Hutt Strategic Communications

09/08/2026

Are you optimizing your emails for AI? Yep, it's yet another thing to optimize for AI.

Most email platforms, Gmail included, already run AI summaries on what you send. A few rules worth following now, courtesy of Jay Schwedelson on this week's Marketing Millennials podcast.

- Put the important stuff in live text, not stuck inside a graphic.
- Your first 150 characters carry the whole point. Make them specific, not "you have to see this."
- Pick one thing per email. Not three.
- Say the thing. Skip the fluff.

None of this is new. Good email always worked this way. AI is just making it harder to fake the rest.
https://app.themarketingmillennials.com/library/799163e5-9d9a-4f55-beb5-8f1553632fa3

08/17/2026

The Hutt Strategic Communications Brand Ambassadors have something to say. Live in the now, people. It's not so bad here, especially when you live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Grateful every day to live and work in this amazing place.

07/28/2026

Sharing some new LinkedIn research on what builds an effective presence there. A few things worth stealing:

📌 Track metrics tied to actual outcomes. Profile visits, follower growth, leads. Skip likes and impressions.

📌 Recurring formats beat one-off posts. A newsletter, a regular video series, anything that gives people a reason to come back.

📌 Credibility spreads through people, not algorithms. Employees, clients, and partners talking about your work does more than any post you write yourself.

Bottom line: The platform, like all social platforms, rewards trust and quality over volume.

07/23/2026

These two are naturals and true experts on all things downtown, and beyond. Have loved helping them tell their story.

07/15/2026

New research shows when a post is labeled AI-made, people engage with it less. Even without an AI label, common AI verbal tics can be a dead giveaway.

This doesn't mean never use AI. It means keep yourself in the work. Use it as a first pass then tweak.

Here are a few AI watchouts and how to fix them:

🤖Negative parallelism - AI's most famous tic is telling you what something isn't before what it is. "It's not just a trend; it's a fundamental shift." "The goal is never just to survive; it is to thrive." Keep the second half and cut the setup.

🤖Faux-conversational transitions - these are crutches AI uses to sound human, including, "At its core," "It's important to note that," "In conclusion." Delete on sight.

🤖Rhetorical questions and triplets - the self-posed question ("The result? Devastating.") and the rule-of-three cadence ("Fast. Reliable. Affordable."). Both are rhythm tricks AI overuses.

🤖Corporate buzzwords - like delve, leverage, utilize, robust, seamless, tapestry, realm, landscape. Use words you'd actually use in conversation.

🤖Vagueness - the clearest tell is wordy copy with no concrete details. Real names, real numbers, real examples are what show a person wrote it.

💡 Big tip: Read it out loud, and if it doesn't sound like you, edit hard. The effort is worth the engagement.

The result? Awesome. 😉

07/14/2026

So you're posting on five platforms, but do you know which ones your audiences are actually on?

Sprout Social just surveyed 2,300 consumers and 1,200 marketers about 2026 social planning. The numbers are really interesting.

Marketers say their biggest investments next year will be TikTok (71%) and Instagram (70%).

Now look at where consumers say they'll actually spend their time.
🔆 Gen Z: Instagram and TikTok.
🔆 Gen X: Facebook, by a wide margin.
🔆 Boomers: Facebook, and TikTok barely registers at 10%.

So if you sell to Gen Z, by all means, go build on TikTok. But, if you sell to a 55-year-old business owner -- not so much.

If you think the more platforms the merrier, you're not alone. 87% of marketers say they need to show up on MORE networks in 2026.

I know adding platforms feels like progress. More volume more success, right? But, you are just wasting time and money if you don't know where your audiences like to do their doom scrolling.

Strong content on the right platforms will always win. Learn it. Love it. Live it. 🎉

06/24/2026

Jason did a fantastic job. Such a fun and inspiring discussion!

06/16/2026

Daniel Murray nailed it in his latest "The Marketing Millennials" newsletter. He said, "AI just handed everyone a Ferrari. Most people are driving it into a ditch…Here's the thing about Ferraris: they still need a driver. A good one. And right now, Marketing is flooded with people who got the keys and thought that was the hard part."

He's talking about marketers but it's also true for anyone running marketing and communications for a growing business. AI is an incredibly valuable tool and one I use daily, but with a big caveat. AI can write your email, your announcement, your all-staff memo in seconds, and it will be…fine.

But, everyone has the same tool producing the same output. It all looks the same, often with very little strategy behind it. It's not considering if the message was the right one, in the right voice, to the right people, at the right time – or if you should have sent it at all.

06/16/2026

Recently I've been speaking about brand storytelling and finding your "why" at some area professional meetings. After one presentation, a member came up and said, "You talk a lot about why businesses need to tell their stories. But, what's yours?"

I was a little taken aback. I thought I had told it. But, then I realized he was right. I don't like talking about myself -- like at all -- so I figured the host's intro was enough. But that's a list of credentials. It's not my story and definitely not my "why."

Then at the most recent Bay County Chamber First Friday, I watched two fellow entrepreneurs, Trey Hutt and Chris Smith, speak and seamlessly weave the personal and professional. That was the kick in the pants I needed.

So here goes. My "why" in a nutshell.

✅My three little nuggets (okay, not so little for the 13-year-old), plus the hubs. Starting my own business meant being there when they need me, and showing them all it takes is an idea and the passion to chase it.
✅This beautiful place we live. I moved back from Atlanta for the people who call it home and because I believe in where this area is headed. I want to help build that future by helping other businesses succeed.
✅The pull to create and lead. I left corporate life to be limited only by my own ambition. I got into communications because I'm a creative. I love to write and produce. It drives everything I do.
✅ I love what I do deeply. Since starting my own business, I wake up happy and excited. After years of working for others -- most absolutely amazing, some not so much -- I am so truly happy to get to do what I do in the place I love the most.

There you have it. I'm no longer the cobbler with no shoes.

06/12/2026

Meta just published research showing emotion comes before conversion. You gotta win hearts before carts. Here's the data.

- Emotional content outperforms rational-only by about two to one.
- Nearly 9 in 10 people say authenticity decides which brands they support.
- And the almighty 2026 algorithm rewards depth over volume, real conversation over vanity metrics.

Here's what that actually means for how you show up:

- Lead with the story, not the offer. Make people feel something before you ask them to do anything.
- Don't tack authenticity onto a caption. It has to trace back to who you actually are and why you exist.
- Post less, but stronger. A few sharp posts beat a flood of forgettable ones.
- Chase saves and shares over likes. Those are the signals that move reach now.
- Reply to early comments fast. It widens who sees the post.

None of this is exclusive to social. The story underneath is your strongest business tool.

Winning hearts before peak season boosts carts when it matters most: Learn how to build trust with your customers and drive sales during the holiday season with Meta technologies.