The Marketing Companion

For many businesses dealing with negativity -- perhaps even toxicity --on the web is a real and present issue. This episode was prompted by a current event and hosts Mark Schaefer and Tom Webster explore the realities of dealing with haters, trolls and malcontents aimed at hurting our reputations and brands.

In addition to bringing you the latest marketing trends and ideas, hosts Mark Schaefer and Tom Webster also have a bit of fun on the show. In this year-end round-up, the Marketing Companion brings you a few of the comedic highlights from 2014 including Google Pants, Get a Room and the World's Worst Mobile Apps.

Get the inside scoop on Mark and Tom's hard learned lessons and mistakes they have made over the past couple years that allows them to build even better content for the listeners

Let's look into our crystal ball and look at what's coming next in digital marketing? Hosts Mark Schaefer and Tom Webster examine the hottest ideas for 2015 and beyond.

Is it possible to manipulate Facebook content and social proof to affect our self-image, emotions and relationships in the real world? What are the implications for marketing, politics, power on the web?

Blogs, podcasts, and social media are all powerful tools to market brands, but what about your personal brand? Is there such a thing? And does "personal branding" actually work? Marketing Companion hosts Tom Webster and Mark Schaefer debate personal branding, and disagree in some surprising ways.

We are on the brink of an unprecedented customer-driven mobile commerce revolution. The revolution goes beyond IT, beyond marketing, to include sociology, psychology and deep consumer research. Listen in with hosts Mark Schaefer and Tom Webster as they explore amazing, emerging trends in mobile.

A new social network, Ello, has created a lot of buzz over their ad-free model. Marketing Companion hosts Mark Schaefer and Tom Webster examine the ups and downs of Ello and discuss how brands, advertising and content work together in the online marketing eco-system.

Can you scale a "human presence" for your company? What are the limits of authenticity for a personal brand? A corporate brand? Is there a difference? In this fun and fast-paced episode Mark Schaefer and Tom Webster explore the world of authenticity and branding.

Does content marketing work in competitive space? Is content marketing as efficient as we think? What is the balance between organic reach and paid advertising? Do quarterly sales goals and the financial responsibilities to shareholders inhibit the potential of content marketing? Is there an eventual diminishing return to content marketing and how do we anticipate that?

Blow open the truths and myths of Facebook reach. Using new data across thousands of companies, they reveal some cataclysmic changes in just a year, the importance of fanatiscism to Facebook success and a new platfrom called GET A ROOM!

Why is this the best time to be doing business on twitter? Listen is as Mark and Tom look at the momentum in active user growth, exceptional advertising opportunities, and research capabilities available to even small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Get a peak into the marketing grab bag and discuss the new LinkedIn blogging capabilities, the over-use of buyer personas, erasing yourself from Google search, and our sources of content inspiration.

What would you do if you ran Facebook? How would you change the content, the advertising, and the business model to make the world's most popular social network even more popular? Mark Schaefer and Tom Webster explore this issue in their fast-paced and entertaining style!

There are conferences, books and consultants now devoted to heling your business plan for disruptive technologies and leverage them as a business strategy. But can you use "disruption" as a business strategy? Mark Schaefer and Tom Webster dissect this hot business trend.