Episode 248: The Meta Algorithm Shift: How to Adapt Your Creative Strategy - Part 1
Release Date: 11/17/2025
Episode 276: How to Get Your Brand Recommended by AI: AEO with Julian Lopez
The Smart Marketer Podcast
Episode Description AI is changing how customers discover, research, and choose brands. If your business isn’t showing up in AI-generated answers, you may be missing the next major wave of organic visibility. In this live session from Mentor Table Nashville, Julian Lopez from the Smart Marketer team breaks down AEO, Answer Engine Optimization, and what brands need to do now to become the recommended choice inside AI tools, AI overviews, and answer engines. From schema markup and indexability to brand authority and bottom-of-funnel search intent, Julian shares the early signals Smart...
info_outline
Episode 275: The Paid Ads Machine: Creative Systems That Scale in the Age of AI
The Smart Marketer Podcast
Episode 275: The Paid Ads Machine: Creative Systems That Scale in the Age of AI Episode Description What if your ad creative system could think more like Meta’s algorithm? In this live session from Mentor Table Nashville, Smart Marketer’s Director of Creative Ben Bennett and Creative Operations Manager Melvin Cotton III break down the exact system they use to plan, produce, analyze, and scale paid social creative in the age of AI and Andromeda. From diagnosing what’s actually working inside your ad account to building scalable creator systems and using AI to uncover hidden performance...
info_outline
Episode 274: How to Use AI to Write Better Meta Ad Copy Without Losing the Human Touch
The Smart Marketer Podcast
Episode 274: How to Use AI to Write Better Meta Ad Copy Without Losing the Human Touch Episode Description AI can help you write faster, but that does not mean it should be writing your ads for you. In this podcast episode taken from our Smart Paid Traffic Live training, Senior Paid Performance Specialist Dominique Nobel breaks down her step-by-step process for using AI to create stronger Meta ad copy. You will learn how to build a brand intelligence document, generate better hooks, write stronger body copy, improve headlines and descriptions, and use AI as a volume tool while keeping...
info_outline
Episode 273: Scaling to $300M+: Paid Media, Attribution & Building Teams That Win
The Smart Marketer Podcast
Episode 273: Scaling to $300M+: Paid Media, Attribution & Building Teams That Win Episode Description What does it really take to scale to $300M+ in revenue and spend $300K per day on ads? In this live Mentor Table session from Nashville, Molly Pittman sits down with entrepreneur Rob Schmidt to break down what actually changes as you grow, from attribution and paid media to leadership and team building. “You have to be really comfortable relying on your other leaders… You need to find good people to surround yourself with that you can trust because you can't do it all yourself....
info_outline
Episode 272: The Business Growth Levers That Actually Matter (Ezra Firestone and John Grimshaw)
The Smart Marketer Podcast
Ep. 272: The Business Growth Levers That Actually Matter (Mentor Table with Ezra Firestone and John Grimshaw) Episode Description Most entrepreneurs are stuck optimizing the wrong things. In this Mentor Table conversation, Ezra Firestone and John Grimshaw break down the real levers that drive business growth from customer acquisition and profitability to product strategy and operational focus. If you have been buried in the weeds, this episode will help you zoom out, simplify, and focus on what actually moves the needle. “Don’t quit before the miracle, man, just keep going. I am telling...
info_outline
Episode 271: Meta Ads Q&A: Targeting Evolution, Retargeting & What Actually Matters Now
The Smart Marketer Podcast
Episode 271: Meta Ads Q&A: Targeting Evolution, Retargeting & What Actually Matters Now Episode Description Are you overthinking your campaign structure while missing what actually drives results? In this episode of the Smart Marketer Podcast, Molly Pittman and Smart Marketer’s Director of Advertising, Denis Paskalev, continue the Meta Ads Q&A series, diving into retargeting, targeting strategy, and how the algorithm is really working in 2026. From whether you still need separate retargeting campaigns to how creative is now doing the heavy lifting, this conversation breaks down...
info_outline
Episode 270: Organic Social vs Paid Ads What’s Actually Working Right Now (And Why Most Brands Get It Wrong)
The Smart Marketer Podcast
Episode 270: Organic Social vs Paid Ads What’s Actually Working Right Now (And Why Most Brands Get It Wrong) Most brands are doing organic social completely wrong and it’s costing them growth. In this episode, Zach Dampier breaks down what’s actually working with organic social right now… and how to use it alongside paid ads without burning out or chasing the wrong metrics. If your organic content feels like an afterthought or just a weaker version of your ads, this episode will completely reframe your strategy. “Organic and paid are not competing for your resources. They're doing...
info_outline
Episode 269: Meta Ads Q&A: Creative, Budgets, and What’s Actually Working Right Now
The Smart Marketer Podcast
Episode 269: Meta Ads Q&A: Creative, Budgets, and What’s Actually Working Right Now Episode Description In this episode of the Smart Marketer Podcast, Molly Pittman, CEO of Smart Marketer, and Denis Paskalev, Director of Advertising, answer real questions from marketers navigating the shift in Meta ads, starting with one of the biggest concerns right now: can small businesses still win? They break down the reality behind creative demands, including whether you really need dozens of new ads every week, and what actually drives performance when budgets are limited. “The information that...
info_outline
Episode 268: Axon Ads - How to Diversify Beyond Meta and Find New Customers
The Smart Marketer Podcast
Episode 268: Axon Ads - How to Diversify Beyond Meta and Find New Customers Episode Description In this episode of the Smart Marketer Podcast, Molly Pittman is joined by Smart Marketer agency CEO Pep Hufen to break down Axon (also known as AppLovin), a fast-growing ad platform that is giving marketers a new way to diversify beyond Meta. They walk through how the platform works, what makes it different from traditional social media advertising, and why it is becoming a powerful channel for acquiring net-new customers. From creative requirements and campaign setup to attribution differences and...
info_outline
Episode 267: Meta Ads Q&A - What’s Actually Working in 2026
The Smart Marketer Podcast
Episode Description In this episode of the Smart Marketer Podcast, Molly Pittman is joined by Smart Marketer’s Director of Advertising, Denis Paskalev, for a live Meta Ads Q&A where they answer real questions from marketers about what is actually working with Meta ads in 2026. From campaign structure and creative testing to scaling strategies and performance metrics, this conversation breaks down the modern approach to Meta ads in a world where targeting is driven more by creative, messaging, and landing pages than traditional audience targeting. If you are running ads for ecommerce,...
info_outlineEpisode 248: The Meta Algorithm Shift: How to Adapt Your Creative Strategy - Part 1
(with Ben Bennett)
đź“ť Episode Description
What’s really going on with Meta’s latest algorithm update?
In this must-listen episode, Smart Marketer’s Director of Creative, Ben Bennett, breaks down what the Andromeda update means for advertisers and how to adjust your creative strategy to keep winning in 2025.
“If we can take creative and make that our advantage, then it's like AI to the speed of sound.” – Ben Bennett
Ben shares the four-step framework he uses daily to build high-performing creative and explains why Meta’s new system favors marketers who understand message, tone, and audience experience; not just volume.
Plus, you’ll hear why obsessing over technical formats like video vs. image is not where performance starts.
Part 2 drops next week and will go deeper into examples, production tips, and AI workflows.
âś… You Will Learn:
-
What the Meta Andromeda update changes for creative strategy
-
How to avoid “creative noise” and create performance-driven diversity
-
Why your best ads still dominate spend (and how to find more like them)
-
The four-step process Smart Marketer uses with agency clients
-
What variables actually matter when planning diverse creatives
-
Why starting with your best-performing hook changes everything
đź”— Links & Resources
-
Smart Marketer – https://smartmarketer.com
-
Smart Marketer Agency – https://smartmarketeragency.com
-
Omnisend Email Tool – https://smartmarketer.com/omnisend
(Use coupon code SMART for 50% off your first 3 months)
⏱️ Timestamps (Chapters)
00:00 – Intro: Why You Need to Rethink Your Creative Strategy
01:16 – Ezra Firestone on Omnisend: "That's how much I trust that platform..."
02:19 – Meta’s Andromeda Update: "It's not just more creative."
03:17 – Is 20 Ads/Week Really Necessary? What the Data Shows
06:01 – “The thing that I think is really awesome about this algorithm is that it helps those with better creative win.”
07:51 – Creative Volume vs. Creative Clarity: “They have lost touch on what's working and what's not.”
09:40 – Step 1: Choose Your Best Performing Hook
11:20 – Case Study: Good Riddance Natural Insect Repellent
13:02 – Step 2: Build an Experience Around the Hook
14:01 – The Role of Tone, Setting, and Persona in Ad Performance
16:49 – How Demographics and POV Impact Results
18:33 – Match Your Creative to Viewer Behavior on Facebook
19:28 – 3 Example Creative Plans Using the Framework
20:31 – Step 3: Add Technical Variables (Format, Length, Placement)
21:51 – Final Framework: “When a hook and experience have a baby, they make an ad.”
đź“Ł Your Engagement Matters!
If this episode gave you a new perspective on creative strategy, we’d love to hear from you.
âś… Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts
📲 Share this episode and tag us using #WeOutHere
đź’Ś Questions or feedback? Email us: support@smartmarketer.com
Serve the World Unselfishly and Profit! 🚀