Strategy Talks: Content Strategy for Small Teams

Dorien Morin-van Dam
  • 5.0 (10)
  • Marketing
  • Updated Weekly

Strategy Talks is where smart content marketing turns into pipeline. Host Dorien Morin-van Dam, a hands-on content strategist for small businesses in Vermont, Boston, and across New England, interviews strategists, agency owners, founders, and consultants who share repeatable plays built for small teams, founders, agencies, and solo consultants — each one tested, working, and ready to use. Real frameworks, real numbers, real opinions about what's working in marketing, AI, content, and growth right now. New episodes weekly. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.

  1. 5d ago

    Should My Brand Be on Reddit?

    I'll admit to opening Reddit last month and thinking, 'Okay, AI search loves this platform, I should be here.' And then, scrolling for ten minutes, having no idea what to post or where...and so... I gave up and closed the app. Yikes. Anyone else? Reddit isn't a content channel you 'post to', but rather a community you earn your way into. The brands showing up in ChatGPT and Google results right now are the ones that showed up like actual humans first. Sound familiar? It's the same principle behind Organic Isn't Dead: building the trust before you buy the reach. This week on Strategy Talks, I'm talking with Jonny Waite, CEO and co-founder of RECHO, a Reddit-specialized marketing agency. He's spent 17 years running SEO, paid, and Amazon strategy for everyone from Fortune 50 brands to scrappy startups, and now he lives inside Reddit's organic, paid, and AI-search dynamics every day. We're answering the question: should your brand even be on Reddit, and if so, how do you not screw it up? → Join the NEW Strategy Talks community Jonny Waite is the CEO and co-founder of RECHO, a Reddit-specialized marketing agency. He has 17 years of digital marketing experience, mostly on the agency side, building and running SEO, paid search, and Amazon omnichannel programs for brands ranging from Fortune 50 companies to well-funded startups across CPG, travel and hospitality, entertainment, and B2B. At RECHO, he helps brands build a real presence on Reddit through organic community building, paid advertising, and AI-driven search visibility. 'Strategy Talks: Content Strategy for Small Teams', Season 5, is where content marketing meets real business results. Hosted by hands-on content strategist Dorien Morin-van Dam, each episode delivers a focused conversation with a guest expert who shares a specific, repeatable play. You'll leave with a clear problem definition and a set of steps you can take this week. No fluff. No theory. Just strategy you can use. New episodes each week! We stream live on LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook.

    Should My Brand Be on Reddit?

  2. Jul 9

    AI Agents Don't Replace Content Strategy: They Run it

    It's Thursday, and nothing's gone out since Monday. Not because you didn't know what to post — the editorial calendar is full and the strategy is solid. Getting it written, published, and adjusted is the part that keeps slipping. This week I'm talking to Zach and Jason Francis — the Francis Brothers — serial entrepreneurs who've built and exited businesses in real estate, media, and now AI. Their newest company, Willo, is built around a simple idea: most business ideas don't die from bad strategy. They die in spreadsheets and to-do lists. We get into what actually makes an AI "agent" different from the AI writing tools most small business owners have already tried, what a content agent does on a normal day without anyone touching it, and where the human still has to step in — because they're clear that AI agents don't replace judgment, even when the content is good. We also talk guardrails: what happens when AI makes mistakes, how to know when to loosen the reins versus keep checking in, and which types of content — legal, medical, financial — should never be fully handed off. If your strategy is solid and execution keeps falling through, this one's for you. → Join the NEW Strategy Talks community Zach and Jason Francis, known as the Francis Brothers, are serial entrepreneurs, investors, and co-founders of Willo, an AI platform helping anyone build and grow a business without technical expertise. Over the past decade, they've launched, acquired, and scaled companies across real estate, media, software, and AI, always focused on making entrepreneurship more accessible. Their work has been featured through television, podcasts, and industry publications, where they share practical insights on innovation, business building, and the future of AI. Today, they're focused on helping founders and small teams leverage AI to move faster, make better decisions, and turn ideas into real businesses. Willo.ai 'Strategy Talks: Content Strategy for Small Teams', Season 5, is where content marketing meets real business results. Hosted by hands-on content strategist Dorien Morin-van Dam, each episode delivers a focused conversation with a guest expert who shares a specific, repeatable play. You'll leave with a clear problem definition and a set of steps you can take this week. No fluff. No theory. Just strategy you can use. New episodes each week! We stream live on LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook.

    AI Agents Don't Replace Content Strategy: They Run it

  3. Jul 2

    Before You Spend a Dollar on Ads...

    The world's top Facebook ad buyers will tell you the same thing: if your foundation isn't solid, paid traffic doesn't fix the problem. It speeds it up. In this episode of Strategy Talks, Liana Ling, who personally manages millions in ad spend every year, shares the first question she asks every new client before running a single ad: "Have you sold anything yet?" We get into what a business that is genuinely not ready for ads actually looks like, why AI-generated ad content is starting to blur together in people's feeds, and what Liana is seeing work right now in mid-2026 that almost nobody is talking about. Hint: it looks like it was made in 2016, and that's the point. We also go deep on tracking — why it matters more than ever, what breaks it, and what one simple fix dropped ad costs by 30% for one of Liana's clients. If paid ads are anywhere on your roadmap, listen to this one first. → Join the NEW Strategy Talks community Liana Ling is a digital marketing strategist and lead generation expert with over a decade of experience helping service-based businesses and coaches become the obvious choice for their ideal buyers. A former practicing attorney, she brings a rare analytical rigor to marketing — blending legal-trained strategic thinking with cutting-edge digital expertise. Recognized globally as one of the top Facebook ad buyers, Liana personally manages millions in ad spend annually, consistently delivering strong ROI for her clients. She is the founder of Power Up Strategy and former CEO of AdSkills, where she trained media buyers at scale. Today, she specializes in AI-driven traffic and lead generation systems that help experts attract the right clients — predictably and without the feast-or-famine cycle. 'Strategy Talks: Content Strategy for Small Teams', Season 5, is where content marketing meets real business results. Hosted by hands-on content strategist Dorien Morin-van Dam, each episode delivers a focused conversation with a guest expert who shares a specific, repeatable play. You'll leave with a clear problem definition and a set of steps you can take this week. No fluff. No theory. Just strategy you can use. New episodes each week! We stream live on LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook.

    Before You Spend a Dollar on Ads...

  4. Jun 25

    Stop Posting. Start Building a Content Pipeline.

    You're posting consistently. You've got a content calendar and a plan, and yet... the premium clients aren't showing up. So you do what any smart business owner does: you try more. Adding more platforms. Trying more formats and increasing your posting frequency. Yikes! Volume was never the variable. Now what? The businesses pulling in six-figure clients from social media aren't posting more than you. They're operating differently than you — with a connected system where every piece of content, every ad dollar, and every relationship feeds the same pipeline. In this episode of Strategy Talks, I will be talking about that ecosystem with my guest, so you can learn how a small team builds it without a big budget. → Join the NEW Strategy Talks community Most entrepreneurs don't have a visibility problem. They have a strategy problem — and someone sold them a shortcut instead of a system. Ginna Tassanelli has spent 24+ years watching brilliant business owners chase algorithms and wonder why premium clients aren't finding them. The marketing industry keeps selling "post more, grow faster" while ignoring the thing that actually moves money: a connected ecosystem where every channel compounds on itself. As founder of HYPE Media and architect of the Visibility to Profits™ system, Ginna has driven over $60M in client results — not with massive ad budgets, but by building marketing ecosystems that turn organic content, low-budget ads, and real relationships into a pipeline that works even when you're not. She doesn't come to inspire you to feel something. She comes to hand you a framework you can use Monday morning. 'Strategy Talks: Content Strategy for Small Teams', Season 5, is where content marketing meets real business results. Hosted by hands-on content strategist Dorien Morin-van Dam, each episode delivers a focused conversation with a guest expert who shares a specific, repeatable play. You'll leave with a clear problem definition and a set of steps you can take this week. No fluff. No theory. Just strategy you can use. New episodes each week! We stream live on LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook.

    Stop Posting. Start Building a Content Pipeline.

  5. Jun 18

    Small Business PR: You're More Newsworthy Than You Think

    You don't need a big budget, a PR firm, or a Shark Tank appearance to earn real media coverage. What you need is a strategy, and the right story. In this episode of Strategy Talks, host Dorien Morin-van Dam and guest Mickie Kennedy dig into why 97% of press releases never generate a single piece of earned media, what the 3% that do have in common, and how small businesses can use tools like industry surveys, customer story arcs, and strategic press releases to build real credibility and visibility, without spending a fortune. You'll walk away with concrete ideas you can actually use, and a whole new perspective on how newsworthy your small business already is. → Join the NEW Strategy Talks community Mickie Kennedy founded eReleases 28 years ago to help small businesses, authors, and startups increase their visibility and credibility through press release distribution. He lives in the Baltimore area. 'Strategy Talks: Content Strategy for Small Teams', Season 5, is where content marketing meets real business results. Hosted by hands-on content strategist Dorien Morin-van Dam, each episode delivers a focused conversation with a guest expert who shares a specific, repeatable play. You'll leave with a clear problem definition and a set of steps you can take this week. No fluff. No theory. Just strategy you can use. New episodes each week! We stream live on LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook.

    Small Business PR: You're More Newsworthy Than You Think

  6. Jun 11

    Story Before Strategy: The LinkedIn Edge

    Lotsa people treat LinkedIn like a billboard. They pick a look, post some updates, hope the right people notice. And when it doesn't work, the instinct is to fix the tactics. Better headlines. More hashtags. A new posting schedule. But tactics built on a story you haven't found yet? They won't save you. This week's Strategy Talks guest has been helping entrepreneurs and consultants do the harder, more important work first: uncovering the story that makes everything else on LinkedIn actually land. Once you have that, the strategy almost writes itself. → Join the NEW Strategy Talks community Anneke van der Voort helps entrepreneurs, advisors, and teams build a professional presence on LinkedIn — visible in a way that feels authentic and attracts the right clients. With a background in marketing, communications, and PR across both business and higher education, she has been working with LinkedIn since 2005. In 2013 she founded PRminded, and since then has helped countless professionals find their story and translate it into a profile and content strategy that actually works. Her experience spans 20 years in B2B marketing, 10 years as a lecturer, and time living and working in Singapore and London — all of which shaped her international perspective and no-nonsense approach. Clients often say she brings calm and clarity to a platform that can feel overwhelming — and that working with her goes beyond visibility to real positioning and purposeful connection. 'Strategy Talks: Content Strategy for Small Teams', Season 5, is where content marketing meets real business results. Hosted by hands-on content strategist Dorien Morin-van Dam, each episode delivers a focused conversation with a guest expert who shares a specific, repeatable play. You'll leave with a clear problem definition and a set of steps you can take this week. No fluff. No theory. Just strategy you can use. New episodes each week! We stream live on LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook.

    Story Before Strategy: The LinkedIn Edge

  7. Jun 4

    Turn Podcast Listeners Into a Loyal Community

    You can have thousands of downloads and still feel like you're talking to nobody. The difference between a podcast people consume and one they can't stop talking about isn't production quality or a big marketing budget; it's community. And it's something you can build deliberately, from day one. Jen Cole knows exactly how. A social media strategist with over a decade of experience building loyal fanbases for brands, she co-launched So THIS Happened less than a year ago — and already has listeners texting her when an episode is late, sponsors emerging from her inner circle, and a community called the Sip Squad showing up in the wild to tell her they love the show. In this episode, Jen breaks down the real difference between an audience and a community, why engagement metrics matter more than follower counts, and the one thing she did a full month before her first episode even aired. She also shares how she named her community, why having a co-host might be the smartest growth strategy you're not thinking about, and the two-and-a-half-minute video move that can start building your community this week. Whether you're podcast-curious, a few episodes in, or years into a show that still feels quiet, this one's for you. → Join the NEW Strategy Talks community Jen Cole believes marketing works best when it feels like something — not just something that performs. A social media strategist with over a decade of experience, she's the Social Media Manager for Archer Hotel Collection, co-host of Making a Marketer and So THIS Happened, and the writer behind the Jenfluenced newsletter. Her work lives at the intersection of brand storytelling, community strategy, and AI in marketing — and she has a particular gift for making all three feel accessible. Based in Wichita, Kansas, Jen is the kind of marketer who thinks like a host: always considering the experience on the other end. 'Strategy Talks: Content Strategy for Small Teams', Season 5, is where content marketing meets real business results. Hosted by hands-on content strategist Dorien Morin-van Dam, each episode delivers a focused conversation with a guest expert who shares a specific, repeatable play. You'll leave with a clear problem definition and a set of steps you can take this week. No fluff. No theory. Just strategy you can use. New episodes each week! We stream live on LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook.

    Turn Podcast Listeners Into a Loyal Community

  8. May 28

    What a Fractional CMO Wants from Content Decisions

    You pour yourself into a piece of content. You write it, refine it, hit submit... and then silence. Did it go live? Did it get changed? Did someone above you decide it wasn't right, and never tell you? Most content creators never find out what happens on the other side of that handoff. This week's guest has lived on both sides of that wall. She started as a creator, with a background in fine art, and now she's the one in the room deciding what gets approved, what gets sent back, and what gets shelved entirely, as a fractional CMO for clients across three continents. This week on Strategy Talks, we're getting into what a CMO is actually thinking when your content lands on their desk, and what you can do about it. → Join the NEW Strategy Talks community here. Anna Geffert studied fine art, graduating just weeks before COVID hit. She made the switch to marketing after working in a museum, and has spent the last two years freelancing, evolving from marketing strategist to fractional CMO with clients on three continents. 'Strategy Talks: Content Strategy for Small Teams', Season 5, is where content marketing meets real business results. Hosted by hands-on content strategist Dorien Morin-van Dam, each episode delivers a focused conversation with a guest expert who shares a specific, repeatable play. You'll leave with a clear problem definition and a set of steps you can take this week. No fluff. No theory. Just strategy you can use. New episodes each week! We stream live on LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook.

    What a Fractional CMO Wants from Content Decisions
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About

Strategy Talks is where smart content marketing turns into pipeline. Host Dorien Morin-van Dam, a hands-on content strategist for small businesses in Vermont, Boston, and across New England, interviews strategists, agency owners, founders, and consultants who share repeatable plays built for small teams, founders, agencies, and solo consultants — each one tested, working, and ready to use. Real frameworks, real numbers, real opinions about what's working in marketing, AI, content, and growth right now. New episodes weekly. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.

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