Neal Schaffer March 14, 2025 Hey Reader, By the time you read this, I will have probably finished my keynote at the Multifamily Social Media Summit in Napa, California. The topic of my keynote is revealed in this week's podcast episode and the latest one I am publishing today (which will be in next week's newsletter) continues on theme of re-imagining our company's social media presence. For anyone that has read Digital Threads, you already know what I am talking about, but if not, let me...
10 days ago • 7 min read
Neal Schaffer March 08, 2025 Hey Reader, Have you ever thought about launching a podcast? I know it is not for everyone, but I have found an interesting trend in professionals (and their PR agencies) reaching out to me to apply to be a guest on my own Your Digital Marketing Coach podcast. Even though I only interview 25 people a year, I have already had nearly 70 people ask to be on my podcast so far this year, and it is only early March! Now, I am certain that not every podcast receives such...
16 days ago • 7 min read
Neal Schaffer February 28, 2025 Hey Reader, I had an amazing interview yesterday with journalist turned copywriter Steven Lewis (you can watch it here). He talked about how you can literally use ChatGPT as your CMO. While that might sound far-fetched for some, he provided some very tactical and actionable feedback to help you think differently about AI, similar along the lines of what I talked about last week. The writing is on the wall: AI can help amplify your IP and bring your business or...
24 days ago • 7 min read
Neal Schaffer February 21, 2025 Hey Reader, This week I had an epiphany moment regarding AI in my work. Many are talking about the LLMs or certain prompts, but I think everyone is missing the point. Just as I talk about how you need a Digital-First approach in your marketing in Digital Threads, I think a similar approach is needed to get the most benefits from AI. What that means is that you need an AI-First approach to your marketing. What about Digital-First then, you ask? It's simple:...
about 1 month ago • 6 min read
Neal Schaffer February 15, 2025 Hey Reader, This week was a catch up week coming back from my second trip to Japan so far this year. You can read my complete report of my attending Japan's largest startup conference, TechGALA, in my LinkedIn newsletter here: Inside TechGALA: How Central Japan Is Transforming into a Global Startup Powerhouse We are now entering speaking season, so I am now focusing on content creation for my upcoming presentations over the next few months. Can't wait to share...
about 1 month ago • 6 min read
Neal Schaffer February 10, 2025 Hey Reader, I spent a crazy yet fruitful week last week in Nagoya, Japan attending Japan's largest conference all about startups, TechGALA. I had a chance to interview several of what many expect to be Japan's next "unicorns," and one thing that struck me was their focus on technology or product. In other words, when given the microphone, all of their conversations revolved around their feature sets. Of course, this is essential information, but outside of that...
about 1 month ago • 8 min read
Neal Schaffer January 31, 2025 Hey Reader, I've been thinking a lot about the clients I work with and why they work with me. A lot of smaller businesses don't realize it, but they are often limiting the scope of their digital marketing to the staff that they employ. Let me explain. Often smaller businesses have a skeleton marketing department which has one decision maker sometimes accompanied by various assistants. What I find is that these marketing decision makers often base their decisions...
about 2 months ago • 7 min read
Neal Schaffer January 24, 2025 Hey Reader, I had a pre-sales call with a small business yesterday that is in the B2B space and thus focusing solely on LinkedIn as their strategic digital marketing channel. While their intention is spot-on, they still were confused as to why their LinkedIn Company Page posts weren't getting traction. Or the myriad of LinkedIn ad format and targeting options they had. People were signing up to their webinars but they weren't generating leads. They were...
about 2 months ago • 6 min read
Neal Schaffer January 19, 2025 Hey Reader, While I was in Japan this past week, the news has been dominated by TikTok. Due to the timing of this newsletter, we now know that TikTok has been officially banned in the United States, and it is not appearing in the app store anymore. If you have the TikTok app you can still view your content and feed, but you cannot post or see any new content. Something I did not know is that CapCut, which is also owned by TikTok's owner, ByteDance, is in the...
2 months ago • 6 min read