Lara Schmosiman (00:11)

Hi everyone, welcome back to coffee number five. And today is the last episode of the year. Yes, we’re gonna take a break and we’re gonna start the new season in 2026. Can you believe it? We are gonna be in 2026. But before we start 2026, I want to talk about what I think is gonna happen next year in the ecosystem. And yes, it’s an ecosystem and every time it’s more interconnected.

 

So 26 is gonna be a year that finally marketers, you’re gonna out there, you’re gonna really have to realize some business owners that if you don’t integrate your marketing, if you don’t have a team that works together in the different areas, things are gonna be falling through the cracks. So let’s talk about a few things that I think that are gonna be trending next year. Let’s divide it in three categories first.

 

First, we’re going to be talking about AI. Second, we’re going to be talking about content. And the third part, we’re going to be talking about privacy. These are the three parts that I think that they’re going to be more impacted in 2026. So let’s start with a very trending thing right now, which is AI. Let’s talk about Generative Engine Optimization, or GEO.

 

So we need to make sure that we are optimizing AI for answers. Make sure your content is clear and authoritative that then when AI, like Google, AI is an overview and they start, they answer the questions. So make sure that you’re giving the answers. So what’s the impact for your business? Your content must be crystal clear. If it’s not fractural.

 

and it’s not ⁓ clear enough will not be seated by AI.

 

Then let’s talk about the other part I think is going to be impacted. It’s about AI agents that, well, it’s happening already. Air robots or the AI is going to be shopping for people. So automated software is going to be doing the research, compare prices and read reviews. even it will be able to negotiate sometimes deals. So.

 

I know crazy, but it is what we’re living in. So what do you need to do as a business? You need to market your product, no shots to people. You need to make sure that you’re using a software that you use and use it in a right way. Make sure that your product data and pricing is easy for the tool to read it. Okay?

 

We got two out of three in each category. So we’re going to get to the third point. AI governance. So rules for using AI. This is going to happen right now, 2025 is still very new, but there will be rules on how they’re starting to be rules already. So don’t do just whatever with AI, make sure that you

 

really reading the rules or you talk to someone that you trust and someone respectful in the space or hire someone who actually is doing know what they’re doing. So they’re going to be creating very clear guidance ⁓ and you need to have very clear guidance how you use it in your company that how you allow and where is your yes and your no’s on how to use content and you need to be very careful because

 

AI is a tool, but they still need to be a human behind it that double check and fact checks because mistakes happen. Okay. So we got really fast through AI. So let’s talk about content. And you know, content for me, it’s really important. I love storytelling and it’s coming back and it’s more than ever with all these AI world stories matter.

 

stories are really to connect with people. So let’s talk a little bit about ⁓ dips over quantity. Stop posting shallow posts. Stop posting ⁓ several times a day if it’s what you need. You need to start creating content that are really valuable and that will inspire or teach

 

or solve problems. So let’s talk about quality, not quantity. So it’s gonna go back about crafting, about making sure that the AI tools, mean, at the same time, they’re gonna be, they’re becoming smarter. And those captions with SEO, you make sure that you’re using SEO in your captions and you’re putting great content out there because you want to make sure that AI…

 

and order the robot to find you. their second point is going to be authentic narratives. Show your true self. trying to be others. Try to look at what the others are doing. Authenticity matters. So be transparent about your company’s processes, ethics and challenges. Why not?

 

People trust real stories over polished ones. So what can you do? Use real customer photos, videos, and share behind the scenes content. Don’t hide the human side of your brand. Don’t try just to be pretty pictures. I know this ⁓ is a challenge many times as a business owners, even small or big, it’s really challenging to…

 

be working and at same time creating content. But this is what people are connecting with and what it’s gonna be making the difference. Okay, the third one is a big one for me and I think it’s gonna be a big one for you. I’ve been saying this for a while, I’ve been saying it, I’ve seen the shift over this year and it’s happening you guys. Influencer marketing is changing. So it’s a micro influencer shift.

 

So small experts, you know, for you out there is going to be more work because you want to create, talk to one person or pay them to post and you think that you’re going to get ROI for that. It’s not happening. They work. It’s like everything in life. You guys need to put the work. So let’s contact and work with small experts. Those are the new celebrities. We don’t want to be

 

those followers that they have no conversions because everything is about bluff. So let’s talk about those experts that they’re going to really be able to talk about their products, people that they trust in a niche. Look, people that are around 5,000 engaged followers is much better and they’re a celebrity in those 5,000 engaged followers in their eyes, they’re celebrities.

 

and the other ones are just followers. So you want those dot engagements. So take the time and look for the specialized experts. Don’t just try to go for the numbers because the numbers are never totally correct. And let’s talk about one more thing. I want to bring the digital experience ⁓ in real life.

 

Crafting in-person events, pop-ups, that is all about experiences. 2026, it will be a year that you need to connect and drive people from digital to real life and create experiences for them to connect with their brand. So you need to think beyond the screen. Now your brand needs to offer memorable experience. So start thinking how next year I can be in real life and connect with people.

 

Okay, we got through ⁓ AI and we got through content. Now we’re going to talk about one that is not so sexy, but it’s super important. We’re going to talk about first party data. Things are changing. The old way of tracking people online is ending. So your success now depends on how well you treat your data and your customers data and how you

 

they give it to you directly. one of the things that you need to do is to own your customer list. So important. Forget about ⁓ just relying on other information. You need to make sure that you own their information like email addresses, purchase history, quiz results, anything you can do. You need to make sure that you hold to that data and you create more

 

opportunities to collect data. ⁓ This is your most valuable asset. Focus on giving customers reasons to sign up for your emails, memberships, accounts, the quizzes, the ways to engage and to get that data.

 

So the next one is how can I explain this? It’s about building your own club. It’s about community led growth. Let’s create private spaces like Discord servers, ⁓ private Facebook group, a membership site. That’s where your best customers are going to be and you can interact with your brand. You want to make sure we talked before about

 

creating the outside of the digital world experiences, let’s create those groups and opportunities to also have digital experiences. You will really gain a lot from honest feedback from your customers. This is your best retention marketing tool. And we can talk about this another day. ⁓

 

And the other thing I think is this is very important that we talk about this all the time. I talked with my clients less is more talk about doing audit on your tech stack. Make sure that the tools that you have are talking to each other. Like your email is talking to your website and your customer service software inventory, everything it needs to be interconnected.

 

Talk to experts, make sure, go to your marketing agency and say, hey, do I have all the apps that I need are all integrated? I’ve seen this over and over again. People having several apps that they do the same, but they use it for different things. So just make sure that you start the year fresh and all your information is in, it’s

 

communicating with each other. It’s the same thing as I started this podcast is about communication as you have in this Omnichannel world that you need your team working together. You need SEO and social team working together. You need your, even your email marketing team and SEO working together, but also you need to know what’s happening in social. You need to have that cohesive strategy that

 

the consumer can see you everywhere and everywhere is happening the same. So remember, in 2026, my takeaway or my prediction is use AI to work smarter, but use human creativity and honesty to connect deeper with your customer. So I hope that this podcast was…

 

A good one for you and I gave you some information wishing you an amazing end of the year and happy holidays and I will see you back with more Coffee Number 5 on 2026. Ciao now!