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Its undeniable: Digital platforms are powerful tools for influence and podcasting trends have emerged as a masterclass in building impactful leadership profiles. Ive been producing podcasts for executives for more than 15 years; Ive seen firsthand how theyve helped increase trust, deepen engagement, and accomplish business objectives. Dont just take it from me: Global podcast listening continues to increase, while trust in traditional media has been decreasing. According to Deloittes 2023 Digital Media Trends report, 75% of American listeners say they trust the hosts they listen to and research from Acast shows podcasters are the most trusted media personalities. There are three main components to building this kind of trust, which emerging leaders and established executives can implement. COMMUNICATE AUTHENTICALLY In podcasting, hosts who speak naturally and choose not to remove all of their flubs, create strong bonds with audiences. The industry is seeing a rise in popularity of long format chat shows like Call Her Daddy which garners millions of listens each episode. These shows feature minimal editing and hosts speaking casually, leaning on their genuine sense of curiosity rather than sticking to a carefully scripted list of questions. Podcasting best practices have even distanced themselves from the formalities of radio, where a big booming voicefaceless and namelesswould introduce the host of the show. Most podcast hosts now self-introduce for a more personable and authentic approach. In the workplace, authenticity is the new leadership currency. With the rise of AI agents, leaders have to embrace their humanity now more than ever. Gone are the days of having C-suite executives build trust with their employees and stakeholders through slickly produced videos featuring them reading from a script. Leaders need to feel comfortable speaking off the cuff, admitting to mistakes, and having their true selves be on display. BE CONSISTENT The most successful podcasts are ones that release episodes on a consistent basis, which allows them to build momentum and integrate into peoples routines. Listeners are known for associating weekly commitments with listeninglike on their Wednesday drive into the office, or during their Sunday night meal prep. In turn, it means listeners can feel comforted in knowing when and where to access the show. As a leader, showing up consistently is key to building trust. Whether its with internal audiences at a standing meeting or externally on social media. If you have trouble making it to a weekly huddle with the rest of your team, instead of regularly delegating a stand-in, decrease the frequency so you can show up more often. Leverage internal chat platforms for written or voice-recorded updates in-between. Give them the confidence to know how to access you. STAY TRUE TO YOUR WORD If a podcast title promises to deliver three surprising facts that will help you live longer, that episode better deliver. Chart-topping shows like The Diary of a CEO and The Mel Robbins Podcast often use these kinds of titles but more importantly, they live up to them. Riling up an audience with a clickbait title and then disappointing them with a lackluster episode is short-sighted: it leads to quick analytical wins, but erodes longterm trust. Its not surprising that integrity is considered one of the essential factors of transformational leadership. Oftentimes leaders are forced to prioritize asks and tasks, which means others get tabled and sometimes forgotten. Make an effort to follow up on items that you say will be addressed the next week or the next quarter. If youre not serious about following up, dont commit to doing so. You need to be able to deliver on what you promise.
Category:
E-Commerce
A new online scam is exploiting fears surrounding immigration raids. If your “For You” page on TikTok has recently shown videos of alleged former Target or Walmart employees claiming they were firedor even deportedby Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), its a scam. These viral clips, which often rack up millions of views, typically feature young people in retail uniforms and carry clickbait captions like ICE deportations at Target and Fired from Walmart. Others make similar claims about popular chains like Taco Bell, Lululemon, McDonalds, and Crumbl Cookies. However, a recent investigation by the Daily Dot revealed that these videos are part of a coordinated effort to harvest users personal data. One post reads: Target really had ICE waiting after my shift. They just fired me like I was nothing. The post continues: So heres everything I wasnt supposed to say. What are the supposed secrets these accounts are exposing? Many feature bizarre or nonsensical claims. One video says: Were forced to listen to Walmart Radio every shift. Most of us hide our AirPods, but if you get caught, youre in big trouble. Everyone knows about the Walmart Groove. Look it up. @jaydenoughh Target called ICE and got me deported. Yeah you heard that right. TARGET. #target #targetfinds #ice #fyp original sound – jayden If youre confused, thats the point. The Daily Dot suggests these may be AI-generated hallucinations, possibly inspired by the Walmart Shuffle, a song commissioned by Walmart in 2019. The scam doesnt stop at fabricated stories; it also involves stolen identities. Creator @mama_mia016, who regularly films her real-life shifts at Target, confirmed to the Daily Dot that shes still employed and not behind the viral video using her likeness. Upon closer inspection, many of these videos include voice-overs or captions promoting free products, discounts, or gift cards in exchange for completing a customer survey on a separate website. This is a classic phishing scam. The goal is to extract personal dataemail addresses, phone numbers, home addresses, even payment informationoften under the pretense of charging shipping fees. Victims rarely receive the promised rewards and may instead face identity theft or unauthorized charges. Theres no evidence to support the employment or deportation claims. Major retailers like Target and Walmart have issued no statements indicating mass firings or collaboration with ICE. By playing on fears about immigration enforcement, scammers are baiting concerned users with alarming viral content. While TikTok has removed many of the flagged links since the Daily Dots report, new ones continue to appear. (Fast Company has reached out to TikTok for comment.) If you encounter one of these scams, do not engage and do not click on any links. Report the account, and keep scrolling.
Category:
E-Commerce
Traditional advertising, as we know it, will be dead by 2030. A harsh prediction, maybe, but the truth is that todays modern buyer has evolved and so must our industry. Now, more than ever, we are witnessing a signficiant shift from passive exposure to performance-based engagement, from reach to relevance, and from assumptions to intelligence. Traditional marketing and its old model built on impressions, eyeballs, and generalized awareness, is out. Performance marketing is in, as the go-to marketing approach. Heres how well continue to see this evolution take shape. Move from just a tactic to a mindset Lets clear up an incorrect assumption: Performance marketing is not a bottom-of-funnel activity focused on lead generation, paid media, or last-click conversions. Its also not about chasing clicks. Its about driving business outcomes using data to make smarter decisions, engaging accounts with the right message at the right time, and constantly refining the approach based on whats working and whats not. And its doing all of this while still building the brand. When approached this way, performance marketing transforms from a tactic to an operating system and mindset for driving growth by empowering marketers to prove value, accelerate outcomes, and align every effort to business performance. Prioritize precision and personalization at scale If youve been in this industry for decades like I have, youll have seen a number of performance marketing versions, e.g. database, direct, and one-to-one marketing. And although the name has changed, the core of performance marketing has not. It has, and always will be, about efficiency and about getting the most return for every dollar spent. However, effiency doesnt necessarily mean automation for automations sake. In the age of intent data, AI, and multi-channel orchestration, it means smarter targeting, more relevant messaging, and engagement that actually resonates. This is important in todays performance-driven world where relevance is also vital for todays buyer. When orchestrated and implemented correctly, the highest-performing marketing programs: Use real-time data to prioritize in-market accounts Personalize content messaging to real-time behaviors Reach all buying group members across trusted touchpoints Measure influence at the account and buying group levelnot just the lead level When done right, performance marketing allows brands to scale without sacrificing precision and deliver the kind of high-value experiences that build trust and moves business forward. Its how we move from noise to relevanceand from campaigns to conversations. Remember that brand still matters, but it must perform In this evolved model, performance marketing isnt about chasing the lowest cost per leadits about driving full-funnel impact. Brand and performance are no longer separate. Brand creates demand and performance captures it. This is also known as branded response. Every piece of thought leadership, every display impression, every awareness ad must ladder up to a larger objective: building momentum with the right audience. Every communication both builds the brand and elicits a response. A strong brand strategy helps open doors, but performance marketing ensures those doors lead somewhere. Its not just about being memorable; its about being measurable. Great branded response campaigns can, and should, be evaluated based on their ability to influence pipeline, move buyers through the funnel, and ultimately impact revenue. The marketers who understand this will be the ones who future-proof their programs. They wont treat brand as a top-of-funnel checkbox, but as a foundational layer that supports and amplifies performance across the entire journey. Brand done right fuels performance. Performance done right amplifies brand. Measuring without context is misleading Were swimming in data, but too often its disconnected from real outcomes. A spike in engagement means nothing if it doesnt translate to progress. A lead isnt a measurement of success if the buying group never converts. We can no longer afford to celebrate empty signals. Effective marketing requires aligning performance metrics to business outcomes, not just channel-level outputs. True performance marketing moves beyond vanity metrics with attribution models that reflect how buying decisions are made: collaboratively, over time, and across multiple touchpoints. The future belongs to performance-first marketers Marketers today are under more pressure than ever to prove their value. But that pressure also presents an opportunity to reframe performance not as a siloed function, but as a strategic lever for growth. As B2B buying continues to evolve, the marketers who succeed wont be those chasing the lowest cost per lead. Theyll be the ones building intelligent, data-driven programs that connect, convert, and contribute to real business outcomes. Thats why traditional advertising as we know it wont survive. The future belongs to performance-first strategies that deliver relevance, speed, and ROI in real time. Marketers who embrace this shift wont just survive the next decadetheyll define it. Lets stop chasing clicks and start delivering outcomes. Real performance marketing is just beginning. Keith Turco is CEO of Madison Logic.
Category:
E-Commerce
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