In the SEO world, there’s a rule of thumb that as soon as one tactic works, everyone finds out about it and overuses it until it no longer works.

This might be a cynical way to look at marketing. But I think that’s how outsiders see this industry. Those people ruining their online experience with pop up ads, and hollow content marketing. But.

But.

Maybe the people responsible for crappy marketing aren’t real marketers. After all, if they’re not stirring up positive conversation about a brand, then are their tactics really working? Are they real marketers?

And I say real marketer like it’s a thing, because I think after hearing today’s guest, you’ll understand what I mean by this distinction. Rev Ciancio is a REAL. MARKETER. From his personal brand that’s focused on food culture, to his career helping local marketing agencies at Yext, Rev doesn’t follow processes. Rather, he works in ways that come naturally to him, which just so happen to also be great marketing tactics.

And I think the difference here, is something that Rev talks about here – it’s about being human. To be honest, Rev is one of the most human marketers I’ve met. His brand is just… him, a guy who’s just really good at talking to people about what he loves.

In today’s episode, Rev and I will talk about how he built a following of small businesspeople on Instagram of all places, and how that journey, which started with hamburger photos, took him to Yext. We’ll also hear about his local nonprofit, and why he likes being a small fish in the big pond that is New York City.

Welcome to the Zip.

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Note in advance: you can learn more about Tashia and her work at her website, luvisagift.com, and you can donate to her GoFundMe here (even $5 helps!).

One of the things I’ve liked best about interviewing so many nonprofit organizers and leaders has been seeing the great amount of love so many people bring to their work. When your job is to serve others, I think you develop a sense of care, and a greater sense of love, for the people you’re working to help. This isn’t storybook love; this is the real stuff, the stuff that keeps you going on a rainy Monday full of meetings.

And today’s guest is going to talk a lot about love, both directly and indirectly. Tashia Scott, a two-time domestic abuse survivor, is now building an app, and a community, for other women and men in similar situations. Before I met Tashia, there was a lot I didn’t know about the difficulty involved with prosecuting domestic violence. But because there’s a lot of paperwork involved, a lot of documentation needed, and a lot of incentive for victims to remain quiet (including not wanting to endanger themselves, or their loved ones), many abusers go free.

And it’s one of those situations where you’re like – how is there not an app for that?

I mean, seriously. We have apps for, you know, picking out our clothes in the morning and counting calories in our lunch. How are there so many true areas of need that lack technological aid? And that’s why Tashia’s story is so awesome. Out of her love for domestic abuse survivors, and from the love others extended to Tashia, she’s been able to work with a team to build the app domestic violence victims need to break their cycle.

This love is not the Disney kind, but it is the ‘happily ever after’ kind, in its own way.

Warning: there is content concerning domestic violence in this episode that could be triggering for some people.

Welcome to The Zip.

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Giving isn’t simple. Think about the last time you tried to pick up the check for a friend or family member after dinner. There’s always that moment where someone puts the card down, and then the other person protests – there’s some back and forth. “No, you don’t have to,” etc etc. In my experience, this moment can even turn a little awkward, or become a battle between family members – who can convince the waiter to take their credit card??

The point is – just because a gift is offered doesn’t mean it will be received, or received well.

And this is true in the nonprofit world as well. Sometimes giving has to be strategic to have the best effect.

Today’s guest is Paul Ramsey, executive director of a Denver-based nonprofit, “A Little Help.” This organization brings together inter-generational groups of volunteers, from kids to older adults, to do some “little help” tasks for seniors in their communities. Picking up groceries, dusting the bookshelves, changing light bulbs, or air filters.

But what I found most interesting about our conversation was Paul and his team’s calculated approach to helping their neighbors. As he says in the podcast “You can’t just throw help on people!” We’ll talk about the differences between the Greatest Generation and the Baby Boomers, how these two groups receive help in drastically different ways, and how communities will continue to change, as each generation reaches the age of needing… Just a little help.

I’m your host, Megan Hannay of ZipSprout. Welcome to The Zip.

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In the two years we’ve worked with local nonprofits, events and associations, one of our biggest frustrations has been a lack of accurate measurement for local entities. We’ve used Moz’s Domain Authority, which provides understanding of the quality and influence of an organization’s website. But there’s so much more to local influence than quality of a website from a search perspective. While we’ve encouraged others to use metrics like email newsletter size and social media followings, we realize these metrics are difficult to view in aggregate across various metro areas.

So we developed Reach Score.

Reach Score is a metric that characterizes local sponsorship opportunities by their influence, or reach, compared with other organizations in the same region. Reach Scores sit on a scale of 1-100, with 100 meaning an organization has the most local reach, compared to all other organizations in the same region. Reach is established by six data points: website Domain Authority (required), Facebook and/or Twitter following (at least one is required), email newsletter subscribers, event attendees, and ZIP code.

Calculate the Reach Score of any local organization here.

Methodology: how we developed Reach Score

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It’s so easy to look at life as a series of major goals and milestones. Accomplishments. When we start walking, start speaking, start reading, start school, Start driving! These milestones make life measurable. They help us celebrate our hard work, and give us a reason to pat ourselves on the back. But milestones can also be dangerous. They aren’t one size fits all. There are often delays and setbacks. And sometimes life throws major roadblocks our way, making us wonder if we’ll ever reach that next goal.

So, while we often use the term “hope” in association with those big moments, hope is really a matter of perspective. And todays guest, Bridget Asheim, provides some great examples. Bridget is the Executive Director of Hopekids North Texas. Hopekids is a nonprofit that plans more than 300 events per year for families of children with life threatening illnesses. These aren’t glamorous, milestone events. Rather, they’re everyday fun. Movie nights. Sporting events. Themed parties. The idea behind hope kids is that hope comes from the everyday joys, not the milestone events. In this interview, you’ll hear Bridget talk about some of the friendships and bonding moments that have come out of the Hopekids community. For many of these families, life has been put on pause. And when milestones seem vague, taking hope from the day to day is even more important.

Welcome to the Zip.

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