Digital Media Spotlight

Beth Trejo on Navigating Entrepreneurship and Scaling Challenges

directory@softwareoasis.com (Beth Trejo, Michael Bernzweig) — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 23:00:00 +0000

Beth Trejo is the founder and CEO of Chatterkick, a digital marketing agency based in the Midwest. With a strong background in marketing and social media, Beth established Chatterkick to address local business needs. She has navigated the complexities of entrepreneurship, including selling her business to private equity and later buying it back, all while raising a family and building a successful management team.

Show Notes:

[00:00] Introduction to Beth Trejo and Chatterkick
[05:22] Beth's entrepreneurial journey and early challenges
[12:45] The decision to bring on a partner and scaling with private equity
[20:10] Microcontent operations and marketing strategies
[28:30] The importance of the human element in AI-driven workflows
[35:50] Live Q&A session at Software Oasis AI Summit
[42:15] Closing thoughts and key takeaways

Ready to action this strategy?

Connect with this expert now for a complimentary strategy consult or exclusive offer.

https://summit.softwareoasis.com/activate-offers/

(Claim Your Offer / Schedule Consultation)

Apply to Present at our Live Events as an expert

https://experts.softwareoasis.com/expert-introductions

Get Your Networking Pass

https://experts.softwareoasis.com/executive-networking-pass

Claim your complimentary event pass and attend live:

https://bootcamps.softwareoasis.com/

https://summit.softwareoasis.com/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Laura Patterson on Data-Driven Growth Strategies

directory@softwareoasis.com (Laura Patterson, Michael Bernzweig) — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 21:36:12 +0000

Laura Patterson is the President of VisionEdge Marketing, a growth strategy consultancy. Since 1999, she has been at the forefront of marketing performance management, helping B2B companies leverage data and analytics for customer-centric growth. Laura is also an acclaimed author and patent holder.

00:00 - Introduction and Laura Patterson's journey
10:30 - Early career insights and the importance of customer personas
20:00 - Transition to entrepreneurship and VisionEdge Marketing's mission
30:15 - Discussion on growth strategies and customer-centric approaches
40:00 - Live Q&A panel at the Software Oasis AI Summit

Ready to action this strategy?

Connect with this expert now for a complimentary strategy consult or exclusive offer.

https://summit.softwareoasis.com/activate-offers/

(Claim Your Offer / Schedule Consultation)

Apply to Present at our Live Events as an expert

https://experts.softwareoasis.com/expert-introductions

Get Your Networking Pass

https://experts.softwareoasis.com/executive-networking-pass

Claim your complimentary event pass and attend live:

https://bootcamps.softwareoasis.com/

https://summit.softwareoasis.com/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Patrick Brightman on Navigating PR and AI Search at 3E Public Relations

directory@softwareoasis.com (Patrick Brightman, Michael Bernzweig) — Wed, 8 Apr 2026 14:35:52 +0000

Patrick Brightman is the President and CEO of 3E Public Relations, a New Jersey-based agency specializing in PR, social media, and content. With a background in journalism, Patrick transitioned into public relations and co-founded 3E, leading it through significant industry changes and helping clients navigate the evolving media landscape.

00:00 - Introduction to Patrick Brightman and 3E Public Relations
05:30 - Patrick's journey from journalism to PR
15:45 - The tech bubble and diversification as a survival strategy
25:00 - AI search's impact on marketing strategies
35:00 - The role of AI tools like ChatGPT in PR
45:00 - Importance of voice consistency in communication
55:00 - Live Q&A panel at Software Oasis AI event
60:00 - Outro and key takeaways

Ready to action this strategy?

Connect with this expert now for a complimentary strategy consult or exclusive offer.

https://summit.softwareoasis.com/activate-offers/

(Claim Your Offer / Schedule Consultation)

Apply to Present at our Live Events as an expert

https://experts.softwareoasis.com/expert-introductions

Get Your Networking Pass

https://experts.softwareoasis.com/executive-networking-pass

Claim your complimentary event pass and attend live:

https://bootcamps.softwareoasis.com/

https://summit.softwareoasis.com/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Always Be Testing: A Simple Growth Framework

directory@softwareoasis.com (Michael Bernzweig, Zane Frantzen) — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 02:45:46 +0000

In this episode, host Michael Bernzweig talks with Tim Davidson, co‑founder of Clean Commit, about how to use experimentation to grow faster and smarter. Tim explains why “trying stuff” isn’t real testing, outlines a simple hypothesis‑driven framework, and shows how to prioritize ideas by potential impact and effort. He shares examples from e‑commerce brands, including price tests that lifted revenue and profitability, and talks about his own channel experiments in cold email and LinkedIn to highlight how data can guide where you focus next.

In this episode:

The importance of treating business as a laboratory with thousands of A/B tests
How industry giants like Amazon utilize rigorous experimentation
A simple framework for hypothesis-driven testing: hypothesis, variables, measurement, and learning
Prioritizing high-impact tests such as pricing, cart, and product pages
Overcoming common hurdles: low traffic, data silos, and trial vs. testing
Practical tips for small teams to implement a robust testing program
The value of embracing failure as data for long-term growth

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction to Tim Davidson and his CRO philosophy
02:30 - How Amazon and large enterprises approach testing at scale
05:00 - Building a hypothesis-driven testing framework
07:15 - The key levers for quick wins: cart and product pages
09:45 - Overcoming low traffic challenges with smart prioritization
12:30 - Difference between trying and testing: ensuring rigor in experiments
15:00 - Practical steps for small teams to start testing in e-commerce
18:20 - The importance of documenting and iterating tests over time
20:50 - How to handle failures and extract value from experiments
23:10 - The role of competitor insights and research in testing ideas
26:00 - Applying testing principles across channels: price, messaging, and outreach
29:30 - Connecting data sources for better decision-making in HR and operations
33:15 - Building a culture of continuous experimentation
36:20 - Common mistakes and how to avoid them
39:10 - Final thoughts on moving from guesswork to data-backed growth

Ready to action this strategy?

Connect with this expert now for a complimentary strategy consult or exclusive offer.

https://summit.softwareoasis.com/activate-offers/

(Claim Your Offer / Schedule Consultation)

Apply to Present at our Live Events as an expert

https://experts.softwareoasis.com/expert-introductions

Get Your Networking Pass

https://experts.softwareoasis.com/executive-networking-pass

Claim your complimentary event pass and attend live:

https://bootcamps.softwareoasis.com/

https://summit.softwareoasis.com/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Owning Your Marketing Data in the Age of AI

directory@softwareoasis.com (Kevin Wassong, Michael Bernzweig) — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 16:32:57 +0000

In this episode, host Michael Bernzweig sits down with Kevin Wassong, founder and CEO of Marketing AI, to explore why marketers have quietly ceded control of their brands to fragmented platforms and agencies. Kevin makes the case that creative and historical campaign data are a company’s true “brand DNA,” and argues that most teams no longer know what consumers are actually seeing from their brand. He outlines how an AI‑powered “Bloomberg terminal for marketers” and real data sovereignty can unify brand and performance, prevent platforms from owning your learnings, and turn past creative into a compounding asset instead of wasted spend.
Mastering AI-Driven Marketing: Building Your Proprietary Data & Creative Foundation

Key Topics:

The importance of owning and archiving creative assets to prevent fragmentation and platform dependence
Building a "Bloomberg terminal" style dashboard for holistic marketing data management
How to establish a proprietary brand taxonomy and ensure data sovereignty
The role of AI as an enabler for scale decisions while maintaining human control
Strategies for maintaining visibility and consistency in content over time
The risks of platform-owned taxonomies and the need for brand ownership
Practical steps for marketers to audit, archive, and leverage creative and performance data
How to create a feedback loop from historical data to optimize future campaigns
Approaches for framing human-in-the-loop processes to facilitate executive adoption
Guardrails for safe AI implementation, ensuring control over creative outputs

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction with Kevin Wassong on AI’s role in unifying brand and performance marketing

02:14 - Kevin’s entrepreneurial journey from Sun Microsystems to Marketing AI

06:09 - The evolving landscape of AI platforms and media fragmentation

10:24 - Building a foundational marketing data system modeled as a Bloomberg terminal

14:19 - The importance of data sovereignty and creative ownership to prevent platform dependency

18:09 - The discrepancy between platform taxonomies and brand taxonomies—who truly owns the brand DNA?

22:43 - Key signals indicating a pipeline’s reliance on legion versus demand-driven leads

26:39 - How to implement a weekly cadence to stay visible to your target audience

30:56 - Strategies for reclaiming creative assets from ad platforms

33:53 - Distinguishing true process bottlenecks from slow tasks with Zane

37:27 - Framing human-in-the-loop as a feature, not a failure—adoption strategies for executives

40:14 - What a Bloomberg terminal for marketers looks like inside a large brand’s tech stack

43:03 - Structuring an effective weekly content cadence for event-focused businesses

46:14 - Ensuring organizational buy-in for AI projects with human-in-the-loop approaches

49:10 - Guardrails for safe AI-driven creative optimization: maintain control and oversight

Ready to action this strategy?

Connect with this expert now for a complimentary strategy consult or exclusive offer.

https://summit.softwareoasis.com/activate-offers/

(Claim Your Offer / Schedule Consultation)

Apply to Present at our Live Events as an expert

https://experts.softwareoasis.com/expert-introductions

Get Your Networking Pass

https://experts.softwareoasis.com/executive-networking-pass

Claim your complimentary event pass and attend live:

https://bootcamps.softwareoasis.com/

https://summit.softwareoasis.com/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Making Digital Products Sticky: Metrics, Messaging, and Habits

directory@softwareoasis.com (Jono Bacon, Michael Bernzweig) — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 15:38:13 +0000

In this episode, host Michael Bernzweig talks with Jono Bacon, founder and CEO of State Shift, about how to turn one‑way marketing into a true movement around your product. Jono breaks down why some brands win mindshare and passion while similar competitors stall, and shows how to communicate with “authentic mirroring,” focus on the right engagement signals, and design habit‑forming product experiences. He shares practical examples of tightening time‑to‑value, fixing vanity‑metric dashboards, and using simple hooks—from triggers to rewards to small user investments—to keep your audience coming back.

Key Topics:

The difference between communities, audiences, and movements — and how to build impactful ones
Authentic mirroring: how to communicate in a way that builds trust and relevance
Signals that show your content truly engages, beyond vanity metrics
Designing onboarding experiences that shorten time to value and increase stickiness
The importance of honest messaging free of hype to foster real relationships
How to measure meaningful signals like active users and engagement quality
Building a community journey that scales from casual users to passionate contributors
Aligning development, QA, and security to own quality across the entire lifecycle
Practical frameworks for creating triggers, actions, rewards, and investments to deepen product habit formation

Timestamps:

(00:00) - Introduction to Jono Bacon and the essence of building movements
(02:13) - The journey from consulting to impact-driven impact
(04:36) - Navigating influence without direct control; relevance over permission
(07:25) - Surprising challenges in early entrepreneurship
(09:53) - Metrics that matter: signals over vanity
(12:17) - Building passion in target audiences: case studies from Ubuntu and Fedora
(15:42) - Authentic mirroring: how to communicate naturally with your audience
(18:02) - How measuring "useless" metrics can hinder progress
(19:54) - Time to value: designing onboarding for product stickiness
(24:42) - Creating triggers and rewards for sustained product engagement
(42:51) - Designing community journeys that prevent burnout
(46:19) - Cross-department alignment for quality ownership across development and security
(47:55) - Data cleaning and transformation strategies for reliable AI
(51:37) - Final thoughts on trust, signals, and movement-building

Ready to action this strategy?

Connect with this expert now for a complimentary strategy consult or exclusive offer.

https://summit.softwareoasis.com/activate-offers/

(Claim Your Offer / Schedule Consultation)

Apply to Present at our Live Events as an expert

https://experts.softwareoasis.com/expert-introductions

Get Your Networking Pass

https://experts.softwareoasis.com/executive-networking-pass

Claim your complimentary event pass and attend live:

https://bootcamps.softwareoasis.com/

https://summit.softwareoasis.com/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How Clearscope’s Bernard Huang Wins in AI Search and AEO

directory@softwareoasis.com (Bernard Huang, Michael Bernzweig) — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 18:16:17 +0000

Bernard Huang, founder of Clearscope, joins host Michael Bernzweig to explain how AI is transforming search and why so many brands are seeing their organic traffic quietly evaporate. He breaks down the rise of Answer/Generative Engine Optimization (AEO/GEO), shows how models like Gemini and ChatGPT actually research and assemble responses, and explains why brand mentions and AI citations are becoming as important as classic rankings. Bernard then shares a practical playbook: mapping the topics AI associates with your brand, doing prompt tracking to see how agents reason, creating long‑tail content that targets AI web searches, and tuning pages AI already cites so your brand shows up more often and in a better light across modern AI search experiences.

Key Topics

The rise of Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) as successors to traditional SEO
How AI agents generate responses using training data, web searches, and social signals
Practical steps to influence AI responses: training data influence vs. real-time search influence
Building topic authority: identifying content gaps and creating AI-relevant content
Tracking AI prompts and citations to enhance brand visibility and sentiment
Differences between traditional SEO and AI-centric visibility strategies
The evolving role of online reputation and brand mentions in AI responses
How to adapt content and marketing strategies amid declining traditional search traffic
Future market dynamics: AI companies competing for market share and traffic monetization

Timestamps

(00:00) - Introduction to Bernard Huang and the shift from traditional search to AI-powered search
(01:01) - Impact of AI on search behavior and click distribution
(02:20) - Explanation of AEO versus traditional SEO
(02:49) - How AI models generate responses based on training data and web grounding
(04:16) - Key differences in how brands are rewarded: brand mentions vs. clicks
(04:44) - The process of AI response generation: training data, grounding search, memory layer
(07:03) - Strategies to influence AI responses during training and validation layers
(08:19) - Building brand authority through topic research and content gaps
(09:45) - Using Gemini and ChatGPT to understand core topics about your brand
(10:15) - Keyword clustering and identifying content gaps
(11:07) - Expanding brand topic coverage to include emerging areas like AI Search
(12:13) - Implementing prompt tracking akin to rank tracking for AI questions
(13:40) - Analyzing AI research processes using tools like Google's AI Studio
(15:15) - Creating long-tail content for lesser-searched AI web queries
(16:55) - The importance of quality and relevance in AI content
(17:25) - Winning AI citations and their impact on training data updates
(18:22) - Influencing AI brand mentions and sentiment on citation pages
(19:20) - The declining relevance of traditional search traffic and the rise of model influence
(20:16) - Bernard’s entrepreneurial journey leading to the creation of ClearScope
(25:42) - How AI shifts the content landscape from traffic to brand influence
(30:22) - The effect of AI on publishers, business models, and market competition
(33:04) - The competitive landscape: Google versus AI startups and market dynamics
(40:12) - Changing user discovery with AI overviews and featured snippets
(41:41) - The legacy of Google search behavior evolving with AI models
(42:12) - Understanding the sales cycle of growth and the importance of profitability
(45:29) - Culture assessment and early warning signals for leadership
(53:35) - Practical three-phase roadmap for AI implementation: foundation, pilot, scale
(55:21) - Techniques for identifying and filling topic gaps to improve citation frequency
(57:14) - Final key takeaway: shift from user-centric keywords to AI-agent-centric topic strategies.

Ready to action this strategy?

Connect with this expert now for a complimentary strategy consult or exclusive offer.

https://summit.softwareoasis.com/activate-offers/

(Claim Your Offer / Schedule Consultation)

Apply to Present at our Live Events as an expert

https://experts.softwareoasis.com/expert-introductions

Get Your Networking Pass

https://experts.softwareoasis.com/executive-networking-pass

Claim your complimentary event pass and attend live:

https://bootcamps.softwareoasis.com/

https://summit.softwareoasis.com/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Crafting Impactful Ads: Messaging Secrets

directory@softwareoasis.com (Allan Khazak) — Sat, 14 Feb 2026 14:43:04 +0000

On this episode, host Michael Bernzweig sits down with Allan Khazak, CEO of Vroom Media Group, which builds high-impact digital campaigns for growth-stage brands across channels and formats. We unpack why so many ad campaigns underperform even when the creative looks sharp, and the targeting seems dialed in, and how vague ideal customer profiles quietly sabotage results. Allan shares a practical messaging framework built around clear ICPs, emotional triggers, and specific outcomes, plus how to adapt that message for paid social, search, YouTube, and native placements. If you lead or advise brands and want your digital media spend to consistently translate into real leads and revenue, you’ll come away with concrete steps to tighten your strategy and copy.

Key Topics

Why most ad campaigns fail and the importance of messaging over creative or targeting
How to build and refine a clear Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) that resonates
The problem with vague demographic targeting and how to craft specific, emotionally-triggered messages
Adapting your messaging for different digital channels like paid social, search, YouTube, and native placements
The four levels of customer awareness and tailoring ad content accordingly
Exercises to sharpen your ICP and attract the right audience
Common messaging pitfalls: talking like a brand instead of a person and lack of specificity
Case studies of successful messaging shifts improving ad performance
How to align internal teams (development, QA, security) around quality across the entire software lifecycle

Timestamps

00:00 - Introduction to high-impact digital campaigns and common pitfalls
02:23 - The journey from accountant to marketing expert—lessons learned
03:36 - Understanding the types of clients and projects at Vroom Media Group
04:00 - Why sales skills are crucial early on for founders
05:12 - The real reason most ad campaigns fail—messaging over creatives
06:09 - The danger of vague ICPs and how detailed profiles improve targeting
07:03 - Exercises to deepen understanding of your target audience
08:00 - Crafting compelling problem-solution emotional triggers in ads
09:21 - Messaging strategies that resonate across different platforms
10:00 - Matching message to customer awareness levels
11:08 - The importance of focusing on problem-aware and solution-aware segments
12:26 - Tailoring ad content for different channels (social, search, native, YouTube)
13:48 - How to create irresistible hooks that filter in ideal clients
15:00 - The significance of a clear and humanized communication style
16:24 - A case story demonstrating transformative messaging shifts
16:53 - Common mistakes: talking like a brand, lacking specificity
17:42 - The power of speaking to one person and embracing uncomfortable truths
18:26 - Types of organizations that benefit most from targeted messaging
19:18 - Practical strategies for service-based businesses and software companies
20:07 - Recap and upcoming Q&A session
21:15 - Using AI to expand your target market and craft effective copy
23:22 - Building a movement around your product versus just a community
24:40 - Signals that a company still operates with waterfall thinking
26:36 - Approaches to replacing complex enterprise tech stacks gradually
29:06 - Questions for uncovering customer pain points during interviews
30:42 - Metrics to track for audience engagement and stickiness
32:45 - Upskilling testers to be owner-oriented, business-savvy engineers
34:18 - Quantifying the hidden costs of point-to-point integrations
36:21 - Designing community journeys that foster deep engagement without burnout
40:26 - Aligning QA, developers, and security for shared ownership of quality
42:20 - The importance of clean data pipelines to enable reliable AI operations
44:16 - Best practices for real-time data cleaning and AI model training
45:30 - How to connect with speakers for further questions and insights

Maximize your ad performance by honing your messaging and defining a precise ICP. Remember: speak directly to one person's real pain, promise a tangible transformation, and humanize your content. Whether you're targeting problem-aware or solution-aware audiences, clarity and specificity are your best tools to attract the right clients and scale consistently.

Ready to action this strategy?

Connect with this expert now for a complimentary strategy consult or exclusive offer.

https://summit.softwareoasis.com/activate-offers/

(Claim Your Offer / Schedule Consultation)

Apply to Present at our Live Events as an expert

https://experts.softwareoasis.com/expert-introductions

Get Your Networking Pass

https://experts.softwareoasis.com/executive-networking-pass

Claim your complimentary event pass and attend live:

https://bootcamps.softwareoasis.com/

https://summit.softwareoasis.com/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Driving AI-Era Search Traffic

directory@softwareoasis.com (John “JB” Russell, Michael Bernzweig) — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 02:27:46 +0000

In this episode of Digital Media Spotlight™, host Michael Bernzweig sits down with John “JB” Russell of Digital Womble to dissect why so many websites are losing traffic—and what to do about it. JB explains why the real issue isn’t just AI or volume, but the quality of your traffic and the precision of your keyword and content strategy.

They dig into practical examples of buyer-intent keywords (like “accountant” vs. “accountancy” and different broadband phrases), show how to use leading SEO tools and Google’s own data to uncover true demand, and outline how to structure titles, slugs, meta descriptions, headings, and internal links so both search engines and LLMs know exactly when to surface your pages.

JB then reveals how to boost traffic volume by taking control of indexing instead of waiting for crawlers—breaking down crawl budgets, “last modified” dates, proactive indexing via search consoles, and a case study of a Premier League club that jumped from 2.1M to 3.2M visits in a month. He wraps with a simple three-part framework: focus on intent, implement properly, and index often—giving marketers, founders, and SEO leaders a clear roadmap for winning visibility in both traditional search and AI-powered results.

Ready to action this strategy?

Connect with this expert now for a complimentary strategy consult or exclusive offer.

https://summit.softwareoasis.com/activate-offers/

(Claim Your Offer / Schedule Consultation)

Apply to Present at our Live Events as an expert

https://experts.softwareoasis.com/expert-introductions

Get Your Networking Pass

https://experts.softwareoasis.com/executive-networking-pass

Claim your complimentary event pass and attend live:

https://bootcamps.softwareoasis.com/

https://summit.softwareoasis.com/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.