Yes, I know. We haven’t even finished the 2026 election and here I am talking about what Republicans should do in 2027 and 2028. That is probably the occupational hazard of spending too many years in politics. You’re still waiting for one set of yard signs to come down and already wondering what the next campaign will look like.

But I don’t think this is premature. In fact, I think waiting until after election night makes it too easy for everyone to retreat into their preferred excuse. Recent polling describes a difficult national environment for Republicans, while an overview of the current Congressional map shows why that mood may translate differently in the House and Senate. Both can be true. And if the party hangs on to one chamber, that doesn’t automatically mean the broader problem disappears.

Here’s the part I keep wanting to say without setting off a thousand social-media arguments: Trump changed the Republican Party, and some of the reasons he did so were real. People felt ignored. They were angry at institutions that seemed to speak a language no one outside Washington understood. Dismissing all those voters as fools is both unkind and politically ridiculous.

But listening to people who supported Trump is not the same thing as requiring the entire party to orbit Trump forever. I am tired of the loyalty tests. Tired of the idea that asking a policy question makes you a traitor. Tired of watching capable Republicans decide that silence is safer than an honest disagreement. That isn’t strength. It’s a remarkably expensive way to make your party smaller.

Speaking of expensive — all of the television and direct mail spending that has gone into races nationally in recent weeks (including MAGA Inc.’s $277 million plus!). I am not saying that spending is wasted, and I am certainly not pretending Democrats are shy about political advertising. But at some point the question becomes whether another hundred million dollars of messaging can solve a problem of identity. What is the Republican Party actually offering the voter who isn’t already a member of the fan club?

Look at South Carolina’s 1st District. The district’s recent campaign-finance reports show Democrat Nancy Lacore out-raising Republican Jenny Costa Honeycutt by a substantial margin, even as district forecasts still favor Honeycutt. That is not a forecast of defeat. It’s a reminder that political labels don’t automatically do the work of organizing, candidate recruitment, and persuasion. In a district Republicans should be able to explain themselves to, they still have to explain themselves.

I don’t want Republicans to become Democrats with a different logo and a slightly better font. I still believe in limited government, individual liberty, fiscal discipline, federalism, and a foreign policy grounded in reality. But what does fiscal responsibility sound like to someone who can’t find a starter home? What does effective government look like to someone whose insurance bill just jumped? If we cannot translate principles into the lives people are living, we shouldn’t be surprised when they tune us out.

And please, can we stop confusing being loud with being persuasive? I know outrage performs well online. I also know the people who share a viral clip are not necessarily the people who show up to vote, much less the people who need to be persuaded. Somewhere along the way we started treating engagement metrics as if they were a substitute for building a coalition. They aren’t.

What I would like to see in 2027 is not especially glamorous: a serious review of where Republican support grew or shrank, candidate recruitment that prizes competence over celebrity, and room for conservatives to disagree without being excommunicated. I’d like 2028 contenders to talk about what they will do, how they’ll pay for it, and why a voter should trust them. Wild concept, I know.

Maybe Republicans have a better November than the polls suggest. Maybe they don’t. Either way, there is a choice ahead: spend another two years relitigating the grievances of the last decade, or build a party capable of talking about the next one. I know which conversation I’d rather have. Even if I end up rambling about it.

Your social media accounts need attention. An email campaign is overdue. Your website could use an update, and someone just suggested you should be doing more with AI.

Meanwhile, you’re trying to run a business or association.

Sound familiar?

For many small organizations, marketing becomes a collection of tasks squeezed in between everything else. Staff members handle what they can. Outside vendors help with specific projects. The owner or executive director makes the final decisions, often without enough time to step back and assess how everything fits together.

A fractional chief marketing officer, or fractional CMO, can help bring direction to that work.

What Is a Fractional CMO?

A fractional CMO is an experienced marketing leader who works with your organization for an agreed portion of their time. The arrangement might involve ongoing monthly support, a set number of days, or a defined period during a launch or transition.

Their role is to connect marketing decisions to your organization’s goals: understanding your audience, strengthening your positioning, setting priorities, guiding execution, and evaluating results.

Those responsibilities reflect the broader work of marketing leadership. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics describes marketing managers as helping organizations assess demand, identify potential markets, and develop strategies in coordination with other business functions.

“Fractional” describes the working arrangement. It doesn’t mean the person is simply filling a few hours with miscellaneous marketing tasks.

It’s also different from “virtual,” which describes where someone works. A fractional CMO may work remotely, in person, or through a combination of both.

What Can They Actually Help With?

The specific scope should depend on your needs. Here are five areas where fractional marketing leadership can be useful.

1. Turning a long wish list into a realistic plan

Most organizations have more marketing ideas than time or money to carry them out.

A fractional CMO can help you decide which activities deserve attention, how much to invest, who will do the work, and what can wait.

For a small business, that might mean improving the path from a website visit to a qualified inquiry before spending more on advertising. For an association, it might mean coordinating membership recruitment, conference promotion, and educational programming so they aren’t competing for attention.

You should come away with priorities your team can actually act on.

2. Understanding your audience and sharpening your message

Before choosing channels or writing another campaign, you need to understand who you’re trying to reach.

What do prospective customers need? Why do members join? What keeps people from taking the next step? Does your messaging explain your value in terms that matter to them?

A fractional CMO can guide customer or member research, review existing data, and help translate those findings into clearer messaging.

For associations, that means looking beyond a list of benefits. ASAE’s 2026 Innovation Impact Study examines how members’ experiences relate to loyalty, engagement, recommendation, and perceived value. Those are useful questions to bring into marketing planning, too.

3. Giving staff and vendors a shared direction

You may already have capable people handling your website, social media, email, design, or public relations. What’s missing may be someone responsible for connecting their work.

A fractional CMO can establish a shared plan, clarify responsibilities, review creative, and help resolve competing priorities.

That can be especially helpful when marketing responsibilities are spread across several employees—or when the executive director has become the default coordinator for every project.

The engagement should make it clear who leads strategy and who handles production. One person’s fractional CMO service may include hands-on implementation; another’s may require separate staff or vendor support.

4. Making better decisions about spending and results

A fractional CMO should help you ask better questions about your marketing budget.

Which activities are generating qualified inquiries? Are event registrations coming from the audiences you want to reach? Are new members engaging after they join? Where are people dropping out of the process?

The measures will vary by organization. A business might track booked consultations and customer acquisition costs. An association might focus on membership applications, renewals, program participation, or sponsorship inquiries.

The goal is to use that information to decide what to continue, improve, or stop. Better oversight can support more effective spending, but no consultant can guarantee a particular return.

5. Evaluating new tools without losing sight of the goal

AI tools, automation platforms, and new advertising features give organizations more options. They also create more decisions.

A fractional CMO can help assess whether a tool solves a real problem, fits your team’s capacity, and supports your priorities.

Before adding another subscription, ask: Who will use it? What will it improve? How will we know it’s worth keeping?

Those questions can save your team a lot of experimentation without a clear purpose.

Why This Can Be Especially Helpful for Associations

Association marketing often serves several goals at once: recruiting members, supporting renewals, promoting education, filling events, attracting sponsors, and communicating the organization’s broader value.

Those efforts need coordination, particularly when they reach overlapping audiences.

Consider a new member who receives repeated conference promotions but little guidance on how to use their membership. The organization is communicating frequently, yet the member may still struggle to understand where to begin.

Fractional marketing leadership could help connect recruitment, onboarding, engagement, and renewal communications into a more useful experience.

That requires collaboration across the organization. ASAE Foundation research has emphasized that member engagement involves multiple functional areas, extending beyond the membership department.

Is a Fractional CMO the Right Fit?

This arrangement may be worth exploring if:

• Your organization needs experienced marketing leadership but doesn’t have enough work or budget for a full-time executive.

• You have employees or vendors who need clearer priorities and coordination.

• You’re preparing for a launch, rebrand, leadership transition, or period of growth.

• Marketing decisions repeatedly fall back on an already stretched owner or executive director.

• You’re investing in marketing but struggling to assess what it’s accomplishing.

The economics depend on the scope. A fractional engagement may cost less overall than a full-time executive position because you’re purchasing a portion of someone’s time. Advertising, software, design, and other implementation costs may still be separate.

If your immediate need is a clearly defined production task—such as designing a brochure or setting up an email template—a specialist may be the right hire. If you need daily executive involvement and extensive team management, a full-time leader may make more sense.

What Should You Ask Before Hiring One?

Start with the work your organization needs done, then evaluate whether the person can lead it.

Ask about relevant experience, including familiarity with your audience and organizational structure. Association work, for example, can involve board expectations, volunteer leaders, membership cycles, and several revenue streams.

Request examples that explain the problem, the person’s role, and the results. A list of recognizable client names tells you less than a clear account of what they actually contributed.

Then clarify the working arrangement:

• What will they own, and what will your team own?

• How much time and availability are included?

• Who will produce and approve the work?

• What additional spending might be required?

• How will progress be reviewed?

• What should be accomplished in the first 90 days?

Look for someone who asks thoughtful questions about your organization before recommending a long list of tactics. They should be able to explain their reasoning, work constructively with your team, and adjust when the evidence calls for it.

Give Your Marketing a Clearer Direction

You don’t have to be a large organization to benefit from experienced marketing leadership.

Sometimes the most useful next step is bringing in someone who can help you understand your audience, choose priorities, and guide the work already underway.

A fractional CMO can provide that support through a scope that fits your organization’s needs and capacity.

Wondering whether your business or association could benefit from outside marketing leadership? Connect with Phoenix Rising Consulting to discuss your goals, your current challenges, and where additional strategic support could help. Contact us today to get started with a free marketing audit!

I keep hearing that South Carolina is a red state, as if that’s the beginning and end of the conversation. It is a red state. I own a calendar, I have seen the election results, and I am not suggesting the Palmetto State is about to wake up as Massachusetts. But there is a difference between having a Republican advantage and assuming voters will keep renewing it without asking any questions. And lately I think some Republicans have gotten a little too comfortable with that distinction.

Maybe this is my (newly-developed) Lowcountry bias showing, but I think our corner of the state is where that complacency gets tested. We spend a lot of time debating Washington personalities while people here are trying to afford homeowners insurance, sit through another round of traffic, and figure out what all this growth is actually doing for them. Those aren’t abstract ‘kitchen-table issues.’ They’re Tuesday.

Which brings me to the 1st Congressional District, because, well, this one is personal in the sense that it’s the race in my own backyard. Nancy Mace’s open seat pits Republican Jenny Costa Honeycutt against Democrat Nancy Lacore. The lazy version of this story is that Republicans should win because Republicans usually win here. The more interesting version starts with the fact that Mace won by about 16.6 points in 2024 and the current race is being discussed in substantially narrower terms. That’s not the same as predicting a Democratic upset. It is a reason to ask what changed.

For starters, money. The September 30 campaign-finance figures show Lacore raised about $4.43 million to Honeycutt’s $1.19 million. I can practically hear the objection: fundraising isn’t votes. Correct! And spending isn’t persuasion, either. But when a Democrat can raise nearly four times as much as the Republican in a district like this, it suggests people outside the usual partisan bubble see an opportunity. The twist is that Honeycutt reported more cash still on hand at that cutoff, roughly $686,000 to Lacore’s $553,000. One number alone never tells the story.

The polling is messy, too, which is frankly what polling is supposed to look like when a race is competitive. The recent SC-01 survey rundown includes a co/efficient poll with Honeycutt ahead 46–40 and a GQR survey with Lacore ahead 48–45. Different pollsters, different samples, and partisan sponsorship to weigh. Meanwhile, Decision Desk HQ’s October 18 forecast gave Honeycutt a 72% chance of winning. Seventy-two percent is a favorite, not a coronation. Anyone who has watched enough election nights should know the difference.

There’s a deeper point here than which side can screenshot the poll it likes. A July survey released by House Majority PAC found Trump underwater on favorability in the district, despite his having carried it in 2024. That’s an interested sponsor, so treat it as a clue rather than gospel. But it fits a question I keep coming back to: what happens when voters like some Republican policies, or even vote Republican regularly, but are tired of every local race becoming a loyalty test about one national figure?

I also don’t want to lose the statewide races in all this. The governor’s contest and the Senate contest deserve to be judged on their own candidates, coalitions, and actual turnout operations. A statewide Republican advantage doesn’t mean the candidates will all perform identically. Ticket-splitting is not a conspiracy. Sometimes voters simply like one person better than another. Imagine that.

The thing I’ll be watching on November 3 isn’t just whether Republicans hold the 1st District. It’s the margin, where it comes from, and what the campaigns had to do to get there. If the GOP holds but has to spend and sweat in places it once took for granted, that is information. If Democrats come close but still lose, that’s information too. And if Republicans insist on interpreting every result as total vindication, well, we’ll have learned something else.

South Carolina is not suddenly blue. I’m not claiming it is. I’m saying that a red state is still full of actual people with actual problems, and they do not exist to validate somebody’s national political brand. That ought to be obvious. Somehow it still feels worth writing down.

We’re at the point in election season when every campaign is ‘surging,’ every inbox message is marked URGENT, and every operative can explain why the poll showing their candidate behind is secretly great news. I have spent enough time around campaigns to have some sympathy for this behavior. Not enough to believe it, but some.

The first thing I keep coming back to is the national mood. Reuters and Ipsos surveyed Americans October 16–19, and whatever one thinks of a particular horse-race number, it’s a useful check against the alternate reality produced by partisan fundraising emails. Polls aren’t ballots. They do tell us what people are willing to say right now, and that’s not nothing. The important question isn’t ‘Can I find one number that comforts me?’ It’s whether several different signals are pointing in the same direction.

Then there’s the math. Republicans are currently defending a 53–47 Senate majority and a much tighter House advantage. Those are not interchangeable challenges. The House can turn on a broad national swing across suburban and competitive districts. The Senate depends on the peculiarities of individual states and candidates. You can have a pretty lousy national election and still hold a chamber. You can also ‘win’ the chamber and discover that voters were trying to send you a message.

I am also fascinated by the money, partly because I work in communications and partly because it is so often misunderstood. Already this cycle, more than $3.8 billion in political advertising has hit the airwaves nationally. That is an extraordinary amount of money devoted to convincing people that the other side is terrifying, incompetent, or both. And yet, voters are still capable of looking at their grocery bills and asking what either party intends to do about them. The sheer volume of an ad campaign does not make its message good.

I mean, just look at MAGA Inc.’s late spending blitz of more than $277 million on television and direct mail in the final six weeks, aimed at critical Republican contests. This isn’t a neat national ad-spending total and it isn’t all candidate money; it is a particular super PAC’s effort. But it tells us something important. If a political operation is pouring that kind of money into a defensive fight, the people signing the checks are not behaving as though everything is fine.

Of course, defensive spending isn’t a prophecy. Sometimes you spend heavily because a seat is winnable. Sometimes because losing it would be catastrophic. Sometimes because donors insist. What I wish we did more often is ask what the spending buys besides exposure. Does the ad answer a question? Does it speak to a problem? Or is it just another clip designed to make the already-convinced feel more convinced?

I suspect a lot of voters are exhausted by the performance of politics. That’s my interpretation, not a poll result. But it’s hard not to notice how much national messaging revolves around personalities while ordinary people are talking about cost of living, insurance, and whether the government can perform its basic functions. Campaigns can test every shade of blue in an ad. They cannot A/B-test their way out of a credibility problem.

So where does that leave us? I can see a Democratic House and a Republican Senate. I can see a bigger Democratic night if close races break together. I can also see Republicans outperforming the current mood if their turnout machine does its job. What I cannot see is a responsible reason to declare the outcome certain before anyone finishes voting.

If you’re a Republican, the temptation will be to call anything short of catastrophe a mandate. If you’re a Democrat, the temptation will be to interpret every close contest as proof of an inevitable realignment. I would resist both. Election night gives us results. Understanding those results takes a little more humility than either party is famous for.

A practical content workflow for teams that want efficiency and credibility

An AI tool can turn a few notes into a blog post in seconds. For a small team staring at an empty content calendar, that sounds pretty appealing.

But take a closer look at the draft. Does it actually say anything useful? Are the facts correct? Would your customers recognize your organization in the language, or could the same paragraphs belong to just about anyone?

Getting words onto a page is only part of the job. Your content still needs a purpose, a point of view, and someone willing to stand behind it.

Give the tool a real assignment

Before asking AI to write, decide who you’re trying to reach and what you want that person to understand or do. A member renewal reminder needs a different approach from a prospective client’s introduction to your services.

Prepare a short brief with the audience, objective, approved facts, main message, and intended next step. Include a few examples of your organization’s actual writing. Be specific about language you use and promises you can support.

For example, a hypothetical professional association might ask for a renewal email that explains two verified benefits and directs members to their renewal page. That is a much more useful assignment than “write an engaging membership email.”

Keep a person responsible for accuracy

AI-generated text can sound confident even when it is wrong. The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s generative AI guidance identifies fabricated output and misinformation among the risks organizations should manage.

My practical rule is simple: every factual claim needs a human owner. Open the source. Confirm that it supports the sentence. Check dates, product details, names, and statistics against authoritative information.

A plausible-looking hyperlink is not verification. Neither is a second AI answer repeating the same claim.

Set boundaries around inputs as well. Before entering client information or unpublished plans into any tool, check your organization’s rules, the tool’s data settings, and the permission you have to use that material. A public description of your services may be appropriate input; a confidential client strategy needs a different decision.

Add the expertise your audience came for

This is where your team earns its place in the process. What question do customers repeatedly ask? What tradeoff do they underestimate? What should they consider before making a decision?

Use those answers to improve the draft. Add a concrete example, explain the limits of your advice, or show how a recommendation changes for different situations. Identify hypothetical examples as hypothetical, and get permission before using a client’s story.

Google’s guidance on generative AI content recognizes potential uses for these tools while emphasizing quality and added value. My takeaway for small organizations is to spend the time you save on making the content more helpful.

Review the draft as a reader

Read it aloud. Replace phrases you would never say. Remove claims that sound impressive but explain very little. Check whether the opening reaches the point quickly and whether the ending offers a sensible next step.

For your next piece of content, try this workflow: write the brief, use AI for a first pass, verify the claims, and have a knowledgeable person edit and approve it. Track the time spent on corrections as well as drafting. That will give you a more honest picture of whether the tool is helping.

Need help making your content sound like your organization? Phoenix Rising Consulting can help connect your audience research, messaging, and content strategy. Visit our website today to get started with a free marketing audit!

How to keep your website useful as AI changes the way people discover your business

You finally get your website looking good. Your services are clear, your blog has useful information, and you’ve put real effort into helping people find you. Then search changes the rules again. Fun, right?

With AI-generated answers appearing in search results, potential customers can get information before they ever visit your website. That creates a practical question for small businesses and organizations: How do you stay visible when the answer arrives before the click?

The good news is that you don’t need to throw out your entire website strategy. You do need to give people a reason to seek out your expertise.

Understand what is actually changing

A Pew Research Center analysis published in July 2025 examined browsing data from 900 U.S. adults during March 2025. People clicked a traditional search result on 8% of visits with an AI summary, compared with 15% of visits without one.

That is a snapshot of observed behavior, not a prediction of what will happen to your website. Different searches attract different audiences. Still, it is a good reason to stop assuming that visibility automatically produces a visit.

My recommendation? Make your content valuable enough that someone wants the details, examples, or help that only you can provide.

Answer the questions that come before a purchase

Start with the questions customers ask before they hire you, join your organization, or buy your product. What does the process involve? What affects the cost? Who is a good fit? What should they prepare before getting started?

Then go beyond a generic definition. A hypothetical bookkeeping firm, for example, could explain which records a new client should bring to an initial meeting and why missing records can delay the work. That gives a prospective customer something useful to do today.

This builds on what I covered in my earlier post about market research: your audience’s real questions should help shape your content. A keyword tool can suggest topics, but your customers can tell you where they are confused.

Keep the website fundamentals working

Google’s 2026 guide to optimizing for generative AI search emphasizes useful, distinctive content and established SEO practices. It also says special AI text files are not needed for visibility in Google Search.

Before paying for a new package of AI search services, check the basics. Can search engines access your important pages? Is your information current? Does the mobile experience work? Can visitors quickly understand what you offer and how to contact you?

Being eligible to appear does not guarantee placement. And Google’s guidance applies to Google; it shouldn’t be treated as a promise about every AI platform.

Measure the visit and what happens afterward

Google introduced dedicated generative AI performance reports in Search Console in June 2026, with a subsequent update noting worldwide rollout by August 31. That gives website owners another way to examine visibility.

Use those insights alongside inquiries, purchases, subscriptions, and qualified conversations. Ask new customers how they found you, too. Their answers can fill in some of the gaps that a dashboard misses.

For your next website update, choose one important service page and improve its answers, examples, and next step. Make it easier for the right person to decide whether you can help.

Interested in learning more? Connect with Phoenix Rising Consulting to explore how your website and content can better support your marketing goals. Visit our website today to get started with a free marketing audit!

Social media advertising comes with plenty of decisions. Who are you trying to reach? What do you want them to do? How much should you spend?

Before you get to any of those questions, though, you need to know where everything lives.

If you’ve ever found yourself switching between Meta Business Suite, business settings, and Ads Manager while wondering why they aren’t all the same thing, you’re in good company. Add LinkedIn Campaign Manager to the mix, and the terminology can get confusing quickly.

Let’s break down what these tools do, how they fit into your marketing efforts, and what you should have in place before launching a campaign.

Meta Business Suite and Your Business Portfolio: The Control Center

If you remember using “Facebook Business Manager” or “Meta Business Manager,” the newer terminology may take some getting used to.

For a current introduction, it helps to distinguish between Meta Business Suite, the workspace you use to manage your Facebook and Instagram presence, and your business portfolio, which brings your organization’s business assets and access permissions together. Meta’s business portfolio training explains that organizational setup.

Think of Business Suite as your day-to-day workspace and the business portfolio as the structure behind it. Depending on your setup and permissions, you’ll use these tools to organize assets such as Facebook Pages, Instagram accounts, and ad accounts, and give the right people access to them.

Business Suite also provides tools for managing customer conversations. Its inbox can help your team handle messages without treating every interaction as a separate task on a separate app. Meta offers training on its business messaging tools.

Before you start advertising, take a few minutes to check the basics:

• Ownership: Make sure your organization retains control of its business assets.

• Access: Give employees and outside partners the permissions they need for their work.

• Connections: Confirm that the correct Facebook Page, Instagram account, and ad account are available to the people running your campaigns.

• Account details: Review your business information and payment setup before you need them.

Meta’s advertising setup checklist specifically emphasizes assigning the correct business assets to the people managing ads.

My recommendation? Handle this setup before you’re rushing to launch something. Discovering an access problem an hour before a campaign needs to go live is an avoidable headache.

Meta Ads Manager: Where Your Advertising Campaigns Take Shape

Once your assets and access are organized, Meta Ads Manager is where you’ll build and manage your Facebook and Instagram advertising campaigns.

A useful way to understand the process is through three levels:

• Campaign: What are you trying to accomplish?

• Ad set: Who should see your advertising, where should it appear, and how should delivery work?

• Ad: What will people actually see, read, and click?

Budget settings can vary by campaign setup, so don’t assume every spending decision happens at the ad set level. Meta’s current training covers placements, budgets, and scheduling in Ads Manager.

The practical takeaway is to start with the result you need. An organization promoting an educational event may care about completed registrations. A consulting business may want qualified inquiries. An online store may want purchases.

Those goals should shape your campaign choices, creative, landing page, and reporting.

You’ll also encounter more automation than you may remember from earlier versions of Ads Manager. Meta’s Advantage+ tools support automated campaign delivery, while available controls let advertisers guide elements such as audience and budget. Meta’s Advantage+ training explains how these options fit together.

Automation can help with execution. You still need to decide whether the campaign is attracting the right people and producing results that matter to your organization.

A low cost per click looks nice on a report. It’s less exciting when those clicks never turn into registrations, inquiries, or sales.

LinkedIn Campaign Manager: Reaching a Professional Audience

LinkedIn Campaign Manager is the platform for creating and managing LinkedIn advertising.

Its particular value is the ability to build audiences around professional characteristics, including job title, industry, company, and skills. That can make it worth considering when your audience is defined by what people do for work.

For example, an association promoting professional education might want to reach people in a particular field. A consulting firm might want to introduce its services to decision-makers in selected industries.

Inside Campaign Manager, you can:

• Select an advertising objective.

• Define your audience.

• Set your budget and schedule.

• Choose an available ad format.

• Review performance and make adjustments.

LinkedIn’s advertising guide walks through that process, while its Sponsored Content overview explains ads that appear within the professional news feed.

LinkedIn has also introduced AI-assisted campaign tools, including Accelerate, which supports campaign setup and optimization. Its product updates describe how these capabilities use professional signals and advertiser inputs to help identify relevant audiences.

As with Meta, review the suggested settings against your actual strategy. A faster setup process is helpful when the resulting campaign still reflects your goals.

Don’t Skip Measurement

Launching an ad is only part of the process. You also need a way to evaluate what happens afterward.

For LinkedIn, the Insight Tag supports conversion tracking, website retargeting audiences, and additional reporting. You can install it through a tag manager or add it directly to your website, then confirm that it’s active in Campaign Manager. Follow LinkedIn’s implementation guidance, including its restrictions on pages that handle sensitive personal information.

LinkedIn also offers a Conversions API for sharing conversion information through supported integrations or a direct connection.

Whatever tools you use, decide what counts as success before the campaign launches. For a lead-generation effort, that might mean tracking qualified inquiries and booked calls alongside the platform’s reported leads.

I recommend reviewing advertising results alongside your website analytics and customer relationship management system. That gives you more context for deciding whether to continue, adjust, or stop a campaign.

How These Tools Work Together

Meta Business Suite and LinkedIn Campaign Manager can support the same marketing strategy, but they operate in separate advertising systems.

You cannot use Meta Business Manager or a Meta business portfolio to manage LinkedIn ad accounts. LinkedIn campaigns are created and managed through LinkedIn Campaign Manager.

What you can coordinate is your message, campaign timing, landing pages, and measurement.

Imagine you’re promoting a webinar. You might use Facebook and Instagram advertising to introduce the topic to a broader audience, then run LinkedIn ads aimed at relevant professional groups. Both efforts could send people to the same registration page, with distinct tracking links to help you compare results.

The creative doesn’t have to be identical. The message should feel connected while giving each audience a clear reason to care.

Before You Launch

You don’t need to memorize every menu or master every feature to get started. You do need a clear understanding of your accounts, your audience, and your intended result.

Before spending money, ask:

• Does our organization control the necessary accounts and assets?

• Do the right people have access?

• Does this campaign support a specific business or organizational goal?

• Does the landing page deliver on the ad’s promise?

• Can we measure the action we want people to take?

• Who will follow up when someone responds?

The platforms will keep changing. A clear goal, thoughtful messaging, and a practical follow-up plan will remain essential.

Need help connecting your advertising tools to a broader marketing strategy? Phoenix Rising Consulting can help you understand your audience, strengthen your message, and build a plan for putting both to work. Visit our website today to get started with a free marketing audit!

ICYMI, Our Republican Legacy — a national effort to restore core conservative principles and responsible governance to the GOP — has named Phoenix Rising Consulting owner/chief strategist Katie LaPotin as its South Carolina chair. Katie joins ORL’s growing leadership team of former elected officials, veterans, and civic leaders working to build a more responsible, solutions-focused Republican Party.

In naming Katie to its leadership team, ORL founder and former U.S. Senator John Danforth said in a press release that:

“Katie brings a strategic mind and deep commitment to principled conservative leadership. She represents the kind of thoughtful, forward-looking Republican voice our party needs. I’m proud to welcome her as our State Chair in South Carolina.”

You can learn more about Our Republican Legacy by visiting www.ourrepublicanlegacy.com.

Ever put a ton of effort into a new product or marketing campaign, only to hear... crickets? Or maybe your brand just isn't hitting the mark with people the way you hoped? Yeah, that's super frustrating, and usually, the missing piece is something pretty basic: market research.

Think of market research as your brand's super-powered cheat sheet – but way more reliable than just guessing. It's all about digging up and understanding info about who you're trying to reach, what your competitors are up to, and what the overall market vibe is. Instead of making huge decisions based on a "hunch," market research gives you the solid facts you need to make smart, winning moves.

Here's why skipping market research is like trying to find your way in a dark room with your eyes closed, and why it's absolutely crucial for perfectly positioning your brand or kicking off your next big campaign:

1. Get to Know Your Audience (Like, REALLY Get Them)

You might think you know your customers, but market research helps you actually know them. It goes way beyond just age and location to uncover:

• What bugs them? What problems are they trying to fix? What drives them crazy?

• What do they dream about? What are their hopes and goals? What makes them want to buy something?

• How do they act? Where do they hang out online? What shows or articles do they check out? How do they decide what to buy?

• What do they think? How do they see your brand right now? And what about your rivals?

Why this matters: When you truly get your audience, you can craft your brand's message, design product features, and create campaign themes that really hit home. It's the difference between yelling into an empty room and having a conversation that truly clicks.

2. Find Your Spot in the Crowd (Your "Sweet Spot")

The market is packed, right? Without research, you might be trying to sell snow to an Eskimo, or even worse, selling the exact same snow as everyone else without anything special. Market research helps you:

• Spot Openings: Are there things people need that no one else is offering yet?

• Check Out the Competition: Who are they? What are they good at, and where do they fall short? How do they talk about themselves? What are their prices like?

• Discover Your Niche: Where can your brand truly shine? What makes you different and better than the rest?

Why this matters: How your brand is "positioned" isn't just about what you say you are; it's about how your ideal customers see you compared to everyone else. Research helps you carve out a unique space that attracts the right people and makes your brand unforgettable.

3. Launch Campaigns That Actually WORK (No More Flops!)

A new campaign means putting in time, money, and effort. Market research seriously boosts your chances of success by helping you:

• Test Your Message: Before you go all-in, you can try out different slogans, pictures, and calls to action with small groups of your audience to see what gets the best reaction.

• Pick the Right Places: Where will your target audience actually see and pay attention to your campaign? Research tells you where to spend your ad money wisely.

• Set Real Goals: Based on what the market wants and what your competitors are doing, you can set goals for sales, leads, or brand awareness that you can actually hit.

• Know What People Might Say: Understanding potential customer worries lets you answer them in your campaign messages before they even ask.

Why this matters: Market research turns launching a campaign from a risky gamble into a smart, planned move. It cuts down on the chances of things going wrong and makes it way more likely you'll get a good return on your investment. You're not just throwing stuff at the wall; you're serving up a delicious meal perfectly cooked for your audience's taste.

4. Save Your Cash and Avoid Big Blunders

Guessing games are expensive. Launching a product nobody wants, or blowing a ton of money on ads that don't bring in customers, can really hurt your business. Market research, even though it costs a bit upfront, actually saves you money in the long run by:

• Stopping Bad Products: Knowing what the market actually wants before you even create it.

• Making Your Ads Smarter: Putting your budget into the ads and places that work best.

• Less Rework: Getting things right (or at least close to it) the first time around.

Why this matters: It's way cheaper to do your homework early than to try and fix a broken strategy later.

In today's fast-moving market, just going with your gut feeling is a recipe for missing out. Market research isn't some fancy extra; it's a must-have for any brand that truly wants to understand its customers, stand out from the crowd, and launch campaigns that get real results. So, before your next big move, take a moment and ask yourself: "What do the numbers say?"

Interested in learning more? Sign up today for our FREE website audit to see how market research can be used to optimize your existing marketing and communications strategies.

Are you looking for smart ways to get your awesome products or services in front of more people, without just throwing money at traditional ads? What if I told you there's a cool way to really boost your customer base and open up brand new income streams, all while only paying when you actually get results?

Well, get ready for affiliate marketing. It's not just for the huge companies or mega-influencers anymore. This strategy is a total game-changer for businesses of all shapes and sizes, and here's the lowdown on why you should totally check it out:

1. It's Like Having a Super Sales Team on Commission

Imagine having a whole crew of passionate folks out there, raving about your stuff and sending people directly to your website. That's basically what affiliates are! These are bloggers, YouTubers, social media stars, and niche website owners who genuinely dig what you offer. They promote your products to their already engaged audience, and here's the best part: you only pay them a commission when they actually make a sale or get someone to take a specific action (like signing up for your newsletter).

What this means for you: No more wasted ad dollars. You're literally paying for results, not just hoping people see your ads. It's a sweet deal – they earn money for their recommendations, and you get new customers. Win-win!

2. Reach Audiences You Never Knew Existed

One of the coolest things about affiliate marketing is how it can introduce you to whole new groups of customers. Every affiliate has their own unique audience, often with super specific interests.

• Got a cool new fitness gadget? Partner up with a fitness blogger or a personal trainer.

• Selling handmade jewelry? Team up with a fashion influencer or a craft enthusiast.

Suddenly, your message is landing with people who are already interested in exactly what you're selling, but who might never have found you through your usual marketing. This targeted approach means more likely sales and a much more efficient way to grow.

3. Build Trust Through Real Recommendations

Let's be honest: most of us are a little wary of ads these days. But when someone we trust, or a voice we respect online, recommends something, it just hits different. Affiliates build a real connection with their audience, and when they vouch for your brand, it's like a powerful word-of-mouth endorsement, but on a much bigger scale. This "social proof" can really boost confidence in your brand and make people more likely to buy.

4. Scale Your Business (Without the Headaches)

Dreaming of growing fast? Affiliate marketing is super flexible. You can start small with a few awesome partners and, as your program takes off, easily add more affiliates without suddenly needing a huge marketing team or budget. The behind-the-scenes stuff, like tracking and payments, is often handled by affiliate networks or software, making it pretty smooth to manage your growing crew of promoters. It's like having a growth button you can press!

5. Unlock New Ways to Make Money

It's not just about direct sales, either. Affiliate marketing can open up other cool ways to bring in cash. Think about getting ongoing commissions for subscription services, or even generating leads for your pricier products. Plus, since a lot of affiliate content (like blog posts and review videos) sticks around on the internet, those unique links can keep sending traffic and sales your way for a long time – giving you a more steady flow of income.

So, if you're looking for a smart, effective, and less risky way to grow your customer base and add some extra cash streams, affiliate marketing is definitely something you should be checking out. It's all about leveraging trust, expanding your reach, and making sure your marketing dollars are working hard for you.

Ready to try affiliate marketing for yourself? Sign up today for our FREE marketing audit to learn more about your current marketing strategy and how affiliate marketing might benefit it.

In today's crazy-fast world, your organization's message probably feels like it's constantly fighting for attention. From endless social media feeds to overflowing inboxes, the noise is louder than ever. That's why it's not enough to just have a communications and marketing strategy – you need to make sure it's still doing its job, connecting with the right people, and actually working. And that's exactly where a comprehensive annual communications and marketing review comes in.

Think of it like an annual check-up for your organization's voice. Just like you'd get your own health checked to catch any little issues early, a yearly review lets you see how strong your communication efforts are, figure out what could be better, and make sure you're still on the right path to hitting your goals.

What Exactly is This "Comprehensive Review" Thing?

It's more than just a quick peek at your social media numbers. A truly comprehensive review dives deep into every corner of how you communicate and market. This includes:

• Who are you talking to? Have your target audiences changed? Are you still reaching them where they hang out?

• Is your message actually landing? Is your main message still making sense and connecting with people? Are there any old, confusing messages that need a refresh?

• Which channels are rocking it? What communication methods are getting you the best results? Are you throwing too much money at stuff that's not working, or missing out on new ways to connect?

• Content check! What content is doing great? What needs an update, a new spin, or to just be retired?

• Is your brand consistent? Does your brand voice, look, and message feel the same no matter where people see it?

• Does your team have what it takes? Does your team have the tools and skills to actually pull off your strategy?

• What are the other guys doing? What are your competitors doing well, and how can you stand out?

• Are you getting your money's worth? Are all your efforts actually leading to results that match what your organization is trying to achieve?

Why is This Annual Check-Up Such a Big Deal?

Skipping your yearly review can lead to a bunch of headaches, costing you time, money, and missed chances. Here are some big reasons why it's a must-do:

• Stay Fresh and Flexible: The world of communication and marketing is always changing, with new tech, trends, and how people behave. An annual review helps you stay on top of things and adapt, instead of getting left behind.

• Smart Spending: By knowing what's working and what's not, you can put your budget and team's energy into the stuff that makes the biggest difference, getting more bang for your buck.

• Clearer, More Powerful Messages: A fresh look can show you where your message is fuzzy, watered down, or just getting lost in the noise. This lets you sharpen it up for a bigger impact.

• Spot New Opportunities: A review can uncover new platforms, audiences you haven't reached yet, or cool new strategies you might have missed.

• Keep Your Brand Strong: Being consistent is key to having a solid brand. A review makes sure your brand identity stays strong and makes an impact everywhere.

• Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: It's a chance for your team to look back at what went well and what was tough, set new goals, and figure out how to grow professionally.

• Show Your Value: By regularly checking in on your efforts, you can clearly show higher-ups and stakeholders how much your communications and marketing work really helps the organization.

Don't let your communications and marketing efforts just wander around. Get your comprehensive annual review on the calendar today and make sure your organization's voice is as strong, clear, and impactful as it can possibly be.

Interested in learning more? Sign up today for our FREE website audit to see how your current marketing and communications efforts are holding up and what changes might be necessary for optimum future success!

Sponsored content has become a powerful tool for businesses and nonprofits to reach their target audience more authentically and engagingly. By partnering with content creators or publishers, these organizations can create high-quality content that aligns with their marketing goals and puts them in front of their core customers/members.

So what exactly is sponsored content? Well, sponsored content is a form of paid advertising where brands collaborate with content creators or publishers to produce content that promotes their products or services. This content is typically integrated seamlessly into the creator's or publisher's existing content, making it less intrusive and more likely to be consumed by the target audience. Some common examples you’ve likely seen include ad reads in podcasts, promoted posts in monthly newsletters, and tagged content on social media.

Why should my organization consider implementing a sponsored content program? In addition to the financial benefits, there are many benefits to incorporating sponsored content efforts into your overall marketing campaigns. Sponsored content can often be more authentic than traditional advertising, especially when the content itself is created by influencers or publishers who already boast a strong brand reputation with your target audience. It can also help introduce your organization to a wider audience of prospects — thus expanding your overall market reach. Plus, the more you can increase your brand awareness and recognition, the better your overall brand reputation and digital domain authority will become — helping you mitigate the impacts of bad reviews or articles.

What types of sponsored content should I consider? There are many different types of sponsored content opportunities for businesses and organizations to consider, thus you can’t go wrong no matter what you choose! Common types include:

• Branded Content: This involves creating original content, such as articles, videos, or infographics, that promotes a brand's products or services.

• Native Advertising: This type of content is designed to blend seamlessly with the publisher's editorial content, making it less intrusive and more likely to be consumed by the audience.

• Influencer Marketing: By partnering with influential individuals, brands can leverage their social media following to promote their products or services.

How can I successfully use sponsored content to boost my bottom line? As with any marketing campaign, following these tried-and-true tips will help you launch your sponsored content campaign and see extra revenue in no time.

• Have a clearly defined target audience for your content.

• Stick to working with content creators/publishers whose audience aligns with your values and target market.

• Establish specific goals for each of your sponsored content campaigns, whether it be increasing brand awareness, driving sales, or acquiring new members.

• Make sure to track your key metrics (website traffic, engagement/conversion rates, revenue, etc.) to evaluate the effectiveness of your efforts and adjust as necessary.

• MOST IMPORTANT — Be transparent with your audience and disclose any sponsored content so you can continue to be seen as a trusted & credible brand.

By following these tips and leveraging the power of sponsored content, your organization will be able to effectively reach its target audience, build brand awareness, and drive conversions in no time!

Interested in learning more? Sign up today for our FREE website audit to see how your current marketing strategy fares and how Phoenix Rising Consulting can best help you boost your efforts via sponsored content opportunities.

Giving Tuesday, the global generosity movement, is a powerful opportunity for nonprofits and businesses alike to connect with their communities and drive significant impact.

Annually held on the first Tuesday of December (for 2024, that means December 3rd), the key to having a successful Giving Tuesday for your organization is to strategically plan & execute your marketing and fundraising campaigns ahead of time. Here are six tips for maximizing your Giving Tuesday efforts this year:

1. Set Clear Goals

Why are you participating in Giving Tuesday (other than jumping on the bandwagon)?Is it to raise money for your nonprofit, grow your brand awareness, or something else? Before anything else is tackled, make sure you know who are you trying to reach through these efforts (new donors? supporters? volunteers?) and how much money you’d like to ultimately raise for your organization as part of the Giving Tuesday campaign efforts.

2. Create a Compelling Story

The medium is just as important as the message when it comes to your Giving Tuesday campaign. Does your campaign connect with your customers on an emotional level, using a narrative that resonates with your audience and highlights the importance of their donations? What about using powerful graphics & videos to showcase your work and inspire others to donate to your cause?

Once you’ve settled on your goals, spend some time creating a compelling story for your campaign efforts so everything can blend together seamlessly on December 3rd.

3. Leverage Your Social Media & Email Marketing Efforts

Because of the viral nature of #GivingTuesday, you’ll want to make sure you’re including social media & email marketing efforts in whatever campaign you end up launching.

With social, post early & often. Because this will be a top trending topic on December 3rd, don’t forget to tag [@]GivingTuesday or use #GivingTuesday in all of your social media posts — especially those on Instagram and Twitter/X.

You may also want to consider sending out at least one email blast related to Giving Tuesday on December 3rd. List segmentation is key here — as you’ll want to create different versions of your message for volunteers, supporters, and current donors.

Feel free to mix up the content you distribute as well. Some suggestions include:

• An URGENT appeal as to why they should consider donating to your cause.

• Hourly countdowns/updates (think: thermometer) of how much you’ve raised and how close you are to hitting your goal.

• Engaging stories about your work and how this money can further support those efforts.

• Behind-the-scenes glimpses of your efforts (videos, podcasts etc.)

• Relevant contests, challenges & polls to encourage participation and generate excitement for your cause.

Need graphics? GivingTuesday.org provides lots of great images, GIFs and other visual assets that you can add to your social media, email marketing & other campaign efforts.

4. Get Influencers Involved

Giving Tuesday is a great opportunity for you to get some of your more prominent supporters/donors involved in the cause. Don’t forget to incorporate these individuals/organizations in your promotional collateral, as well as have them distribute your message through their individual networks as well! Just make sure you choose influencers who closely align with your mission and values so the potential donor believes the partnership is authentic.

5. Throw In an Incentive (or Two!)

Be creative with your donation pleas. Don’t be afraid to offer your corporate donors the opportunity to offer matching gifts to double the impact of your Giving Tuesday donations. You may also want to consider offering special perks like an exclusive reward or recognition for different tiers of donors as well.

6. Thank Yous and Followups

Every donor — no matter how big or small — should receive a personalized thank you for their contributions. It’s also a great way to help foster loyalty and future support for your organization. These thank yous can be public, private (or both).

You may also want to share updates on how the donations are being used from time to time so people can feel good about where their money is going; this can be done by continuing to engage with your donors through newsletters, event invitations, and personalized communications throughout the year.

By following these strategies, you’ll be able to effectively harness the power of #GivingTuesday to achieve your marketing and fundraising goals. Best of luck!

Need help getting your #GivingTuesday marketing efforts coordinated? Sign up today for our FREE website audit to see how your current marketing strategy fares and how Phoenix Rising Consulting can best help you optimize it!

One of the most important tools a small business or organization can invest in is a customer relationship management (CRM) software program.

What is a CRM program, you might ask? Well, CRM software is a jack-of-all-trades program that can help you organize and manage your interactions with customers or members, from initial contact to ongoing relationships. When implemented correctly, CRM programs can also improve your customer satisfaction, increase sales, and boost your overall business efficiency.

Core Aspects of a CRM Program

Think of your CRM as a digital rolodex or filing cabinet for your small business or organization, as it has the ability to track and manage your customer interactions and data so you can make informed business decisions. Among the core features included in many CRMs include:

• Contact management: Store and organize customer information, including names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses.

• Sales management: Track sales opportunities, manage pipelines, and automate tasks like lead generation and follow-ups.

• Marketing automation: Create and send marketing campaigns, track email open rates and click-through rates, and segment your customer list.

• Customer service: Manage customer support tickets, track customer satisfaction, and provide self-service options.

Benefits of a CRM system

Optimized CRM systems can essentially manage the core operations for your business or organization. Among the various benefits you’ll get from implementing a CRM program include:

• Improved customer satisfaction: A CRM helps you keep track of customer interactions and preferences, so you can provide personalized service.

• Increased sales: By organizing your sales pipeline and automating tasks, you can close deals faster and increase your revenue.

• Enhanced efficiency: A CRM can help you streamline your business processes and save time on administrative tasks.

• Better decision-making: By having access to customer data, you can make informed decisions about your marketing and sales strategies.

Choosing the Right CRM

Initially, the marketplace was dominated by a couple of core providers like SalesForce and HubSpot. Today, there are hundreds of CRMs on the market, meaning you can choose a system that either fits your budget or is specialized for your specific industry/needs.

When selecting a CRM for your small business or organization, you’ll want to consider the following factors:

• Your business needs: What features do you need to manage your customer interactions effectively?

• Your budget: How much are you willing to spend on a CRM?

• Ease of use: The CRM should be easy to learn and use, especially if you have a small team.

• Scalability: As your business grows, your CRM should be able to scale with you.

There are many excellent CRM systems on the market, each with its own unique advantages/disadvantages. Among the programs we commonly recommend to clients are Zoho CRM (approximate price point💰), Freshworks CRM (💰), Monday CRM (💰), HubSpot (💰💰), ZenDesk (💰💰), and Salesforce (💰💰💰).

Implementing a CRM Program

Once you've chosen a CRM, you’ll want to make sure it’s set up and running smoothly to make the most of it. Here are some tips:

• Train your team: Make sure everyone on your team knows how to use the CRM and understands its benefits.

• Import your data: Transfer your existing customer data into the CRM.

• Set up workflows: Create automated workflows to streamline your business processes.

• Monitor and adjust: Regularly review your CRM usage and make adjustments as needed.

By implementing a CRM program for your small business or organization, you can improve your customer relationships, increase sales, and boost your overall operational efficiency. If you're a small business owner, you should strongly consider investing in a CRM to help you achieve your overall marketing & communications goals.

Do you need help selecting a CRM program for your small business or organization? Sign up today for our FREE website audit to see how your current marketing strategy fares and how Phoenix Rising Consulting can best help you optimize it!

I’ll admit, this is NOT the post-election autopsy I thought I’d be writing right now. In fact, I even started to shell out a different post — one that I thought would have, in some ways, brought full circle the decision I made several years ago to focus less on political consulting and more on the nonprofit/corporate side of Phoenix Rising in recent years.

Instead, I’ve largely spent the last few days reviewing as much data and reading as much as I can about why now-President Elect Donald Trump recorded such a decisive victory last Tuesday. Interestingly enough, the answer was right under my nose — and it was even something I’ve written about extensively over the years!

In the infamous words of lauded Democratic strategist James Carville:

Perhaps my jadedness has turned me into an establishment cynic, but my biggest miscalculation was having enough faith in the American people to focus on what matters most at the ballot box. We always knew it was going to be a change election — what we didn’t know was whether that change would come in the form of new policies for tackling issues like inflation & the economy, or in the form of new leadership & a return to decency in Washington, D.C. The voters chose the former — electing a convicted criminal to the job he refused to vacate just four years ago — suggesting that once again, the issues trumped everything (pun intended).

And, ultimately, that’s a good thing! I thought that I’d be writing about the death of the Republican Party this week. About the need to rebuild from the ashes (like a Phoenix, get it?) into a stronger, more adaptable organization that better suits the needs of 2020s America. Clearly, I’m not doing either of those things.

I’m thrilled that we do not have another four years of Democratic leadership in Washington. As a lifelong, card-carrying Republican, I truly believe the country will be better off with a return to conservative principles. Already, the Federal Reserve has cut interest rates another quarter-point — meaning that Americans looking to buy houses and cars (like me) will be able to take out loans with lower interest rates in 2025 than in recent years. The stock market soared in the aftermath of Trump’s election, with the S&P 500 briefly reaching 6,000 and the Dow hitting 44,000 for the first time.

But that doesn’t mean it’ll be all smooth sailing from here on out — nor am I wrong to be concerned about the future of the Republican Party under Trump and his acolytes. Mark my words: The next 180-ish days will be the most important in the future of modern Republican politics.

I wrote back in September that Republicans only had themselves to blame if they didn’t win in November. I stayed away from a study on candidate character in that piece, instead choosing to focus on the Democrats’ financial advantage and more traditional ground game strategy to make my argument. I’m still not 💯 sold that Trump won despite these disadvantages, but I’m smart enough to know that there’s more to the story than I originally thought.

The 2024 presidential election will be heavily studied (as it should be), and hopefully, I will be able to play a role in that review both here at The Phoenix Quill and elsewhere. But there is one projection that I can make from the data I’ve reviewed in recent days, and it is this: Republicans may have won the battle this time, but there’s still a long journey ahead in the war to make the GOP sustainable for the longhaul.

You see, I don’t believe we’ve awoken to a new “Morning in America”.

Rather, Americans did what they’ve been doing for nearly 250 years now — they didn’t like the status quo so they democratically voted to shake things up at the ballot box.

What they did not do — despite Trump’s victory and expected GOP victories in both both the House and Senate — is provide Republicans with any sort of mandate to govern unilaterally over the next two years. If the GOP wants to continue growing and expanding beyond its base — and remain the party of the people — it needs to heed their wishes and legislate pragmatically, not with an iron fist. Otherwise, Republicans will quickly find themselves out in the cold — possibly as soon as the 2026 midterm elections.

One way that Trump could show he’s a changed man and willing to truly lead the Republican Party into a new and stronger future is with the choices he makes over the next few weeks as he announces his leadership & transition teams. This includes nominating leaders from all parts of the “big tent,” including those who don’t always agree with him — and (gasp!) maybe even a Democrat or two!

The president-elect is a proud man and he should feel good about his achievements — including and most importantly, this latest electoral victory. If he truly wants to go down as a great leader in American history, he’ll be the one to make the initial overtures to the Cheneys, Kristols, and other “Never Trump” Republicans to help reunite the party once and for all. (After all, it was this lack of diplomacy that led many of these individuals to renounce the GOP in the first place!)

So far, Trump has only made a few announcements about those he’s planning on bringing with him to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The biggest is incoming Chief of Staff (and former campaign manager) Susie Wiles, who appears to be well-suited for the role of maintaining law & order at 1600 Pennsylvania. His selections of Tom Homan as “border czar” and Elise Stefanik as U.N. Ambassador — coupled with his refusal to even consider rivals like Mike Pompeo & Nikki Haley leads me to think that we’re in for another four years of the same acrimony that brought us here.

Since its inception in 1854, the Republican Party has been advocating for:

“…liberty, economic prosperity, preserving American values and traditions, and restoring the American dream for every citizen of this great nation. As a party, we support policies that seek to achieve those goals. 

Our platform is centered on stimulating economic growth for all Americans, protecting constitutionally-guaranteed freedoms, ensuring the integrity of our elections, and maintaining our national security. We are working to preserve America's greatness for our children and grandchildren.”

We owe it to the American people to actually fight for these values. Fighting culture wars and disrupting foreign policy through crippling tariffs are not this. Nor are a lot of the components of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 — which, while not explicitly endorsed by Trump, is backed by many of his advisors and contains several controversial policies that are fundamentally, well, not Republican in nature.

Suffice it to say that this is both not the autopsy I thought I’d be writing right now, but also that there will be much more to come in the coming weeks. So buckle up and stay tuned…

Katie was asked about several topics during this hour-long segment, including:

• Whether or not Iran should retaliate in response to Israel’s latest round of attacks against Iran over the weekend; and

• Where the United States stands relative to the rising tensions in the Middle East, and how the results of November’s presidential election could change this position moving forward.

Katie was one of several panelists, representing the American/GOP view on the subject. Other panelists included an Egyptian journalist, an Israeli professor of political science, a former NATO official based in London, and a professor specializing in European Union politics.

You can watch the full interview below:

Additionally, here’s Katie talking specifically about the U.S.’s steadfast support of Israel when it comes to the tensions in the Middle East:

Katie was asked about several topics during this 15-minute segment, including:

• What the recent shift in generic ballot polling favoring the GOP means for the party moving forward;

• The role that Trump’s recent statements on tariffs instead of income taxes will play on voters; and

• The impact of cybersecurity threats on the presidential campaigns and whether voters should be worried about election security when they vote.

Katie was one of two panelists included in this special election-focused segment and represented the GOP view. The other panelist was a Democratic strategist.

You can watch the full interview below:

It’s ironic that after an exhausting 10 days of travel and helping to take care of my 2.5-year-old niece, I fell asleep partway through watching the live broadcast of the CBS Vice Presidential Debate because out of the three we’ve had so far this cycle, it was — by all reports — the most civil, and well, boring.

In both my own post-debate analysis and others I’ve seen, there were a few common threads. As a swing-state undecided voter told The Washington Post during their live-debate focus groups:

“I found this debate to be very amicable. They both seemed to care about the American people and were agreeable to what each other had to say.”

Even Axios’s post-debate coverage noted that:

The result was a refreshingly substantive, even cheery debate — a flashback to a less polarized America, and a preview of what's possible if the nation's current rage subsides.

This, my friends, is what political debates are traditionally like — and yet in the year 2024, watching Republican J.D. Vance and Democrat Tim Walz debate like two civilized humans was a strange and refreshing breath of fresh air.

The October 1st debate was yet another reminder that Americans are yearning for a return to a society in which people came together to help one another in times of need, putting aside their own agendas for the betterment of others. Or just a time when politics in general didn’t muster such division and hatred between Americans as it does now.

As a recent transplant to Charleston, South Carolina with family in the Greenville-Spartanburg area, I’ve bore witness to the best in human nature as people came together to help those affected by Hurricane Helene. While my parents and I personally babysat my 2.5-year-old niece for a week so my sister and her husband — both hospital workers — could take care of things back in Greenville, I know we were among the lucky ones. My sister didn’t have much property damage, but she has friends who lost their homes in the storm, and those in other parts of the Blue Ridge Mountains (such as Asheville, North Carolina) fared even worse and will be rebuilding for years as a result of Helene (and later, Milton).

They call it an “October Surprise” because it typically affects a political campaign in the month of October, but it can truly be anytime anytime after Labor Day. In 2008, for example, mounting loan losses plus the fall of Lehman Brothers on September 15th sent the stock market into a major recession and ultimately resulted in Barack Obama’s presidential victory seven weeks later.

Sometimes, we think we’re going to get an October Surprise, and it ends up being a complete nothingburger. A perfect example of this would be back in 2016 when footage surfaced of an old Access Hollywood interview featuring inappropriate comments about women by then-GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Already this month, we’ve had:

• The aftermath and devastation of Hurricanes Helene and Milton;

• Multiple labor strikes on both coasts (Boeing workers in Seattle & East Coast port workers);

• Escalating tensions in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas/Hezbollah;

• A newly unsealed legal brief and redacted document dump related to the Special Counsel’s January 6th case against Trump;

• And who knows what else is coming?!?

Recent polling suggests that the race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump remains neck-and-neck, meaning that the slightest change in circumstances (aka an October Surprise or two) could have a major impact on the race. So let’s take a look at some of the October Surprises we’ve already had.

To start, a large chunk of the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene affected those living in or around the Blue Ridge Mountains of the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Georgia. Except for Asheville proper (Buncombe County, North Carolina), these areas tend to vote for Republican candidates in general elections and if there are issues with voter turnout because of the storm, this could impact Trump’s ability to carry North Carolina or Georgia in November.

While the above map was released before Hurricane Milton’s landfall on October 8th, its data also foretells the impact that the once Category 5 storm could have on the vote in Florida. By following the I-4 corridor across the peninsula of the Sunshine State, Milton traveled through counties that are both more populous and historically have a more liberal bend than Helene did — counties like Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota, Orange, and Volusia. All this could result in lower-than-anticipated early vote returns for Kamala Harris and other state-level Democrats at a time when the campaigns were bullish headed into November.

And trust me, millions upon millions of people were displaced initially as a result of Milton — likely far more at the end of the day than Helene. I was supposed to be at a client conference in Tampa that week and had to evacuate. Below is a picture of the bay that I took from my hotel room on Sunday, October 6th.

According to FiveThirtyEight.com, which provides an average of all public polling available, the presidential race is currently a dead heat in both North Carolina and Georgia — while Trump holds a slight edge over Harris in Florida.

With the economy and inflation still the top issue for voters, the bicoastal union strikes could also have a small impact on the outcome of the election. A longtime union supporter, President Joe Biden said at the outset of both that he would not invoke the 1947 Taft-Hawley Act, which would’ve given him the power to end the strikes via collective bargaining. Harris later signaled that she’d support him in that decision.

Fortunately, the port workers’ strike ended after a few days, preventing a major breakdown of the American supply chain and allowing us to avoid a situation in which everyday essentials such as groceries, electronics, and holiday gifts became even more expensive. (It also might have handed Trump another term in office.) The Boeing workers’ strike lasted nearly a month, however, which could lead to minimal disruptions in air travel & freight shipping as the company begins to normalize its operations.

With just a few weeks left before Election Day, there’s still a myriad of things that could impact both the presidential race as well as those down-ticket. But one thing’s for certain — no matter how perfect one’s campaign is this fall, be on the lookout for an October Surprise (or two) to wreak havoc on the voting electorate and shake things up a bit between now and November 5th.

Katie was asked about several topics during this half-hour segment, including:

• How former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are working to gain support among Arab-American voters in the key battleground states of Michigan and Pennsylvania;

• Whether the rising tensions in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas/Hezbollah will have a major impact on voters this November; and

• If elected, how a Republican administration will impact the future of the Israel-Palestine conflict in the Middle East.

Katie was one of two panelists included in this special election-focused segment and represented the GOP view. The other panelist was an Arab-speaking Democratic strategist.

You can watch the full interview below. Katie’s segment starts around the 11:15 mark:

Social media is a blessing and a curse for many small businesses and organizations. While it’s a great way for them to connect with their target audiences, build brand awareness, and drive engagement, successful organizations often need to develop an active presence on multiple social media networks to have any impact.

Hence, the beauty of a social media scheduling & reporting program. These tools can help simplify the posting & analytical process for small businesses and organizations, saving them valuable time and money in the long run.

Why should I invest in a social media scheduling program?

1. Time ⏰ & Effort Saver: Arguably the biggest benefit to using a scheduling program is the savings you’ll get both with your time and efforts. That’s because these programs have built-in features such as batched posts (scheduling multiple posts at once to save time and avoid last-minute scrambling) as well as recurring posts (setting up recurring posts for consistent content delivery, such as weekly newsletters or daily tips). Thus, you can spend 30-60 minutes a week planning the content for all of your channels and the rest of your time focused on running your business/organization!

2. Maintain Consistency and Engagement 🚀: Social media scheduling tools are great at helping you refine the when and how of your message. Many programs will provide you with recommended, optimized posting times based on your audience’s activity to maximize engagement. Plus, you’ll be able to ensure that your brand’s voice and visuals remain consistent across all platforms since you can use the same base post and then update it with the relevant hashtags/handles in the scheduling tool.

3. Improve Collaboration 🤝 and Team Management: By having all of your accounts linked to a social media scheduling tool, you’ll be able to manage them all from a single dashboard, making collaboration easier between team members. Plus, you can assign different roles and permissions to various team members based on their responsibilities (admin, editor, content creator, etc.).

4. Track Performance and Analytics 📊: Depending on the scheduling tool you choose, you’ll gain access to detailed reports & metrics that’ll enable you to monitor key performance indicators like post engagement, reach, and click-thru rates. You can then use this data to identify trends and understand what content is resonating with your audience to make informed decisions about your business or organization.

5. Stay Organized 📁 and Avoid Missed Posts: If organization is your jam, then you’ll ❤️ using a social media scheduling tool. Many of them have a “calendar view” feature to help you visualize your content schedule and ensure nothing slips through the cracks. You’ll also be able to set up reminders and notifications for your upcoming posts and tasks to keep on top of everything.

What social media scheduling program is best for my needs?

There are many excellent social media scheduling tools available on the market, each with its own unique advantages/disadvantages. Among the programs we commonly recommend to clients are Buffer (approximate price point💰), Loomly (💰), Hootsuite (💰💰), and SproutSocial (💰💰💰).

No matter what social media scheduling tool your small business or organization decides to adopt, they are a valuable asset for anyone looking to effectively manage their social media presence. Social media scheduling programs can save small businesses & organizations valuable time, improve their posting consistency, and provide valuable insights to help achieve their ultimate social media goals.

Could your social media program use a refresh? Sign up today for our FREE website audit to see how your current marketing strategy fares and how Phoenix Rising Consulting can best help you optimize it!