As noted in the earlier blog post, 5 Links Social Media Marketers Can Be Thankful For, there is an overabundance of information out there. Especially in the online marketing world of social media, SEO, web design, user experience, and the list goes on. Because it’s part of our philosophy, publishing content that we are passionate about comes natural and is encouraged.
Due to this passion in the industry, it creates enough information being published that you could spend all day, every day reading new articles online about these different industries and never catch up. I spend about an hour a day (at least) reading new articles about different aspects of online marketing.
The Easiest Way To Consume New Information Without Taking Time Away From Your Day
It’s extremely difficult to be reading new articles AND doing actual work at the same time, if not impossible. So how can you keep up with all of the industry news that you need to be aware of but not steal time away from your day?
The answer is podcasts. I love listening to stuff while I’m working just to keep me from being in a silent office all day. I capitalize on that by listening to expert podcasts discussing news, strategies, success stories, different platforms, etc. while still being able to focus on working on client projects.
Being that today is Thanksgiving, I’d like to give thanks to these podcasters for putting out quality audio content on a regular basis to keep me informed, inspired and motivated without the need to block off time to consume their published knowledge. The list is in no particular order of importance or preference, I love them all the same. Without further ado…
My Top Ten Online Marketing Podcasts
1. Tropical Talk Radio/Lifestyle Business Podcast
http://www.tropicalmba.com/category/podcast-episodes/
http://www.lifestylebusinesspodcast.com/
These two podcasts are put out by Dan and Ian, a couple of awesome dudes who have taken on the lifestyle of true entrepreneurs and share their stories and advice for how to run a real business online and live a kickass lifestyle (without losing the point that you still have to bust your ass and work hard). The Tropical Talk Radio podcast is much more informal but sometimes provides even higher quality information than it’s counterpart.
Every episode comes with very practical and actionable items for entrepreneurs and business owners. There is rarely any fluff to their podcasts and when there is it’s actually pretty entertaining. While not really an online marketing show, these guys are a great listen for any business owner or entrepreneur.
2. The Foolish Adventure Show
http://foolishadventure.com/category/audio/
This is another very practical podcast to listen to. Host Tim Conley often has guests on that have real experience and success under their belt to speak about. These aren’t just Internet marketers yapping about Internet marketing, they have used online marketing to succeed in all different industries and have solid business models to learn from.
3. Mad Marketing – The Sales Lion Podcast with Marcus Sheridan
http://www.thesaleslion.com/
Marcus Sheridan is a pool salesman turned content marketing expert. He earned his stripes with his own pool company when he saw online marketing and content as the key to growing a successful business. Now Marcus consults as a content marketer (I’m sure among other things) in addition to having his pool business. His content is very informative on his website as well as his podcast and a lot can be learned from his experience.
4. Marketing Over Coffee
http://www.marketingovercoffee.com/category/podcast/
John Wall and Christopher Penn host this weekly podcast where they discuss what’s new in the marketing world. They touch on different industry news and talk about marketing from a very professional level. This is a great listen for real marketers.
5. Six Pixels Of Separation
http://www.twistimage.com/podcast/
This podcast is brought to us by Mitch Joel, the president of Twist Image and an expert in digital marketing, he brings a weekly perspective on the marketing world from the viewpoint of a digital marketing agency.
6. Social Media Marketing Podcast with Michael Stelzner
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/category/podcast-episodes/
Michael Stelzner of Social Media Examiner is a serious source of social media information. His book, Launch, is one that I consider a must-read for anyone working in the website, marketing or small business world. Obviously that makes his weekly social media podcast a must-listen.
7. Social Pros Podcast: Real People Doing Real Work in Social Media
http://www.convinceandconvert.com/social-pros-podcast/
Jay Baer (of Convince And Convert fame) is a social media consultant that teams up with Eric Boggs of Argyle Social to put out this weekly podcast. They talk about some social media industry news as well as have on professionals who work at real companies outside of the online marketing world and earn real results with social media.
Their guests include social media managers from Fifth Third Bank, McDonalds, Caterpillar among many others. But as you can see, they don’t speak to social media managers of social media companies, they talk about real social media work for real businesses.
8. Inbound Now – Inbound Marketing & Social Media Podcast
http://www.inboundnow.com/all-episodes/
David Wells is an inbound marketing professional who puts out this biweekly inbound marketing podcast. He actually publishes a video and audio version so that you can watch him interview his guests as well as see examples of what he’s talking about. But if you are on the go and just listen to the audio (which is what I do most of the time) then the audio still delivers high quality, practical information.
David goes over all different topics of online marketing including content marketing, how to use different social media tools to get customers, email marketing, etc. His guests are also often very high figures in the online marketing world like Lee Odden (Top Rank), Rand Fishkin (SEOmoz) and Brian Clark (Copyblogger).
9. The Content Warfare Podcast
http://www.ryanhanley.com/contentwarfarepodcast/
Ryan Hanley is another guy like Marcus Sheridan who got his chops in the real world marketing his insurance company. Now Ryan doubles as a content marketing evangelist and puts out great, practical information that you can use to be successful with your own business.
10. Marketing Smarts Podcast from MarketingProfs
http://www.marketingprofs.com/topic/all/marketing-smarts
Last but definitely not least, is the Marketing Smarts Podcast from the great folks over at MarketingProfs. Their blog is an excellent source of online marketing information and their weekly podcast delivers that same level of quality audio content. They have great interviews with professional marketers who have experienced real success. A great source of information and inspiration.
What Podcasts Do You Listen To And Recommend?
I’d love to hear your suggestions on what great podcasts are out there that I didn’t mention and am probably not yet aware of. Please leave your recommendations in the comments below!