to basics: What are you doing?

Why are you creating content in the first place? There are two main reasons: Enhance your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or build personal authority.

Increasingly, I favor the authority strategy because I believe SEO success is out of reach for many businesses.

Building authority means you don’t have to depend on SEO algorithms any more. You create content so worthy that people subscribe to it so they don’t miss a thing. In a virtual way, subscribers are saying, “I believe in you. I’m interested. Send me more content.”

That’s a beautiful thing. But it all depends on:

Your email strategy

When you publish on your website, or even a place like Substack, you own the email addresses. This, my friends, is probably the most valuable commercial asset in your business.

If you own the email list, you have the opportunity to directly grow relationships, announce commercial deals, and collect information that can be used to personalize offers.

How many email addresses do you own from the content you publish only on LinkedIn? None. So why is LinkedIn your content platform? They own your audience, and we don’t want that.

The SEO killer

Let’s say you’re one of those rare businesses or individuals who have a real chance to win the game of SEO roulette. You’re publishing your brains out on LinkedIn. Content every week. Maybe every day!

Now, if somebody wants to find you through search and give you their money, they go to Google and enter juicy keywords. What’s the chance they’re going to find some post you created on LinkedIn? Go ahead and try it. Do LinkedIn posts show up in any Google search? No.

But what about a blog post, or a YouTube video, or a podcast episode? Yes. That’s the content that fuels SEO on Google. When was the last time you ever had a post on LinkedIn go viral? That’s what I thought.

Oh, one more thing. Who owns LinkedIn? Microsoft. What else does Microsoft own? Bing. Google’s enemy. I don’t think Google is going to give LinkedIn a search assist.

And it gets worse …

AI and LinkedIn do not play well together

A friend is studying the impact of AI on search more closely than anyone I know. And she recently made a shocking observation.

When she queried AI bots about the top thought leaders in AI and search, none of the familiar experts posting through newsletters and LinkedIn showed up. In fact, all of the information provided by AI bots was absorbed from bloggers she had never heard of (but she is following them now!).

Her suggestion: Start a blog right away! At least for now, blogs on websites are driving the content on AI, not LinkedIn posts. This is the future of search.

Evaporation Station

There’s one other risk I should mention.

Do you remember when Facebook had a popular blogging platform? It was called Notes. In October 2020, Facebook eliminated this feature without warning. Millions of people lost their blog content in a moment.

Do we expect LinkedIn to do anything like that? Well … did we expect Facebook to do anything like that?

How to do LinkedIn right

Here’s where people get confused. LinkedIn is not a content platform. It’s a distribution system.

Your brand is fueled by four types of content: written, video, audio, or images (like Instagram). For most business professionals, there really are three: written, video, or a podcast. Pick one and put everything you have into it.

Now, once you have that content, you can use social media to deliver that content to your audience. For example, once you have a blog post ON YOUR WEBSITE, you can distribute it on LinkedIn, Substack, Twitter, and other places. But your website is the home base, the primary platform, always.

Here’s a strategy to create and distribute your content in a smart way on LinkedIn.

1. Research shows that text-based content does best on LinkedIn. Neither video nor podcasts are effective because those content forms do not start conversations in the comment section. Conversations mean dwell time for LinkedIn! So if LinkedIn is important to you, I would focus on blogging.
2. Publish a blog post on your website.
3. Publish this same post as an article (not a link) on LinkedIn two days after you publish it on your website. I post a little later to send a signal to Google that I am the author of the content. I am the original source. Send the search traffic to my website.
4. When you publish your article on LinkedIn, be sure to include an attractive graphic or photo. As people scan their LinkedIn feed, their eyes will be attracted to the image, then the headline, and then, if you’re lucky, the content. So images are important.
5. At this point, LinkedIn will expose your post to a small percentage of your followers. If you can attract comments (conversations) in the first hour after it is posted, LinkedIn will then expose it to the rest of your audience, and perhaps even people outside your followers. Huzzah!

Going forward

Starting with a blog-first strategy provides many other benefits, of course. It might not be the sexiest content in our TikTok world, but for business professionals looking to stand out on LinkedIn, it makes a lot of sense.

A blog can also serve as a portfolio of your work. It provides a centralized location where potential employers, clients, or collaborators can see your expertise, writing style, and the topics you are passionate about. Whether you’re building a brand, looking for a job, or hiring somebody, eventually, people come to your website.

If you take one thing away from this post, I hope it is this: If you’re only posting your content on LinkedIn, you’re grotesquely sub-optimizing your personal branding and content marketing effort. LinkedIn and other social media platforms can play a crucial role in personal branding. But please post all of your content on your website first and then send it into the social media distribution system.

Mark Schaefer is the executive director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions. He is the author of some of the world’s bestselling marketing books and is an acclaimed keynote speaker, college educator, and business consultant. The Marketing Companion podcast is among the top business podcasts in the world. Contact Mark to have him speak at your company event or conference soon.

Follow Mark on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram.

Top photo courtesy Unsplash.com

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I am always fascinated about how marketing employment is changing and what it means to our careers. I recently came across this list of in-demand skills for 2022, according to digital marketing job data on LinkedIn.

But something about this list does not make sense …

1. Copywriting
2. Search Engine Optimization
3. Social Media Marketing
4. Marketing Automation and Technology
5. Audience Building
6. Project Management
7. Data Analysis
8. Conversion Rate Optimization

As you look at this current list of marketing skills, is it chronicling the hottest skills from this year, or from 2013? Isn’t it amazing that we are in the fastest-changing career imaginable and companies are still hiring for the same skills as ten years ago?  

To me, this confirms that most marketing leaders and their strategies are still way behind the times!

Here are some skills that I think SHOULD be in demand and on the list based on where marketing is heading

1. 1. Content development/placement
   2. Customer service/UX
   3. Event management / experiential marketing
   4. Community management (including Web3 and metaverse)
   5. Personal branding specialist
   6. Influencer outreach/strategy

Granted, some of these skills might be showing up in other places on LinkedIn, but wouldn’t you think at least one or two of these would make the LinkedIn marketing employment list?

If you love thinking about our future as much as I do, you’re going to love the new episode of The Marketing Companion. Dennis Yu and I debate the merit of these lists, and Dennis digs into some very controversial ideas about operationalizing social media marketing and out-sourcing entry-level marketing jobs to other countries. So interesting!

This is certainly a hot topic and a discussion you will not want to miss!

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By Kiki Schirr, {grow} Contributing Columnist

Once upon a time, the tech giants were buddy-buddy. You might even say they acted like family, specifically, the type of family that negotiates illegal salary limits with each other. (Remember in 2015 Apple, Google, Intel, and Adobe had to pay out $415 million for agreeing on wage caps and not to out-bid each other for talent. Developer pay has since rebounded.)

But these happy Cosa Nostra days might be coming to an end.

Apple’s App Tracking Transparency policy, which notifies device users when apps or sites are tracking their data or using their camera or microphone, launched in April of 2021. Although the update undoubtedly alarmed Google, it was Facebook that took out expensive full-page ads in newspapers like the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and The Washington Post (owned by Jeff Bezos), to decry damage to small business owners and the free Internet.

When we look back at this year, we may view it as the first shot fired in the Tech Giant War. Also, I’m not above pointing out that Apple CEO Tim Cook and Star Wars hero Han Solo have the same number of letters in their names.

The Tech Giant War is already raging

Early this month, Apple announced scanning iCloud images against known child porn databases. The public outcry — against something that has been standard practice for most cloud storage providers like Dropbox and Google — has been suspiciously loud.

Quick aside: I don’t mean to suggest this is not an alarming announcement. Apple also intends to blur sexual images sent to children in Messages. Apple Messages are supposed to be encrypted (which means that only the sender and receiver can view the content.) If Apple is scanning for sexting between children, then obviously these messages are not truly encrypted. Anything with a built-in backdoor is vulnerable to hackers.

But the rumor that strangers will be eyeing your grandchildren’s photos is false. And yet, the chatter is there. Attempts to prove whether this chatter is being boosted would be impossible since only privacy-focused search engines were not angry with Apple over app-tracking updates, but now they’re likely angry at Apple’s privacy invasion. So comparing searches by brand won’t work. And should someone try to analyze search and topic surfacing by brand, they won’t get far. These algorithms are notoriously well-kept secrets within tech companies.

This is supposition, of course. It’s too soon to see the effects of recent hostility. But it’s worthwhile to watch the news for signs of escalation. Meanwhile, there’s another force at play. The government.

President Biden fuels the Tech Giant War

If the prospect of warring tech giant war didn’t scare you, let’s also consider U.S. politics.

President Biden appointed Lina Kahn, a leading anti-trust lawyer and professor, to head of the Federal Trade Commission. Amazon is particularly hostile to Kahn since she wrote the authoritative thesis on why Amazon is a monopoly, published in Yale Law Review. In July, he also added Jonathan Kanter as the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Chief. Bloomberg characterized Kanter as a “tech foe” in its headlines.

Big Tech has been putting out these fires for years through massive campaign donations. But despite the PAC pressure, Biden has turned the heat on. One reason is that fighting the growing power of the Tech Giants is something both parties seem to agree on.

While the Big Tech Titans skirmish among themselves, it makes them vulnerable to the all-out attack from the government.

This battle will have huge consequences for content creators and social media marketers.

The Tech Giant War and social media

Think that Google penalizes content duplication now?

As the Tech Giant War breaks out, the value of exclusive content will skyrocket. This war will be fought over content and creators.

Amazon-only Kindle books won’t be the outlier, they’ll be the norm. Google and Apple both produce books and might very well boost exclusive content programs of their own.

This year Mark Zuckerberg pledged to spend $1 Billion on Facebook’s Creators program. This focus on exclusive video content from stars who can import an audience is aimed at Twitch (an Amazon subsidiary) and its Partnership Program, which once held a monopoly on live streaming gaming stars. Microsoft once attempted to lure away this talent by purchasing Beam, rebranding it as Mixer, and hiring such talent as gamers Ninja and Shroud. However, citing their lack of market share, Microsoft shut down the service in July of 2020. Facebook might have better odds because they are not only focused on gaming content.

Of course, a billion dollars never hurts.

Marketing opportunities in the Tech Giant War

So how do brands thrive in a siloed social media environment? Watch how the battles are evolving and get ahead of it.

If they want exclusive … give them exclusive! Share your video on Facebook. Write books for Amazon. Make short snippets of content in YouTube Shorts. And always keep an ear to the ground to adjust to the ever-changing goals of the Tech Giants.

A few years ago, Microsoft added “time spent on LinkedIn” to CEO Satya Nadella’s bonus structure. That was a big clue as to where content creators should focus to succeed on that platform!

Tp meet this goal, LinkedIn added video capabilities and became the only social feed that surfaces branded content organically. As a result, marketers, business coaches, recruiters, and other personal brands flocked to LinkedIn.

Look at developments on other platforms. YouTube established a creator fund to support Shorts. Amazon has Vella. TikTok launched Stories, which feels redundant, but we’ll bite.

Committing exclusively to a platform is high-risk. Recent launches like Instagram Reels and Twitter Fleets quickly flopped. In the more distant past, many of us were burned by Facebook Notes, Meerkat, Vine, and the ultimate platform failure, Google Plus.

But committing can also be lucrative, especially for creators. Those creator funds are bound to keep rising.

When a social network launches a “new” feature, instead of complaining that it’s just trying to be like another network, give it a shot. Brands are rewarded for being early adopters of new features, whether it’s a bump in reach or simply standing out because the space is less crowded. As the opportunity to be an early adopter of new networks becomes less common, shift the focus to exploring new features on old networks. Your curiosity and creativity will be rewarded and your brand will have another month of relevancy in a constantly evolving space.

The cycle never stops, new opportunities are always popping up.

How to hedge the exclusivity bets

High risk brings high reward and unless you have an unlimited ad budget, exclusivity is the highest payout gamble. Weigh your odds and choose your games carefully, but don’t be afraid to go all-in on a wise decision. The tech companies will reward your loyalty.

Just remember that they will never return that loyalty.

Prepare your brand to hop in the event of platform failure.

The most important strategy is to own your audience. Gather emails, phone numbers, or better yet, set up a private discussion channel on your website or a Discord server. If one of your content platforms tanks, you will have options.

Stats like audience engagement are fleeting. Tech companies are fickle. It’s human connections that last.

Be good to your customers and community, because they’re the ones that will matter in the end, no matter what happens in the Tech Giant Wars.

Kiki Schirr is a freelance marketer, writer, and former founder who enjoys new technologies. She believes success is a product of luck, tenacity, and chutzpah. You can email Kiki Schirr at her full name without spaces at Gmail. Just remember that she responds faster on Twitter.

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By Fab Giovanetti, {grow} Contributing Columnist

Social audio is the hottest topic on the social media scene and it’s rapidly gaining momentum. I thought it would be a good time to forecast how this could play out as a long-term marketing tactic. 

Papalouka

I recently interviewed Clubhouse sensation, personal brand expert, and mentor Pavlina Papalouka for an upcoming piece on audio marketing. During our conversation, I asked her why Clubhouse became such a hit:

“Clubhouse gives us a platform to connect with other like-minded people from around the world — without needing to dress up and look good,” she said. “The ‘by invitation only’ feature has contributed to a high-quality audience on the platform, which brings in quality conversations.”

She said that a combination of exclusivity and ease have contributed to the app’s popularity, while the simplicity of its purpose has opened up a whole new avenue for marketers: social audio.

One can also imagine that the loneliness, isolation, and disorientation caused by the pandemic contributed to the success of a platform that allows you to talk to people all day and night! Would Clubhouse have a meteoric rise in 2018? I’m not sure. In any event, it seems like it is here to stay!

The social audio challenge for marketers

On a personal note, I cannot see myself juggling countless platforms with the requisite pressure to constantly publish, engage, and drive people to more established channels like LinkedIn and Instagram. It’s depressing having to build an audience from scratch again! Yet I have seen new Clubhouse connections migrate to my website and business. 

In a recent post, Mark Schaefer outlined marketing challenges with Clubhouse and social audio:

1. It is “synchronous,” meaning you have to be there in that moment to experience the content. It’s like talk radio in that regard.
2. It is not recorded (so far!), archived, and discoverable later. It’s tough to commit to creating content on a consistent basis when it can’t be part of a long-term content portfolio.
3. Many large companies are hesitant to unleash unscripted executives on these new public channels, especially when it is Q&A time!
4. For small businesses with limited resources, it’s hard to be great in five different places. Should Clubhouse be a top choice if it jeopardizes successful efforts elsewhere?

To make things even more complicated, Clubhouse copycats are blooming like spring flowers …

A craze heats up

Twitter has been charging ahead with its latest Spaces rollout. Facebook’s NPE team has released a beta test of Hotline, a web-based app incorporating the engagement features of Clubhouse with more visual and text tools, including optional video streaming.

Spotify has thrown its hat into the mix (yes, seriously), and even LinkedIn has confirmed its efforts into developing networking audio features. Industry analyst Jeremiah Owyang has documented almost 36 social audio apps in the market today.

“We’re seeing nearly 50 percent growth in conversations on LinkedIn reflected in stories, video shares, and posts on the platform,” Suzi Owens, a spokesperson for LinkedIn,  reported to TechCrunch. “We’re doing some early tests to create a unique audio experience connected to your professional identity. And, we’re looking at how we can bring audio to other parts of LinkedIn such as events and groups, to give our members even more ways to connect to their community.”

According to eMarketer, 2 percent of US adults are now using Clubhouse, showing significant growth in a short space of time. I genuinely do not know who’ll be left standing out of the pack, yet I am confident that regardless of the platform you choose, audio marketing will have a critical place in the future of brand reputation.

How will social audio fit in the marketing mix?

These are four near-term opportunities for marketers going forward:

• Audio event series and festivals: I can see brands opting to engage in audio events over webinars to encourage a hands-off alternative. As well as allowing more flexibility, it creates a sense of urgency that differentiates the experience from a podcast show 
• Sponsorships: Brands will be identifying leaders in the space and work together on partnerships, including a combination of sponsored rooms (something I have seen on Clubhouse) or series, just like you could see in a podcast
• Personal brand and leadership: Platforms like Clubhouse specifically have seen more and more executives and founders interact in rooms and topics as a way to further the reach of their brand and become spokespeople for the values of their company
• Consumer research: Topical rooms can provide relevant brand insights

The exciting part is that the creativity of Clubhouse fans is boundless. As the platform evolves, new ideas and applications will emerge.

Social audio and the individual

Another aspect of marketing is personal branding and this is where social audio really shines. Social audio is a great avenue to tap into trust and encourage newer audiences to invest in users who spend time sharing their expertise. 

Papalouka, for example, saw first-hand how Clubhouse can support a business: “It has provided a new platform for attracting clients organically for my courses, retreats, and mentoring programs. It has enabled me to form mutually beneficial collaborations with people in my industry I wouldn’t have connected with quickly elsewhere, as some of them are huge brands and celebrities in their niche.”

From my conversations and experiences, a few core practices have been common traits among successful creators:

• Excellent moderation skills, both with regards to speakers and the audience
• Consistency in both being proactive speakers and participants of conversations
• Collaborations with fellow users to amplify discoverability and growth

Currently, Clubhouse is betting its future on its best creators, so great content is being rewarded.

After launching its Creator Accelerator Program last month, hoping to keep top users on the app, Clubhouse has now launched its first direct payment process, which will enable users to transfer funds to their favorite hosts. Will this be what helps Clubhouse stand the test of time? It’s too early to tell. 

As brands are still finding how social audio can enrich their strategy, it’s important to remember that resisting the temptation to jump on the next shiny object will allow you to clearly understand how audio marketing could benefit you achieve your broader business goals.

Fab Giovanetti is an award-winning entrepreneur who supports people making a positive impact through their marketing. She is the CEO of Alt Marketing School, on a mission to raise a new generation of purpose-driven marketers. She is the founder of Creative Impact Group, a collective of hundreds of conscious creatives and experts. Follow Fab on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Illustration courtesy Unsplash.com

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By Kiki Schirr, {grow} Contributing Columnist

The price of Bitcoin is at an all-time high. The buzz around blockchain is inescapable. People are connecting their Coinbase with their Fidelity investment account, they’re downloading MetaMask, and most recently, they’re buying NFT CryptoArt.

The hottest investment trend on the planet, the NFT — Non-Fungible Token — art craze is everywhere with significant implications for creators, and perhaps the absurd.  Fox News reported that someone put their fart on a blockchain and sold it. At $85, it has nothing on Beeple’s record-setting sale at Christie’s auction for $69 million (more on that later) … but even so.

Did you ever think a fart would cost more than a newly-released video game?

Honestly, me either. So let’s take a deeper dive to understand why this is an important trend you need to understand.

The Cryptokitties zeitgeist

In late 2017, and only 2 months after their soft launch, an NFT on Ethereum began trading so wildly that it slowed all Ethereum transactions down with it.

These NFT collectibles featured, of all things, cats. Of course!

Even today, if you own a “Gen 0” (original, run of 5,000) Cryptokitty, or even better, a Founder Cat… well, you’ll have to treat us all to dinner sometime. On March 1st someone sold such a cat for $155,000.

It’s crystal clear that CryptoArt can be lucrative. And news articles and blog posts are cropping up left and right trying to explain NFT. This is my attempt to make you knowledgeable enough to discuss NFTs at parties, help run social media accounts or ads for artists who create them, or even consider buying an NFT yourself.

What is a blockchain?

At its heart, Blockchain is a database. For Bitcoin, it serves as a public ledger. Every 10 minutes, all the recent transactions are written to a new “block,” which is then linked back to the old block, like a chain.

Blockchain is distributed, which means it is kept on different servers and devices around the world. Because of the duplicate nature of each transaction, it’s close to impossible to alter a block.

Each transaction is timestamped, verified by multiple other users, and encrypted. It is a very secure system.

Right now, most transactions are financial. A common example would be a Bitcoin tip from a fan to a musician. However, transactions could include messages, songs, or any other data that can be digitized.

The concept is revolutionary because it provides a system of independent verification and data transmission that doesn’t rely on a government or established financial institution.

For the full {grow} post written on this topic, you can read this post about Bitcoin basics. (Notice the date! Mark Schaefer’s been on top of crypto for more than 5 years.)

What is Ethereum?

Most NFTs are built on Ethereum, an open-source blockchain that allows people to build contracts and “dApps” —decentralized applications — that run like programs on top of the Ethereum blockchain.

I’ve heard Ether (ETH) explained as “an alternative to Bitcoin,” or as “the first and biggest altcoin.” But this doesn’t give Ethereum its full credit.

Ethereum is not only a currency. While Bitcoin’s main use will always be as a currency (BTC), Ethereum is more than its currency (ETH – Ether) because it can execute a task/function from a smart contract saved on the chain. This will become relevant in a moment, so make a mental note.

What is special about the NFT?

NFTs have a key characteristic that most tokens lack. Non-fungible tokens are unique and can’t be traded 1-for-1 without negotiation.

To be “fungible,” a currency (whether dollars or shells or whiskey) can be exchanged for the same total or portion of another person’s currency. So it’s the standardization in currency, like minted coins being the same size and shape.

Non-Fungible Tokens do not meet the criteria for fungibility because each one is unique.** If I have the first NFT of Nyan Cat it can’t just be exchanged for an NFT of a song or even of an NFT released later with the same exact GIF/YouTube video. 

** Some artists release many units as one NFT, as artists do with prints or books do with the run of a first edition. Those might seem fungible, but only for an identical unit produced within the same release.

So art on an NFT is a lot like a song on vinyl …

The best metaphor for creating an NFT is that it’s like making a vinyl record. 

A record stores data, usually a song, just as NFTs store data, usually JPEG or GIFs.

Just like a vinyl record, an NFT can be created on only one record or on 10,000, but there’s only one first release of Meet The Beatles.

Some of the value from owning an original Meet The Beatles record is derived from the status of ownership and the joy of supporting the artist. Similarly, when collectors purchase NFTs, they look for artists on the rise, hoping their early works will accumulate value over time.

Another similarity is that those records can’t be duplicated or made to play another song. Once they’re created, they are that way forever. An NFT is what it is and will be a permanent record of that art.

Wait, NFTs are valuable because we think they’re valuable?

If you’re still “not sold” on an NFT actually having value, and you don’t mind reading a long but interesting post on some of the philosophy behind crypto policies, then Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, recently wrote a post on his blog called “The Most Important Scarce Resource is Legitimacy.”

“Why is it that Elon Musk can sell an NFT of Elon Musk’s tweet, but Jeff Bezos would have a much harder time doing the same?

“Elon and Jeff have the same level of ability to screenshot Elon’s tweet and stick it into an NFT dapp, so what’s the difference? To anyone who has even a basic intuitive understanding of human social psychology (or the fake art scene), the answer is obvious: Elon selling Elon’s tweet is the real thing, and Jeff doing the same is not. Once again, millions of dollars of value are being controlled and allocated, not by individuals or cryptographic keys, but by social conceptions of legitimacy.”

–Vitalik Buterin

Some of the more extreme fans of cryptocurrency would likely point out that since the US Dollar is now a fiat currency — it does not represent any tangible commodity — we are all quite familiar with legitimacy by general consensus.

But interestingly, NFTs on Ethereum and similar blockchains have more capability than a dollar or a record.

Why an NFT is better than vinyl

One way in which an Ethereum-based NFT differs from a record or a US Dollar is that you can save a contract to Ethereum — artists can write their art so that each time the art changes hands, the artist receives a cut of the sale. In this manner, artists get residuals from their digital art forever.

This should excite artists, for whom high-speed Internet has been a mixed bag. “Yay, everyone can see my art/song/video/book — wait, everyone can download my art/song/video/book, too!”

Because the NFT finally cracks the code for long-term creator monetization, this is a trend with staying power.

What do I need to start investing in CryptoArt?

Before you make any purchase of CryptoArt you should be comfortable with using MetaMask or a similar tool. You should also have a solid plan to keep your wallet secure.

MetaMask – Start with MetaMask. One thing you’ll need to know is that crypto is stored in online “wallets,” and if you lose access to that wallet, your crypto is gone. Therefore, you will need to be careful about Internet security. If you are uncomfortable with that level of responsibility, I’d suggest starting a Coinbase account before making any NFT purchases.

Coinbase – The downside to Coinbase is that while you have what looks like a wallet, technically, you’re allowing Coinbase to buy and hold crypto on your behalf. Although I think that Coinbase is pretty trustworthy and stable, others do not. So take advantage of its wonderful educational materials and start with buying and selling cryptocurrencies in small amounts. Once you’re more comfortable with internet security, physical login keys, and hardware wallets, you can move up to MetaMask.

A few NFT platforms

SuperRare – The most well-known of CryptoArt platforms

Nifty Gateway – The CryptoArt platform owned by Gemini, a Coinbase alternative

Foundation – This is the platform that sold Nyan Cat

OpenSea – The platform recently invested in by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).

Zora – While this is a CryptoArt platform, Zora also deals in physical good pre-sales or of shares of a commodity (from digital art to an Air Force One). Before making any purchase, study the artist or creator. While the content itself might be appealing, if you’re hoping to own CryptoArt as an investment, the artist’s reputation is key. Try to find their social media accounts and early posts and see whether your favorite artist has momentum.

Grimes – One of the first major artists to embrace crypto (some would say with interesting timing, since the father of her child has recently been promoting Bitcoin via Twitter) the electropop musician has sold limited runs and single-editions of songs and videos.

Kings of Leon – In early March, the Tennessee band Kings of Leon opened sales for their latest album through YellowCard. The 16-day sale generated $2 million for the band.

Beeple – The artist who made millions selling one NFT at Christie’s Auction House. His real name is Michael Winkelmann and he’s a graphic designer from South Carolina. Prior to this now-famous auction, he was best known for tech-themed art on Instagram and Twitter (NSFW – often not safe for work).

Your Favorite Digital Artists – This links to a great article on 25 creators of CryptoArt, but you should also check to see if artists you already follow are beginning to make NFT art. So while discovering new artists is great, also watch for your old favorites to try the technology.

BitcoinTalk – An online forum purportedly started by the mysterious founder of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto himself. This is the centralized pool of crypto knowledge that we all dip from. The term “hodl” (as in “hold” misspelled) comes from this thread. As with any online community take caution when sharing personal information. Small comments add up to a larger picture over time! Check the Alternate Cryptocurrencies section for most posts regarding NFTs.

Clubhouse – The latest hot social media platform, Clubhouse, is a wonderful way to learn about NFT art and to connect with NFT artists themselves. Start by following @LadyPhoenix and her Crypto Basel Club. She is well-connected in the community and devoted to educating newcomers.

LinkedIn – Interestingly, I’ve been able to attend some of the most useful online gatherings or seminars by discovering them on LinkedIn. LinkedIn will allow you to follow thought leaders and topics, so follow a few in the crypto space, like the Ethereum Foundation, and join active crypto groups.

What are the downsides or risks of NFTs?

While there are many benefits to buying or making NFTs, I need to make you aware of a few large risks.

Like Bitcoin’s price, the price of NFT art is likely to be volatile. There’s a very good chance that an asset could drop in price, or the larger crypto market could tank. Never invest more than you could lose in speculative ventures. This article from the New York Times explains why there is probably an NFT bubble looming. And then, there is the danger of your NFT investment disappearing altogether.

There are also risks of bad actors, price-fixing, or FUD — a standard term for “fear, uncertainty, and doubt” — when someone deliberately spreads negativity about a project to decrease its value.

Even the Christie’s Beeple sale went under scrutiny. Some allege that the art buyer had vested financial interest in the growth of the NFT market.

There is also the inescapable reality that adding art to the weight of the blockchain has a toll on the environment. Ethereum currently uses as much energy as the entire nation of Ireland, home to 5 million people.

The reason blockchains can consume so much energy is a bit complicated, so here’s my quick take: Bitcoin, Ethereum, and many of the currencies that are most stable rely on something called “Proof of Work.” In order to hash new blocks, computers all over the world run calculations, a process called “mining,” to try to find an elegant solution to a difficult computation first.

What this means is that each new block is created by plugging a bunch of very powerful CPUs, also known as “mining rigs” into the electrical grid.

Why should NFTs matter to marketers?

Although it might not seem that the world of cutting-edge art and social media marketing would overlap, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Digital marketing is a must for any artist looking to raise money through selling NFTs.

Artists interested in pivoting toward CryptoArt will need to alter the appeal of their existing social media accounts, design new customer archetypes, and in some cases, begin entirely separate accounts. If you’re looking for freelance work, this is a very hot space to be in.

For some great tips on networking within the crypto community, check out this {grow} post, How to Get Started as a Crypto Social Media Marketer.

And, as a creator, this could be an exciting new avenue for monetization and growth. I’m an artist who has resisted the market so far but as the benefits increase and the market stabilizes and goes mainstream, it is something I need to consider!

If you have any questions, feel free to drop them in the comments so we can all learn together.

Kiki Schirr is a freelance marketer, artist, and writer who enjoys new technologies. She has worked with crypto companies and learned a little Solidity, but it’s her bitcointalk account age that generally impresses cryptofolk. You can email Kiki Schirr at her full name without spaces at Gmail. Just remember that she responds faster on Twitter.

The post NFT CryptoArt Investment: An Essential Guide for Creators appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

By Dionne Buckingham-Brown {grow} Contributing Columnist

For millions of people now working from a desk at home – rather than a desk in an office – the COVID pandemic has forced them to ask one glaringly obvious question: Is it time to quit your job?

A few years ago, the same thought went through my head, and in dramatic fashion, I quit my job. What followed was … a mess.

So I’m here today to help you learn from my mistakes.

The evidence is that more and more people are looking at this option. Between 2018 and the beginning of 2020, approximately 27 million Americans quit their full-time jobs to work for themselves.

It brought the total number of self-employed people to 42 million (compared with approximately 126 million traditional full-time workers).

Although the official post-COVID figures are not yet in, expect the trend to not only continue, but accelerate – rapidly.

My shift to self-employment

I made the shift to self-employment five years ago.

I’d served as a police officer in the UK for 22 years and finally decided I’d had enough. After years of stress and ridiculously long hours, I quit.

I packed my belongings, and in a very Bridget Jones way, told my boss, “Thanks for the memories, but I’m done!”

And that was it. I walked out without a Plan A, let alone a Plan B.

A friend recently asked me: “When you quit your job, what would you have done differently if you knew then what you know now?”

It got me thinking. What would I do differently if I was one of the millions of people working from home and thinking about switching to working for myself?

For anyone who’s thinking of making the leap to self-employment, I want to share four lessons I’ve learned along the way.

1. Don’t just quit your job, prepare!

I quit without a plan. That was not the best idea.

Working from home is your chance to plan, research, strategize, and prepare for the shift to self-employment in advance.

First, take a long hard look at what skills you do (and don’t) have that you could feasibly charge money for. Then, get absolutely clear on what type of day-to-day work activities energize and inspire you.

Many people can tolerate a job they’re not passionate about in exchange for stability and security.

When you work for yourself, that’s not a viable option in the short-run.

There are so many uncertainties and challenges when you’re self-employed. You better be clear that you’re doing something that you love or you — and the people around you — will be miserable.

2. Work on that personal brand NOW

It wasn’t until 2017 when I read Mark Schaefer’s book KNOWN that I truly understood the power of standing out and building a personal brand.

As he explained, it’s not who you know that truly counts in business anymore … it’s who knows you that matters.

I already understood the power of using LinkedIn for networking and business, but after reading Mark’s book, it became a commitment.

When I first started using LinkedIn, I used it to look for potential clients. Now, I use it to let my potential clients find me. It’s a subtle but important difference … and it works.

Being known in your industry, marketplace, or sector is vital to your success.

But when I quit my job, I didn’t know that.

And I didn’t understand how much the people you know can influence your chances of successful self-employment either.

In fact, I had a HUGE challenge. For the eight years leading up to quitting my job, I’d spent considerable time and effort working on NOT being known — I worked in covert intelligence!

If I had to do it all over again, I would have acted on the advice from Mark’s book and developed a personal brand long before I quit.

3. Learn everything you can about sales and marketing

No matter what you do, if you work for yourself, you’re in sales and marketing.

This is absolutely fundamental to your success, or failure, in self-employment. No customers equals no business.

I know plenty of self-employed people (speaking from experience!) who are brilliant at the technical aspect of their business, they’re failing at effectively selling or marketing themselves.

It’s amazing how many problems in business go away when your sales and marketing are running smoothly!

Marketing cannot be an afterthought. It has to be baked into the very fabric of your startup from the beginning.

4. Accept your self-worth

As a self-employed businessperson, you don’t earn what other people think you’re worth. In the long-term, you earn what you think you’re worth.

If you don’t value your services or advice, no one else will.

I cannot stress this point enough.

Like many people, I’ve struggled with imposter syndrome and low self-worth at times.

But I’ve also learned that, as Dr Ivan Joseph explained in his fantastic TED Talk, confidence is a skill you can practice and develop over time.

The more you believe in yourself, the more other people will too.

Quit your job. Seize the day!

The best time to start planning to be self-employed is now. It’s the ultimate in self-reliance and the ultimate freedom. You do what you want, when you want, for who you want.

If you can make it without an employer, without loans, without business partners, without funding and with nothing but your self-employed skills, hustle, and determination, you can make it anywhere.

If you’ve been working from home for the past few months, maybe, just maybe, now is the time to make the switch.

Dionne Buckingham-Brown is a UK-based consultant specializing in planning and execution in marketing, lead generation, and selling strategies for business growth. She’s also created a pathway to help working mothers transition to self-employment. Visit her website and follow her on Twitter.

The post Quit Your Job but Don’t Make These Four Mistakes appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

My mind is spinning with ideas and observations about our world but not all of this is suitable for a dedicated blog post. So today, I decided to ramble.

Random thoughts unleashed …

Progress anxiety

A problem I see in the world right now is what I would call progress anxiety.

When I started blogging more than a decade ago, nobody knew what they were doing. Blogging was new. So you just dove in and learned. Today, something like blogging is a science with complex services and systems in place to optimize every thought, headline, and sentence.

Same with video or podcasting. There is so much available information to absorb that you get progress anxiety and simply fail to launch.

With so much advice available, people are paralyzed. They want to get it right and want to absorb it all but that’s nearly impossible. Just start. Create your content for three months. Stumble, learn, re-assess, improve, read some more, and keep moving forward. But you have to start.

Build an organic community

I have a friend creating an interesting new online community. But he’s using an obscure platform that requires more clicks and registration. Then I would have to learn how to use the darn platform and remember to visit it every day.

I don’t think ideas like this will work because the community is not native to our daily experience. I’m on Facebook and LinkedIn every day. If I saw a reminder or a new group posting alert I would probably check it out. But I don’t need another platform in my life. Nobody does.

I am a Millennial

A lot of people resent Millennials and Gen Z because they place a priority on meaningful time off, adventure, workplace flexibility, and a career oriented toward values and purpose. I like those same things. Maybe I’m just a Millennial in with gray hair.

A lot of people regard Millennials as “entitled.” I think much of this attitude comes down to a matter of timing. Millennials (and Gen Z) are digital natives growing up in a relatively peaceful and prosperous era where you can get anything you want delivered to your door in 24 hours. Why wouldn’t you want everything right now? Who has time for patience when you have Amazon?

I am inspired by this generation. They are hard-working, fearless, and re-inventing our world. It’s time for the older generation to listen, be humble, and learn from them. This is a great post I read that also reflects my feelings on the subject: My semester with the snowflakes.

Start from the bottom

If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you may have seen that I am learning to paint with watercolors. It has been a long time since I have entered a discipline at the absolute bottom and beginning from step one. Very humbling and yet energizing. I recommend it. When was the last time you started something completely new?

By the way … I only post my GOOD paintings … one out of 10!

Mental health and marketing

Great marketing is about finding ways to meet un-met or under-served customer needs.

One of the things I’ve been thinking about is the whacked-out mental health of the world right now. Record levels of stress, depression, anxiety, isolation. The needs of the world are changing in so many unexpected ways. What does this mean to marketers? It means a LOT, but I’m a little afraid of the implications.

What a world.

I think I witnessed an all-time low in spam. I got an alert on a reference to my business that was a fake obituary for me. It was an obvious malware site asking me for information to enter. I cannot even fathom the psychological make-up of a person who does something like this.

Relax with baby animals

Researchers believe that taking a break from work to look at pictures of baby animals can reduce anxiety and stress. So this one is on me. Hedgehog for the win.

Why so serious?

This may come as a surprise to you but this blog used to be much funnier. Over the years, I’ve made-up poems, song lyrics, original cartoons, and even a post called “How to Become a Google Whore.”

Year by year {grow} has become a lot more serious. I turn a funny phrase now and then, but I rarely have an intent to write an entirely funny post.

I’m not sure I know why. I think part of it has to do with the fact that there are more eyeballs on me now? Maybe part of it is I feel less funny?

Swatting mosquitos

I am developing a LinkedIn sixth sense. With good accuracy, I can now predict which new connections will immediately spam me with an unwanted and tone-deaf sales pitch. I have been able to hone this skill based on the increasing number of desperate pitches on this platform!

Sell the house

I was working with an entrepreneur the other day to help him focus on his business direction. His website offered an overwhelming number of tools and solutions, but it was unclear exactly what customer problem was being solved. For example, “content marketing” is a tactic, not a problem being solved.

My advice to him: “Your website lists a lot of tools. These are the same tools anybody has. You can use those tools to open a jar of peanut butter or you can use those tools to build a unique and magnificent house. If you want to differentiate your business, you can’t sell the tools, you have to sell the house!

The Facebook culture

A company will succeed or fail in the long-term based on the company culture. The company culture comes from the leader at the top.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg …

• Only does the right thing when he gets caught
• Dismisses the requests of his biggest customers
• Has been sued for $9 billion in unpaid taxes and billions more for privacy violations
• Runs a company with virtually no customer service or appeals process to help its daily users and small customers
• Routinely has walk-outs over employee mistreatment “I think Facebook is hurting people at scale,” one employee wrote.
• Enables and encourages extremists because hate-oriented content drives advertising revenue

How long can a company like that last? In 2012, I predicted that Facebook would become the most dangerous company on earth. It is heading in that direction.

Creative urges

I’m worried about the state of creativity. Breakthrough ideas come from serendipity … chance meetings, attending conferences, traveling to new places. When we are spending most of our time on Zoom and Netflix during a pandemic, is the world in a creativity desert? Ideas happen at the water cooler and at the breaks.

New book in the works

For the last year, I’ve been thinking about a certain idea for a new book. It’s a natural extension of my body of work to tackle “what’s next.”

Developing a book idea is a big deal. For me to commit to the time it takes to research and write a book, I have to be 100 percent certain about the concept and my dedication to what will be an intense and all-encompassing year-long process.

Early this year, the idea “locked in.” I was ready to write.

And then the world changed. I’m struggling to make sure my idea is still relevant in the context of a global upheaval of everything that used to be “normal.”

I’m getting closer to resolving the gap but isn’t it fascinating to consider that in a period of a few months, we’ve had to re-think the whole idea of “next?”

Did you enjoy this format of shorter thoughts?

Mark Schaefer is the executive director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions. He is the author of several best-selling digital marketing books and is an acclaimed keynote speaker, college educator, and business consultant.  The Marketing Companion podcast is among the top business podcasts in the world. Contact Mark to have him speak to your company event or conference soon.

Illustration courtesy Unsplash.com

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