Shows
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectHe Wrote Those Awful MAGA Emails You Hated. Until He Finally Broke Free.Miles Bruner spent 12 years working in the Republican ecosystem, first as a grassroots organizer in Orange County, California, then as a digital fundraising strategist for one of the top GOP fundraising firms in the country. Recently, he went public with an article in The Bulwark detailing his decision to leave the Republican Party over its descent into authoritarianism and calling on his colleagues to do the same.
The piece, “My Last Day as an Accomplice of the Republican Party,” is powerful. Miles isn’t the first Republican to quit his party publicly; Tim Miller has written a whole...
2025-12-1945 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectChecking in With Nathan Sage, Iowa Democrat Running for Senate"When you have worry and you have anger, you have attention."
Marine. Mechanic. Sports Radio Host. Raised in a trailer park. Fighter for the working class. That’s how Nathan Sage describes himself.
He also calls himself a loudmouth. And a tattooed, hairy, fat guy who says it how it is.
At first glance, he looks and sounds almost MAGA. But he’s running for Senate as a proud progressive, aiming to be a voice for Iowans who have been left behind by both parties. And he’s running one hell of a digita...
2025-12-1027 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectThis Simple Trick Got Zohran Mamdani Over 500K Followers & Got A New Instagram Account 5 Million ViewsGabbi Zutrau was Zohran Mamdani’s ManyChat wizard, helping drive tens of thousands of clicks and thousands of email subscribers from Instagram — all via automation, and all for just… $318.
But she's also so much more than just an automation expert! Gabbi took a brand new Instagram account from zero to 5 million views in just six weeks. And she used one simple trick (yes, really!) to help Zohran’s Instagram grow by over 500,000 followers heading into his primary night win.
For context: Zohran hit 1 million followers on election night. That means more than half came from that sin...
2025-11-211h 09
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectUsing Comedy to Break Through - Not Punch Down, with Mark and Bill of CoolCoolCool Productions"Think more about the message you're trying to get across and then make the humor something that brings people in instead of pushing people away."
I met Mark Kendall and Bill Worley at Netroots this year and was super excited to invite them on the pod.
They’re doing something very unique in our space — using comedy, intentionally, to win hearts and change minds.
Their firm, CoolCoolCool Productions, is an Atlanta-based production company and boutique agency that uses comedy to encourage civic engagement and foster community.
Their videos have racked up tens...
2025-10-3043 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectChecking Back In With Kat Abughazaleh“What I would really like to see is more Democrats using their resources to help people right now to fill in the material gaps that Trump has created. I think it's the right thing to do and I also think it is the most persuasive thing to do if you want to flip either chamber in 2026 and make a serious cultural impact."
Kat Abughazaleh is running for Congress in Illinois’ 9th District.
I personally think she’s running one of the most innovative campaigns of the cycle, both from a digital and from a field perspe...
2025-10-1738 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectThe Messenger Matters More than the Message with Amanda Brink and Tudor Mihailescu“The most powerful form of engagement online is when a regular person posts on their channel about something they truly believe in.”
Tudor Mihailescu is a cofounder and CEO of SoSha, an AI powered social amplification platform that helps mission-driven organizations leverage the social clout of their communities. Before SoSha, Tudor did a PhD in political science focused on US Presidential Speechwriting patterns and cofounded a social network for politics called GovFaces.
Amanda Brink is the Executive Director of Empower Project, helping organizations grow relational organizing programs. Prior to Empower Project, she worked with Organizing For...
2025-10-0141 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectDifferentiating Strategy from Tactics in Digital Campaigns with Garima Verma“I've always believed in the power of storytelling and storytelling as a means for kind of creating understanding across difference."
Garima Verma is a strategist and storyteller who bridges the worlds of culture, politics, media and social change.
With over 10 years of experience spanning entertainment, political campaigns, and impact organizations, she specializes in transforming visionary ideas into actionable strategies, impactful programming and compelling narratives on-and-offline.
She’s worked across entertainment and politics—leading digital campaigns for Mission: Impossible – Fallout, black-ish, and The Oscars, as well as for Stacey Abrams’ 2022 gubernatorial run, Dr. Jill Biden’s FL...
2025-09-1752 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectRethinking Personalization in Digital Ads with Maya Hutchinson of BattlegroundAI"We do not need to run the same ad to everyone. It’s 2025 — we don’t need to do that.”
Maya Hutchinson is a data-driven marketer with roots in Democratic politics. She started her career on the digital team of President Obama’s re-election campaign and has continued to work at the intersection of tech and politics ever since.
She helped build the European market for NationBuilder, the first community organizing software supporting candidates, parties and campaigns across the EU. She then helped launch the analytics, polling and paid advertising division of DKC, one of the larges...
2025-08-2850 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectHow Zohran Mamdami Engaged A Grassroots Army Using Automation with Gabbi Zutrau, the campaign's Chatbot Wizard“You don't want to be caught in that high volume moment and not have a way to capture people, not have a way or a plan to funnel people from Instagram onto your owned list.”
You might not recognize today’s guest by name, but you’ve seen her work in action.
Gabbi Zutrau is a freelance digital consultant in the progressive space, with clients ranging from MoveOn to Stop AAPI Hate. She’s also the creator of Edna the Runt, an adorable pup who anchors her own lively social community with a ton of followers...
2025-07-2857 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectLiving Your Values: Content Creation in Complicated Times with Jess Zander from You Can Do It Gardening"It can't just be about the things that affect us as individuals. It has to be broader."
There’s been a lot of talk lately about looking for a Joe Rogan of the left.
The whole thing is ridiculous… for so many reasons.
Instead of banking on a single, superstar personality to magically unite our movement, what we really need is to amplify the many voices of folks aligned with our values who are already creating great content online for large audiences.
That’s why I was so excited to welcome Jess Z...
2025-07-0841 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectFrom Zero to 3 Billion Views: The Social-First Content Strategy Behind Courier Newsroom with RC Di Mezzo"Every newsroom, whether they acknowledge it or not, is values-driven. The choice to cover something or not cover something, the choice to use a word in a headline or not, is a statement on your values and your mission. We are just more transparent about it."
RC Di Mezzo is a Democratic digital strategist with a decade of experience building online brands that connect directly with voters.
As Vice President of Brand & Social at Courier, he led the 2023 launch of @Couriernewsroom—a social-first, values-driven progressive newsroom that became the fastest-growing news brand in the...
2025-06-301h 01
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectSell The Brownie with Anat Shenker-Osorio"Sell the brownie, not the recipe... So instead of taking your public policy out in public and thinking that that is a message, which it is not, you talk about the outcome of your policy."
Anat Shenker-Osorio is a political strategist, messaging consultant, and communications researcher renowned for helping progressive campaigns win by using more effective language.
She is the founder of ASO Communications, a firm that specializes in crafting compelling narratives for progressive causes. Anat is also an author, podcast host, and one of the most respected messaging experts on the left.
2025-06-021h 01
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectScaling Up: Lessons from WisDems’ Remarkable Digital Growth with Ben Wikler"Democrats can absolutely win, even in the face of this flood of money from the right and every horrific tactic that the right wants to use."
Y’all know Ben Wikler. He’s currently the head of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin — a role he’s held since 2019.
Here’s a quick relevant fact for you: I live in Wisconsin and do a lot of work in Wisconsin politics. Back in 2018, I was hired by WisDems to help train their comms team on digital — because at the time, they literally didn’t have a single digital staffe...
2025-05-2151 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectWhat The F*ck is Dark Woke? with Bhavik Lathia“Dark woke is Democrats breaking out of the respectability prison that Republicans have put us in for decades and finally saying shit and doing things that stop voters in their tracks and actually get their attention.”
Bhavik Lathia is a political strategist and technologist. He’s led campaigns in India, Australia, and the US, and supported activists around the world as they built and executed strategies superpowered by technology.
He recently served as Battleground Mobilization Director on the Harris-Walz campaign. Before that he was Senior Digital Director for WisDems. He helped lead the distributed organizing team o...
2025-05-0551 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectRunning a Bluesky-First Campaign with Kat Abughazaleh“What I’ve been most frustrated with politics is how impersonal it is and so we’re trying to make it accessible and personal again.”
Kat Abughazaleh is running for Congress, challenging long-time incumbent Jan Schakowsky in Illinois’ 9th District.
Needless to say, Kat doesn’t look like, sound or act like your typical candidate. Her announcement video led with the simple question: What if we didn’t suck?
She’s called on Democrats to “drop the excuses and grow a fucking spine,” and has made it clear she’s not interested in playing it safe while...
2025-04-1847 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectBuilding A Political On Ramp with Kate Duffy of Motherhood for Good“I’m constantly just enamored with the power that women have and do not use. And I just want to harness that and spread it.”
Kate Duffy is the founder of Motherhood for Good, a grassroots movement and independent media group dedicated to educating and empowering women so they can tap into their power—and use it for good. Through strategic content creation, community-driven advocacy, and real-world action, they help moms and women cut through the noise, stay informed, and make a meaningful impact in their communities and beyond.
Fun fact: Kate and I both recently...
2025-04-0350 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectMaking Tesla Toxic With Evan Sutton“Unless you genuinely believe that elections should be up for sale to the highest bidder… I want you to realize that Elon Musk will be the highest bidder in any election that he wants to participate in.”
Evan Sutton is the founder of Firekit Campaigns, where he works with unions, Democrats and nonprofits to build powerful stories in today's fractured media landscape.
Before founding Firekit Campaigns, he worked as senior leadership at the American Federation of Teachers and the New Organizing Institute.
Evan started his career in politics and advocacy in 2007 as a field...
2025-03-1153 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectChecking in with Joe Gallina of Call To ActivismJoe Gallina is an attorney and the founder of Call to Activism, a digital media organization dedicated to countering MAGA rhetoric and advocating for democracy, transparency, and justice.
On the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2017, Gallina left his legal career to commit fully to this mission.
Through Call to Activism, he has built a massive social media presence across Twitter, Bluesky, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram—reaching over 3.1 million followers and generating more than 3 billion views annually.
His work focuses on informing and engaging the public on critical political issues through viral cont...
2025-03-0346 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectWhat Else Can The Democrats Do? with Micah Sifry“Democrats who have been in office for a long time follow polls instead of trying to change them. So while they’ll attack Republicans for threatening to cut Medicaid in order to fund tax cuts for the rich, they’re mostly shy about making a big picture argument about Trump’s fascism.”
So says Micah Sifry in a piece called “3 Things Democrats Could Do That They Aren’t (Yet).”
If you don’t know him, he’s the author or editor of nine books, most recently Civic Tech in the Global South; A Lever and a Place to Stand: Ho...
2025-02-281h 30
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectLet's Talk About That Open Letter to ActBlue“Folks… need to be able to trust communications that we send them. By poisoning the well with some of the[se] texts and emails… people can’t trust the communications they’re receiving.”
What happens when the backbone of Democratic fundraising comes under scrutiny? I checked in with some of the organizers of that open letter to ActBlue.
In December 2024, a group of 142 consultants, campaign and nonprofit staff, technology vendors, and donors signed onto an open letter to ActBlue calling on the platform to do more to protect donors from spammers, scammers and exploitative digital fundraising...
2025-02-2545 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectInfluencer Marketing for Social Impact with Ashwath Narayanan of Social Currant"Creative work isn't going to be an option anymore. You have to do creative work."
Ashwath Narayanan is the Co-founder & CEO at Social Currant, a platform that helps nonprofits and social impact organizations collaborate with creators to reach audiences more effectively.
He founded Social Currant while still a student at The George Washington University. He’s now graduated, but the work continues on.
In a world where around half of TikTok users under the age of 30 report using the platform to keep up with the news, who’s creating content has never mattered more...
2025-02-1846 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectTalking Digital With The DNC Leadership Candidates: Tim Lim“It doesn’t feel like you’re joining a community, it feels like you’re joining a list.”
On February 1st, the DNC will elect new leadership.
Those elected will be tasked with leading the Democratic Party at a critical time, as they work to rebuild while Republicans control every level of the federal government.
They will oversee fundraising and operations, but they will also play a key role in shaping the strategy and outlining the vision for what the party should be and how it should allocate its time, energy, and resources.
Alon...
2025-01-2839 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectTalking Digital With The DNC Chair Candidates: Faiz ShakirOn February 1st, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) will elect a new chair to replace outgoing party chair Jamie Harrison.
The next DNC chair will lead the Democratic Party at a critical time, as they work to rebuild while Republicans control every level of the federal government.
This person will oversee fundraising and operations, but they will also play a key role in shaping the strategy and outlining the vision for what the party should be and how it should allocate its time, energy, and resources.
I reached out to the DNC Chair...
2025-01-2328 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectTalking Digital With the DNC Chair Candidates: Jason PaulOn February 1st, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) will elect a new chair to replace outgoing party chair Jamie Harrison.
The next DNC chair will lead the Democratic Party at a critical time, as they work to rebuild while Republicans control every level of the federal government.
This person will oversee fundraising and operations, but they will also play a key role in shaping the strategy and outlining the vision for what the party should be and how it should allocate its time, energy, and resources.
I reached out to the DNC Chair...
2025-01-1455 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectTalking Digital With the DNC Chair Candidates: Nate SnyderOn February 1st, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) will elect a new chair to replace outgoing party chair Jamie Harrison.
The next DNC chair will lead the Democratic Party at a critical time, as they work to rebuild while Republicans control every level of the federal government.
This person will oversee fundraising and operations, but they will also play a key role in shaping the strategy and outlining the vision for what the party should be and how it should allocate its time, energy, and resources.
I reached out to the DNC Chair...
2025-01-1049 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectRepresentation in the Digital Age with State Rep Francesca Hong and Nada ElmikashfiIn this episode, I'm joined by Wisconsin State Representative Francesca Hong and her Chief of Staff, Nada Elmikashfi.
Full disclosure: I have the pleasure of serving as Rep Hong’s digital director.
But even if I didn’t, I’d be tuned in. They are two of the strongest progressive voices currently active in Wisconsin politics.
Rep Hong, along with being a chef and a community organizer, is also the first Asian-American to ever be elected to the Wisconsin legislature. In January, that caucus will grow from 1 to 3. So that’s exciting. But for the l...
2024-12-201h 08
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectBringing a Field Program to Life on Social Media With Emily Tseffos and State Senator-Elect Sarah KeyeskiSarah Keyeski is a mental health care provider, a mom and this past cycle, she was a first-time political candidate. She ran for State Senate in Wisconsin against an incumbent who's been an elected official in her community since 1991 — and Sarah won!
Emily Tseffos is a former educator, a community advocate and a mom who ran for office in an extremely Republican district. While she didn’t win, she ran a hell of a race and made impressive and significant inroads into a community not used to being organized.
Full disclosure: I had the privilege to w...
2024-12-0542 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics Intersect12 Takeaways From 2 Years On TikTokI've been posting pretty much daily to TikTok for two years. I've built up a bit of a following in the process.
I also write thefyp.news, a weekly pop-up newsletter from FWIW spotlighting the top political content, creators, and trends on TikTok ahead of the 2024 Presidential Election.
After my first year posting, I wrote a blog post. You can find that here.
Now that I'm 2 years in, I pulled together 12 takeaways — some new, some less so — of things I've learned about this important, but complicated platform.
Listen to all episodes of He...
2024-10-1115 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectUsing AI Not Just To Speak But Also To Listen with Tareq Alani of Chorus AITareq Alani is a product leader who operates at the intersection of media, technology, and civic engagement. He is a Co-Founder at Chorus AI, where he leads product and growth.
Chorus AI was designed to transform the way nonprofits and campaigns engage with media and content creation.
Before Chorus AI, Tareq co-founded and served as the Chief Product Officer of PushBlack, the largest non-profit media company for Black Americans. While there, he spearheaded reader revenue efforts, generating more than $5M between 2017 and 2022.
He also developed PushBlack’s groundbreaking voter engagement program, which in 2020 re...
2024-07-1239 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectNavigating a Fractured Media Landscape with Hunter Schwarz of YELLOIf you know me, you know I’m a HUGE NERD for newsletters and email. Over the years, they’ve become one of the primary ways I get my news.
Along with reading those Republican candidate emails (so you don’t have to), I also read dozens of digital marketing newsletters. Literally.
And loads more about politics.
I’m kind of obsessed with the medium.
Of all of the many newsletters that I read, one of the most unique in my inbox, is called YELLO.
It’s run by today’s gue...
2024-06-1359 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectBuilding Trusted Messengers with Dan PfeifferDan Pfeiffer is a giant in the progressive messaging space.
Along with many impressive titles under his belt, he worked on the Obama campaign and served as senior advisor and White House Communications Director for President Obama.
He then went on to become an influencer for democracy (my term, don’t blame him). He’s a best selling author and a co-host of Pod Save America. He also hosts the podcast Pollercoaster, co-hosts Political Experts React on YouTube and writes the extremely influential newsletter Message Box.
Needless to say, Dan is a man with...
2024-05-1635 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectHow Did Democratic Fundraising Get So Problematic, And Where Do We Go From Here? With Josh NelsonWe checked in with Josh Nelson, CEO of Civic Shout, to talk about the rampant spam and scam currently overtaking Democratic fundraising.
We talked about how we got here, and how we can fix things.
He walked us through a fascinating timeline of digital fundraising, starting with Howard Dean's presidential campaign and their innovative digital work (which started with Meet Ups!). But which new generations of digital professionals "A/B tested... into some pretty unfortunate tactics." This all of course culminated in the world in which we currently live. You know, where we all want...
2024-05-0844 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectMaking Your Content Platform Agnostic with Andy Barr“People are desperate to turn digital into television and at the same time, they are desperate to have social be the thing that saves them from the small-dollar apocalypse.”
Andy Barr is Managing Director at Uplift, an agency that provides creative, ad buying, data and software to Democratic campaigns, firms and organizations throughout the country.
Prior to founding Uplift in 2015, Andy was a political consultant, a comms director for a US senate race and a political reporter at Politico and The Hill.
Andy is hyper-focused on creative across platforms and I invited him on the p...
2024-03-1949 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectCombating Misinformation On Google During Ohio's Fight for Abortion Rights with Britt Bischoff“We deployed a competitive search strategy to disrupt pathways to misinformation and lead people to our fact-based narratives instead.”
Britt Bischoff is a reformed corporate digital strategist, analyst, click baiter, and algorithm chaser.
Over her career, she’s led digital strategy and data-informed campaigns for national brands, social causes, and progressive campaigns as a proponent for change in the digital space for the progressive world.
She now serves as the Strategic Growth Advisor at Red Wine & Blue. Her work is in the intersection of data, narrative strategies, and digital impact.
Over the cour...
2024-03-0550 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectTaking On An Undemocratic Trojan Horse With Congressman Mark PocanCongressman Mark Pocan represents Wisconsin’s second district.
He’s a small business owner, a labor union member and a surprisingly good magician!
Along with serving on the Appropriations Committee, he’s served as co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and serves as chair of the Equality Caucus and co-chair of the Labor Caucus. To say his politics are righteous is an understatement.
While he is never one to shy away from a fight with Republicans at any level of government, or from those who put the needs of corporate profits over those of wor...
2024-02-2022 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectChecking in with Nancy Leeds of Campaign Sick“Where the memes are and where the conversation is, is constantly evolving.”
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Nancy Leeds is a veteran political operative with over 18 years of experience in the field. She has worked on Democratic campaigns all over, from Minnesota to California to Arkansas, as well as with several politically oriented non-profits.
She is also the author of Campaign Sick, a job serve and blog about best practices in electoral politics and campaign management.
Nancy recently launched CampaignSick Consulting, a management consulting and recruitment practice specifically focused on the progressive ecosystem.
Nancy ros...
2024-02-1429 min
Digital Politics with Karen JagodaTelling the Candidate's Story with Josh Klemons Reverbal CommunicationsJosh Klemons, Founder of Reverbal, joins Deepak Puri, CEO of The Democracy Labs, to talk about the need to make the audience the hero, not the candidate, when communicating with voters. An expert on first-in-category candidates, Josh has refined his storytelling skills to create compelling digital content for winning campaigns and drive relationship organizing. Deepak and Josh talk about: Keys to good storytelling The connection between organizing and digital tools Finding trusted messengers for campaigns to fight disinformation Role of social media influencers Advice for down-ballot races to find voters online Free digital tools for campaigns ...
2024-02-0727 minDigital Politics with Karen JagodaTelling the Candidate's Story with Josh Klemons Reverbal CommunicationsJosh Klemons, Founder of Reverbal, joins Deepak Puri, CEO of The Democracy Labs, to talk about the need to make the audience the hero, not the candidate, when communicating with voters. An expert on first-in-category candidates, Josh has refined his storytelling skills to create compelling digital content for winning campaigns and drive relationship organizing. Deepak and Josh talk about: Keys to good storytelling The connection between organizing and digital tools Finding trusted messengers for campaigns to fight disinformation Role of social media influencers Advice for down-ballot races to find voters online Free digital tools for campaigns ...
2024-02-0727 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectKeeping your campaign secure with Hilary Stohs-KrauseHilary Stohs-Krause is a senior software engineer at a cybersecurity startup.
She focuses on the intersection of tech, entrepreneurship and social good.
In her free time, she's a primary organizer for Madison Women in Tech and a board member for Madison Wisconsin’s Forward Festival.
She joined us on the pod to talk about how campaigns and organizations can better protect their digital programs.
We covered a ton of ground, including
The importance of unique passwords (as well as long passwords!)The power of a password managerThe importance of 2fa and is...
2024-02-0541 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectSolving Problems With Free (Or Affordable) Tech Solutions For Progressive Campaigns with Deepak Puri of Democracy LabsDeepak Puri is an engineer and Silicon Valley exec with over 15 years experience at Oracle, Netscape and VMware.
He co-founded Democracy Labs after the 2106 Presidential election with the mission to apply innovative technology and storytelling to progressive, social justice and voting rights causes.
DemLabs is a nonprofit that exists to share details on free and affordable solutions that activists can use.
Deepak believes that by applying existing business apps to progressive causes, campaigns can make a bigger impact with less money.
Deepak publishes a daily blog which now has over 2,000 case stud...
2024-01-1637 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectSpilling Tea with Organizer MemesIf you work in Democratic politics, you probably know Organizer Memes. If you don’t… well you probably don’t spend too much time on Twitter.
Organizer Memes is one part voice of the people, one part movement psychologist, one part anonymous messaging board, one part influencer and one big old part expert meme artist extraordinaire.
Memes, as they refer to themselves, is always spot on with the perfect meme for whatever is going on at the moment in the political world… and beyond.
But follow them on Twitter and you are equally likely t...
2023-12-041h 16
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectWhat's Working On TikTok Right Now?! with Gina KellerGina Keller co-founded Distill Social, an independent media nonprofit based in Michigan. With a focus on effectively messaging to millennial, Gen Z, and disengaged voters through social media, Distill Social serves as a vehicle for driving meaningful change in the digital age.
One of the tools in their messaging arsenal: TikTok . They launched their account just 18 months ago. But in that time, they've wracked up almost 90k followers, millions of likes and tens of millions of views.
Throughout our conversation, we talked about
Best practices to grow your audiencesWhat sets TikTok apart from other...
2023-11-0739 min
Campaign Trend PodcastBreaking Down Presidential Campaigns' Email Strategies – Josh Klemons (Reverbal Communications)Have a question, comment, idea or suggestion? Send us a text.We’re joined today by Josh Klemons a Digital Storyteller/Strategist and the founder of Reverbal Communications, helping progressive campaigns, organizations and brands of all shapes and sizes find, hone and tell their stories online.Our conversation today is about the state of email marketing in the 2024 Republican primary and Josh has an interesting outsider’s perspective as a Democrat and he wrote a blog post where he assessed all of the 2024 Republican contenders’ email campaigns. We dig into what he’s looking...
2023-07-1929 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectProgressive Digital Organizing in a Red State with Beth ThorpeWe checked in with Beth Thorpe, Digital Director for Colonel Pam Stevenson, candidate for Kentucky Attorney General.
We talked about scaling intimacy through digital, why Col. Pam is lighting a fire with the youth in Kentucky, how Beth got her start in politics and so much more.
Connect with Colonel Pam at PamForAG.com and find her on all the social channels at @PamForAG.
Find Beth on Twitter at @BethinLouavul.
Listen to our full conversation at HelloMergeTag.com or wherever you stream podcasts.
2023-06-1338 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics Intersect9 Things We Can Learn About Email From A Truly Awful Email ProgramA while back, a conservative organization acquired our email address and started spamming us with one of the worst email marketing programs we've ever seen.
This was next-level bad.
So bad in fact that we just had to write up some takeaways we could learn about writing better emails from their no-good-very-bad-what-is-even-happening-here email program.
We covered 9 key takeaways:
1) Don’t Buy Email Lists
2) Onboard New Signups To Your List
3) Subject Lines Matter
4) Preview Text Also Matters
5) Spell Check Is Your Friend...
2023-05-3016 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectPulling Back The Political Internet’s Curtain with Kyle Tharp of FWIWKyle Tharp is the managing editor of FWIW, a newsletter and media company that tracks the internet’s influence on our politics.
Every week they break down digital spending, strategy, tactics, and trends in our elections. They highlight whose spending is up, whose is non-existent, and how campaigns, PACs and advocacy groups are leveraging online platforms to effect social + political change.
He also runs Campaigner, an interview series that explores the tactics that drive winning campaigns and highlights the players pushing the buttons.
We checked in with Kyle and throughout our conversation, we co...
2023-05-2335 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectA Deep Dive Into Campaign Websites with Candy PhelpsCandy Phelps is an expert in a lot of things. She’s an entrepreneur, a visionary and a content marketing and SEO expert.
Through her company 1 Day® Campaign, she’s also the creator of the 1 Day® Website, which creates amazing, SEO-optimized websites developed specifically for her clients… in a day!
She’s worked with dozens of political campaigns and hundreds of brands on web development, graphic design, branding and more.
Throughout our conversation, we covered a wide range of subjects on the topic of campaign websites. We explored essential elements like branding, budget consideratio...
2023-05-1640 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectUsing Digital Communities to Move Beyond the Transactional With Myles BugbeeIn this episode of Hello Merge Tag, we checked in with Myles Bugbee, a digital strategist with decades of experience in the field.
He’s worked with numerous campaigns, agencies and advocacy organizations, including a stint as the National Digital Director at For Our Future and as the Digital Director for Senator Jon Tester’s 2018 reelection campaign.
He now has his own boutique digital firm called Persuasion and Pixels that helps campaigns and causes run more effective and efficient digital programs.
In our overly fragmented world, Myles lays out the importance of trusted messe...
2023-05-1026 min
Hello Merge Tag: Where Social Media and Politics IntersectDigital Fundraising For Downballot Candidates With Jacob MalinowskiIn the inaugural episode of Hello Merge Tag, we checked in with Jacob Malinowski, a digital fundraiser with Goodman Campaigns, a firm dedicated to helping downballot, pro-choice candidates raise money through email, text and direct to donate ads.
He was recently involved in the Janet For Justice race, as Janet Protasiewicz ran a successful race for Wisconsin State Supreme Court. Jacob and his team helped raise $1.1 million for the campaign.
We checked in with him to find out how they did it, and what they learned along the way.
Jacob shared loads of...
2023-04-1430 min
Step Up Your SocialSocial Media is Rented Land — Use Lead Gen Tools To Grow On Real Estate You OwnIf your social media engagement is down, you're not alone!
Social media is an amazing tool to reach new people. But never forget, social media is rented land.
Keep posting to your social channels, but also use them to grow on real estate you own.
This can include newsletters, blogs, digital communities, podcasts and more.
In this episode of Step UP Your Social, we talk about why this matters, and how you can use lead gen (short for lead generation) tools to start to move your audience from rented land on...
2023-03-2007 minStep Up Your SocialDon’t Let Bureaucrats Write Your Most Important EmailsSo many brands works so hard on their social media posts and newsletters, but overlook crucial comms opportunities by outsourcing important messaging to bureaucrats.
When someone places an order with you, or donates to your organization, or even just signs up for your newsletter, are they welcomed into the family and made to feel as special as they are? Or simply sent a brief “thanks”?
Too many brands overlook such key moments in their audience journey. In today’s episode of Step Up Your Social, we’ll look at one massive failure, and a whole bunch of...
2022-07-2906 minStep Up Your SocialLikes On Social Media Are FreeThis is a short episode, adapted from an article I wrote 5 years, about the importance of engaging with positive comments on social media. It's as true today as it was the day I wrote it. So I wanted to share it with you, my podcast listeners.
If someone goes out of their way to say something nice about you on social, and you can't be bothered to smash that like button, you should re-evaluate why you are on social in the first place!
2022-05-1103 minStep Up Your SocialWhat Are Vanity URLs and Why Should You Be Using Them?A vanity url is a memorable url that will redirect to the page where you actually want to send people.
They are easy (and inexpensive) to set-up, and can help your user easily find your brand's important content and sub-campaigns.
In this episode of Step Up Your Social, we delve into what they are, how to set them up, when you should use them and more.
We also cover Bit.ly links and talk about when those can and should be used in lieu of vanity urls.
If you aren't using...
2022-03-1006 minStep Up Your SocialWhat Your Brand Can Learn From WORDLEIf you use the internet, you’ve likely heard of WORDLE.
According to Buzzfeed, there have been nearly 2 million tweets mentioning “WORDLE” since November of 2021.
But here’s the thing: this game, that so many people play and talk about, had only 90 users in November. Not 90 thousand… 90.
How did this viral phenomenon happen and what can we as digital marketers learn from it? A lot!
2022-01-2707 minStep Up Your SocialWrite Your Blog Post For Google. Or Facebook. Or Both. And Other Tips For Blogging.In Episode 13, we discussed why you should be blogging.
Today let’s talk about how you should approach writing content for your blog.
In this episode, we cover a lot of best practices for blogging in 10 minutes or less including:
The Goldilocks approach to finding good topic areasHow to make your content easy to skimHow to write for your audience, even if you're not a great writerThe ideal length of a blog post (hint: it's exactly how long it needs to be and not one word longer!)And the importance of writing for Google. Or...
2021-08-2706 minStep Up Your SocialHow Chewy Uses Their Customers' Darkest Moments To Build Unyielding Brand LoyaltyWhat do you do at the end of your customer lifecycle? Do you go above and beyond to ensure that the customer who is moving on never forgets just how much they love you?
Chewy is a pet supply company. They know their customers will have to cancel their auto-renewal products... eventually 😢🐶🐈
But Chewy doesn't just offer canceling clients full refunds. They take their "marketing generosity" to the next level.
They don’t just want to get out of the way. They want to be a part of the family.
In this episod...
2021-01-2704 min
Digital of Business | Business of DigitalEp 1: Master Your Social Media in 20 Mins a Day | Josh Klemons | LinkjoyJosh is a Digital Storyteller/Strategist and the founder of Reverbal Communications talks about how anyone can smartly handle social media without spending significant time on creating postings or finding content.
He lists down tips and tricks to ace the social media game in 20 mins a day.
You can listen to all episodes at StepUpYourSocial.com, or anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Check out https://linkjoy.io/ to know more!
Follow Sahil Shah: https://lnkj.in/p/sahilshah0801
Follow us on our socials to get more updates...
2020-12-2846 min
808 Podcast#746 Josh Klemons - Reverbal CommunicationsJosh Klemons the Digital Storyteller/Strategist of Reverbal Communications tells you how to identity and tailor your message directly to the person or people you are trying to reach at the company you are trying to work for.
You can check him/her out at https://www.JoshKlemons.com/
2020-12-2107 minStep Up Your SocialReply All Just (Accidentally) Reminded Us About The Power of Facebook SearchOne of my favorite podcasts, Reply All, just did a whole episode trying to track down something that wasn't showing up on Google. If they had remembered that Facebook, while it's first and foremost a social media channel, is also a search engine, they could have saved themselves a whole lot of time and energy.
The Facebook search bar is more powerful than you probably realize. In this episode of Step Up Your Social, we'll walk through some of the power lurking right at your fingertips.
Have any search bar tricks you like that we...
2020-03-1107 min
Step Up Your SocialFree Digital Tools You Should Be Using But Probably Aren'tIn this episode I cover a bunch of free digital tools you should be using, but probably aren't. These free tools will help you step up your graphic design, your writing, your video storytelling and a whole lot more.
You can stream all episodes of Step Up Your Social here, or at stepupyoursocial.com.
Are there any free digital tools you use that I didn't cover? I'd love to hear about them. You can email me at suys@reverbalcommucations.com, hit me up on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn at Reverbal Communications or tweet at me...
2019-08-2808 min
Step Up Your Social7 Times The Airlines Blew It On Social Media (And What We Can Learn From Their Mistakes)Step Up Your Social as a podcast exists to share quick, actionable tips to help you take your digital marketing to the next level. In this episode, we explore at 7 times the airlines blew it on social media, and talk about what we can learn from their collective mistakes so ensure that their fails become our best practices.
2019-07-1709 min
Step Up Your Social3 Reasons You Should Be BloggingThere are three primary reasons you should be blogging to grow your brand: 1) It's great for your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) 2) It positions you as an expert in your field 3) It creates endless bridges between your social media and your website
In this episode of #StepUpYourSocial, we dig into all three of these reasons, as well as how to approach creating content, the difference between timely and evergreen content... and a whole lot more!
Tune in today right here or wherever you listen to podcasts.
2019-06-2008 min
Step Up Your SocialSupporter Spotlights are Win-Win-WinA supporter spotlight is an opportunity for you to shine a light on one of your supporters and talk about how great they are. It can be a blog or a Facebook post, a short video on Instagram or whatever else makes sense for your brand. The primary thing is that you are shouting someone important to your brand.
And support spotlights are win-win-win.
In this ep, we'll cover the what, the how and the why. Tune in today.
2019-06-0705 min
Step Up Your Social10 Tricks And Hacks To Step Up Your Instagram StoriesInstagram Stories just keep getting more popular. Over 500 million people now use them every single day!
And their functionality keeps growing as well.
In this episode of #StepUpYourSocial, we cover ten tips, tricks, hacks and strategies that you should be using to take your Instagram Story game to the next level.
Are there any tricks or hacks you like that we didn't cover? We want to hear them! Hit us up on our website (stepupyoursocial.com), on Instagram (@jlemonsk) or on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn (we're Reverbal Communications) or share online them using...
2019-05-2211 min
Step Up Your SocialFacebook Wants You To Know What Your Competitors Are Doing... So Does GoogleDon’t you wish you had a magic wand you could use to see what your competitors were doing well, so that you could grow your own business accordingly? Facebook has a free feature, available to all Facebook Brand pages, that might as well be a magic wand. Yet so few brands are taking advantage of this simple, powerful and important feature. So let’s dig into Facebook’s “Pages To Watch.”
Afterward, we’ll cover some other helpful and free tools you should be using to keep tabs on your competitors across the internet.
2019-04-1906 min
Step Up Your SocialWhy Warren Buffet Is A Better Writer Than YouWarren Buffet is a better writer than you for one simple reason: he knows his audience and he writes directly for them. Are you doing the same?
Don't write your content for "the world," rather write it for an individual. Don't try to make yourself *sound* smart. Try to make your reader *feel* smart.
This episode covers some takeaways from Social Media Marketing World 2019 and pulls from a great presentation given by Ann Handley, the author of Everybody Writes.
2019-03-2704 min
Step Up Your SocialSocial Media Acronyms You Should KnowSocial media can be an overwhelming place, especially when you feel like you don't speak the language. TIL, FWIW, IMHO... it can be hard to even know where to start.
In this episode, we do a deep dive into a bunch of social media acronyms you should know.
Any we missed? Tweet them at us (@ReverbalC) using #StepUpYourSocial. In the meantime, HTH (Hope This Helps!).
2019-03-0508 min
Step Up Your SocialBeware Engagement Bait — You Could Be Limiting Your Reach on FacebookThere are 5 keywords that, when used in a post on Facebook, automatically limit your post's reach. Facebook has labeled the tactic in question as "Engagement Bait."
While Engagement Bait first started being penalized in the Facebook algorithm over a year ago, Facebook just recently began applying their penalties to video content, as well as to text.
In this episode, we cover the what, the why and the how of Engagement Bait, as well as some tips for avoiding it.
2019-02-1904 min
Step Up Your SocialStop Inviting Everyone You Know To Like Your Facebook PageYou start a new Facebook brand page. It's only natural to invite everyone you know to like the page. The problem is, you're actually hurting your page's future growth when you invite people who like you — but don't care about your brand — to like your Facebook brand page.
In this episode: • We dive into the Facebook algorithm • Talk about the difference between "good" and "bad" likes • Cover helpful tips to grow your page with the right audience • The importance of using a brand page for your page (as opposed to a personal account) • And a whole lot more
2019-02-0509 min
Step Up Your SocialAre You Displaying Your Handles Everywhere?Are you leaving low hanging fruit on the table? Are you missing opportunities to encourage your current customers, fans or audience to start conversations with you online, thus promoting your brand to their own networks in the process.
In this episode, we cover two inter-related topics: the importance of displaying your handles *everywhere* your audience is and the vital role that engagement plays in creating and managing a beneficial social media program.
Never forget — social media is not a tool to speak TO the people. It’s a tool to speak WITH the people. The goal...
2019-01-2305 min
Step Up Your SocialThe Power of Microtargeting with Facebook AdsIf you run ads on Facebook without first building quality audiences, it's like you're standing in the street, throwing expensive flyers in the air, and hoping for the best.
Facebook offers you the opportunity to microtarget based on tons of different factors. In this episode, we talk about the importance of microtargeting, as well as provide an overview of the three different Facebook advertising audience types: custom, lookalike and saved.
2019-01-0810 min
Step Up Your SocialA Deep Dive Into Stories"Stories" are the Facebook response to Snapchat — fun, quirky bits of content that disappear after 24 hours.
Instagram Stories alone has over 400 million daily active users — more than twice as many as Snapchat.
In this episode of Step Up Your Social, we cover the what, the when and the how of Stories along with a bunch of tips, tricks and fun things you should try.
2018-12-2609 min
Step Up Your SocialTwitter ListsTwitter lists are an amazing listening tool, whether or not your brand is active on Twitter.
2018-12-1708 min
Step Up Your SocialCrossposting vs. AutopostingDo you know the difference between crossposting across your various social media channels and autoposting? You should! One of these is fine — the other is definitely not.
#StepUpYourSocial is a flash podcast series, providing quick, actionable tips to help your master your social media. Get ready to Step Up Your Social!
2018-12-1108 min
The ZagThe Zag: Episode 64 w/ Josh KlemonsYou're probably not doing social media correctly. Well, maybe some of it, but today's guest does it for a living so take his advice. 2016 NLC Madison Fellow Josh Klemons is a digital storyteller and strategist for Reverbal Communications. He works with brands of all shapes and sizes on finding, honing and telling their stories online. So get off the Internet for a minute and listen.
2018-05-1419 min
Around the World with Dan Perry#9: Josh KlemonsJosh Klemons is my guest for this episode of the podcast. Having lived in Isreal, Josh has a deep understanding of Israeli-Palestinian relations, as well as those of the rest of the Middle East. Josh is also the voice behind Reverbal Communications, which manages social media for companies with a variety of budgets. I can attest to his expertise – he has helped me to grow my presence exponentially. Finally, Josh is the editor of my first book, 1000 Days Between. He did a great job of bringing my book from draft to final copy. If you wa...
2017-01-161h 35
promobluesThe SnogloTracklist:
Reverbal Sign - Sunday Escape
PHCK - Aeris
Gnork - U
Yonkers Tale - Helion
Lockyear - Taming The Elephant
No Moon - Everything's Comin Up Millhouse
Till Von Sein - Forever
Reckonwrong - Getting Warmer (Hot Mix)
Moiré - Opium
S.A.M - Two Hearts in Doubt
2017-01-091h 01