The Clientside Podcast: Recent Episodes
A Digital
The Clientside podcast is a regular discussion show hosted by digital agency founder and best-selling author Andrew Armitage. Each episode offers insights and discussion for those working “clientside” to expand their knowledge of digital marketing, strengthening the impact they can have in their job roles.
The Clientside Podcast was created by Andrew because he wanted to capture some of the conversations he found himself having with clients on an almost daily basis. It’s clear that not every in-house marketer has the same opportunities to develop their skills, but being surrounded by fast-paced change makes it more important than ever to stay on top of new trends and technology in digital marketing.
If you’d like to appear as a guest on the show, we’d love to hear from you. Please send an email to hello@theclientside.show with details of a topic you’d love to talk about and the benefits that our audience would get from it.
Andrew talks in this episode to Caroline Joynson, founder of Cheerleader PR, about how to get a business 'PR ready', how to avoid PR overwhelm with the number of print and digital channels, solving copyright conundrums, and the super-savvy way to handle journalists.
Read the full transcript and access the show notes at https://adigital.agency/podcast.
Follow Andrew on Twitter at https://twitter.com/aarmitage or connect on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewarmitage.
Find out more about A Digital at https://adigital.agency
Get a free copy of Andrew's book, Holistic Website Planning at https://gothedistance.website.
Andrew chats to Jasper Hegarty-Ditton, head of digital and data at Leeds University Union, about digital transformation, sustainability, student summer balls and catering for the digital consumers of the future.
Connect with Jasper on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/ja...
Read the full transcript and access the show notes at https://adigital.agency/podcast.
Follow Andrew on Twitter at https://twitter.com/aarmitage or connect on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewarmitage.
Find out more about A Digital at https://adigital.agency
Get a free copy of Andrew's book, Holistic Website Planning at https://gothedistance.website.
In this episode Andrew talks to digital startup expert Katie Nicholson about funding, investment and the vital importance of having clear goals when you approach potential investors. Katie works on a variety of corporate and start-up related projects and recently became co-director of Founded and Startup Grind Isle of Man. Her skills span specialisms including software development, e-gaming and early-stage investment industries.
Connect with Katie on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/katienc/
Read the full transcript and access the show notes at https://adigital.agency/podcast.
Follow Andrew on Twitter at https://twitter.com/aarmitage or connect on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewarmitage.
Find out more about A Digital at https://adigital.agency
Get a free copy of Andrew's book, Holistic Website Planning at https://gothedistance.website.
In this illuminating episode of The Clientside Podcast Andrew chats to Akshay Upadhye, co-founder and COO of spend analytics company Spendkey Limited. Drawing on more than 25 years' experience in technology and consulting, Akshay talks about the role and relevance of data in digital transformation projects, while guiding us on how not to get ourselves drowned in an ocean of unnecessary data. He also reassures us that there's one thing that will always get our creative juices flowing better than AI and ML ever could – and that's collaborating with other real human beings just like ourselves.
Connect with Akshay on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/akshayupadhye
Read the full transcript and access the show notes at https://adigital.agency/podcast.
Follow Andrew on Twitter at https://twitter.com/aarmitage or connect on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewarmitage.
Find out more about A Digital at https://adigital.agency
Get a free copy of Andrew's book, Holistic Website Planning at https://gothedistance.website.
In this episode Andrew talks to Vince Chan, an expert in digital transformation with experience at British Airways, NatWest Bank Investment, Shell Oil Company and Digicel. He proclaims himself a real believer in keeping things as simple as possible, building work cultures in which people can be 100% authentic with one another, and keeping a very close eye on customer sentiment.
Connect with Vince on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/vincentkhchan
Read the full transcript and access the show notes at https://adigital.agency/podcast.
Follow Andrew on Twitter at https://twitter.com/aarmitage or connect on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewarmitage.
Find out more about A Digital at https://adigital.agency
Get a free copy of Andrew's book, Holistic Website Planning at https://gothedistance.website.
In this podcast Andrew chats with Alex Kershaw and Robbie Still. Alex is head of digital transformation at the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (RSWT) and Robbie leads digital projects for the Kent Wildlife Trust. Here, they reveal how they coordinate their digital activities across a wide and complex network of organisations, and how – although their work involves everything from spreadsheets to bison collars – their daily drive is to deliver real change and benefits for people and for nature.
The show notes and transcript can be found at https://adigital.agency/podcast/digital-transformation-at-the-wildlife-trusts-with-alice-kershaw
"Tech and change have always been my passion", declares Hospice UK's digital supremo Stephen Thorlby-Coy. In this podcast he talks to A Digital's Andrew Armitage about why he loves using all the skills and experience he's gained over 20 years in the public, and private and third sectors to help transform people’s lives.
Andrew talks to Frank Fenten of Manchester-based dinosaur.co.uk about what user experience means to him and why companies that put a simple customer led mission at the heart of their brand are so successful. Frank believes a marriage of brand and user experience lies at the heart of many of the world's most successful companies.
Andrew speaks to Nic Jones, an e-commerce and online marketing specialist with over 20 years experience, both agency and client side. Over the years he's worked on both large e-commerce design-and-build projects and microsites, as well as SEO, PPC, SEM, and developing mobile apps. In this thought-provoking conversation Andrew and Nic somehow cover everything from pink flamingos to floating heads on computer screens, while delving into the sometimes strained dynamics between agencies and client sides. Nic calls himself a strategic thinker, and gives good tips on how to protect your mental health in a busy working life.
Andrew speaks to Michael Jervis, head of digital at e-commerce retailer Mattress Online. He leads all the company's technology implementations as well as digital marketing efforts in content marketing, product marketing, on-site promotions and traffic acquisition. In this episode they chat about about e-commerce, platforms, integrations, content, and why customer comfort is key – especially where mattresses are involved!
In this episode Andrew talks to Dan Suttle about cyber security. They chat about the role of the CISO (Chief Information Security Officer), why maintaining software and applying security patches is so important but also about the range of cyber threats and how companies should prioritise their defences to ensure their assets are well protected.
Our first episode of 2022! Andrew talks to Ethan about the growth of TikTok. Ethan is just 23 and has set up is own agency in just 6 months. While Ethan’s agency is just 6 months old, like many of this generation, he’s grown up with social media using Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok for as long as he can remember.
Angelo Ponzi has extensive, practical, hands-on experience in marketing, branding, advertising, research, and sales. He has worked in a multitude of industry segments and brand categories including B2B as well as B2C. Brands he has worked with include Unilever, Disney, Ketel One Vodka, Nestle Purina and many more.
On this episode Andrew and Angelo talk all things strategic marketing.
Tom Martin is certified by YouTube as an expert in both audience growth and digital rights. He has led the YouTube strategy for some of the world's largest and most successful media companies, gaining them millions of subscribers and billions of views. He speaks with Andrew about growing a YouTube channel and SEO optimisation.
Claire Whittaker is a business systems and automation coach and the founder Artificially Intelligent Consulting.
Claire's vision is to change the way people are working in a way that prioritises freedom & creativity. Working at Amazon she managed global programs and experienced hustle culture first hand, seeing the impact on her own mental health.
Claire has set out on a mission to help visionary entrepreneurs save 20+ hours a week by implementing processes to finally get their freedom back.
Contact the show by sending an email to hello@theclientside.show.
Alex Brueckmann is a globally active strategist, board advisor, and executive coach. Originally from Germany and now living in Canada, he works with business leaders so they can crystallise their organisational identity and build a legacy that extends beyond profit, creating value and making a sustainable impact.
Alex is the author of an upcoming book called The Nine Elements of Organizational Identity which will be released late 2021/early 2022.
To find the transcript and show notes for this episode, visit https://adigital.agency/podcast/strategy-and-purpose-with-alex-brueckmann.
To contact the show, send an email to hello@theclientside.show.
In this episode of the Clientside Podcast Andrew Armitage discusses accessibility with Svetlana Kouznetsova.
Svetlana Kouznetsova is an independent accessibility consultant whose combination of personal experience of deafness and professional experience with accessibility gives a valuable insight into the importance of accessibility.
Details of the show, transcript and show notes can be found at https://adigital.agency/podcast/making-content-accessible-with-svetlana-kouznetsova.
Accessibility doesn't just apply to websites, it should apply to all content whether it is video, recorded or written.
Svetlana highlights some of the more common issues which still today exist around accessibility and shares some extraordinary statistics!
In this episode of the Clientside podcast Andrew Armitage talks to Alison Ver Halen about the value of writing and maintaining a blog for business.
Blogging for business allows you to own your own content whilst driving traffic and attracting new customers! There is an investment in maintaining a blog, however in today's episode Alison shares some tips and tricks for getting the best return on that investment.
Translating your website to appeal to a wider audience is something that is becoming increasingly common.
In this episode of the Clientside podcast Andrew Armitage talks to Wendy Pease of Rapport International about the considerations that are required to successfully translate your website.
Wendy highlights the importance of considering the translation from a marketing and design perspective as well as the translation of the words, Wendy shares how you can get the best results from your translation agency along with some of the more common mistakes she sees.
We're all aware of the importance and role of good content, but getting a message across clearly can be difficult, especially when you've only got seconds to grab the readers attention.
In this episode Andrew speaks to Sarah Townsend, a freelance marketing copywriter about the importance of good content, which comes first, the website or the copy and the mistakes she sees many people make when they are writing their own content.
Google's Core Web Vitals are a new set of metrics to measure the performance and usability of your website. While page speed has long been recognised to have an impact on how well your website performs, these new measures from Google are a strong indication that performance will be increasingly likely to impact your search engine rankings.
In this episode, Andrew Armitage speaks to Arjen Karel, a web developer from the Netherlands specialising in website performance and they discuss the expected impact on search engine visibility and why performance is often a design choice that involves an element of compromise.
Pool player and footballer on the weekends, marketer and content fanatic in the week. Ollie Whitfield is plying his trade as a product marketer for B2B SaaS companies, VanillaSoft & Autoklose, 2 leading Sales Engagement platforms.
In this episode, Andrew Armitage talks about researching and approaching agencies, the pitch process from a client perspective, what you can do to really help build a relationship with an agency.
Keith Monaghan has sent email campaigns to millions of recipients for some of the world's most recognisable brands including Western Union, bike brands Specialized and Trek, Lucas Film and Nike.
In this episode, Andrew Armitage talks about privacy in email marketing (which is timely given the more recent announcement from Apple), whether email automation needs to be personalised and the importance of not over-complicating your campaigns.
Keith’s mission is to simplify marketing and help businesses of all sizes reach their customers with good, solid marketing that gets results. He's the author of 'Easy Email Marketing: 10 Simple Steps For Creating And Sending Email Your Customers Will Love'.
In this episode of the Clientside podcast Andrew chats to Lorraine Ball from Digitaltoolbox.club about user generated content, what it means, how to do it and what to do when it goes wrong.
Lorraine highlights the importance of customer satisfaction and how using reviews, as the most basic level of user generated content offers several opportunities.
We discuss the challenges that data privacy brings and some of the fun user generated campaigns you may have come across online.
Andrew Armitage talks to Elliott King about growth in a crisis.
The discussion focuses on the impact the recent crisis has had on businesses from different sectors and how strategy is crucial to get through the next few months. We discuss how having a short term plan and nurturing your current clients is vital. We touch upon the different types of growth and Elliott highlights the importance of measuring growth.
As we get closer to the end of the year, we discuss how you can prepare for 2021 and what strategy you can put in place to give yourself an advantage.
In this episode of the Clientside podcast Andrew speaks with Bryce Davies from workforce.com about innovation and what it really means.
Bryce highlights the importance of not innovating for the sake of innovation and that during uncertain times re-engaging with customers and understanding their problems can be a great driving force for innovation. Bryce believes that building a relationship with customers is the key to innovation.
Bryce suggests rather than allocating time to innovate, allocate time to talk to your customers as innovation doesn't have to be coming up with the next big idea.
Andrew Armitage talks to Dave Birss about creativity and innovation.
We discuss what creativity means and the many misconceptions people have surrounding it. Dave highlights that businesses are needing to innovate more than ever before, due to the pandemic and has some examples of those who have done so successfully.
We discuss the idea of brainstorming and the flaws that are typically found in attempts to be creative, solve problems and generate ideas when under pressure to do so.
Dave leaves us with some tips on how to structure the creative process including figuring out what you want the output of a session to be and working back from there.
In this episode of the Clientside Podcast Andrew speaks with StoryBrand certified fellow agency owner Steve Brown.
We discuss Steve's book - The Golden Toilet: Stop Flushing Your Marketing Budget into Your Website and Build a System That Grows Your Business. Steve highlights four crucial components that make up what he has called the business growth stack. They are marketing automation, campaigns, sales automation and clear messaging.
We discuss websites and the importance of understanding your real aim before re-building yours. Most people have an expectation of what their website will do for their business, however getting the messaging correct first is key. Steve refers to this as HEO, human experience optimisation. In this increasingly virtual, digital world we are living in, having some human connection is critical.
Steve compares a website to a toilet, everyone needs one, but is it what makes a house a home?
Andrew Armitage talks to branding and PR expert Megan Matthews.
Megan explains exactly what branding means, and how this goes much further than you may typically realise.
We discuss the importance of authenticity, especially when it comes to your brand story and why having a re-brand isn't always the solution that's needed.
In this episode of the Clientside Podcast Andrew Armitage talks to Danielle Gagnon, a SEO ninja who helps entrepreneurs and small business owners turn their passions into profit online.
We discuss how you can generate leads from your website using various methods including landing pages, freebies and SEO.
We also discuss how tracking these methods is vital to succeeding, and how it doesn't have to be expensive or scary to do so. Danielle shares some top tips and tools that you can use to start generating your own leads today.
In this episode of the Clientside Podcast Andrew Armitage talks to fellow agency owner Joe Birkedale about ABM in inbound marketing.
Joe explains what ABM is, he highlights how it isn't a new concept and gives some examples of how it has been used by reps previously. He explains how it can be implemented for both new and existing customers.
We discuss the three key phases of ABM and how using this more targeted approach seeks to connect with the decision making unit as a whole and not just connect with an individual who may ultimately not have the authority to place an order.
Andrew Armitage talks to former BBC TV journalist and Business Story telling expert Steve Rawling about what Business Story telling is and how a story can be used for a positive impact.
We discuss how telling a story and sharing both the positive and negative business experiences allows those listening to relate and learn more about who you really are as a business.
We look at how having clarity over who your audience is and not speaking in the abstract can enable you to reach potential leads easier.
In this episode of the Clientside Podcast Andrew Armitage talks to SEO expert Thomas Marriott about the fundamentals of SEO. Thomas highlights the importance of starting with good content that answers the questions your audience want to know.
We discuss the three pillars of SEO and why all three are needed. We look at how long it takes to reap the benefits of implementing SEO, what an SEO season is and how lockdown has impacted rankings in various industries.
In this episode of The Clientside podcast Andrew Armitage discusses the customer journey and it's significance with Will Laurenson of Monkey Blocks. With e-commerce taking up significantly more of the market than it did prior to lockdown, there has never been a better time to ensure you are getting it right,
Their discussion focuses on how to creative a positive experience for your customer at every touch point whether it be in your online shop, customer service centre or through your customer loyalty programme.
Andrew Armitage talks to digital transformation expert Richard Godfrey about what the phrase really means, and how starting off with the right mindset can enhance the digital transformation experience.
In this episode we discuss Richard’s experiences of working with clients in both the public and private sector, the challenges businesses often come up against and how you can use his methodology (the 5 D’s) to take the first steps in your own digital transformation.
Richard highlights where companies often struggle and why, by approaching it in the right way, a digital transformation isn’t something to shy away from.
In this episode of the Clientside Podcast, Andrew Armitage talks to podcasting expert and founder of radio.co James Mulvany about the many benefits that podcasting can bring to your business and how you can get started. During lockdown digital platforms have seen an increase in use, despite podcasting being something that has been popular for some time, there is still plenty of room in the market!
We talk about James’ career and how his own experiences with podcasting led him to start matchmaker.fm – which he describes as Tinder for podcasters. We discuss the motives behind starting a podcast, the rise of video in the podcasting world and things that you should consider before starting a podcast yourself.
Clarity in communication is vital at the best of times, but none more so than when reacting to a crisis on what could be the worst day of your career.
Andrew Armitage talks to crisis management expert Jonathan Hemus of Insignia Crisis Management about companies should plan their response when things go wrong, and why practice and role playing crisis situations could even increase the value of your company in the wake of a disaster. We also look at the role of social media and how crises expose what your brand values really mean to company's forced to react to the unexpected.
In this episode of the Clientside Podcast, Andrew Armitage talks to LinkedIn expert and author Scott Aaron about the principles of making LinkedIn work for you.
The discussion focuses around how looking for collaboration and connecting with 'yourself' will build a stronger LinkedIn presence. Scott teaches the art of 'human connection', which is at the heart of all networking, and arguably business itself. As national lockdowns start to lift around the world and social distancing becomes a way of living alongside Covid-19, those human connections will be ever more important for individuals to grow their networks and influence in the future.
In this highly relevant episode, Andrew Armitage talks to former Hollywood actor Dominic Colenso about communicating over video - whether you're joining a Zoom meeting, delivering training or giving a sales presentation online.
We talk about Dominic's career in acting and how his understanding of storytelling allowed him to make the transition to helping business owners with their communication. Dominic also shares insights on his IMPACT methodology that is the central theme of his best-selling book, and why mindset is one of the greatest barriers to using video to raise your profile.
Andrew Armitage talks to designer, author, speaker and mentor, Sapna Pieroux about her 6-step branding process that she explains in her new book, Let's Get Visible! The book has been a number 1 best-selling title in four Amazon categories and promises to help you gain brand clarity, stand out in your industry and supercharge your business growth.
In this episode we talk about Sapna's career that has included advertising across a range of media, including radio, print and events, before moving on to talk about her own VISION process that she works through with her clients. She explains how your own personal values need to be articulated through your brand, and why simply getting a new logo won't cut it in an age where people don't have the time to think about trying to work out what you stand for.
The world has changed too much in one week, but in life, and business, we need to adapt to what looks to be the new normal for the foreseeable future.
In this episode of the Clientside Podcast, digital agency founder Andrew Armitage chats with A Digital's digital marketing lead Dean Duffield on the immediate impact of remote working, eCommerce, online advertising and SEO.
Links from the show:
- Zoom
- A Digital Facebook Group
- A Digital Blog
- Digital Scorecard
Following our last episode on digital skills, in the absence of a guest for this episode, Andrew Armitage follows up by talking about the skills that he feels every digital marketer (or arguably just marketers, period) should have to help them do their best work when it comes to managing website content, creating audio and video material, analysing data and creating graphics.
Andrew Armitage is joined by Veronica Swindale, the MD of the North East Sales and Marketing Academy (NESMA) to talk about the digital skills gap in digital and marketing based roles.
In this episode we hear about how businesses need to create an environment of continual development and the reason for the skills gap we face is not because of a shortage of people, but a lack of high level qualifications. The pace of change in marketing is such that as soon as people become qualified, the marketplace has already moved on and education invariably can't keep up with what's current.
We also talk about culture and the importance of strategic planning, so rather than just telling stories, people understand why they're being told it, and for what, and who's benefit.
Finally, you can test your own digital skills with the A Digital Scorecard. Visit https://scorecard.adigital.agency to find out more.
Enjoy the episode!
Website maintenance and security is something that can be overlooked as it's often one of those things that is out of sight, out of mind. However, websites are surrounded by an environment that is always changing, sometimes at light speed, which inevitably has an impact on your website.
In this episode, Andrew Armitage talks to A Digital developer Matt Shearing about the importance of keeping a website up to date and why security should be high up on your list of priorities as a website owner.
After being taken aback by a conversation that included the sentence 'we've done the SEO', we talk about why Search Engine Optimisation is an ongoing activity and will never be 'done'. In this episode, A Digital marketing lead Dean Duffield joins the show again to talk about why companies need to have a basic understanding as a minimum of the main factors that influence a strong showing in the search engine results pages.
Influencer marketing hit the headlines early in 2019 following the Netflix documentary Fyre Festival. But while influencer marketing has been around for a while, its often seen as the preserve of celebrities with millions of global followers. As influencing has become a new career option, we talk to experienced marketer Jenna Vernon about how you might set about running a your own campaign with influencers on social media.
A Digital's paid search expert Dean Duffield joins Andrew Armitage to talk about planning and preparing for a paid search campaign.
There's little point in simply setting up a few ads and giving Google some budget - the results will likely be disappointing.
In this episode, we'll talk about the planning and preparation needed before you start a paid search campaign and why it's not as straightforwards as turning on a tap o qualified leads.
This is a short trailer to share what you can expect from the Clientside Podcast. We hope you can join us as we talk with marketing and digital professionals about a broad range of subjects relating growing and scaling your digital activity within your wider marketing.