I'm starting to see it in the feed. People, including big names, are getting locked out of their Meta accounts completely, without explanation. I think they've deployed AI, and it's overzealous about its policing. But the damage in some cases is likely to be permanent. I don't really have a lesson here, more just a realization: I think, in the AI age, overreliance on digital marketing will be a TREMENDOUS risk This is something worth thinking about, and it's also something that we could pioneer -- "back-to-basics" marketing that makes your business antifragile in the AI age.

Twice now, I've received a violation for basically no reason on Meta stating: "Our technology noticed violations, and our technology took action." There's not even a human in the loop. I think that, in my case, it's the fact I'm connected to so many businesses, and I work from several devices. But still, this is becoming a really common issue for me, and likely for others. I know LI is getting strict about TOS enforcement and is banning a lot of people who use automation tools and plugins Social media reliance is getting riskier each day; I think that the only "safe" channel in the future will be phone numbers and addresses (we're going back to 1980, folks) I'm trying to mentally prepare for this and strategize around it

I get Google reviews from ~1 in 5 customers for RDVC. Here's how: -- WHAT I DO - I run a subdomain straight to the Google form - I run a QR code straight to the Google form - I print the short URL and the QR code on a physical card that I physically put in each customer's hand as my final touch point - I commit fully to operational excellence so that I don't have to be afraid of what customers might say when I make it SO easy to leave a review; all my feedback so far is 5-stars -- STUFF I DON'T DO - I don't gate reviews with a fancy automation; that's illegal - I don't spam people with a transactional text / email sequence as their final touch point -- BENEFITS - 137 5-star reviews from ~660 jobs in my first 10 months of business - Review velocity pulls me near the top of Google maps most days across my whole territory - About as close to zero friction for the customer as possible - Automations can't break, since I don't use them - I print the cards on cardstock and cut them on my dining room table, so they're nearly zero cost -- This all came in handy when me and a few industry peers got attacked by fake reviews all in the span of a week. The reviews were copy-pasted from AI with phrasing in them indicating that they were fabricated, including one which began, almost verbatim, with: "Sure, here are 5 broadly applicable reviews about negative experiences with a dryer vent cleaner, which do not list a company name." Within hours, we all got contacted by an overseas "Reputation Management" company. I was able to contest the two that hit me by using my other reviews as evidence that the scenarios painted in the reviews (which implied I was a big company, thanks to their generic language) were fabricated, and Google took them down after an investigation.

The interesting thing about this boosting strategy I've been running is that it serves as an alternative to high-volume content publishment. Most brands slap together garbage content to flood the zone and get more impressions But since I'm permanently boosting my strongest pieces, and I have a few dozen decent videos for people to dive into, I'm noticing that publishing new content doesn't really help me grow faster, get more followers, or get more leads. There's still utility in posting regularly, but I'm finding that once a week seems to be plenty. That at least signals that I'm active. The only platform where posting new content seems to organically generate leads is Nextdoor. So, since it seems publishing MORE stuff doesn't make a big difference, that begs the question: what's the highest leverage thing I can do to propel further growth? And I've determined that SEO is probably the top of the list Many of the direct marketing strategies are just too costly by comparison So I'm planning to migrate my site from Carrd to GoHighLevel; ideally, I'd like to replace Jobber (my CRM) and Dialpad (my business phone) with GHL, too. GHL ranks better for performance, which should help, and it also enables me to build a real website, with multiple pages and a blog. This will be a big project, but it makes the most sense both in the short term and the long term; it's affordable in the present, and it will help me dethrone my competitors in the long term. I'll also need to start getting listed in directories, make some backlink referral deals, and maybe get some local press coverage. 2025 was all about Demand Generation. That system is in place. 2026 will be about Demand Capture.

I underestimated IG for a long time, but it's been one of the best places for me to build demand A few things I've learned: - The algorithm sucks, but you can force discovery with paid traffic - Stories are king; they're the lowest noise channel, and the people who check them, check them often - It's very common for people to connect with your brand without following, liking or commenting; pretty much all the visible metrics don't matter at all I've generated probably 400 jobs for RDVC through IG specifically, and my "biggest" video has 10 likes, and my account has less than 200 followers The game has changed significantly, and a lot of people still can't see it