Amanda Russell has been referred to as \u201cCarrie Bradshaw meets fitness.\u201d As an award-winning brand creator and international digital marketing strategist, Amanda helps companies re-imagine how they interact with their customers and manage their businesses in the new digital world.
She is the creator of Fit Strong and Sexy, an online fitness and lifestyle community for women. Amanda has been featured in publications including Forbes, The Huffington Post, Women\u2019s Health Magazine, SELF and SHAPE. Selected as one of the world\u2019s Most Popular YouTube Fitness Stars by Ryan Seacrest, Amanda knows first-hand what it takes to build a strong brand.
Amanda designed & co-created UCLA's Influencer Marketing course, the world\u2019s first fully accredited program in Influencer Marketing. She has now brought that curriculum to the University of Texas at Austin and is in instituting it in universities across the globe.
Amanda and I discuss her new book \u201cThe Influencer Code: How to Unlock the Power of Influencer Marketing\u201d as well as the state of marketing curriculum at Business schools. Amanda also shares her inspiring story of missing the Beijing Olympics due to a career ending injury and how she used that experience to a pivot and become a successful entrepreneur.\xa0
Amanda has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Richmond, Robins School of Business and an MBA from Mercy College.\xa0
Discussion Topics:
(3:07) How MBA programs should be updated to meet the changing nature of modern-day marketing.
(9:11) How to find and exercise one\u2019s influence.
(10:38) Influencer marketing misconceptions: buzz vs. influence.
(13:15) How best to justify your marketing spend and win budget.
(18:14) Free versus paid advertising and attribution.
(25:40) Legal considerations for Influencer marketing.
(29:48) Amanda\u2019s story of launching a business in NYC and early Youtube days.
(41:45) Rapid fire questions.