Grant Genske

PSA for creators: If you're reaching out to a company seeking a sponsorship for your channel, be sure to link to your channel (obvious, I know!), share your key metrics (subs/sub growth, average viewership per video) and audience insights, and pitch ideas for sponsorable videos that would be a topical/brand fit for the company you're reaching out to (bonus points for creativity). Believe it or not, at Skillshare (where we have one of the most robust influencer programs in the world) our amazing influencer team considers most creators who cross their proverbial desks, whether micro or macro. We know that not every creator has the luxury of agency representation, and that there are gems out there waiting to be discovered. If you're a creator or agent, I'd love to hear what pitch tactics have worked best for you in cutting through the noise.

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As I'm getting ready to be in Santa Clara to connect with people Face to Face, there's something pretty cool digitally- Matcha.so 🍵 pods and what Melissa Moody 🍵 is working on Small groups are the most effective way to tap into your valuable network. And we can all use support to reach our goals- this is where Matcha Pods come in Matcha Pods make it smooth (and fun) to invite, schedule, message async, and meet live with small groups of your peers around a shared goal or topic of interest. How it works- 1. Pick a shared goal or focus area. 2. Invite up to 5 other people who are working on or interested in the same thing. 3. Set a timeline and cadence that works for your group. 4. Up-level each other with async messaging and recurring virtual video chats.  5. High-five each other because, finally, your meetings are aligning with your key business goals. Want to try it? Right here ⤵ https://lnkd.in/gsGxN_2M Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored, but I'll get rewards at no additional cost to you if you use the referral link :-)

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Brands are wondering if they should turn off paid media + social media due to the California wildfire… but I actually don’t think you need to take that action, and I don’t think keeping social going makes your brand heartless. I’m a born & raised Californian who lived through far too many earthquakes & fires. This one is gonna be particularly devastating—I’ve had personal friends displaced & lose friends this time around, a first for me. But honestly, I believe we’re entering a time where there really are very few events that truly warrant a pause on social now. Historically, I’ve been on the hyper cautious side. I was a Strategy Director at R/GA working on Verizon during COVID and George Floyd’s murder, constantly being asked when it is and isn’t okay to post content. I’ve always been the “it’s better safe than sorry” guy when it comes to this stuff, and my answer was always “there’s never a reason to not just wait til tomorrow or the next day.” And with those two moments, I’d take the same approach I did then. But as the world’s returned to normal, things have changed. I monitored social closely after the Trump assassination attempt, and during the debates, and during the election. My advice was brands should steer clear and not push any campaigns during the window. But as I watched? I didn’t sense any bit of negativity towards the brands that kept on truckin’. I’m not saying to keep your brand on always no matter what’s happening in the world. Nationwide and global events happen, and are worth shutting things down for. The COVID shutdown and George Floyd murders I mentioned earlier? I’d still tell every brand to turn everything off for a few days if they happened again. But a regional event, even one as devastating as this, probably doesn’t warrant turning off your brand social. Your brand sells to the entire country, and the entire world. One state going through pain (even a state I love and was raised in) is ultimately a fraction of your audience, and I don’t believe anyone would actually fault your brand for posting. But hey, curious for your take. Reply with your thoughts, would love to chat about it.

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As we're in the midst of putting the final touches on our '25 ZoomInfo influencer marketing plan, I wanted to show you what goes on behind the scenes. 1️⃣ Understanding the goals of the company. Before determining who we want to work with this year, we took time to understand what our major launches, events, and projects are (and oh do we have some!). 2️⃣ To accomplish our goals, we have to determine what personas we want to target. We assessed that we want to partner with creators who had influence across GTM, AI, and specific C-Suite/roles such as CROs, CMOs, and RevOps. Beyond these personas, it's also important to understand where in the market their influence is: SMB, Mid-Market, Enterprise. We also added in folks who deeply understand our product, several of which have been customers of ours. 3️⃣ Determining the tiers of influence. Understanding the widely accepted 5 tiers of influence: - Mega (1M+) - Macro (500K-1M) - Mid-Tier (100K-500K) - Micro (10K-100K) - Nano/Niche (1K-100K) We developed a mix across a variety of the tiers to accomplish various goals. These goals range from broad brand awareness to driving demand gen. Note: you'll see these tiers range from 4-6 depending on how different organizations break up the follower mix but this is what I find as the standard. 4️⃣ What we want and need for a content and platform mix. To effectively partner with creators, we determined what our ideal content mix would be. This goes beyond just LinkedIn posts and includes everything from X (cough: Twitter), TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, newsletters, podcasts, webinars, video demos, and more. 5️⃣ Partnering with communities and teams. Expanding beyond individual creators and working with communities such as Women in Sales and teams such as Christopher Merrill and his Sell Better team. To accomplish our goals in '25, similar to what we did in '24, we don't rely solely on individual influencer partnerships, but partnership with organizations that have broad reach. 6️⃣ Diversity. I have a deep belief in the need for diversity. Always have and always will. Unfortunately, in this industry there are too many folks, whether intentional or not, who only work with guys, specific ethnicities, sexual orientations, geos, etc. You'll never see that from us. We have a diverse mix of folks who we partner with. Of course, you have to determine your KPIs, reporting cadences, and other areas, but these are the key areas that allow us to put forward our proposal for who we want to work with and why. #influencermarketing #b2bmarketing #contentmarketing

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Users want more control over their data. However, that doesn't mean your targeting needs to suffer. It can actually improve by building privacy-compliant audience strategies that clarify measurement and accelerate marketing performance. #AmsiveInsights #dataprivacy

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🤠 RESOURCE ROUNDUP TIME! 🤠 Here's what we've been cookin' up with our community on nearbound.com: 📕 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬: ➜ The Nearbound Marketing Blueprint from Jessica Fewless, Isaac Morehouse, and yours truly! (FREE & UNGATED) ✍ 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬: ➜ How CallRail Increased Integration Adoption by 167% Through Strategic Partnership with HubSpot and Reveal with Jennifer Keepes and Mike Stocker ➜ Leveraging Partnership Data To Its Fullest Extent Requires Integration with Shauntle Barley at Arrows ➜ How to Help Your Sales Team with Intros (with FREE email templates) by Andrea V. ➜ The GTM Partners x Reveal Partnership announcement by Sangram Vajre ➜ Target the Right Leads at the Right Time: A Recap of the Happy Customers Festival with highlights from the session with Jared Fuller, Taylor Corrado, Hannah Goldberg, and Shauntle Barley. ➜ Partnership Value Modeling by 🌏 Linkon Axon ➜ Breaking Down Silos and Getting a Seat at the Table by Sam Yarborough ➜ The GTM Bowtie: How To Overlay Partners Across the Complete Customer's Journey Part One by 🤝Will Taylor and Ela Richmond ➜ How GTM Leaders are Tracking Nearbound Metrics with Daniel O'Leary, Alex Hernandez, Nigel Liaw, and more! 🎧 𝐏𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐬: ➜ Howdy Partners #74: Reactive Partner Marketers Are Salary Wasted - Jessica Fewless ➜ Nearbound Podcast #164: Why Your SaaS Partnerships Aren't Delivering - Scott Wueschinski's Solution ➜ Nearbound Podcast #165: From Zero to $400M in Revenue - Finding Success in a Crowded SaaS Market with Jeff Cheal Find everything (& more) at nearbound[dot]com Or you can just comment for specific links and I'll share them directly. Happy learning! ♥

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From year-end blogs to webinars to benchmark reports - it was all scattered across the internets 🤦‍♂️ So I created 1 tool that turns 3+ months of content into an interactive giving season playbook. Why do this? I've spent countless hours (and days. and weeks.) sifting through year-end resources to get the insights, best practices, and optimization tips for giving season fundraising campaigns. I was spending WAY too much time: 🔎 Searching for iDonate’s blogs for quick how-to tips/tricks + resource templates. ⛏️ Digging through NextAfter’s year-end benchmarks buried in my (totally organized) tabs. ⌛ Trying to scale sharing donation page optimization tips. So - I built a GPT specifically to help nonprofits crush their year-end fundraising goals - combining all that content into a single interactive tool that simplifies the process. Is it perfect? Not yet. But the beauty of this GPT is that it evolves and improves the more you use it. If you’re a nonprofit pro (or work with one), send a connection request & drop a “GPT ME” in the comments to get early access.

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Pinterest Predicts is out @ pinterestpredicts.com! Loving the cherry coded, fisherman aesthetic, goddess complex, and will forever be on a pickle fix! #pinterestpredicts

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Need a reliable guide to streamline your podcast production? Check out our latest blog post, "The Ultimate Podcast Production Checklist." This comprehensive guide covers everything from planning to publishing, ensuring you never miss a step. Perfect for keeping your workflow smooth and efficient. Get all the details here: https://lnkd.in/e2fjy9jP #Podcasting #ProductionChecklist #ContentCreation #PodcastTips #WorkflowEfficiency

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Audience measurement innovation is transforming how advertisers and agencies connect with viewers. Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel brings insights from 45 million households and 75 million devices, showing increased TV usage across demographics. Learn how better data improves campaign targeting and ROI. Dive into the insights here: https://bit.ly/4g9H8cs

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The creator economy is entering a new phase—more focused, more local, and more connected. As a co-founder of the Bay Area Creator Economy (BACE) community, I’ve seen creators evolve. They’re no longer just making content. They’re building businesses. This shift is about scaling, professionalizing, and creating real connections—online and offline. Recent insights from EMARKETER and Business Insider highlight two key trends: 🏢 PROFESSIONALIZATION OF CREATORS AS BUSINESS OWNERS Creators are evolving from individuals managing content to entrepreneurs running complex businesses. Platforms like Linktree and Patreon help creators manage revenue and scale. Whalar with The Lighthouse and Billion Dollar Boy with FiveTwoNine are creating physical hubs for creators to collaborate and thrive. I’ve seen the magic these spaces can bring. At YouTube Spaces, I worked with Warner Bros. Entertainment on a DC Comics event at the LA flagship. Costumed characters, branded stations, and creators like Family Fun Pack turned the space into a celebration of creativity and connection. That event reminded me of the power of in-person collaboration to amplify voices and build community. Today, creators and brands in the Bay Area share the same hunger for spaces where they can build community and elevate productions. They’ve mastered their craft. Now, they need support to take their businesses to the next level. 🎉 THE RETURN OF IN-PERSON CONNECTIONS IRL experiences are making a big comeback. As my co-founder Jim Louderback shared in his Inside the Creator Economy newsletter, creators are craving niche and local gatherings. Events like Open Sauce, FoodieCon, and AthleteCon are thriving by catering to specific interests. Apps like Partiful and Timeleft are reimagining how communities plan and connect offline. Organizations like Creator Economy NYC and events like Creator Economy Live, Creator Lab, and Creator Camp are proving the power of niche, focused gatherings. -- It’s no surprise nearly 200 people attended our recent Bay Area Creator Economy holiday party. That night, the energy was palpable. Creators and innovators shared ideas, formed connections, and built the kind of relationships that can’t happen in a DM ✨ It’s a reminder of why we do this work—and why I’m so fired up for 2025. The creator economy isn’t just evolving. It’s transforming how we connect, grow, and build a future together. What trends are you seeing? Are there local or niche events that inspire you?

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