You're listening to the latest Radcast news update. Here's Ryan and Riley. 

Ryan Alford [00:00:11] What's up? Welcome to the latest edition of the Radcast Weekly Marketing and Advertising News. It's Friday, April. Twenty third. And we're coming to you live from the Radcast studio in the home of Radical, the baddest, coolest, greatest digital ad agency on the planet. Here in Greenville, South Carolina, I'm joined by my co-host, Riley Clark. What's up, Riley? 

Riley Clarke [00:00:36] Hey, I'll be honest, I'm tired. 

Ryan Alford [00:00:40] Week. 

Riley Clarke [00:00:42]  We had a really great week, but it was a long week in some ways. On Tuesday, we had a really long shoot and it was a really great shoot. And I think it's going to be a really cool product. I'm sure you probably are going to talk about it in some, you know, capacity. But so I'll let you handle that. But needless to say, it's a very long day. 

Ryan Alford [00:01:02] It was a long day. 

Riley Clarke [00:01:03] Yeah.  And in the best way. But it's just that it's left me a little tired. 

Ryan Alford [00:01:08]  A friend of mine, Marvin, he's got a new album coming out. And we did a little pet project for him, doing all his artwork and producing, directing, and everything else here at Radical, his music video for his upcoming release, Soul of a Pirate. So more to come on that. I would say he is a cross between Jimmy Buffett and Kenny Chesney and throws in somebody else, but he definitely has a countryside to him. He's got a real deep voice. Kenny Chesney Esque, raspy, raspy. And he's got that playful tunes and songwriting, a little bit of Jimmy Buffett. 

Riley Clarke [00:01:53] So how his energy is awesome. His energy is just incredible. It's going to be cool. I'm excited. 

Ryan Alford [00:01:59]. He produced it in Nashville, where he's actually pretty well known. He's written some songs and was in some groups there that did really well several years ago. And he's been writing a lot of songs and plays a good bit. We've become friends and we're like buddies with our dock and we're actually on the dock shooting the music video for him. So I think it's going to be a great product. And I think for his market it's going to be a nice little play for him to get some more notoriety and spread the word. But it was kind of a little bit of a detour for us in the week. We went out there and shot everything, but it's been cool. It's fun to get those kinds of projects here and there, you know, from the everyday stuff and helping friends out. But it's been a good week here at Radical.  We've been busy and the phone won't stop ringing. It's been good a lot of positive energy on new business fronts and lots of new business clients and opportunities. And it's been great. We've added some new staff and some new teammates and are still planning office furniture for the patio.

 Riley Clarke [00:03:12] I know it is an ongoing thing. 

Ryan Alford [00:03:13] Not that you really care out there,  but wherever you're listening, we are into some office patio furniture ideas. 

Riley Clarke [00:03:22]  Honestly, we can make it some way, get a hold of ace, and maybe do something 

Ryan Alford [00:03:28] We haven't said anything negative about them, have we? 

Riley Clarke [00:03:30] We said all positive things last week. You really get on coke I swear. No, but it's been a good week. I'm excited to give you guys our news topics today, but I think before we do and we talked about this little pre-episode, but I think before we get into the nitty-gritty of the topics today, I think it's important to set up a little bit about the topics, a little bit about the ad data that we're seeing take place obviously through the year of covid. And what's happened to ad platforms? I'll let you take the lead here. 

Ryan Alford [00:04:05]  You know, influencer marketing has really started to boom. You've seen the increase in that ad budget where it's now actually the largest share of digital ad budget. So in the total digital ad budget pie, you've got search and display and social media ads. Influencer and content-driven influencer marketing is actually right at twenty percent. And so super big, a super huge portion of it. And, you know, another thing is from an overall standpoint, we've already been up to twenty-five percent in overall ad spending this year. So you're seeing, you know, like there was when covid hit the ad, but it just tanked last March, last April. And you've seen not only a full turnaround, but the data shows that we are at the highest point of any march in history, they've been measuring it. So not only is it turned around from covid but it's turned around from all spinning. And some of that pin-up savings, you could say,  they had the budget and certainly, revenues have gone down some last year in certain industries. So maybe they had the dollars saved up. So that's why you see the overspend now. But I think it's more a product of the economy really roaring back. And I think you're seeing the ad budgets come along with it. But a lot of the topics that we have for the news today are in that influencer space. And I think you're going to start to see, well, what happened was in the covid era, all the brands were nervous to talk about heavy selling. And so they wanted to use influencer marketing as a top-of-funnel tactic, meaning it's more of a brand play. It's not immediate at all. I mean, sometimes, yeah, they can have a promotion code. They can have things that can drive immediate sales. But a lot of times that content marketing and influencer marketing is really more awareness of top of funnel tactics. And with covid going on and no one wanting to go, bye bye bye bye right now, now, now, now, you saw more spinning towards that. But I think you're going to see that carry forward because of just the authenticity factor of having these brand ambassadors and things like that. I think it's just becoming more poignant, more relevant, especially with ads in dollars and cookies going away, different things like that. You're just going to see brands expanding, I think, upon those influencers. And, at the end of the day, this stuff has been going on forever, like it was called word of mouth back in the day, and the men and women with the biggest mouths always spread the word more. And there were always kinds of influencers, so to speak. There just weren't the channels of social media with which the megaphone could be turned on. And so the more things remain the same, the more things they say the more things change the more things remain the same. It's not so much a new phenomenon of word of mouth. It's more just the channels and varieties of ways that these things can be amplified. And you're going to see a continued evolution, I think, for how influencers do this organically. We talked about some of that stuff a couple of weeks ago with product placement and these brands doing things that aren't heavy sells like content and things like that. They're going to see that same evolution with influencers and subject matter experts and all this stuff. And so the data is now catching up with the trends. It's the number one placement. You've got ad spending going up. You've got influencer marketing near the top of that for digital. And,  as TV budgets come down and digital continues to dominate, you're going to see influencers thus even more. And some of us are probably, God, just another one. But, we say that. But I tell you what I tell you, my wife will sit there and watch these bloggers and everything. I mean, and I don't know if you're the same way. Like, it never gets old to her, she does watch them and they're relatable. I mean, I've sat there and watched a video of them like,  I get it. I see why you can relate to her. And, they're telling their whole life story and they're just spokespeople. 

Riley Clarke [00:08:55] Yeah, well, I like it, too, because, obviously it's relatable and that's great. You need that point of connection with the person. But I think it's also when you begin to trust what they say. I mean, it goes back to the whole thing about trust and we talk about authenticity. But,  you begin to trust their opinions and trust the insight that they're giving you because obviously, you've seen it work already with other things that you've done, you’ve taken their advice from, been influenced by them by whatever it has been,  you’ve clearly seen some sort of positive result for you. So I like the people that I follow.  There are things about them that just make them feel very human, even on social media. And even though I'm probably never going to meet these people in my life, I feel like I know them and I appreciate the transparency about their lives. It does create that friend level without it feeling like. Do you know what I mean? I appreciate that. But this is why this is just going to keep going. 

Ryan Alford [00:10:00] It is. And I think if you're a small to medium business out there, t's always makes sense, you're going to get this beauty blogger and she's got a hundred thousand followers and she's doing this, but she wants 5000 posts and I can't afford that or whatever. Micro-influencers are very attainable for small to medium businesses and are completely still untapped. Some of the smaller business startup DTC e-commerce brands are tapping into them, but every other industry is completely untapped. I mean, think about from lawyers to doctors to chiropractors to plumbers to think and in some ways, this is done through reviews and through those types of things. I think these industries have gotten better about leveraging reviews on their website and things like that. But I don't think they've taken it far enough. The opportunities out there for finding these micro-influencers that might have two thousand, three thousand followers, maybe even potentially less than one, has fifteen hundred followers into the right followers. Figure what your business is. You're hyper-targeted within a certain geography. You could be paying this person fifty to seventy-five dollars a post. And that's like better advertising than you could be in the old YellowPages or even or some crappy trade show that you're in, like her journal in a business journal, not all business journals, a crappy but like something that's just so I funnel. Maybe someone will read this and maybe they'll think of you in three months. But like,  that opportunity is out there and there are tools to do that. And maybe we'll break down some of those tools in a new episode. Maybe we'll do one about just a micro-influencers episode. 

Riley Clarke [00:11:44] Yes. Well, we're in the works. We'll put that in the works. 

Ryan Alford [00:11:48] Cool. Here's Riley with all this week's news. Here is the RADcast news. 

Riley Clarke [00:11:56] All right, so again, this is kind of hitting our influencer, our market, just to give you some examples of what's going on in the real world. Simmons Mattresses is teaming up with Jamelia's sisters. And if you're not familiar with Jamelia's sisters, they are like I would consider them, as the OG Tik Tok stars, like they are the original content creators on Tik Tok that just kind of exploded. And, since then, they've seen huge I mean, you've seen them on several, several campaigns. They were at the Jake Paul wrestling tournament. That happened the other day. I was whatever, talking to her that whatever that was. But anyway, entertainment. Yeah, but, that's going on. And essentially this company is teaming up with them to promote the mattresses, a lot of GenZers years. And, younger millennials are spending a lot of time just chilling on their bed, whether they're going through Tik Tok and they're on their bed or their work. When they're working from home, they are working primarily from their bed. Apparently, they did this study, this study. And, this all this information came back, yada, yada. So apparently this mattress is like prime time for being on. 

Ryan Alford  [00:13:10] And I'm like, what kind of work are we doing here? 

Riley Clarke [00:13:17] Like a weird lens to take a mattress promotion or whatever. 

Ryan Alford [00:13:20] Oh, I think it's a tagline. 

Riley Clarke [00:13:25] Yeah, exactly. 

Ryan Alford [00:13:26] So are these Jamelia sisters? 

Riley Clarke [00:13:30] Yeah, exactly. No, that's funny. No, but it's so that's just going on. But this just shows the example in the leverage you can use from influencer marketing and tying it to your brand's message. So that's like the point of this, right? Like you can have your influencer marketing. And it's pointless, though, I think and I think you would agree it's pointless to have some random influencer that has nothing to do with anything that stands for your brand, promote something about your brand. Like it has to make sense. Like they have to have a connection, right? 

Ryan Alford [00:13:59] Yes. And I will say, though, Simmons mattresses historically are not like; even though it's a mattress I wouldn't consider it as a sexy brand. It's a mattress. Yeah. Like there's, purple, maybe not sexy, but funny, like some of the newer mattress brands, And,  Tempur-Pedic is comfort or luxury or whatever.  Simmons is like I think of, as,  the infinity of mattresses sort of luxury, maybe not quite uber-luxury, but nice and above like, Just to give an analogy, that's my opinion. That's where they fall on my brand. Like Ryan Alford's brand, meters for Mattresses is somewhere above the middle, but not at the top as far as luxury goods. Still nice. Sure, that's amazing. But they have seven thousand car matches. They're definitely luxurious. Well, whatever. Generally speaking, But the point is a brand like Simmons can reach out. They have kind of a home brand perspective like it's a mattress and hire influencers that make sense for what their product is at this given time and the pandemic and the research that you just outlaid and suddenly be relevant to a target audience. The power and the ability to do that are unheard of. It's just never been attainable. That's what these influencers do for brands, is immediately get them top of mind with a demographic that Simmons would have no business even having a discussion with, but when done through the lens of the Demelio sisters, oh, OK. like people know it's an ad, I'm sure, but at least it has relevance. It's based on that insight that people are home, spending more time on the bed, working on the bed, and immediately adds credibility to the brand. And so it's just powerful stuff that's smart for the brands to be doing this and to be considering especially if they do it thoughtfully. I have no idea what the metrics are of success from this, but I have a feeling it's putting them in a different brand position than they've been in the past. 

Riley Clarke [00:16:26] Our next topic is a similar kind of lens EOS, the evolution of smooth, I love that name and I love it. Oh yeah. So I'm actually a product of this, I will say because I saw this original Tik Tok video of this girl, this influencer Killjoy on TikTok which I think that's such a clever name for her name to be true. It's kind of funny. 

Ryan Alford [00:16:50] Is she But anyway, she like literally killing Joy, 

Riley Clarke [00:16:53]  I'll be honest with you, I only saw the video about the shaving cream. I didn't I haven't really watched the rest of her stuff. So but all that's about to say,  I think this is a really cool thing. Essentially, the shaving cream,  she made widely known about just how great it was for sensitive skin,  razor bumps, all that kind of jazz. And how difficult it is, for women to really get that really nice,  shave whatever, OK, all that sort of thing. 

Ryan Alford [00:17:25] we're going to disagree. 

Ryan Clarke [00:17:27] Yeah, but I mean, yes, OK. You know what I mean. All right. Well, it's just a fact. This is a fact of life, people. 

Ryan Alford [00:17:33] It is what it 

Riley Clarke [00:17:34] is what it is. Or if you're a male swimmer, you need to shave for whatever your gender purposes are, there you go. Yeah. This shaving cream, I will say, changed the game for me as well. I saw this, went to Target, got the shaving cream, and vomited it. 

Ryan Alford [00:17:49] What did you learn about it from Tik Tok?. OK, from her. Yes. 

Riley Clarke [00:17:54] Uh, yes. And it also now I'm just like this is my go-to shaving. Like I'm just like this is my shaving cream, like tell my girlfriends about it. This is the stuff. But essentially this shows you another way that you can leverage a Tik Tok influencer, because my understanding of this entire campaign is,  killjoy was not an influencer who was approached from EOS. It likes to promote shaving cream. She was like, this is my shaving cream. I love it for these reasons. And EOS was like, OK, we're going to do Tik Tok. That was my understanding of it. 

Ryan Alford [00:18:36] OK, OK, I've heard it before that 

Riley Clarke [00:18:38] this is another. Yeah, exactly. 

Ryan Alford [00:18:39] It'll be someone that has influence, that talks about something unpaid and then it gets some attention and then brands grab on and go pour some gas on this and they pay them and they expand upon the content. And so, it's a perfect example, especially with eCom like stuff that's readily available and could be purchased instantly. Like, it makes a ton of sense. Like if you're a struggling brand, you need to change your brand awareness. Like Simmons. I'm not saying they were struggling. I don't know their brand metrics, but they have a reputation. You want to change it. Here's on another level, Ecom direct market, direct to consumer and you can change the game in a second. Obviously, it helps when you have innovative, great products and they are already using them. Oh yeah. But then, jumping on board, no different than the Cranberry guy is a surfer, you know, like that was I think unpaid at first. I think it was. 

Riley Clarke[00:19:37] And then it became a trend and then they bought him a truck. 

Ryan Alford [00:19:40]. I would like to know how many people try to make money from influencing versus how many do? I don't know the percentage. 

Riley Clarke [00:19:52] I'll probably get that data in a couple of years. 

Ryan Alford [00:19:54] Yeah, a couple of years. Like only point zero. What kind of like you'd be better you'd have better luck becoming an NBA star. So micro-influencers that's the thing you get paid to have an opinion. People post content in another room. 

Riley Clarke [00:20:11]  You have an opinion and stick to it. Be consistent with what you want to say, but have the understanding of why you're saying it because someone's going to match with that, if your goal is to be this influencer that some brand's going to be able to match with you. You just got to stick to your mission. 

Ryan Alford [00:20:29] And the biggest thing for EOS or any of these brands, no matter who you are and I'm talking people out of hiring an agency here and that's not good for a business, but just being honest, telling it like it is. These are ideas that the brand would never have come up with on its own. The way the killjoy did these videos, the way she talked about it, the way she filmed it, the way she did it all, that could not have even been concepted by the agents or the company or whoever. It's so organic. The organic nature of these things is irreplaceable now. It doesn't replace the need for other tactics. But as this tactic goes, it's just going to supply you with a level of content that you couldn't even have done yourself, not only the influence that they have but the just the organic nature. Of it, like just because I've watched a couple of these videos and she's quirky and like just,  you couldn't have even scripted that, and I think that's where brands succeed and where brands fail in influencer marketing when they get a hold of an influencer and they guide it too much and you try to direct it, it loses the appeal and the brands that let the influencers own the content. And, yes, it's got to stay within a lot of standards. If you're Disney, you have to have some family standards and things like that. But I understand that. But let these influencers do what they would organically, naturally do. And that's how you get the most bang for your buck. And I think that's the learning lesson, that that's the same thing. And I think small businesses have got hold of this or they've got influencers. They might even tend to want to be even more overbearing because their dollars are probably smaller,  they have less budget. So just make sure you mention that I do it this way. And, it's like, no, that's not how this works. They need to bring it up naturally within the conversation flow or do what it is. It's obviously easier when it's a product like EOS shaving cream. It has a direct use benefit versus a service or something else. That might be a little more convoluted. But, the real insight here is to let the influencer build the content naturally. 

Riley Clarke [00:22:56] Hmm.. Absolutely. Shifting gears slightly. Starbucks, if you already go to Starbucks on the regular and you get oat milk in your coffee, you know where I'm going with this. 

Ryan Alford [00:23:11] I saw this topic on our board, and I'm like, I almost nixed it then I'm like, you know what, I want to have something to say about this. For one, I've never had oat milk. 

Riley Clarke [00:23:22] Well, that's a shame for 

Ryan Alford [00:23:23] everyone that likes oat milk. I'm not surprised there's a shortage because everyone's like, it's so wonderful. And I'm like, why don't you get some heavy cream? Like, is it really that much better? You're not. Is it non-dairy? Is that why it's non dairy, though? But I like you say 

Riley Clarke [00:23:39] they care about us non-dairy people. There are non dairy Coffee drinkers in the world. And I did appreciate it. 

Ryan Alford [00:23:49]  Is it one of the few things that has that kind of creaminess to it ?. And that's why the shortage probably. 

Riley Clarke [00:23:57] Well, here's how… 

Ryan Alford [00:23:58]  Did you create the shortage? Do you have all of the oatmeal secretly hidden in your condo here, downtown Greenville? 

Riley Clarke [00:24:05] Yeah, actually, my entire refrigerator is just stocked of only oat milk. So here's the deal.  I have a beef with Starbucks a little bit because they have not carried oatmeal forever, I had never heard of Starbucks carrying oat milk until if you remember this, the Super Bowl happened and then I think it was March 6th or March 2nd, they announced, oh, he is coming to Starbucks. And I'll never forget that day. I was like, wow, OK. 

Ryan Alford [00:24:37] Is that the tournament when the  CEO  was singing at the Super Bowl.? 

Riley Clarke [00:24:41] Yeah, exactly.  So I'm just going to give you a little bit of my story here. I am a Dunkin coffee person. And Dunkin has always carried oatmeal, which was why I never had an issue with Dunkin because they've always had oat milk. Then I  started going to Starbucks a little bit more because my boyfriend prefers Starbucks over Dunkin. . So he can make sacrifices because then when they announced they were carrying oat milk, the obvious thing was, OK, we can make compromises with Starbucks. Well, now there's an oh, no shortage and not only that, but they are also out of their only syrup that I liked, which is the brown sugar syrup. 

Ryan Alford [00:25:41] So how hard is it to manufacture oat milk? 

Riley Clarke [00:25:44] Oh, this is my question. How does the biggest, one of the biggest coffee retailers in the world start serving oat milk, and then does it think that their non-dairy customers are going to start requesting oatmeal-like religiously? Like, how did that not compute? 

Ryan Alford [00:26:17]  I don't know. They didn't plan it or maybe it was just unplannable. 

Riley Clarke [00:26:21]  Is it the mission or is this a statement? 

Ryan Alford [00:26:23] just They are trying to build up demand for it or there's a secret shortage and it is going to come back and then everybody's going to want it. I mean, I kind of want some right now 

Riley Clarke [00:26:32] everyone's like it's this global shortage and everyone's being so driven 

Ryan Alford [00:26:35] Can you buy oat milk at the store or is there a shortage in the store? 

Riley Clarke [00:26:39] Thank you. Because this is my second point. I did ask where Starbucks  gets it at the store and they said no. I went to Dunkin Donuts and they had oat milk. I think  there's a global Starbucks issue. Yeah, it's a Starbucks issue that is not a global shortage. 

Ryan Alford [00:26:56]  They probably have a set price or and they can't buy at that price and they're not going to pay more for it. 

Riley Clarke [00:27:02] But now I hate Starbucks right here because I love them and they are so sweet. 

Ryan Alford [00:27:04]  They have so many locations and if they can't have it at some percentage of locations then they don't want to have it at all. 

Riley Clarke [00:27:13]  Forgive my ignorance, but how did you not anticipate that? 

Ryan Alford [00:27:18] I don't know. Sounds like a campaign opportunity for Dunkin Donuts, if you asked me. 

Riley Clarke [00:27:25] Other than, my personal issues with it, did you have thoughts about this at all? 

Ryan Alford [00:27:36] I remember the commercial from the Super Bowl and how terrible the CEO was, but now I think it probably was very memorable. And it turns out it was from the neurology study that was done. And so I just wanted you to be able to talk about it because I know how much you like oat milk. 

Riley Clarke [00:27:58] Dude, it was a sad day. It was a sad listening. 

Ryan Alford [00:28:02] If anyone at Starbucks is listening, get that oatmeal back so that we do not break up a happy couple over where they get their coffee from. 

Riley Clarke [00:28:10] No, that's definitely not the thing. It was funny because it gave me all the more reason to have a little bit more of a beef with Starbucks because I originally set aside my beef. But now my beef is back on the table. 

Ryan Alford [00:28:24]  My beef is just that I just don't like Starbucks coffee. I'm not a huge coffee drinker anyway, but to me, Dunkin's way better and people are listening now and saying; How?  I know how die-hard Starbucks people are. So I know you are cursing me left and right now. But I'm not a big coffee drinker, so that should be your first sign that you don't have to listen to me, number one. And number two, You have better taste because I do think Dunkin Donuts tastes better. 

Riley Clarke [00:28:56]  And especially good. I will recommend just a nice Dunkin cappuccino with oatmeal. It just sets it apart. 

Ryan Alford [00:29:05] What does the milk taste like other than creamy flavor?. 

Riley Clarke [00:29:12]  It does and not to be stupid here but it tastes slightly like oatmeal-like. In the sense of it's a little 

Riley Clarke [00:29:21] I really like oatmeal. 

Riley Clarke [00:29:24] Yeah, because it kind of just complements the coffee, too and there's this roast process to the coffee that the oatmeal just kind of complements. 

Ryan Alford [00:29:35] Whatever, that stuff is mixed with the roast of the coffee, I think I could probably get down on some oat milk and Dunkin Donuts.  It sounds pretty good right now. Yeah. 

Riley  Clarke [00:29:47] Yeah. Now I'm probably going to get one, but yeah. So that's kind of that topic. And so we'll just see what happens with 

Ryan Alford [00:29:53] Today’s Radcast was brought to you by Oatmilk and Starbucks. I was just kidding. 

Riley Clarke 1 [00:30:00]  You can't get brown sugar syrup anymore either. OK, that is our last topic for today. This is very peculiar to me for a lot of reasons. One, I am not a parent, but if I was a parent, which is why your opinion is going to be interesting here, how would you feel? So Facebook's coming out with this new platform. It's a kid's Instagram, 13 years and younger I believe it was the age range.  The interesting thing to note here is there are not going to be ads running to the users on this platform, whatever it is going to be called. Kilogram? This is such an impressionable age and we're now just throwing this very high-intensity social media life in their face, expecting them to do something with it. Or what is the point of this like? Because when you look at young teenagers, just from a mental health perspective on social media, it's not looking good like it's not great. And I'm just my fear is like you're going to now instill that to a much younger demographic that just doesn't have that social understanding. 

Ryan Alford [00:31:23] Yeah, I think 16 should be the age limit for social media. My kids have smartphones that they're allowed to use in certain ways, mainly just for watching videos or games or whatever. I do not let them stay on them all day or anything like that. Buy roadblocks e stock If you're smart, it'll go up to two hundred dollars the next three years anyway. So I don't have a problem with a smartphone for gaming entertainment communication with us if we are at the right time. And so social media is just not a place for use. It's just the judgment, the overall atmosphere of just visually being judged by your peers, the comments, and all that.  I don't know all of the measures around this platform just yet. And no ads. OK, big deal. That's called what Instagram was to begin with. But it still is a platform where I don't think kids should be deriving their self-worth and value from, 

Riley Clarke [00:32:37] But I don't know that they understand that separation. 

Ryan Alford [00:32:40] I have an 11-year-old son, two nine-year-olds and a four-year-old or five sorry, just turn five Nash,  all boys and I will keep them off social media. And I make a living off of social media. I believe it has its place and it can be used for good and for sharing information and transparency. I believe in personal branding, but I just don't think that we have found the right balance of its use for kids under the age of 15 because I  have no problem with communication,  texting, if balanced and managed with their friends, communication with parents and friends. But the social media aspect is so visually driven on Instagram that it's going to just, I think, create a potential for it already being used for cyberbullying, judgment, and all those things. And I just can't speak because I didn't see any of this platform and maybe if this grows or whatever the next steps are, we'll do a follow-up on it. 

Riley Clarke [00:34:03] And Facebook's apparently been pretty quiet about this. 

Ryan Alford [00:34:05] Yeah, I think it's been on the radar. But before I judge it in its totality, this platform alone, I want to know more about what the features are, because I do think there are good things that can come out of social media. Like it, love it, or hate it, Google classroom, which is not a social media platform, but groups and engagement that is positive and generates a positive outcome or a learning environment. Social media can be used properly for that. But purely an evaluation of self-worth or image or those things are just so ripe for abuse. And yeah, I just can't have it seen at, you know, call fifteen and under real positive outcomes of just the standard experience of an Instagram. So wait and see exactly what their platform is. But, you know, as a parent, I hope that we can evolve to a place where the platforms are more engaging than just self-image. 

Riley Clarke  [00:35:31] Say it again. I'm just kidding. I'm with you, I do not know. 

Ryan Alford[00:35:37] I say that. I mean, like, I'm all about innovation. I'm all about growth. I'm all about technology and using it. So I'm not trying to sell any of that. I just think that kids are not mature or they have not developed enough internal coping devices to manage it. And it's a real shame what it can do in the wrong hands,  for our youth. So we'll see where it goes. 

Riley Clarke [00:36:11] Yeah, but that's it for today. Those are our topics, a little heavy in some ways, but in other ways it's important. Yeah, big, big points, though, to take away influencer marketing. It's obtainable in your small, medium-sized business strategy. You don't just have to have the Demellio sisters to make the strategy feel realistic or tangible. You're able to do this with the influencers in your community that are going to bring your brand in a new light or present it in a new way and just create that really nice organic conversation that fits in with your brand. 

Ryan Alford [00:36:44] So, yep. And ad spending is back. I think the economy is set for a really big rebound. I think all positive news for the economy and for everybody kind of getting back to some semblance of normal while creating even better normal. So we're looking forward to that and excited about all of the marketing and just overall economic growth. So more to come. You know where to find us. We're at the Radcast.com the radcast.com  and at the.rad.cast on Instagram. You can Google us. You can YouTube us, you can IGTV us, anywhere, everywhere. Audio, video. You know where to find us. Always for Radical, I'm Ryan Alford.