Happy New Year! Mike (branding/web) and Liz (social strategy) unpack the biggest small-business marketing lessons from 2025 and how to apply them right away. We cover the rise of AI and AI-SEO, why storytelling beats listicles, when quantity vs. quality matters by industry, why putting all your eggs in one channel is risky, and how to simplify tools, automation, and audits so you can grow with less chaos. We close with our own 2026 intentions: more consistent, higher-quality content.

You’ll learn

1. How AI and AI-SEO changed discovery, what original content signals look like now, and why human context still wins.
2. Storytelling over dry tips: ways to embed narrative into educational content.
3. Quality vs. quantity: how to choose your emphasis based on your market luxury vs. utility.
4. Diversify your mix: risks of single-channel dependence ads, TikTok, SEO and what owned assets to build.
5. Automation vs. AI: where automation tagging, drip, follow-ups actually saves time and where to stay human.
6. Tools sanity check: pick software to solve a bottleneck, not to collect subscriptions.
7. Audit, then adjust: set goals and KPIs, review top, mid, and bottom-funnel signals, and evolve, not overhaul, your strategy.

Quick wins

1. Pick one channel and define its single KPI for Q1; align content to it.
2. Repurpose two strong posts as new formats for example, video to carousel; carousel to short.
3. Add one automated follow-up instant form to email or text nurture and measure conversions.
4. Diversify once: mirror your best content to a second platform and add one owned asset touchpoint email or signup.
5. Remove one unused tool; document one simple workflow you will repeat weekly.

Key takeaway

Treat 2026 as an evolution, not a reset. Tell better stories, pick the right quality-vs-quantity balance, diversify beyond one channel, and let audits and simple systems guide your next step. Consistency will compound.