Vivian Hoang

Don’t think of who you can replace with AI, think of what you and they could do better with AI. There are lots of intangible functions people do outside of their defined job descriptions.

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If you're using LSAs -- and Google is all but forcing it in a growing number of service categories -- you need to listen to Near Media's interview with Eric Levine, the first internal Google LSA product expert who now runs an LSA-only agency: Part I: https://lnkd.in/gu8aqJA3 Part 2: https://lnkd.in/gWUaZ4Tg I'm also going to pull out his key advice in a separate article.

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Two and a half years ago I went freelance. Today I’m closing that chapter - and starting a new one. (Yeah, not everything meaningful lines up neatly with the calendar.) Before I move on, here’s what that time actually looked like: • 20+ B2B SaaS projects - from short, sharp engagements to multi-month work • 100+ founder/operator conversations on what actually drives growth • Clients from Stockholm to Australia (still not over that) 🌍 • 10 speaking gigs - from webinars to that one big, blinding-light stage • 1,500+ subscribers to ‘B2B That Made Me Feel Things’, my newsletter for those who like commercial creativity with receipts. Work across HR tech, FinTech, MarTech - plus everything from taxes and hospitality to super-technical stuff I’d never heard of until someone trusted me with their GTM (yes, I now know what a Sharpe ratio is). That range matters. After a while you stop seeing industries – and start seeing patterns, regardless of vertical or stage. 👀 1. B2B isn’t mysterious. B2B Marketing isn’t a Wild West. The LinkedIn B2B Institute, Wynter and Ehrenberg-Bass have already mapped buyer behaviour across thousands of companies. Assume it applies to your SaaS - and you’ll move faster. 2. Performance Marketing alone is a losing game. Standout - point of view, tone of voice, emotion - is how you get remembered and chosen. Big or small: do it while competitors hide behind over-policed brand guidelines. 3. Commercial maths before channels Start with ACV, back into max CPL, then ask if you can realistically win the auctions you’re trying to play in. If the numbers don’t work, it’s a Segmentation/Targeting/Positioning conversation - awkward, but necessary. 4. Best teams build a business, not just product. Sales and Marketing hired last is a red flag. It means limited exposure, late feedback, PMF becomes a guessing game - and runway ends with something over-engineered and un-break-even-able. 5. Strong founders know what they don’t know. You wouldn’t trust a dev who’s only played with Cursor and never shipped. So don’t put your revenue plan in the hands of someone whose main qualification is “social media”. Respect the discipline and experience - even when it challenges your instincts. That closeness is where results come from. A big reason any of this worked? LinkedIn. 💚 Not just for inbound, but for access: – people sharing experiments and case studies   – agencies publishing frameworks   – Marketing Leaders having honest “is it just me or the entire industry?” chats  And followers sliding into my DMs for career advice –   vulnerable, ambitious, and very real. I’m grateful to everyone who made the last 2.5 years so educational, inspiring, and joyful. Next chapter starts next week and I’m thrilled. Will keep you posted - wish me luck. 😉

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LLMs and AI summaries are becoming the new front door to brand discovery. People aren’t just Googling you anymore. They’re asking AI. And what those AI summaries and answers to prompts say about your brand now shapes perception long before anyone visits your website. Here’s what I shared with Marketing Magazine Asia recently: 1. AI is now the new search layer. People increasingly trust assistants like ChatGPT and Gemini for answers, skipping traditional search altogether - 60% of global searches end without a click to a website. 2. Fixing AI errors isn’t enough. You can’t just chase inaccuracies; you have to feed the right information into the system. Keep websites, press rooms, and product pages current. Monitor how AI platforms describe your brand. Vigilance is the new visibility. 3. SEO isn’t dead. It’s evolving. Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) builds on SEO’s foundation. The goal isn’t just ranking anymore; it’s being in the answer. 4. Algorithms influence perception, but don’t own it. The story still belongs to the brand. CMOs who stay agile, consistent, and credible will always have the upper hand. 5. AI optimisation isn’t a new department. It’s a new discipline. LLMs pull from everything ever said or written about you. Credibility and consistency across every touchpoint now matter more than ever. 6. What do you do next? Start with an audit. See how your brand appears in AI summaries. Track what’s being said, and by whom. Use that insight to shape your media and content strategy. We’ve just launched a product I’m really excited about, Gen AI Lens. It helps brands see exactly how they show up across AI platforms, and how those narratives are forming in real time. It’s part of how we’re evolving Meltwater's search intelligence and social listening to meet this new reality, where perception is shaped by both people and AI.

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With #BFCM around the corner, I'm excited to share a new feature we've built for Klaviyo Customer Hub -- the "Add to cart" widget, which helps brands make the primary CTA front-and-center when the shopper scrolls down the page, reducing friction to buy. If your Shopify theme doesn't natively support this -- give it a try! Bonus: if they're not ready to buy yet, they can easily click ❤️ to save it to favorites, which can drive a flow to convert them later. Learn more about Customer Hub: https://lnkd.in/ggJtTjih

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A lot has changed in the past few years, but The Trade Desks mission has never wavered. That’s by design. Our platform is built for data-first, sophisticated, omnichannel buying focused on real business outcomes, not just checking boxes. That approach may be at odds with some in the industry; not everyone prioritizes the same things; in some cases, our values (and let's be direct, the ways we make money) are different. Fair enough. Our value-based features may be optional – but they are in fact transparent, performance-driven, and entirely in the hands of our clients. Opt in or opt out, one thing that has always made TTD stand out is that you're in control. You can use the platform in the way that best serves your business. Through all the noise, one thing remains consistent: TTD continues to deliver for some of the most advanced brands and buyers in the market. Personally, I’m proud of the partnerships we’ve built over my past nine years – the trust, the candor, and the shared focus on driving meaningful results. That’s what matters, and nine years in, that's what keeps me showing up every day. To our clients: Thank you for staying focused, asking the right questions, and pushing us to be better every day. Thank you for using the platform the way it was intended – strategic, transparent, data-driven buying that brings significant business results. We don’t take that lightly. As for the headlines, I’ll continue to keep a healthy distance... but as always, you know where to find me and that I am more than happy to share our POV.

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Most product marketing problems aren’t messaging problems. They’re decision problems. When teams can’t decide who they’re for, what matters most, or what tradeoffs they’re willing to make, messaging becomes the scapegoat. Servant leadership in PMM doesn’t mean saying yes to everything. It means creating clarity so others can execute with confidence—even when the answer is no. Clarity is the service. Where have you seen indecision masquerade as a “messaging issue”? #ProductMarketing #ServantLeadership

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