Drop The Mic with Jason Hunt

Ben Lund is a former Google Ads principal who managed major brand campaigns and now runs Rise Digital. In this episode, we explore the seismic shifts happening in digital marketing for 2025, from Google's strategic pivots to AI-powered client acquisition strategies that separate winning agencies from the rest.

Ben brings insider perspective from his years at Google, Yahoo, and Monster, where he managed massive advertising budgets and witnessed platform evolution firsthand. Now as an agency owner, he's applying those insights to build sustainable growth systems and future-proof strategies that help agencies thrive in an AI-first marketing landscape.

🔑 What We Cover:

• Inside insights from Google's advertising evolution and platform changes
• Why SEO and AI integration are no longer optional for agencies
• The shift toward full-service offerings and what clients actually demand
• Advanced AI prompting techniques for data analysis and strategy
• LinkedIn personal branding strategies that drive real business results
• How to future-proof your agency in an AI-first marketing landscape
• Google's scaling back of ads focus and what it means for marketers
• SEO strategies that get you found in ChatGPT and AI search tools

🎯 Key Frameworks:

• The "Runway Strategy" for sustainable client growth and retention
• SEO best practices for AI tool visibility (ChatGPT, Perplexity, etc.)
• Authentic LinkedIn content systems for founder-led brands
• Community building approaches for lead nurturing at scale
• The "People Buy From People" principle in B2B sales
• Portfolio approach to agency service expansion

⏰ Timestamps:

• 00:04 – Intro: Jason Hunt & Ben from Google
• 00:30 – Ben's Background: Google, Yahoo, Monster
• 01:03 – Managing Major Brands at Google Ads
• 01:58 – Leaving Google for Entrepreneurship
• 03:29 – Growing Clients & Runway Strategy
• 05:16 – Expanding Services: From Ads to SEO & Web
• 06:57 – Full-Service Agency Benefits
• 09:55 – Lead Generation & Google Ads for Rise
• 10:59 – SEO + GPT Leads & ChatGPT Referrals
• 12:00 – SEO Best Practices to Appear in AI Tools
• 14:45 – Google Scaling Back Ads Focus
• 16:09 – AI Marketing Tools Used at Rise
• 18:05 – Using AI for Data Analysis & Significance
• 20:00 – Prompting Right: Advanced AI Use Tips
• 22:00 – Authentic LinkedIn Content Strategy
• 23:30 – Founder-Led Personal Branding on LinkedIn
• 25:00 – LinkedIn Comments Strategy for Reach
• 26:49 – Avoiding Automation & Shadowban Risks
• 28:10 – Personal Posts vs Business Content Impact
• 29:46 – People Buy From People: Sales Principle
• 33:25 – Building Community for Lead Nurturing
• 34:03 – Future of Agencies in the AI Era
• 36:25 – Agency Agility: Winning with Tools & AI
• 37:00 – SEO Isn't Dead: Just Evolving
• 38:02 – In-Person Events & Networking Strategy
• 39:20 – Long Game of Sales Attribution
• 40:11 – How to Contact Ben & Wrap Up

🔗 Connect with Ben Lund:

Rise Digital

Ben's LinkedIn

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John Gillham is the founder of Originality.AI, a leading platform for detecting AI-generated content. In this episode, we dive deep into how AI detection technology works, Google's shifting stance on AI content, and what the March 2024 spam update means for marketers and content creators navigating the AI revolution.

John built and sold a successful content marketing agency before launching Originality.AI at the perfect moment—right as ChatGPT exploded onto the scene. His unique perspective as both a former agency owner and AI detection pioneer gives us insider insights into how the content landscape is evolving and what strategies actually work in 2025.

🔑 Key Topics Covered:

• How Originality.AI detects AI-generated content with 96%+ accuracy
• Google's March 2024 spam update and mass de-indexing of AI-heavy sites
• Why hybrid content strategies (human + AI) are dominating SEO
• The rise of AI Overviews and what it means for organic traffic
• Why "humanizer" tools often fail and create more problems
• Portfolio approach to business sustainability in seasonal markets
• AI dependency concerns in education and copywriting

🔍 Episode Highlights:

• Real data showing human copy outperforms AI in LinkedIn engagement
• How Google's AI content policies keep shifting (and why that matters)
• The hidden SEO risks most agencies don't know about AI content
• Why omnichannel branding beats pure SEO plays in 2025
• Practical strategies for staying compliant while leveraging AI tools

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro & John's Background01:36 – From Content Agency to AI Detection Pioneer 06:27 – Perfect Timing: Launching with ChatGPT's Rise10:05 – Google's March 2024 Spam Update Breakdown13:15 – SEO's New Reality: Fewer Clicks, Higher Conversions22:44 – Inside Originality.AI's Detection Technology28:28 – Why AI "Humanizers" Often Backfire32:04 – Data: Human vs AI Content Performance35:06 – AI in Education: Detection vs Reality

🔗 Connect with John Gillham:

• Originality.AI: https://originality.ai

Connect with Jason Hunt:

• Website: https://jayhunt.social
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/socialmediaspeaker/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jayhuntofficial
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jayhuntofficial

📩 Subscribe and leave a review to stay ahead of the AI and marketing curve. New episodes drop every week!

Have you tried using AI for your content? What's been your experience with authenticity vs efficiency? Let us know in the comments.

Wes Lemos is the co-founder of Roll Digital and Sales Connector, with strategies that power over 500 digital business websites. In this episode, we explore his journey from penny stock blogger to SaaS entrepreneur and uncover the real breakthrough tactics behind scalable business growth in the AI era.

🔑 Topics Covered:

• Building resilient businesses through strategic partnerships and real-world experience
• How one SaaS idea exploded into thousands of paying clients
• AI-powered LinkedIn prospecting that makes outreach personal again
• The shift from sales copy to relational copy in B2B growth
• Lead scoring with AI enrichment and automation strategies
• Why giving attention beats giving information in modern sales

🎯 Key Insights:

• Sports parenting principles applied to coaching employees
• The $3M stock win that launched Stock Exposure
• Building team culture as a remote entrepreneur
• High-conversion LinkedIn openers that build trust
• Using curiosity as a long-term business growth strategy

⏰ Timestamps:

0:00 – Sports Parenting & Life Lessons

5:02 – Wes Lemos: Entrepreneurial Journey Begins

8:00 – Lessons From Startup Failures

15:22 – LinkedIn Prospecting Automation

20:27 – Using AI to Personalize Outreach

25:05 – Best Performing LinkedIn Openers

30:07 – Relationship-Driven LinkedIn Strategy

37:05 – My Proxy Box: Physical Product Launch

🔗 Connect with Wes:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/weslemos
• Sales Connector: https://salesconnector.com/

📩 Subscribe for weekly episodes packed with actionable growth strategies and raw conversations with industry leaders!

Connect with Jason Hunt:

• Website: https://jayhunt.social
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/socialmediaspeaker/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jayhuntofficial
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jayhuntofficial

Aarti Anand is an AI automation strategist and founder of KodenyxAI who helps overwhelmed business owners reclaim their time through intelligent systems. In this episode, we explore how to scale your business with purpose, integrate AI without losing the human touch, and build a freedom-first lifestyle rooted in faith.

Aarti transitioned from pursuing a PhD to building an AI-driven business that prioritizes family time and purposeful growth. She's known for her "AI Readiness Score" framework and helping entrepreneurs automate workflows while maintaining authentic relationships with their audience.

• How AI and automation can reclaim your time without sacrificing quality
• Scaling your business while keeping family and faith as core priorities
• The mindset shift required to move from hustle culture to systems-driven growth
• Why small, engaged audiences outperform massive follower counts
• Building trust through valuable content in an AI-saturated market
• The "Five-Ways ICP Nurture Framework" for meaningful customer connections
• ROI-guaranteed automation strategies that deliver tangible results
• Why elevating employees beats replacing them with AI

Time Stamps:

• 00:00 – Moving to Colorado & PhD Journey
• 01:55 – Transferring Schools & Career Pivot
• 03:16 – Open-Minded Mindset for Growth
• 05:01 – Mindset Shift Before Entrepreneurship
• 06:48 – Starting a Business in 2024
• 08:04 – Building Personal Brand from Scratch
• 09:57 – Value of Small Engaged Audience
• 10:46 – Power of Short-Form Video Reach
• 11:53 – Escaping 9–5 for Freedom
• 13:03 – Remembering Your "Why"
• 14:01 – Family as Core Motivation
• 16:11 – Building AI-Driven Business
• 17:28 – Automating Manual Tasks with AI
• 18:46 – Workflow Automation for Time Freedom
• 20:38 – Elevating Employees, Not Replacing
• 22:28 – Human Experience vs. Hustle Culture
• 24:00 – Companies Winning with AI Adoption
• 25:25 – 3 Must-Have AI Automations
• 27:39 – Lead Nurturing Sequences with AI
• 29:06 – Cutting Through Email Noise with Value
• 31:01 – Cold Email Best Practices
• 33:09 – Start AI with Tangible ROI
• 34:54 – Building Trust Through Content
• 36:03 – Five-Ways ICP Nurture Framework
• 37:04 – 6–12 Month AI Trajectory Outlook
• 38:26 – AI Strategy Starts with Audit
• 39:41 – Offering ROI-Guaranteed Automation
• 41:11 – AI Readiness Score for Businesses

Resources:

• AI Readiness Score Assessment
• AI Readiness Workshop
• KodenyxAI Website: kodenyxai.com

Connect with Jason:

• Website: jayhunt.social

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Dave Burnett is the founder of AOK Marketing and author of From Bricks to Clicks. In this episode of Drop The Mic, Jason sits down with Dave to unpack how one massive SEO experiment—building 500 websites—turned a struggling promo business into a digital marketing powerhouse.

From his dorm room startup days to landing major clients like Bacardi and Labatt, Dave shares the lessons learned through surviving the 2008 recession, scaling with smart SEO, and now embracing AI tools like ChatGPT, Midjourney, and Sora to drive real business results.

Jason and Dave dive deep into:
🔍 The experiment that taught him SEO (and still works today)
🤖 How AI tools are shaping the future of agency work
📈 Whether SEO is really dead—or just evolving into AEO
💡 Why brand identity still needs human creativity
💥 Real advice for founders scaling in a fragmented digital world

Whether you're building a brand, running ads, or figuring out your AI stack, this episode is full of insights for marketers who want to grow faster without burning out.

[00:00] – From Scarborough hustle to digital marketing
[02:03] – Building a promo biz in a dorm room
[06:18] – Surviving recessions with SEO
[10:05] – Launching AOK Marketing
[14:23] – Lessons from partnerships & pivots
[19:01] – How AI is changing content & creativity
[24:48] – Sora, Suno, Midjourney, and Dave’s AI toolkit
[30:02] – Is SEO dead? Enter AEO
[34:02] – Future of agencies in the AI era
[38:11] – Where to find From Bricks to Clicks

🌐 Website: https://jayhunt.social
📺 YouTube: @jayhuntofficial

Geoff Woods is the author of The AI-Driven Leader and founder of the AI Leadership Collective. He joins Drop The Mic to unpack how AI is reshaping leadership, strategic thinking, and how we scale organizations. Formerly a key partner in The ONE Thing, Geoff shares how business leaders can use AI not just as a task assistant, but as a true thought partner.

Jason and Geoff break down how leaders can train AI to help them think better, move faster, and focus on what really matters. From sales to decision-making to team management, Geoff explains how AI augments human potential—and why the best leaders in the next decade will be the ones who ask the right questions, not just the ones with the right answers.

We dive into:
🧠 The power of crafting strategic questions with AI
🧰 Why every leader needs an “AI board of directors”
📊 Using AI for planning, communication & real-world execution
🔍 Frameworks for making AI work across people, strategy & tech
⚙️ Why the future belongs to human-centric, AI-augmented leaders

Whether you're a founder, executive, or team lead, this episode is packed with insights to help you lead smarter and scale faster in the AI age.

[00:00] – From The ONE Thing to the AI era
[03:50] – The power of better questions in leadership
[05:30] – How AI becomes a strategic partner
[08:45] – Using AI to think, not just execute
[11:00] – Behind The AI-Driven Leader book
[14:30] – The CRIT Framework explained
[20:00] – Crisis to clarity: real-world AI use cases
[22:00] – What an AI Board of Directors looks like
[28:00] – AI-enhanced sales strategies: Whole Foods case study
[30:00] – Avoiding creativity loss from AI overuse
[33:00] – Future-proofing with strategic thinking
[37:00] – Becoming the conductor of tech + teams
[41:00] – Inside the AI Leadership Collective
[43:30] – Where to get the book + prompts

🌐 Website: https://jayhunt.social
📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jayhuntofficial
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Ryan Davis, founder of People First, joins Drop The Mic to unpack how AI is transforming not just marketing, but leadership, influence, and trust. From political campaigns to brand building, Ryan shares how artificial intelligence is changing how we communicate, connect, and convert in a world of digital overload.

Jason and Ryan dive into how micro-influencers are outpacing mass followings, how AI is reshaping customer targeting and content creation, and why authenticity—not automation—will define the next era of digital strategy. This is a real look at what marketers, consultants, and creators need to do now to future-proof their brand in 2025.

We dive into:
🤖 AI-driven influencer strategy and what’s coming next
🎯 Why micro-influencers are winning the attention game
🧠 Human creativity vs. AI copy — what still matters most
📢 How to balance authenticity, automation, and speed
🔍 What a political campaign would look like if it launched today using AI

Whether you're a brand leader, consultant, or creator, this episode will help you rethink how you show up and lead in an AI-first world.

[00:00] – Intro: Drop the Mic with Jason Hunt
[00:05] – Living in Guadalajara as a digital nomad
[02:31] – From theater director to digital strategist
[06:47] – Early political marketing + Howard Dean campaign
[09:12] – The birth of internet influencers in politics
[10:49] – What a 2025 AI-powered campaign would look like
[12:05] – AI-generated ICPs and smarter targeting
[13:42] – Why real content still beats AI output
[16:01] – Emotion, storytelling, and human copywriting
[18:00] – Reporting, measurement, and creative testing with AI
[22:21] – Hyper-personalized marketing and influencer strategy
[24:45] – Red flags in AI-generated engagement
[27:40] – Micro-influencers: why authenticity scales
[32:30] – How to avoid over-optimization
[35:11] – Full-funnel influencer planning + creative
[38:57] – Funnel-stage content and scalable creator assets
[40:04] – Behind the scenes of the People First newsletter
[41:26] – Ryan’s favorite digital trends & wrap-up

🌐 Website: https://jayhunt.social
📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jayhuntofficial

Greg Kaiser has over 30 years in the corporate world—including time at Hershey—and now running his own consultancy, Greg shares lessons in management, delegation, time optimization, and how to think about AI from a leadership perspective.

Jason and Greg dive into why most managers are spending time on the wrong things, how to stop micromanaging, and why meetings and communication are often a company’s real bottleneck—not the employees. Greg also shares how he's using AI as a research and decision-making tool, and why leaders shouldn't try to master it—but should know how to hire people who do.

We dive into:
🧠 The mindset shift from corporate exec to independent consultant
📊 How to delegate better and stop being the bottleneck
⏱️ Why time—not money—is your most valuable resource
👥 The problem with meetings and how to fix communication instead
🤖 How Greg is using AI in his consulting business today

Whether you're an executive, founder, or team lead, this episode is a crash course in managing smarter and leading more effectively.

⏱️ Timestamps:

[02:20] – Greg’s new venture: Management Mastery
[04:50] – Greg’s corporate journey from mailroom to managing global ops at Hershey
[09:20] – Why he left corporate after being told “you’ll never be COO”
[12:55] – First client story: how Greg launched into consulting
[15:15] – Why business owners need to stop doing everything themselves
[17:30] – The cost of micromanagement and poor delegation
[20:50] – How to help leaders identify time waste with “Know Thy Time”
[23:10] – 80/20 rule and Return on Invested Time
[25:15] – How to structure effective meetings in 2025
[28:50] – What remote work changed about team communication
[31:30] – The myth of multitasking & how to fix your focus
[34:10] – How Greg uses AI for research and decision support
[39:00] – Why AI works best when humans know how to prompt it
[41:20] – Where to find Greg online and learn more about his work

🔗 Connect & Support:

🌐 Website: https://jayhunt.social
📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jayhuntofficial

Sponsor: https://chatello.ai

Kasim Aslam is one of the most respected voices in performance marketing. He joins Drop The Mic to share how he scaled his agency to 200+ clients, exited for 8-figures, and why he believes AI and answer engine optimization (AEO) are the future of digital strategy.

In this wide-ranging conversation, Kasim gets raw about his entrepreneurial failures, the dangers of chasing hype, and what really moves the needle when building a scalable, sellable marketing business. He also shares why traditional digital marketing is dying, why the quality of your people matters more than your tools, and how businesses can win by adopting a bottom-up AI strategy.

We dive into:
🚀 What it takes to sell an agency for 8 figures
💸 Why private equity is targeting media buying businesses
🧠 How AI-enabled executive assistants are transforming operations
🔍 The rise of AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) and what comes after SEO
🤖 Why most AI conversations ignore the real opportunity: empowered humans

Kasim brings fire, honesty, and real frameworks for marketers, entrepreneurs, and anyone trying to stay relevant in a rapidly changing digital world.

Episode Timestamps:

[01:30] – Building (and exiting) a top Google Ads agency
[03:00] – 60 offers in 6 months: Why agency valuations spiked
[05:20] – The Google Ads advantage and solving for traffic
[09:40] – Post-exit identity shift and investing lessons
[12:00] – AI as a bottom-up revolution, not top-down
[15:10] – Why mediocre employees + AI = dangerous
[18:45] – Kasim’s EA hiring strategy & human capital model
[22:30] – What most agencies get wrong about AI adoption
[25:40] – Why "Answer Engine Optimization" is the new SEO
[29:30] – The future of nimble teams vs bloated orgs
[32:15] – Paradigm shifts in training, culture & incentives
[36:50] – Empowering team members to lead with AI
[41:00] – Building businesses through delegation & ownership
[43:30] – Kasim’s vision for owning the AEO category

🌐 Website: https://jayhunt.social
📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jayhuntofficial

Omar Johnson is the former CMO of Beats by Dre and VP of Marketing at Apple—joins Drop The Mic to unpack the marketing playbooks that built billion-dollar brands and how he's now bringing those lessons into the world of AI.

Jason and Omar dive deep into how science, storytelling, and consumer behavior drive real marketing results. Omar shares never-before-heard stories from building Beats into a cultural powerhouse and his bold mission to revolutionize advertising with AI through his company, Opus Intelligence.

We dive into:
🔥 How Beats used scarcity, storytelling & athlete marketing to dominate a category
🧠 Omar’s marketing formula: intelligence, behavior, and emotional triggers
⚙️ Mistakes founders make when building tech and how Omar learned the hard way
🚀 The future of marketing and why AI is a creative unlock—not a replacement
📈 How Opus Intelligence is disrupting traditional agencies with speed, scale, and relevance

This episode is a masterclass in branding, marketing strategy, and adapting to tech-driven change.

⏱️ Timestamps:

[01:20] – How Omar went from mixtapes to Coca-Cola and Campbell’s
[02:45] – Why brand marketing is more formulaic than you think
[05:10] – How he got into Nike through an outsider program
[08:00] – Early mistakes as a founder and lessons from tech product dev
[11:45] – Big mistake: managing developers like marketers
[15:00] – Omar’s marketing formula: behavior > demographics
[19:10] – Behind the Beats strategy that scaled from $20M to $1.1B
[21:30] – How he created new use cases for headphones through storytelling
[25:00] – The Kobe Bryant strategy: scarcity + influencer seeding
[27:15] – Becoming the "pre-game headphone of sports"
[29:00] – Why Beats told stories other brands were afraid to tell
[31:30] – From Apple to AI: the spark that led to Opus Intelligence
[34:00] – Intelligence + NLP: Using behavioral data for better marketing
[36:20] – How marketers can use AI to unlock higher-level thinking
[42:00] – Omar’s crystal ball: the future of creative agencies
[45:30] – Democratizing great marketing for small and medium businesses

🔗 Connect & Support:

🌐 Website: https://jayhunt.social
📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jayhuntofficial

Sponsor: https://chatello.ai