Little Talks

A tiny Christmas tree, a debate about when it's acceptable to start decorating for the holidays, and a little confusion over Jeff Bezos' hair.

Just another normal episode of Little Talks.

Somewhere in between all of that, Sam and Roop actually managed to talk about what makes a great B2B website homepage. And with 2027 right around the corner, it's a good time to give yours another look.

Because there's a big difference between a homepage that looks good and one that actually helps your business.

This week, we talk about how quickly visitors should be able to understand what your company does, why your homepage shouldn't be all about you, and how customer reviews and testimonials can help build trust before someone is ready to buy.

We also get into the importance of making your website mobile-friendly (yes, we're still having this conversation in 2026) and what AI means for the future of your homepage.

And while AI might be changing how people find your business, Roop makes a good point: your website still needs to work for actual humans.

See you next week for more Little Talks.

— Claudia, Roop, and Sam

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After three weeks apart, Sam and Roop are FINALLY back together on Little Talks! And naturally, they have plenty to catch up on.

This week, they're tackling SEO for AI and what brands should be thinking about as we head into 2027.

With more people getting their answers directly from AI, website traffic isn't quite what it used to be. But before you start panicking over your analytics, Sam and Roop have some good news. Less traffic doesn't necessarily mean less business.

They talk about how brands can improve their chances of showing up in AI-generated answers, from keeping content fresh and answering customer questions to building a presence beyond their own websites.

And while there's plenty to keep up with, you don't need to start pumping out a million blog posts or completely rethink everything you're doing.

The biggest thing to remember? It's not always about how many people visit your website. It's about whether the right people are finding your brand and eventually becoming customers.

See you next week for more Little Talks.

— Claudia, Roop, and Sam

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Roop’s on vacation this week, and Sam has plenty to talk about after spending a few days in Buenos Aires for the latest MAGNET Global Network principal meeting.

He shared some of his favorite moments from the trip and what he learned from agency leaders around the world.

One of the biggest topics? AI, of course. But unlike last year’s conversations, which were largely about uncertainty, this year’s discussions focused more on how agencies can actually use AI to do better work. That includes investing in young talent, building stronger strategic partnerships, and being more intentional about how teams use new tools.

And while the meetings were packed with good conversations, some of Sam’s favorite moments happened outside the conference room.

Because sometimes the best ideas come from sitting down with people who understand your business, sharing experiences, and learning from each other.

Throw in some incredible food, late dinners, and a little sightseeing, and we’d say Buenos Aires was a pretty successful trip.

See you next week for more Little Talks.

— Claudia and Sam

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LinkedIn doesn't have to be boring. There, we said it.

This week on Little Talks, Roop and Claudia are back with more from UNBOUND, this time talking about all things LinkedIn and how brands can show a little more personality.

One thing we heard over and over? Not everything needs to be so polished. A quick walk-and-talk video, a real opinion, or someone from your team sharing what they actually know can go a lot further than another perfectly written company post.

It also helps to know why you're posting in the first place. Are you trying to help someone? Build trust? Start a conversation? Figure that out, then worry about whether it should be a video, carousel, photo, or something else.

And don't forget about the actual people behind the company. People like hearing from people. Pretty simple.

LinkedIn is still a professional platform. That doesn't mean your personality has to disappear when you log in.

See you next week! Sam will be back and ready to go!!

— Claudia and Roop 

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If you've listened to Little Talks for a while, you probably know we're big fans of Jay Schwedelson. So when Roop and Claudia saw him on the UNBOUND schedule, obviously they had to be there.

This week, they're bringing some of their favorite takeaways from his sessions back to the podcast, starting with what's changing in email.

As AI summaries become more common in Gmail, Apple Mail, and Copilot, the actual text in an email matters more than ever. Those tools can't read words that are part of an image, which means a beautifully designed email could be leaving out some pretty important context. Jay also shared that the average Gmail AI summary is only 29 words, making that first sentence and the way you structure your copy even more important.

The same idea carries over to showing up in AI search. Recent content is being cited more often, listicles are performing well, and regularly updating existing content can give it a better chance of appearing in an AI-generated answer.

But with all this talk about optimizing for AI, Jay also had some advice for sounding less like it: have an opinion, use specific details, show the people behind your brand, and maybe give words like "unlock," "elevate," and "leverage" a break.

AI might be changing where our content shows up and how people consume it. That doesn't mean we have to start writing for robots.

See you next week for more Little Talks.

— Roop, Sam, and Claudia

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The gang is back together after two weeks of travels! Roop and Claudia recap UNBOUND and share with Sam what actually stuck with us after a few packed days of sessions, speakers, product announcements, and a whole lot of AI talk.

Some sessions were all-in on using AI to do more. Others made the case that as AI-generated content becomes easier to make, human judgment, trust, and personality matter even more.

We're probably somewhere in the middle.

But some of our favorite sessions weren't about AI at all. Astronaut Suni Williams talked about flexibility and trust after an eight-day space mission unexpectedly became 278 days. Tom Brady shared how he treated every limited practice rep like the Super Bowl so he'd be ready when his opportunity came.

And we haven't even gotten to all the email, LinkedIn, AEO, and content takeaways yet. Those are coming.

For now, consider this the UNBOUND debrief.

—Roop, Sam, and Claudia

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Sam’s on vacation this week, so Claudia is officially comes out from her behind the scenes roll producing the podcast and joins Roop on the mics!

And the timing couldn’t be better because the duo is getting ready to head to Boston for HubSpot’s UNBOUND marketing conference.

So this week on Little Talks, we’re previewing which sessions made it onto our schedules, and what we’re most excited to hear about while we’re there. AI search strategies are obviously high on the list this year, but so are the very human sides of marketing: storytelling, building trust, owning your audience, creating better LinkedIn content, and figuring out how all of it actually contributes to your pipeline.

There’s a lot we want to learn, and there’s even more we couldn’t fit onto our schedules.

So consider this our UNBOUND pregame. We’re sharing what caught our attention before we head to Boston, and you can bet we’ll come back with plenty to talk about when we get back! Expect deeper dives into the topics absorbed in the coming weeks, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn for live news and notes from Claudia and Roop all next week!

See you in Boston.

— Claudia and Roop

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It's easy for media plans to become routine.

Search works. Social works. So year after year, the same dollars keep going to the same places.

This week on Little Talks, Matt Fogarty, SVP of Sales at Mogl, joins Sam and Roop to talk about why it might be time to rethink that approach.

Tools like The Trade Desk are giving mid-market brands access to more data, premium inventory, and insights that were once mostly reserved for companies with much bigger media budgets.

That doesn't mean search and social are going anywhere. It means marketers have more options and more information to decide where their dollars can work hardest.

As 2027 planning gets underway, it might be worth asking: Does your media mix reflect where your audience is today, or where they've always been?

See you next week for more Little Talks.

— Matt, Sam, Claudia, and Roop

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LinkedIn. Facebook. Instagram. YouTube. TikTok. Reddit. Threads. And probably three new platforms by the time we finish writing this.

Does your brand really need to be on all of them?

This week on Little Talks, Sam and Roop talk about whether brands should actually be doing less on social in 2027. Not necessarily posting less, but being a little more intentional about where and why you're posting.

A hundred thousand views looks great, but 20 shares from the right people might actually mean more. And three good posts a week can do a lot more for your brand than seven posts you made because the content calendar said you had to.

Pick the platforms where your audience actually spends time. Make things they'll want to engage with. Give it enough time to see what's working. And if a platform isn't doing anything for you, maybe you don't need to be there.

Your brand doesn't have to be everywhere. It just has to be good where it shows up.

See you next week for more Little Talks!

- Claudia, Sam, and Roop

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