Michael Stelzner

The tug of war in my brain is real right now. I just came back from a massive experience and there are some huge goals staring me in the face. One side of me is screaming, "Let's go! We've got mountains to climb!" That's my future-focused self that just wants to run toward our

Does AI make marketers lazy or does it make them better? I've been wrestling with this question for months. And I think I finally have an answer. During my keynote at Social Media Marketing World this year, I shared an image of sticky note with these powerful words: "How can

We did it—against all odds! Going into Social Media Marketing World 2025, I had a lot of concerns. First, could an event that's been around for 12 years sustain the level of quality and excitement we had before 2020? Would our decision to add an entire track focused on AI and https://t.co/HqgMbmStPe

Trust is everything when the pressure is on. We're just days away from Social Media Marketing World 2025, and I'm feeling that familiar mix of excitement and pressure. When you've been planning something for over a year and it all comes down to a few critical days, that's when

One week from today, magic happens. Thousands of marketers from around the world will fill the San Diego Convention Center. It seems surreal that we're just days away from Social Media Marketing World 2025. As we burn the midnight oil getting ready, I can't help but reflect on

Something magical happened at the beach last week. I was sitting there, laptop open, working on my Social Media Marketing World 2025 keynote. The waves kept coming in. One after another. Consistent. Relentless. And then it hit me… These waves are exactly like what's

It happens at least six times a day. My inbox is flooded with pitch emails from people I've never met, all wanting to be on one of my shows. I delete nearly all of them. You would think in 2025 people would get wiser about how they pitch to others. The problem isn't the

The pressure is mounting. I'm staring at 87 slides that could determine the future for thousands of marketers. This is my most important keynote ever. For weeks, I've been crafting "The Future of Marketing: How to Thrive As an AI-Enhanced Marketer" for Social Media Marketing

We're exactly one month away from Social Media Marketing World 2025. The pressure is building. I can feel it in my shoulders. When you're responsible for an event that thousands of marketers from around the world attend, the weight can be overwhelming. But here's what I've

How many social accounts do you manage? Company accounts, product accounts, multiple channels. What do you do? 😕

Yesterday, I made a discovery looking at my analytics. Maybe you've seen it too. Our organic reach has dropped a LOT over the last few months. It feels like we're all working twice as hard for half the results. But here's what really got me thinking... I realized we're all

A few days ago I heard something that surprised me. A friend told me about a business conference that had zero speakers focused on AI. Zero. In 2025. That's like running a marketing conference in 2015 and having no one talk about social media. Here's the thing about AI—it's

I was so excited to make the changes. Everything in my gut told me this would be the game changer we needed. Their suggestions seemed brilliant. "This is going to move the needle," I thought to myself. Recently, someone reviewed our sales page for Social Media Marketing World