2026 Social Media Marketing Preview | Bathroom Break #84

So, what does Marketing ops actually look like? Atlassian’s Head of Lifecycle Marketing Ops Kelly Jo Horton joins Daniel to break down what ops actually is, why it’s so complex, and how high-performing teams are evolving the function for 2026 and beyond. She explains why MOPS isn’t “just sending an email,” why process is everything, and why marketers need to stop treating ops like a drive-thru and start treating it like a Michelin-star kitchen. She also reveals how Atlassian structures its ops organization and why she believes the MQL is officially dead. You’ll also learn: >  What modern Marketing Ops actually does and why it varies by company > How AI can automate repetitive ops tasks (like list cleaning and lead investigations) > How Atlassian uses Jira, Confluence, Slack bots, and Loom to run ops like engineering This is for anyone in Marketing, rev ops, or GTM who wants to build a scalable system…and for every Marketer who’s ever said “it’s just an email.” Easily record and share AI-powered video messages with your teammates and customers to supercharge productivity at https://www.loom.com/ Follow Kelly Jo: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyjohorton/ Follow Daniel: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-murray-marketing/ Sign up for The Marketing Millennials newsletter: https://themarketingmillennials.com/ Daniel is a Workweek friend, working to produce amazing podcasts. To find out more, visit: https://workweek.com/

Annual planning is where great marketing teams separate themselves from the rest…and Customer.io CMO Jason Lyman joins Daniel to break down exactly how to do it. Jason shares the Play to Win framework he uses, the biggest mistakes marketers make during planning season, and how AI now powers his planning workflow. And, how does Customer.io use stress-testing strategies to identify lifecycle opportunities? You’ll also learn: Why most marketing plans fail and how to fix yours. • How to create strategic pillars your whole org can align around • The 70/20/10 model for balancing safe bets and big swings Whether you're a CMO, a team leader, or an IC who wants to level up, this is the episode for you. Customer.io helps brands turn data into personalized messages that actually connect, across email, SMS, and beyond. Today, over 7,800 brands trust Customer.io to power their messaging. Visit: https://try.customer.io/paid/trial?utm_medium=ads&utm_source=marketingmillennials&utm_campaign=november_podcast Follow Jason: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-lyman1/ Follow Daniel: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-murray-marketing/ Sign up for The Marketing Millennials newsletter: https://themarketingmillennials.com/ Daniel is a Workweek friend, working to produce amazing podcasts. To find out more, visit: https://workweek.com/

What if everything you believe about email marketing is wrong? Daniel and Jay are here to blow up the biggest myths everyone still repeats, from “best send times” to “open rates don’t matter.”  They unpack the five email lessons they’re taking into 2026, including why low-lift CTAs spark real replies, how verified subscriber data reveals your true ICP, and the deliverability trap hiding inside your domain frequency report. And, how do you use AI without sounding like a robot? Turns out, it’s easier than you think.  If you’re a Marketer planning to scale your email efforts next year, this one’s for you. 🚽 Follow Jay: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schwedelson/ Podcast: Do This, Not That Follow Daniel: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themarketingmillennials/featured Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/Dmurr68 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-murray-marketing Sign up for The Marketing Millennials newsletter: https://themarketingmillennials.com/ Daniel is a Workweek friend, working to produce amazing podcasts. To find out more, visit: https://workweek.com/

Why do the boldest ideas drive the biggest business wins? Live from Marketingland 2025, Nick Tran (ex-TikTok, Hulu, Samsung) breaks down all things brand and creative with Amanda Slavin (author, and co-founder of Future Frequency).  You’ll learn: > Why crises often spark the most innovative creative work > How to know when bold ideas are brilliant…and when they're just noise > The myth of chasing trends vs. the real meaning of cultural relevance Whether you're a CMO, a creator, or someone sitting on a brave idea you’re scared to pitch, this conversation will push you to rethink what “bold” really means…and why the riskiest idea might just be your smartest one. Customer.io⁠ is an AI-powered customer engagement platform that helps teams turn first-party data into personalized messages at scale. It enables teams to easily create and send communications across email, SMS, push, in-app, and webhooks to drive engagement and growth. Today, over 7,800 brands trust ⁠Customer.io⁠ to power their messaging. Click here for more. Follow Nick: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholastran/ Follow Amanda: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amslavin/ Sign up for The Marketing Millennials newsletter: https://themarketingmillennials.com/ Daniel is a Workweek friend, working to produce amazing podcasts. To find out more, visit: https://workweek.com/

How do Product-Led Growth (PLG) and Sales-Led Growth (SLG) actually work together…instead of competing against each other? In this Marketingland 2025 session, ClickUp’s COO Gaurav Agarwal and Global VP of Marketing Kyle Coleman break down why the “PLG vs. SLG” debate is a false dichotomy, and how the most successful companies blend both to drive real revenue impact. From navigating budget decisions to building demand, delivering intuitive product experiences, and integrating AI in ways that actually help (instead of over-promising), they dig into the mechanics of modern growth engines. And, should incremental ROI really be your real north star? If you're building, optimizing, or scaling a modern GTM engine, this conversation is for YOU.  Optimizely helps thousands of brands create, personalize, and optimize exceptional digital experiences. See how Optimizely Opal, our AI agent orchestration platform, automates real marketing work and helps teams scale their impact at https://www.optimizely.com/ai/?utm_campaign=PS-GL-11-2025-MARKETING-MILLENNIALS-PODCAST&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=marketingmillennials&utm_content=opal-agent-orchestration Follow Gaurav: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gauravragarwal/ Follow Kyle: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyletcoleman/ Sign up for The Marketing Millennials newsletter: https://themarketingmillennials.com/ Daniel is a Workweek friend, working to produce amazing podcasts. To find out more, visit: https://workweek.com/

Want to prepare for social in 2026 but have no clue where to start? Daniel and Jay break down what they’ve learned about social in 2025 and what to anticipate in 2026. From jumps in AI to boosting posts, things are changing…and fast.  They explain: > Why boosting “loser” organic posts may not be the push you think it is > The power of hero images > Why you need a commenting AND reply strategy If you’re a Marketer planning for the upcoming year, this one’s for you. 🚽 Follow Jay: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schwedelson/ Podcast: Do This, Not That Follow Daniel: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themarketingmillennials/featured Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/Dmurr68 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-murray-marketing Sign up for The Marketing Millennials newsletter: https://themarketingmillennials.com/ Daniel is a Workweek friend, working to produce amazing podcasts. To find out more, visit: https://workweek.com/

What really drives explosive organic audience growth in 2025: algorithms, content hacks, or something deeper? From Marketingland 2025, Sophie Miller, founder of Pretty Little Marketer and the creator behind a 600,000-strong community across Instagram and LinkedIn, breaks down the visibility, shareability, and social SEO strategies behind her meteoric rise. Sophie shares the real story of how she went from overwhelmed university student to full-time creator with one of the most engaged marketing communities online. She unpacks: -The strategic “visibility opportunities” that fuel organic growth (and why it’s not about being everywhere) -How to design content that gets shared — from emotional triggers to identity-based resonance -Why social search and platform-specific SEO are becoming just as important as shares -The role of “thin content,” clear bios, and frictionless profile design in converting discovery into follows -How to use your existing audience to reach their audience — and build a community that sticks around for years Whether you’re building a personal brand, growing a startup’s social presence, or trying to break through on saturated platforms, this conversation will challenge how you think about reach, retention, and what it truly takes to build a loyal audience from zero. CallRail is the lead engagement platform built for marketers who need clean attribution, smarter insights, and zero missed leads. From AI-powered call tracking and conversation intelligence to a 24/7 AI voice agent, CallRail helps teams maximize every inbound touchpoint and convert more leads into customers. Visit https://www.callrail.com/proveit?utm_campaign=q4_2025_marketing_millennials_podcast&utm_medium=thirdparty_advertising&utm_source=marketingmillennials to check it out. Follow Sophie: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiealicemiller/ Sign up for The Marketing Millennials newsletter: https://themarketingmillennials.com/ Daniel is a Workweek friend, working to produce amazing podcasts. To find out more, visit: https://workweek.com/

What really scales a modern brand: product or performance? From Marketingland 2025, Ari Murray sits down with growth powerhouse Stefani O’Sullivan (STAUD, Savage X Fenty, Moda Operandi, Chanel) for a deep dive into how today’s most resilient brands actually grow. Stefani breaks down the truth behind two very different paths: Product-led growth (STAUD, RHODE, category disruptors) and Marketing-led growth (DTC engines powered by paid media). They unpack: > The real tradeoffs between product-first and performance-first models > How product intuition, merchandising, and customer feedback shape long-term equity > When to expand into CTV, OOH, retail media, and how to know it’s actually working > Why consistency matters, but context matters more Whether you’re leading a growth team, scaling your first brand, or rethinking how product and performance should truly work together, this conversation will challenge your assumptions…and reveal why the smartest path to scale might not be the one you expect. CallRail is the lead engagement platform built for marketers who need clean attribution, smarter insights, and zero missed leads. From AI-powered call tracking and conversation intelligence to a 24/7 AI voice agent, CallRail helps teams maximize every inbound touchpoint and convert more leads into customers. Visit https://www.callrail.com/proveit?utm_campaign=q4_2025_marketing_millennials_podcast&utm_medium=thirdparty_advertising&utm_source=marketingmillennials to check it out.  Follow Ari: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arimurray/ Follow Stefani: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefaniosullivan/ Sign up for The Marketing Millennials newsletter: https://themarketingmillennials.com/ Daniel is a Workweek friend, working to produce amazing podcasts. To find out more, visit: https://workweek.com/

Want more replies, but all you hear are crickets? Daniel and Jay unpack one of the most slept-on tactics in email and social right now: getting your audience to reply to your campaigns. It’s simple, it’s human, and it’s about to blow up as AI makes responding at scale easier than ever. They explain why reply-based engagement is becoming a cheat code for deliverability, how “just reply with a word” outperforms any form fill, and why adding Easter eggs or lightweight personal questions can instantly tell you who’s actually reading your emails. They break down: > The reply-rate signal that keeps you out of spam and in the inbox > The Easter-egg trick that proves people read to the middle of your emails > Why “reply with GUIDE” beats every landing page for conversions If you’re a Marketer looking for an easy win to boost engagement, deliverability, and conversions before 2026, this one’s for you. 🚽 Follow Jay: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schwedelson/ Podcast: Do This, Not That Follow Daniel: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themarketingmillennials/featured Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/Dmurr68 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-murray-marketing Sign up for The Marketing Millennials newsletter: https://themarketingmillennials.com/ Daniel is a Workweek friend, working to produce amazing podcasts. To find out more, visit: https://workweek.com/

Your analytics might be lying to you. Snap’s EVP Sid Malhotra joins Daniel to unpack what marketers still get wrong about measurement, why last-click thinking is failing modern buyers, and how to build smarter growth systems in a world where customers don’t follow clean conversion paths anymore.Sid shares why Snapchat’s nearly one-billion-person audience behaves differently than other platforms, why so many of your future customers aren’t on Meta or Google, and how marketers can finally fix the hidden gaps in attribution…including the “Hot Wheels Problem” that explains why your analytics are lying to you. You’ll learn: > Why your next best customer is probably not where you think > How impressions, long-form content, and non-click behavior actually drive purchases > The exact 3-step playbook for testing a new channel like Snapchat If you're planning holiday spend, testing new channels for 2025, or trying to make sense of modern attribution, this episode is for you.  Optimizely helps thousands of brands create, personalize, and optimize exceptional digital experiences. See how Optimizely Opal, our AI agent orchestration platform, automates real marketing work and helps teams scale their impact at optimizely.com Follow Sid: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/malhotrasidharth/ Follow Daniel: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-murray-marketing/ Sign up for The Marketing Millennials newsletter: https://themarketingmillennials.com/ Daniel is a Workweek friend, working to produce amazing podcasts. To find out more, visit: https://workweek.com/