The Friedman Group

How does a Reiki Master think small businesses should use AI tools? It’s not the setup for a joke; it’s the subject of my conversation with Bruce Randall on an all new episode of The Digital Slice! Bruce has spent his career bridging advanced technology and human awareness, guiding organizations through AI-driven transformation, cloud strategy, and large-scale innovation with his unique lens. He’s sharing how AI should be used to help, without dulling critical thinking skills or removing the human touch that clients and customers come to you for. Watch it today! youtu.be/8o2rX5CR_Ik

George Swetlitz brings his real-life experience — scaling a retail health company — to his company RightResponse AI, and this week he’s sharing that expertise on The Digital Slice! Reputation management is essential for any small business, and reviews are the primary focus. If you need help coming up with a strategy for prioritizing getting and responding to reviews, George shares some, plus an enlightening reason to pay attention to your competitors’ reviews, as well! Watch the latest episode today! youtu.be/NpkNyd2Gfpg

If I told you there’s a growth engine for your small business you’re probably putting off, you’d want to know what it was, and you’d probably make it a priority. But, if I told you to make sure you ask clients for reviews, respond to each review, and even look over your competitors' reviews, that would likely be pushed off to be dealt with later. George Swetlitz wants you to know those reputation management tasks *are* that big engine for growth, and that mindset shift about their importance may be just the thing to get you to take them seriously. More on episode 235 of The Digital Slice podcast, out now everywhere you listen.

Asking for reviews as a small business owner sometimes feels pushy, or at least like an optional admin task that many busy owners skip. But reviews are an important part of a whole ecosystem for your business and a huge driver of growth, so we’re talking about them this week on The Digital Slice podcast episode 235 with my guest George Swetlitz. Hear how personalization impacts your response rates and why photography is important as you create templates for the review requests that help create a strong ecosystem. Curious if AI will take the personal touch away? George has an answer for that too. Listen today on your preferred podcast platform!

Once you hear how effective reputation management is at driving growth, you’ll never see sending review requests as an optional task on your checklist again! Learn what you need to get started on episode 235 of The Digital Slice podcast with guest George Swetlitz, out tomorrow wherever you listen. #ReputationManagement #GoogleReviews #MarketingPodcast

What works for a big brand, or a guru in your feed, won’t necessarily be the best strategy for your small business. Understanding the data from your ads and CRMs is the key to deciding if a strategy is right for you, your audience, and your budget. There’s more to learn on The Digital Slice episode 234 with guest Andy Janaitis!

Have a plan before you dive into paid ads! Tune in to The Digital Slice podcast for everything you need to know to get started with paid advertising (and tips for anyone running ads, not just beginners!) when Andy Janaitis joins me tomorrow for episode 234! Available wherever you listen.

If you’re testing a bunch of variables at once, how do you know what piece of your marketing strategy is working, and what isn’t? Kenny Ridgell advises clients that, because ads are like fast experiments, they can simplify their tests, get quick feedback and make adjustments, and run the experiment again until they find the perfect combination for conversion. Kenny sat down with me on episode 233 of The Digital Slice to talk about how the scientific method gives marketers a good framework for testing ads, plus why reports should focus on a simple set of KPIs, rather than a crowded dashboard of data points. Watch now on YouTube: youtu.be/BcruiNdZWzk Or listen wherever you get your podcasts!

Marketing is a big data experiment, so we should approach our tests scientifically! Test each variable individually for a clear picture of your marketing strategy. Listen to episode 233 of The Digital Slice for more!

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Kenny Ridgell makes a great point! Marketing is a big data experiment, so we should approach our tests scientifically. Each variable should be tested individually for a clear picture of your marketing strategy. Listen to episode 233 of The Digital Slice for more!

If you’re testing too many marketing variables at once, you’ll struggle to figure out what actually works! On tomorrow’s episode of The Digital Slice podcast, Kenny Ridgell shares his advice for simplifying your tests for cleaner data before you make any marketing decisions. Available wherever you listen!

A platform’s dashboard alone won’t tell you everything you need to know about your marketing efforts. Just Rashidi will, on episode 232 of The Digital Slice. Watch now! youtu.be/vL4tX1HAENo

Data lovers, don’t forget: Those data points represent something very important, people! Keeping this in mind is a big part of determining what’s working in your sales and marketing. In fact, Justin Rashidi recommends businesses get back to including in-person marketing events in their strategy to truly connect with your potential clients. Find out more of his insights on episode 232 of The Digital Slice podcast, out now wherever you listen!

You’ll never know what works if you don’t track the right things, and update your campaigns! Justin Rashidi is on episode 232 of The Digital Slice podcast sharing how to track the right metrics and look beyond the data reports you’ve been pulling from your channels (because platforms have their own agendas!).

Do your data reports show the full picture? The platforms you pull data from want some of the credit for your successes and may be under-reporting or over-reporting some marketing metrics. Luckily, Justin Rashidi is on The Digital Slice this week to explain how thinking analytically can help you see your true metrics and make better informed marketing decisions. Justin Rashidi has transformed his science and engineering background into a uniquely scientific approach to marketing. He founded SeedX, where his passion for finding where companies are wasting money through inefficient ad spend has saved clients tens of millions of dollars through his ability to navigate all the noise to quickly identify when what looks like a "marketing problem" is actually a completely different issue. Listen to find out how to test your ads, what happens to customer experience when you’re marketing across multiple channels, why you should consider more offline marketing, and more on episode 232 of The Digital Slice podcast. Out today wherever you listen! Or here: friedmansocialmedia.com/apple

What are the first things to check for when analyzing your website’s accessibility? Some involve coding, like: Alt text Correct form field labels Link descriptions for buttons like “read more” and “contact us” Others fall in the design realm, like color contrast ratios and simplified copy. All of it comes together to create better usability for everyone and has positive impacts on SEO. Listen to The Digital Slice episode 231 wherever you get your podcasts for more on how to make all aspects of your business accessible!

Is your digital content accessible to everyone? With much of our lives spent in digital spaces now, websites, apps, and ads that aren’t accessible exclude significant parts of your potential audience. And, since courts have ruled that digital spaces are extensions of physical spaces, there’s a legal angle for businesses to consider as well. But don’t get overwhelmed! Mike Barton joins me on episode 231 of The Digital Slice this week to guide you through the necessary aspects of accessible websites and content and how the initial investment is worth it for a significant ROI. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts!

Take your business’s content from textbook bland to Netflix binge-able with a narrative thread! David Ebner joins The Digital Slice to discuss successful story-first content across all industries and in all parts of your funnel. youtu.be/b39VmJpRX7E

Episode 230 is a must-listen for anyone who avoids brand storytelling because they don’t think it’s the right fit for their industry or department. David Ebner joins me on The Digital Slice program to show you why narrative is just as important as information in all parts of your funnel. David Ebner is President and Founder of Content Workshop, a story-first content marketing agency created out of a concept David developed in graduate school — a collective of storytellers whose sole purpose was to use their storytelling skills to help brands create and convert an audience. In 2025, Content Workshop acquired web and technology studio Lush Concepts to heighten storytelling for their clients. His insights and perspectives will shift your thinking about what brand storytelling can do for your business! . Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.