Azeem Digital Asks - The All-Round Digital Marketing Podcast

What Fiona Bradley doesn't know about organic LinkedIn success, probably isn't worth knowing in my opinion. This episode will not teach you how to grow on LinkedIn by posting about the injured dog that you ignored on the way to a job interview, only to find out the dog WAS the interviewer. Instead, Fiona helpfully shares tips and advice on post formats, how to engage, and being authentic to achieve growth on the platform - you definitely don't want to miss this one.

Fiona describes herself as a content master, business owner, slow runner, bendy yogi and writer. She runs a Leeds-city centre-based boutique Content Marketing Agency "FB Comms" with a sense of humour, who's mission it is to create killer content with service that slaps.. not in the way that hurts.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Key factors to LinkedIn growth, organically
• Biggest mistakes people make on LinkedIn
• Balancing sharing valuable content for audiences vs self promotion
• Which types of content perform best
• How to build meaningful professional relationships, and get opportunities from the platform
• How important consistency is for growth
• What she feels the future holds for LinkedIn

...and much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

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Katy Powell, one third of the leadership team at Bottled Imagination shares her story on what it's like to be a female business founder in the marketing industry, as well as the challenges she has faced.

Described as "an expert in all things PR, thinking up ideas that take over the internet and putting brands front and centre in trending conversations. Nothing distracts her when she’s in the PR zone - apart from a Britney Spears megamix" - you'll easily be able to see (and hear!) why this is one episode that's not to be missed.

In the episode, we discuss:

• What inspired her to be part of the founding team of Bottled Imagination.
• Thinking of when she started, if she could change one thing about the whole process, what would it be and why.
• As a woman in a heavily male dominated industry, what are some of the challenges that she has faced in starting the business.
• As the only female in the leadership team, what unique perspectives does she feel that she brings to client challenges / day to day work.
• How has she found making the switch from a regular "9-5" into her current role, and how does she manage her workload now.
• Advice for women listening to this episode who are thinking about leaving the corporate world and potentially following in her footsteps.
• What sets their agency apart from others, and how does she communicate that to potential clients.

...and much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

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In this crossover episode between this and the Strategy Sessions podcast, myself and Andi Jarvis have a discussion around explaining where equality should fit in your marketing strategy along with a few tips of how everyone can make a difference, even if you don’t get involved in strategy. We also discuss where businesses have got it wrong, how to get it right - amongst many other things. Whether or not you attended our Equality session at BrightonSEO this summer - there is something in this episode for everyone.

(Announcing the release of a podcast episode WHILST giving a conference talk on stage? Yes, I did.)

In this episode, we also discuss:

1. A brief explanation of marketing strategy
2. The role of equality in your marketing strategy
3. The pitfalls of adding equality to marketing tactics as an afterthought
4. Progress towards diversity in marketing conferences and events
5. The drawbacks of attempting to infer the opinions of your customers
6. The benefits of actually talking with your customers and monitoring their actions
7. Why using AI for customer research is a bad choice
8. Methods to address wage and pay gaps
9. How individuals at any career stage can effect change
   and more!

For those of you who don't yet know about Andi - he runs Eximo Marketing, a marketing strategy consultancy with locations in Belfast and Liverpool, as its Founder and Strategy Director. The consultancy's focus is primarily on aiding established manufacturers in expanding their businesses via direct-to-consumer channels.

After a short break, I am back with Season 5 of the Azeem Digital Asks Podcast! In this episode, Jo Walters shares strategies for small organisations to compete with larger ones, highlighting the importance of identifying and leveraging unique strengths, amongst other pearls of wisdom.

Jo is officially a freelance communications specialist at 25 Dots - unofficially you may know her as the wizard behind many of your favourite events social media posts, generating buzz and engagement online for large events in the industry.

In this episode, we discuss all of the different ways smaller and scrappy organisations can compete with larger ones, as well as Jo's own advice drawing on her own experience - this is one episode not to be missed!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

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A very quick episode to say thank you for watching, listening, subscribing, and supporting the podcast in 2022. Your support has helped ensure this stays amongst the top 10 digital marketing podcasts in the UK, and top 20 overall.

Back in 2023 with more content, and more things I'm keeping under wraps for now.

Have a great holiday period with your loved ones. See you in '23!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

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Imagine if you were able to learn more about Digital PR pitching from someone who has had experience in both PR, and journalism? Imagine no more - Surena Chande is here to teach you things that will help you get your pitches to land and to be more successful.

The final (video) episode of 2022 is here, and Surena Chande - freelance journalist and copywriter for global brands, as well as being the SEO editor for a few big publications such as the Daily Mirror - joins me to share her tips to make you better at pitching.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The biggest mistake people make when pitching to journalists.
• The one thing she wishes PR people would understand about pitching to journalists.
• How PRs can make their own lives easier.
• How journalists can make their lives easier.
• Having worked on both sides of the fence, the advice she can share with the audience.

...and much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

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Want to get a headstart on Instagram marketing in 2023? This episode is packed full of useful tips and insights for you to become better at advertising on the platform next year.  

Corrie Jones joins me on this episode. She's the founder of Untapped Digital, the 'award winning social media agency for ambitious brands'. She definitely knows Instagram well, having thousands of followers herself on the platform.  

In this episode, we discuss:  

- What she has seen on Instagram in 2022. 

- For those who are new to Instagram and want to get started, where she recommends to begin. 

- The biggest mistake she sees people making on Instagram. 

- Her thoughts on whether brands should be on EVERY social media network or not. 

- How Instagram marketing differs to other networks e.g TikTok. 

- Her top tips to get Instagram right in 2023. 

- If she could add a feature to make marketers lives better for IG, what it would be. 

- If she could steal a feature from another platform for IG, what it would be.  

...& much more!  

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!  

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Marketers talk about strategy, tactics, engagement, execution - but where does culture fit into all of this? Gemma Houghton joins me on the show to discuss the importance of culture in marketing.

Gemma is the director of marketing at Webcertain, and has multiple years of experience in the industry  - so there's nobody better placed to discuss this important topic.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How is culture defined.
• Why culture is important.
• Where culture fits into marketing strategy and execution.
• The risks of not taking this into account.
• How to make sure culture isn't forgotten when executing a campaign.
• When people are learning about marketing, how can they ensure they also learn about culture.
• Where people can start with understanding and assessing their own company cultures.
• Her thoughts on companies that have good cultures.

...and much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

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Wouldn't it be great if there was a resource somewhere that helped you to fully understand TikTok, as well as its ranking factors to help you become more successful on the platform? Look no further - THIS episode has you covered.  

Lidia Infante joins me on the show to discuss the above, and much more. She's studied TikTok in depth, published numerous articles, and even read the documentation about the ranking factors of the platform. She is the Senior SEO Manager and sanity.io, and has been seen at multiple marketing conferences sharing her knowledge.  

In this episode, we discuss:  

- How she finds search behaviour differs from TikTok and Google. 

- Why she thinks TikTok is taking market share from Google. 

- What types of behaviours has she seen users display on TikTok. 

- How does TikTok impact SEO. 

- What inspired her to release her study on the TikTok algorithm. 

- What she learned about the algorithm. 

- What the main ranking factors on TikTok are. 

- The next steps she advises listeners or viewers to take after this episode.  

...and much more!  

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!    

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The podcast is BACK! In this episode, aptly timed during Black History Month in the UK - the fantastic Fabio Embalo, CEO of Viaduct Generation joins me to discuss the lack of Black owned businesses in Google (and other search engine) results.  

(As a reminder, you can also WATCH the podcast on YouTube, or on Spotify Video too)

We discuss:  

- How he discovered there was a lack of Black owned businesses in the SERPs? 

- Why he thinks the number is so low? 

- What the biggest barriers are for Black owned businesses to hit the search engine result pages? 

- How can people/allies support the growth of this? 

- Where can Black owned businesses start with their SEO journey?  

...and much more!  

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!  

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Marketing doesn't communicate well with sales. Sales doesn't communicate well with Marketing. A common problem. Hear from industry thought leader Troy Sandidge on what both sides can do to become more aligned.

Troy is known as the 'Strategy Hacker'. He works as a growth strategist & demand generation for startups, SaaS, & B2B, as well as speaking at lots of conferences, and runs his own podcast too!

In this episode, we discuss:

• The biggest issue that sales teams have with marketing.
• The biggest issue that marketing teams have with sales.
• How the rise in remote working / less office time impacted this relationship.
• What both sides can do to improve the relationship.
• The benefits of aligned sales and marketing teams.

...and much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

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How can you find, and more importantly - keep hold of job satisfaction in the marketing industry? Jess Peace joins me on this episode to share really useful tips and advice on how to do just that, for people of all skill levels and experience.

Jess is a copywriter and editor, and a content team lead at NeoMam. She's also a podcaster herself, which means this is one discussion you really don't want to miss.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How to define job satisfaction.
• What differences there are in job satisfaction between junior and senior management roles.
• The impact that NOT having job satisfaction has.
• Her thoughts on those people who have the "Sunday Scaries" (dreading going into work the next week).
• How she thinks teams perform when everyone is satisfied and motivated within their jobs.
• What advice would she give to people who are looking for job satisfaction.

...and much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

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Content doesn't just mean pushing out SEO blogs. It can be things like YouTube videos, podcasts, whitepapers, and so much more. Hear from Ashwin Balakrishnan on the power of content in all formats.

Ashwin is a writer, marketer, and a strategist. He is currently the head of marketing at Optmyzr. 

(As a reminder, you can now WATCH the podcast on YouTube, or on Spotify Video too)

In this episode, we discuss:

• If content is way more than SEO blogs, how does he define this?
• His thoughts on marketers constantly churning out blog posts as part of their content strategy.
• What a good content strategy looks like to him.
• Advice for listeners who solely publish blog content.
• How to approach getting buy-in from the C-suite/management to produce content that isn't blogs.

...and so much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

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Claire Carlile joins me on the Azeem Digital Asks podcast to discuss how you can find, and carve out your niche in the marketing industry.  

Claire Carlile is a Local Search Expert at BrightLocal and Head of Pencils at Claire Carlile Marketing, and is someone who is incredibly well respected in the industry. It was a pleasure to interview her. 

In this episode, we discuss:  

• - What finding and carving out your niche means. 
• - What impact she thinks the pandemic has had on the way people work and find their niche. 
• - Why finding a niche is important.  
• - Her thoughts on the theory that people should be generalists over specialists.  
• - Advice for someone who's just starting out in terms of finding their niche  

...and much more!  

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!  

Useful links:  

Head of SEO communications at Wix, Crystal Carter joins me on the show to share her reasons on why SEO should be seen as a team sport, and not something that should be looked at in isolation. 

*As a reminder, you can now get this podcast in video form too, on either Spotify, or YouTube. Use the anchor.fm link below to choose your preferred platform.*

In this episode, we discuss:

• What makes SEO a team sport.
• When she thinks SEO changed to become a team sport.
• Examples of this in action.
• How SEO's can ensure they can be team players.
• Why she thinks this is important.
• Advice for businesses who are yet to work in this way.

...and much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Hello new subscribers and hello 2022...the Azeem Digital Asks podcast is BACK with a bang! If you listen on Spotify, you can now get a video version of this podcast. I'll also upload it to YouTube.

Joining me on the first episode of season 3 is the awesome Jasmine Granton, Digital PR Team Lead at Evolved, conference speaker, and co-founder of Chalkboard Creative.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What Digital PR is, the changes she has seen since she has been in the industry.
• The things she has learned from changing jobs in the last 12 months.
• What routes are available for people working in Digital PR to progress into.
• Advice for a junior level Digital PR do to gain those management skills?
• What she things makes a good Digital PR manager, and leader.
• How to balance being friendly with professionalism.
• Her idea of 'how you can help yourself and make sure you’re helping your manager help you be promoted' - and how to do it.

...and much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

Hello!

A very short thank you message to everyone that has appeared as a guest, shared the episodes, and generally supported this podcast in 2021.

I'm now taking a short (well-earned!) break - and will be back in 2022.

In the meantime, I'd love it if you subscribed, and left a rating and/or a review on your preferred listening platform, some of which include:

For the season 2 finale of the Azeem Digital Asks podcast, the incredible Ross Simmonds joins me on the show to discuss getting content distribution right.

If you don't know or follow Ross, you absolutely should. He regularly shares content on multiple platforms that make you think differently about how you are conducting your marketing endeavours. He is the founder of Foundation Marketing, a content marketing agency that combines data and creativity to develop & serve ambitious brands. Foundation Marketing provides content marketing services to organisations all over the world ranging from some of the fastest-growing startups & consumer products to global Fortune 500 brands. Ross and the team at Foundation have launched marketing initiatives that reach millions of people on channels like Instagram, Slideshare Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and more.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why content distribution is important.
• How long it took Ross to understand the nuances of each channel.
• Examples of brands/companies who've got distribution wrong.
• How people can start to address their distribution strategies.
• What advice he would give to those who feel the same message should be distributed across multiple channels.
• How much distribution is too much - knowing how to balance promotion and over-promotion.

...and much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

The brilliant Vikki Ross joins me on the show to discuss why tone of voice is important in your messaging. I really enjoyed this one and learned a LOT.

Vikki has been writing copy for major global brands for 24 years. She specialises in branding and tone of voice and travels the world telling businesses how to talk. They ask her to - she doesn't just turn up and shout through their window.

She mentors at the most-awarded ad school, School of Communication Arts 2.0. She judges at international industry award competitions. She runs copy masterclasses for D&AD and speaks at global events. On Twitter, she created #copywritersunite - a hashtag to support and celebrate copywriters.

Creative Equals named her one of the industry's Top 30 Female Creative Leaders, The Dots named her one of the Top 100 Trailblazers redefining the creative industry and Women in Marketing gave her a Special Award for Outstanding Contribution to Marketing.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How to define what tone of voice is.
• The damage that having a wrong tone of voice can have on a brand.
• How much emphasis brands should place on tone of voice.
• The benefits of having the right tone of voice.
• What she would say to someone who feels that tone of voice isn't a priority
• Tips for those who want to take an inward look at their brands tone of voice in order to understand if it's right for their customers or not.

...and more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

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The zestful Andrew Cock-Starkey (Optimisey) joins me on the podcast to discuss how to conduct organic competitor research.

Andrew runs an SEO consultancy in Cambridge, and also runs a series of events for learning, networking and sharing about SEO too, as well as being hands down, one of the nicest people in this industry, who I just had to get onto the podcast to share his knowledge.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The benefits of conducting competitor research organically.
  
• How often he would advise people to look at their competitors organically.
  
• The most common mistakes he's seen when people undertake this activity.
  
• For those who are new to the industry and want to start looking into this area, recommendations on where to begin.
  
• How to manage time and ensure that you don't spend too much time looking into competitor performance.

...and much more!

The awesome Amanda Milligan joins me on the show to discuss how to build authority in digital marketing.

Amanda Milligan is the Head of Marketing at Stacker, a data journalism platform and newswire that also partners with brands to create and distribute content to build brand awareness and links. With a degree in journalism and a decade in content marketing, she’s spent her career helping brands harness the intersection of content and SEO. Her expertise has been published in Entrepreneur, Forbes, TechCrunch, Search Engine Land, Moz, The Next Web, and more, and she’s spoken at industry-leading events, including SMX, MozCon, BrightonSEO, and Pubcon.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How to define authority
  
• What makes a brand authoritative
  
• The value there is in brands seeking to build/grow their authority
  
• The common mistakes people make when going through this authority building process
  
• How brands with more authority stand out from those who don't
  
• What response she would give to a C-suite/senior manager who isn't interested in building authority

...and much more!

The wonderful Andy Thornton joins me on the show to discuss the important topic of LGBTQ+ inclusion in the marketing sector.

Andy Thornton is a Digital Marketing Executive for Noisy Little Monkey and a Stonewall LGBTQ+ Person of Faith Rolemodel. They trained with the School of Sexuality Education and have delivered workshops on LGBTQ+ identity and inclusion to schools, universities and even festival-goers! 

Andy has a sociology background and won the Peter Cressey Award at the University of Bath in 2020. He's done research into Queer and religious exclusion and have written, illustrated, and published a children's book called Rebekah's Secret Grandpa. Their current obsessions are TikTok marketing, Trans rights and tea.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Defining what it means to be a marketer who is part of the LGBTQ+ community.
• Why pronouns/identity are important to address as marketers?
• Examples of brands/companies who tackle the issue of community inclusion well.
• Resources to learn more about this for those who are new to this area.
• What should non-LGBTQ+ marketers do to make workplaces more inclusive.
• Advice for queer marketers struggling in non-inclusive workplaces who don't know where to start.

...and much more!

The brilliant Jessica Pardoe joins me on the show to discuss how best newcomers can start their marketing career, and how to avoid burnout too - as well as a few more tips thrown in!

Jessica is a PR Account Manager at Source PR in Cheshire, and you'll regularly find her on social media sharing her knowledge, and helping others.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Thinking of her own career, what the one thing is that she wishes she could go back and do differently when she started.
• What she thinks some of the common misconceptions are that people have when starting their marketing careers.
• One piece of advice she could give someone who is brand new to the industry.
• Tips for newcomers to the industry who are often keen to progress quickly and preventing overwork.
• What people can do to prevent burnout.
• How has the pandemic changed PR?
• Advice from Jess on how to settle into a new job when on-boarding is purely remote.

...and much more!

** FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT AVAILABLE AT https://www.iamazeemdigital.com/blog/jessica-pardoe-podcast-interview**

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

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How can small, and medium sized businesses start to recover from the effects of COVID? That's exactly what my brilliant guest this week - Riley Hope - will share the answers to. 

Riley Hope is an organic digital marketer with over five years of experience, with a majority of experience specialising in SEO for small-medium enterprises. She also has an academic background and has written multiple papers on SEO and the SME sector. This background is translated into her approach to SEO; especially in regards to anthropology and sociology. 

She is also wrapping up her MSc in Social Enterprise at the moment and her dissertation regarding how to revitalise the SME sector as we recover from COVID-19 while maintaining the tremendous growth in the third sector utilising SEO and organic digital strategy. 

In this episode, we discuss: 

• How SMBs have been affected by COVID. 
• Some of the key mistakes she's seen SMBs make during the pandemic. 
• How she thinks SMBs should plan if the COVID situation worsens. 
• How can SMB's start to recover from an SEO POV.
  

...and much more! 

To mark hitting Episode 50 of the podcast (still can't believe it!) myself and Itamar hopped onto a recording, with just a topic - Sustainable SEO - and no agenda. In this episode, you'll learn lots of things - but mostly, why you should be considering SEO as a long term strategy.

Itamar describes himself as an SEO Consultant, Trainer & Manager, author, and a YouTuber since 2008.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What sustainable SEO is
• Advice for industry practitioners when working with clients
• Advice for clients, and business owners around developments in SEO
• Why the industry shouldn't chase after the latest shiny new development blindly

...and so much more!

The amazing Shomi Williams, a psychological therapist, joins me on the show this week, discussing the important topic of mental health and seeking therapy in marketing. You really do not want to miss this incredibly powerful episode.

Shomi runs a platform online called Lafiya Health that focuses on delivering mental and physical health education and services in a culturally competent and accessible way. She also works with people on a 1:1 level to support them with their emotional well-being needs.

In this episode, we discuss

• Why she thinks looking after mental health is important.
• What (if any) differences does she believe exist between white professionals and POC professionals in marketing who need help with their mental wellbeing?
• What she thinks the perceptions are of mental health and wellbeing in the POC community.
• What she thinks holds people back from taking that first step and seeking out a professional to have a conversation with.
• Advice for people listening currently struggling with their mental health.
• Tips for approaching the issue with colleagues who you may feel are suffering from poor mental health.
• Her thoughts on people having therapy and either being open about it, sharing with the public, or being guarded and saying nothing.

...and much more!

Joining me on this episode of the podcast is the fantastic Sean Page, discussing how marketing companies can improve their recruitment processes.

Sean is a non-traditional Recruiter who works in the tech space. He was born and raised in Washington, DC in the United States. His passion is all things recruiting, people ops, and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) - which we touch upon in the episode in relation to recruitment.

In the episode we discuss:

• Where the recruitment process is broken for marketing companies.
• What differences he's noticed when working with POC talent and non POC candidates.
• His response to the comment "we don't need more POC at this company, we need more talented people?"
• Why he thinks companies are so reluctant to change their processes.
• What changes does he think the industry needs to make to be better.
• Thoughts on interview processes that are several stages long.
• Advice for companies considering changing their processes.

...and so much more!

Joining me on this episode of the podcast is the brilliant Janet Machuka, discussing everything you need to create a great social media strategy.

Janet is a social media marketing strategist, trainer, and founder of Africa Tweet Chat. She boasts over 100k followers on her social media with high levels of engagement on her posts, and was also recently listed amongst the top 200 of the most influent African women on Twitter. When it comes to social media, she really knows her stuff. It was only right for me to pick her brains and learn from her about how she does it.

In the episode we discuss:

• Defining a social media strategy.
  
• The benefits of having a social media strategy in place.
  
• Where she see's most people making mistakes with this.
  
• Advice she would give to someone who is creating a strategy for the first time.
  

...and so much more!

This has to be one of the most thought provoking and powerful episodes I've recorded to date. What a way to start Season 2 of the Azeem Digital Asks podcast. Joining me is the incredible Derek Walker, someone that I have looked up to for a long time. 

Derek describes himself as the chief instigator, janitor, secretary and mailroom person for Brown and Browner advertising, and has over 30(!) years experience in the industry as a Black agency founder - as well as being passionate about Diversity and Inclusion.

In this episode, we discuss: 

• Defining White privilege
  
• What (if any) progress he's seen throughout the industry when it comes to being more diverse and inclusive
  
• Why he thinks companies are hesitant to address this
  
• His response to the critique of “we dont need more black and asian people in the boardroom, we simply need more talented people”
  
• Where companies can start to address this issue
  
• What white people can do to better understand their POC colleagues

...and so much more!

It's the Season 1 FINALE! What better guest to join me than a podcasting pro - Christine "Shep" Zirnheld, one of the hosts of the awesome Marketing O Clock podcast. We discuss all things podcasting, and the benefits of the medium.

For those who don't know who this awesome human being is, she describes herself as the "Real Housewife of Digital Marketing", she's a 2020 PPC Hero "Rising Star" in PPC, contributes to Search Engine Journal, she's got a book, and works for Cypress North.

In the episode, we discuss:

• Her dream line up for a podcast show.
• The benefits of podcasting.
• What she would change if she started over again.
• Tips and advice for anyone wanting to start their own podcast.
• Mistakes she's made, and has seen being made.
• Where you can go to learn more about podcasting.
• How to explain the benefits of podcasting to someone who doesn't quite understand the medium.
• Cool things she's done while podcasting.

...and so much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

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Joining me on the Azeem Digital Asks podcast this week is the ace Tim Jensen, and we discuss all around why PPC practitioners should learn more about Google Tag Manager.

For those who don't know who Tim is - with close to a decade of experience in the digital marketing industry, he's worked with SMB to enterprise level clients in a wide variety of industries. While comfortable managing ads across all major platforms, he's particularly intrigued with the crossover between analytics and PPC.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why PPCers should have GTM knowledge in their skillset.
  
• The benefits of knowing more about GTM from a PPC POV.
  
• The types of things PPCers can do with GTM.
  
• Biggest GTM mistakes he's seen
  
• Explaining the benefits of upskilling a PPC team to learn more about GTM.
  
• Where PPCers can go to learn about GTM.
  
• Some cool stuff he's done with GTM.
  

...and so much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

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My guest on the Azeem Digital Asks podcast this week is the awesome Kelvin Newman, and we'll be talking all about BrightonSEO, and the safe return of in person marketing conferences this year.

Kelvin is the Founder of Rough Agenda, a company that arranges specialist digital marketing events including BrightonSEO.

In 2014 Kelvin was voted by econsultancy as the most influential individual in digital and in 2013 won the Search Personality award at the UK Search Awards.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The challenges faced during COVID in 2020, and moving an in person event remote
  
• Plans for this years BrightonSEO
  
• Explaining the longer/different format
  
• Measures the team are taking to ensure safety
  
• Measures the team are taking to ensure overseas participants can still take part
  
• Plan B in case of local/national lockdowns or tighter restrictions
  
• Assurances given to those who are unsure/on the fence about attending
  
• Advice for first time speakers
  

...and so much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

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My guest on the Azeem Digital Asks podcast this week is the fantastic Juliana Turnbull, and we'll be talking all about going freelance, as well as hosting and running conference events.

Better known as SEO Jo Blogs, she is a freelance marketing consultant, conference speaker, organiser of Search London, founder of Turn Digi, a finalist in the Global Freelancer 2020 awards, a Digital Women's Finalist - generally an all round incredibly awesome individual!

In this episode, we talk:

• The inspiration to go freelance
• Surprises she found when she made the switch to freelance
• Advice on coping and getting through quieter periods
• Tips for people considering going freelance
• The difficulties of setting up and running events

...and so much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

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Joining me on the Azeem Digital Asks podcast this week is the absolutely brilliant Chima Mmeje, and we'll be talking all about the power, and benefits of great content.

If you don't know Chima - you're missing out. She's the brains behind Zenith Copy, and is an SEO content writer and strategist for SaaS & Tech, has been featured in places like : Hackernoon, Search Engine Watch, Search Engine Land, Moz, HubSpot and the Content Marketing Institute to name a few! 

In this episode, we discuss:

• Defining what great content is
• Why creating great content is important
• What success looks like when content is published
• Her biggest content creation mistakes she's made in the past
• Her process for creating content
• Where she thinks content fits within a good marketing strategy
• When she thinks you should review content after publishing

...and much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

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Joining me on the Azeem Digital Asks podcast this week is the awesome Dr Leigh George, and we'll be talking all about creating the perfect marketing strategy, as well as her PhD in Branding.

She describes herself as the founder of Freedom—a strategic branding and marketing un-agency, has a PhD in branding, is a speaker, a learning in public supporter, a mentor, and can be found in high heels and always on the hunt for emerging fashion designers.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Defining what a marketing strategy is
• Where people  go wrong when creating a marketing strategy
• Why she takes a contrarian view to personas and marketing funnels
• Learnings from her PhD in Branding that she has transferred over to her professional career
• Educating clients and thinking differently

...and so much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

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The incredibly talented Britney Muller joins me on the Azeem Digital Asks podcast this week, and I was lucky enough to get her thoughts on data science, machine learning and the future for these areas.

Britney is well known and well respected throughout the industry, and rightly so - she's a keynote speaker, previously was the senior SEO scientist at Moz, data science student, and giver of the best MozCon introductions for speakers I've ever seen! 

In this episode, we discuss:

• Defining what data science and ML is
• What it means to be a data scientist
• Preventing the misinterpretation of data
• The ethical implications of ML
• Mistakes that she's made on her journey into this field
• Educating the C-suite on this field
• What the future is for data science and ML
• How you can get started learning more about these fields

...and so much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

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Joining me on the Azeem Digital Asks podcast this week is the fantastic Billie Geena, and we'll be talking all about managing developer relationships, and communicating with developers.

Billie describes herself as a full time SEO Wizard, part time blogger, ambitious queen, and 'Young, Scrappy and Hungry'. 

In this episode, we discuss:

• The best way to manage developer relationships
• Difficulties faced when talking to developers and how to overcome them
• Advice for people working with difficult developers
• How to speak a developer's language
• How to improve communication lines between marketers and developers
• Compromising on priority tasks

...and much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

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Joining me on the podcast this week is the brilliant Elizabeth Solaru, and we discuss all things luxury marketing, and how to attract rich clients.

Elizabeth is a luxury business mastery coach, and strategist. Prior to pursuing her passion as a cake maker in the luxury market, Elizabeth had two other successful careers which seemed diametrically opposed. She became a Scientist working for many years saving lives in the NHS. Then after doing an MBA, she went on to become a Headhunter recruiting CEOs, Chairpersons and board level executives in the private and public sectors.

We discuss:

• What exactly luxury marketing is
• How luxury marketing differs from traditional marketing
• Mistakes she's made when marketing to rich clients
• How to attract rich clients to your business
• Tips for people considering moving into this area
• Dealing with competitors in the luxury space

...and much more!

I really enjoyed recording this episode as this is an area of marketing I've been keen to learn more about. Elizabeth did not disappoint with her tips and knowledge.

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

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The brilliant Sophie Brannon joins me on the show this week to discuss everything related to SEO strategies, and we also cover the recent debates about remote vs office work.

Sophie is the Senior SEO Manager at Absolute Digital Media, recently spoke at BrightonSEO '21, and lives on coffee, red wine, and plants - interesting combination!

We discuss:

• The definition of an SEO strategy.
• What she feels the most common overlooked aspect of SEO strategies are.
• Where people go wrong when strategising for SEO.
• Advice for junior staff members looking to learn more about the strategy side of SEO.
• Her self development and learning process, and tips.
• Her thoughts on the recent debates about returning to the office, vs staying remote.
• Managing and communicating remotely.

...and so much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

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Work in digital marketing? Want to get paid more? Wish more companies and individuals were open about what they earned? Then you absolutely HAVE to listen to this episode. I am joined by two absolutely incredible and inspirational human beings - Rejoice Ojiaku and Wilhemina Gilbertson.

They are better known as Reji and Willz, and together, they are both the founders of B-DigitalUK, a digital marketing platform which showcases Black talent in the digital industry. 

We discuss:

• What B-DigitalUK is, and how they came to create it.
• Why they are both so open about their salaries in the industry, and both the advantages and disadvantages of this.
• How they respond to negativity about their salaries.
• Advice for graduates to negotiate higher starting salaries.
• Tips for young Black marketers looking to negotiate higher salaries.
• Why they feel there is such a lack of diversity within the industry.
• Advice for people wanting to be allies and support under-represented groups.
• Tips for those who have less confidence to speak up.

...and so much more!

As always, if you enjoyed this, and previous episodes, please like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

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This week on the Azeem Digital Asks podcast, we're talking about the potential of YouTube advertising, as well as the value of data visualisations with Power BI. My guest is the amazing Cory Henke, someone I consider to be a real thought leader in both of these spaces.

Cory is a Speaker, BI Consultant, and Agency Founder - and you'll often find him on Clubhouse sharing knowledge from his years of expertise. It was a no brainer for me to have him involved on the show, especially if you are one of the people who don't yet have access to Clubhouse - I've got you covered!

We discuss:

• Common pushbacks when recommending YouTube to clients, and how to overcome them.
• Explaining the ROI of YouTube.
• Some case studies that Cory recommends, as well as how simple it is to get started with YouTube.
• Where to get started with Power BI.
• The differences he's noted between Power BI and Google Data Studio.
• Where people can go to start learning about Power BI.

...and so much more!

This is definitely an episode not to be missed if you're interested in learning more about video advertising and data visualisation - from one of the pro's!

As always, please tell a friend to tell a friend, and like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

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My guest this week is the fantastic Christine Gritmon. You've probably seen her all over social media with her awesome GIF reactions to messages. She describes herself as a GIF machine, microbusiness megafan, she's a personal branding coach, and a social media trainer, as well as hosting her own chats too!

In this episode, I get to pick her brains all about her expertise - personal branding. We discuss:

• Why brand building is important.
  
• What holds people back from building their personal brand.
  
• The unique and creative ways that she's seen personal brands being built.
  
• Thoughts on employers valuing individuals personal brands.
  
• Tips and tricks on learning more about growing a personal brand.

..and much more!

This isn't an episode to be missed if you want to know more about personal branding.

As always, please tell a friend to tell a friend, and like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

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The lovely Sarah Scarfe is my guest on the podcast this week. She's completely obsessed with all things paid advertising and data related, with over 10 years in-house, agency and contracting experience. We have a great conversation about PPC and automation.

We discuss:

• Why she thinks more people should be automating PPC tasks.
• Her favourite automation tips, and favourite scripts.
• The impact that learning more about PPC automation had on her.
• Where she recommends people go to learn more about PPC automation.

..and more!

This is an episode not to be missed if you want to know more about PPC, and automation.

As always, please tell a friend to tell a friend, and like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

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Miracle Inameti-Archibong joins me on the show this week to discuss an important topic - the impact of parenthood on career progress, and just how progressive the digital marketing industry is. 

Miracle is the Head of SEO at Erudite, and is also a judge at the Drum Search Awards. You'll regularly see her sharing her knowledge either on Clubhouse, or Twitter - to name just two platforms.

We have a great, and important discussion on a key topic, based on a survey she ran. We discuss:

• Why she wanted to, and what motivated her to undertake a survey on parents in the digital marketing industry.
• Why she thinks parents feel their career progress has been affected by parenthood.
• The differences in responses to her survey from mothers and fathers.
• The impact that job level/seniority had on her data.
• Which result shocked her the most.
• How she thinks that the pandemic has shaped the workplace for parents.
• The changes she would like to see the industry make to become more progressive.

..and much more!

This is an important discussion that I really don't think anyone should miss. 

As always, please tell a friend to tell a friend, and like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

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The fantastic Aleyda Solis joins me on the show this week. She's an International SEO Consultant, Speaker & Author, and the brains behind one of the best newsletters in the industry - SEOFOMO. She joins me to discuss remote working, and how she grew her email list. 

This episode was recorded shortly after the sad news that the industry had lost one of the most cared for, and helpful people there was - Hamlet Batista. Both myself and Aleyda spend some time discussing the impact that he had on us, and the industry - and discuss supporting his family via a GoFundMe donation page that you can find in the links below. Even if you can't donate, please share the link so that others may be able to.

In this episode, we discuss:

The pros and cons of remote working, and tips to help you work better remotely.

Where Aleyda got the idea from to start her newsletter.

The mistakes she's made along the way when growing her email subscriber list.

Advice for anyone considering starting, or wanting to grow their email subscriber list.

Where the idea for the referral competition came from.

Future plans for her email subscriber list growth.

...and so much more!

As always, please tell a friend to tell a friend, and like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

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Wouldn't you love to know some really useful tips on how to pitch to a journalist, from someone who has not just student and local press experience, but nationals too? Look (and listen) no further. 

The wonderful Sian Elvin - award winning journalist and assistant news editor at Metro.co.uk - comes onto the show to discuss all things pitching, her inbox, and some of the mistakes she's seen people make when trying to pitch stories to her. If you missed her awesome talk at BrightonSEO last year, then you missed a great talk!

We cover:

• How she got into her industry
• What Digital PR's (or anyone pitching to journalists) can do to make their lives easier
• The biggest pitching mistakes she's experienced
• The failures, and cringe-worthy pitches that land into her inbox
• Her thoughts on "clickbait" style pitches
• The best way to get your pitch emails opened, and the best time to pitch

and much more!

This really is not an episode you will want to miss. Whatever your level of experience with Digital PR, Sian shares some really useful insights across her years of experience that will really help listeners become better at their jobs.

As always, please tell a friend to tell a friend, and like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

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What a way to start the next season/phase of episodes of the Azeem Digital Asks podcast. 

My guest is the SEO Twitter Flame, my good friend, Kristina Azarenko. She is a Toronto based SEO consultant, providing eCommerce SEO, Technical SEO, Website Migrations and Google Analytics consulting so that you can finally get what you’re looking for - via her company MarketingSyrup.

Kristina is someone I consider to be one of the foremost experts in the Ecommerce space, and also runs her own SEO course, as well as recently releasing a Chrome extension which has over 5,000(!) downloads!

We discuss:

• How she went from being a debt collector to starting her own business.
  
• The impact of COVID on Ecommerce, and how businesses have responded.
  
• Advice for businesses who are considering investing more in the space.
  
• The biggest mistakes she has seen people in the space make.
  
• What behaviour changes she has noticed from consumers as a result of the pandemic.

As always, please tell a friend to tell a friend, and like, rate, share, and subscribe to the podcast - it all helps!

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Joining me on this episode is Barry Schwartz, CEO of RustyBrick. He's the founder of Search Engine Roundtable, and has covered search news for over 17 years (You may recognise him from his famous "not new" replies when people share updates on Twitter). As well as this he is a co-ordinator, speaker, and moderator at many search marketing conferences.

We have a great conversation about how he keeps up to date with everything going on in search, his origin story, some of the challenges he's faced, responding to negative comments he gets, and how he manages to get a lot of work done during the day.

As always, please like, rate, share, and subscribe - tell a friend to tell a friend! 

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