Insights

brand mention example
Articles
Corey Hinde

Are Brand Mentions the New Backlink

For years, backlinks have been one of the main currencies of SEO. The basic idea was simple: if a trusted website linked to your website, some of that trust and authority could pass to you. That idea still matters. Google confirms that it uses links to understand the relevance of pages, discover new content and help determine which pages may be useful to searchers.  PageRank, although much more advanced than it was at the start of Google, remains part of

bridget willard marketing e&i creative
Articles
Elevate and Inspire

When Strategy Becomes Reactive: How Leaders Can Stop Chasing and Start Leading

Insights from Elevate & Examine, Episode Five Most businesses don’t wake up one morning and intentionally abandon their strategy. It usually happens gradually. A competitor launches something that gets attention. Engagement drops. Sales slow down. A platform changes. A trend suddenly appears everywhere, and someone asks why the company isn’t participating. Each moment may feel urgent on its own. Together, they can pull a business away from its original direction. That was the focus of Episode Five of Elevate &

AI intellectual property law
Articles
Anthony Gaenzle

Is AI Stealing From Artists and Writers? The Truth Is More Complicated Than Either Side Admits

Few topics create an online argument faster than artificial intelligence and intellectual property. I posted recently on LinkedIn about AI, and the conversation quickly exploded. Each side digging in and taking a stance.  One side says AI companies built billion-dollar products by taking the work of artists, writers, photographers, musicians, and other creators without permission or payment. The other side says AI learns from existing material much like people do. Writers read books. Artists study paintings. Musicians listen to songs.

linkedin collaboration
Articles
Anthony Gaenzle

How to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile in 2026 and Grow Your Personal Brand

Your online presence often creates an impression before you ever speak with a potential client, employer, collaborator, or business partner. For entrepreneurs and creators, LinkedIn has become much more than a place to list job titles and occasionally congratulate someone on a promotion. It can serve as your professional landing page, content platform, networking hub, portfolio, and credibility engine. LinkedIn reported more than 1.3 billion members in 2026, along with continued growth in original posts and knowledge-oriented conversations. That creates

A Lee Judge elevate & examine podcast
Articles
Elevate and Inspire

When Content Becomes Noise: Creating Work People Notice and Remember

Insights from Elevate & Examine, Episode Three There has never been more content available to us. Businesses publish articles, videos, podcasts, newsletters, social media posts, reports, webinars, and downloadable guides every day. Creators are producing across multiple platforms, often several times a day, while artificial intelligence has made it possible to generate even more material in less time. The result is an online world where nearly everyone is publishing, but far fewer people are being remembered. That was the focus

elevate & examine episode one podcast
Articles
Elevate and Inspire

The Real Impact of AI on Creators and Business Leaders

Insights from the Launch of Elevate & Examine, Episode One Opinions on AI range wildly right now, from “AI is a game-changer” to “AI is bringing the world crumbling down around me.”  Whatever side of the debate you fall on, much of the conversation feels disconnected from how people actually work with AI.  It’s easy to focus on tools, trends, and “hot takes”. What’s harder, and far more useful, is understanding what AI really means for creators and business leaders

death of the marketing funnel
Articles
Anthony Gaenzle

The Death of the Traditional ‘Marketing Funnel’ (And What’s Replacing It)

For years, when we talked about marketing, we were told to think in terms of funnels. Top of funnel. Middle of funnel. Bottom of funnel.  The marketing funnel is neat. It’s predictable. It’s linear. It’s all the things we were taught back in marketing 101.  It’s also increasingly disconnected from how people actually make decisions. The funnel wasn’t a bad idea. Nothing that sticks around and works for over 100 years is really a bad idea, right?  It gave structure

small business standing up to large corporations
Articles
Anthony Gaenzle

Marketing That Levels the Playing Field: How Smart SMBs Compete, Adapt, and Grow in a Changing Landscape

There’s a quiet shift happening in marketing right now. The companies winning aren’t always the biggest. They’re the ones paying closer attention, moving a little faster, and using the tools in front of them a little better. If you’re leading marketing inside a small to mid-sized organization, that’s good news. Because while enterprise brands still have scale and deep pockets, you have something just as powerful. You have proximity to your audience, the ability to pivot quickly, and fewer layers

content strategy
Articles
Anthony Gaenzle

Why Great Businesses Still Struggle With Content Marketing (And How to Fix It)

Content marketing is one of the most widely recommended strategies for growing your business today. It gives you a lift by improving your brand’s visibility, building relationships with your customers, and selling your products by educating and entertaining. Business leaders across the world understand that publishing helpful content can put your brand on the map, build trust, and generate inbound opportunities. And yet, many companies try it for a while and walk away frustrated. They publish blog posts for a

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