318: AI, Marketing: What is Working Now

If you’re a woman entrepreneur juggling motherhood and business, digital marketing can feel like one more spinning plate. On Call Me CEO, Camille Walker talks with Shannon Kinney, founder of Dream Local Digital, about what it really takes to get your business seen, found, and chosen online. The big mindset shift is simple but uncomfortable: marketing is not optional. Rent, inventory, and staffing are obvious costs, but consistent marketing spend is what keeps the engine humming. Shannon recommends planning a real percentage of revenue for marketing so you’re not forced into desperate, last-minute decisions when sales slow down.

Shannon’s approach starts with the basics that drive local business visibility and online discoverability. A clean website that tells your story, a fully optimized Google Business Profile, and a practical social media presence create a foundation for SEO and local search results. You don’t need a massive site, but you do need clarity: who you serve, what problem you solve, and how people take the next step. For service providers, thought leadership content builds trust fast, especially when it’s specific and grounded in real outcomes. Even scrappy businesses can compete when they choose the right channel, measure results, and stay consistent.

A major theme is how to create authentic connection without burning out or forcing yourself into uncomfortable content formats. If you’re camera shy, Shannon suggests switching from “performing” to storytelling: highlight customer wins, employee spotlights, community causes, and the experience you create. Use real photos, simple slideshows, and voiceover if needed, because stock images don’t stop the scroll anymore. The goal is not vanity metrics. Likes don’t pay bills, so you need a conversion path: a download, an email list, a helpful resource, or a clear offer that adds value without feeling smarmy.

The conversation also gets practical about AI in marketing and how to use it without losing your voice. Shannon pulls social, email, Google Analytics, and ad results into a single dashboard, then uses tools like Claude, Perplexity, and ChatGPT to spot patterns and decide next moves. Her best framework is treating AI like a happy intern: it’s fast and eager, but it needs context, training, and feedback to sound like you. AI can tighten writing with Grammarly, generate headlines and subject lines, and help prep for sales calls by researching a prospect’s brand and digital footprint. The human part is still you: empathy, judgment, and the ability to tailor value to what each customer truly cares about.

Finally, Shannon explains why “AI-built websites in a day” can create long-term problems for SEO and future growth. If the code base isn’t scalable, you may struggle to edit, add email capture, or expand functionality later, and rebuilds can hurt search rankings. Instead, use platforms built to scale that include AI features. She also breaks down GEO and AIO, the next layer of search visibility where AI tools recommend businesses and content. The key is structured, question-answering content across your website, podcast show notes, and profiles, written in a way machines can crawl and humans actually want to read.