Episode 41 - Joshua Altman (beltway.media)
Why I Social
In this episode of the Why I Social podcast, host Chris Barrows sits down with Joshua Altman, Managing Director of beltway.media, to unpack what "social first" really means for small and medium-sized businesses. Joshua breaks down what it means to operate as a fractional Chief Communications Officer, taking the day-to-day communications burden off founders and technical teams. Also, find out why "Social-First" means treating social as a core distribution channel from the start, with content workflows designed so bigger projects automatically feed smaller pieces. In addition, the...
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Episode 40 - Derek Hales
Why I Social
On this episode of Why I Social, Chris is joined by Derek Hales, founder and editor-in-chief of NapLab.com, who brings a background in SEO, social strategy, and content marketing, shaped early on by agency experience working with Fortune 100 clients. Derek shares the origin story of NapLab, born out of a frustrating and expensive in-store mattress shopping trip with his wife back in 2014, and how that experience pushed him to start reviewing and comparing mattresses online. He also discusses how NapLab built its reputation on highly objective, data-driven testing, including why he waited two...
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Episode 39 - Eric Carlson
Why I Social
On this episode of Why I Social, Chris is joined by Eric Carlson, founder of Loon's Eye Digital, who has spent his career in the world of digital marketing, building digital strategies that have included SEO, conversion rate optimization, email campaign strategy, and social strategy. His recent webinar with the National Institute for Social Media covered the topic of how marketers can create tech stacks to improve their workflow, which he further discusses as part of this week's Hot Topic. Hot Topic for This Week's Episode: Building a Tech Stack for Social Media Marketers And...
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Episode 38 - Dex Polizzi
Why I Social
On this week's episode, Chris is joined by Dex Polizzi (Owner of Sidewalk Savers) who began his career in the agency world, specializing in public relations and digital marketing. His professional history includes working with technical industries, such as cybersecurity and tech infrastructure, as well as organizations close to the federal government. He has since started his own business locally in Verona, NJ serves residential, commercial, and municipal markets at a hyper-local level. Hot Topic for This Week's Episode: Marketing Local Business through Social Media And of...
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Episode 37 - Eli Igra Serfaty
Why I Social
On this week's episode, Chris is joined by Eli Igra Serfaty (Co-Founder and CEO, MAIA Digital), whose career winds from military service through venture capital before landing in the world of LinkedIn strategy. Founded in 2019, MAIA Digital specializes in LinkedIn profile optimization, company page management, and immersive workshops that pull back the curtain on the platform. Fun fact: The name carries meaning too, inspired by MAIA, the Greek goddess of growth, which reflects the company's mission to set individuals and businesses up for LinkedIn success. Hot Topic for This Week's Episode:...
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Episode 36 - Marley Molkentin
Why I Social
On this week's episode, Chris is joined by Marley Molkentin (Communications Specialist at Eidos LGBTQ+ Health Initiative), who helps tell stories that makes an impact. She has her Master of Arts from Columbia College Chicago, which made an incredible impact on her career and where she is today. Hot Topic for This Week's Episode: Creating Media and Content That Makes A Difference And of course, learn why Marley socials! Marley's Links: to the latest Why I Social Newsletter [LinkedIn] About our sponsor: The National Institute for Social Media (NISM) empowers...
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Episode 35 - Kaila Vander Horn
Why I Social
On this week's episode, Chris is joined by Kaila Vander Horn (Head of Content at Speedwork) for a discussion about B2B content on LinkedIn. Kaila has more than a decade of experience in social media and digital marketing and we explore how she advanced professionally to where she is today, earning the trust of businesses and c-suite executives. Hot Topic for This Week's Episode: B2B Content and LinkedIn And of course, learn why Kaila socials on this week's episode of Why I Social! Kaila's Links: to the latest Why I Social Newsletter [LinkedIn] About our sponsor: The...
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Episode 34 - Jason Schemmel
Why I Social
On this week's episode, Chris has a conversation with Jason Schemmel (Get Social Done) who helps organizations operationalize AI across marketing, sales, and operations. His expansive background in social media and digital marketing opened the door for conversation across a variety of important topics not excluding the impact of AI on the newest members of the professional workforce. Key Highlights How his work on Twitch help landed him employment (and why what you do outside of work matters) How he got his start with HarperCollins The positives and negatives of AI on the latest...
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Episode 33 - A.J. Vitiello (Producer, Drew Binksy)
Why I Social
On this week's episode, Chris has a conversation with A.J. Vitiello (Producer for Drew Binksy). From the origins of his role with Drew (thanks to Instagram) to YouTube tips and insights, Vitiello discusses what it's like to work as a content creator in the creator economy (YouTube specific). Key Highlights How global travel and Instagram led to his role with Drew Why there is more to a YouTube Hook than the first three-seconds A deeper dive into the creator economy What it's like to travel the globe (and manage a team of editors) Hot Topic for This Week's Episode:...
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Episode 32 - Lexi Croisdale
Why I Social
On this week’s episode of Why I Social, Chris sits down with Lexi Croisdale (Director of Global Content Marketing, Varonis). Lexi is also one of the recently announced National Institute for Social Media Advisory Board Members. Key Highlights How her early career experiences including internships, impacted her career success Why she leads by example with LinkedIn Why working in diverse industries has benefited her ability to deliver innovative content Why she joined the National Institute for Social Media Advisory Board. Hot Topic for This Week's Episode: Employee...
info_outlineWorking in career services can offer a range of challenges. Just because you work in career services, however, doesn't mean you work on resumes all day. Joel Renner is Manager, Digital Strategy and Career Services at George Washington University.
Joel has managed social media for some time, but did not have his own personal account until recently. When he began to tweet, I notice him almost immediately. In particular, his methodology of growing his personal brand while starting his personal Twitter account was unique and has been highly successful.
Additionally, he has spent the bulk of his career in higher education, but on the podcast he shares his insights into his world which includes cooking, soccer and his passion for connecting people
This week on Why I Social, Joel and I talk about
- Living in Alaska
- Working in higher education and career services
- His Twitter connection process
- And much, much more...
Connect with Joel
- Twitter (Personal): @JoelRRenner
As always, share YOUR thoughts on the latest episode using #WhyISocial. Of course, you're also invited to subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher Radio if you'd like to get updates when the latest episode is live.
You can also follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhyISocial. Thank you to BenjoBeats (@BenjoBeats) and Jeff Januszek (@JeffJanuszek) for their contributions (music and voiceover) to the podcast.