Jason Hunt is Co-founder of Merged Media, a leading digital marketing agency specializing in SEO, social media, and advertising strategies to drive business growth. Under his leadership, Merged Media has achieved significant client success, rapidly scaling businesses. Known for his innovative marketing solutions, Jason is a past rockstar turned marketer, author of Drop the Mic Marketing, and host of Drop The Mic Podcast, where he interviews industry leaders on cutting-edge topics. With over a decade of experience, he has been a featured speaker and host at marketing conferences worldwide, such as Ad World, LeadsCon, The Affiliate Summit, and The European Summit.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
- [03:04] The creation of Merged Media and its exponential growth
- [04:39] Tips on navigating partnerships and mergers
- [05:44] The importance of defining roles in a merged enterprise for business success
- [08:30] Jason Hunt’s favorite tools for digital marketing and agency operation efficiency
- [14:42] Strategies for growing your client base quickly
- [21:53] How agencies can stand out amidst the noise in the digital marketing space
- [27:10] Conferences, networking, and smart marketing tactics for boosting customer engagement
- [32:50] Merged Media’s customer success stories
- [35:54] The potential benefits and structures of equity partnerships in marketing projects
- [38:40] Jason reflects on the influential books and mentorship figures that shaped his business philosophy
In this episode…
In the entrepreneurial world, standing out is vital — especially in the competitive digital marketing realm. Have you ever wondered how some companies seamlessly merge and thrive, achieving success in a saturated market? What are the secrets behind turning a simple idea into a thriving business, and how does one navigate the challenges of partnerships and integrations?
Jason Hunt, a digital marketing and AI expert, offers insights into these questions through his journey in building a leading digital marketing agency. He solved the issues of market saturation and business expansion by merging his social media agency with a top SEO company, creating a more comprehensive service offering. This strategic move allowed them to stand out, leveraging the strengths of both companies to drive growth. Jason highlights the importance of partner fit, detailed role definition, and shared visions, which were instrumental in the smooth transition and success of the merger. He emphasizes the value of building a recognizable brand and establishing trust with clients — crucial factors in maintaining long-term business relationships and generating high-quality leads.
In this episode of the Inspired Insider Podcast, Dr. Jeremy Weisz interviews Jason Hunt, Co-founder of Merged Media, about innovative digital marketing and agency growth strategies. Jason discusses the origin story of Merged Media, tips on navigating partnerships and mergers, how agencies can stand out amidst the noise in the digital marketing space, and smart marketing tactics for boosting customer engagement.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Jason Hunt on LinkedIn | Website
- Merged Media
- Drop The Mic
- Drop the Mic Marketing: How To Find Your Social Media Voice by Jason Hunt and Mike Ulmer
Special Mention(s):
- One Million Followers: How I Built a Massive Social Following in 30 Days by Brendan Kane
- Rocket Fuel: The One Essential Combination That Will Get You More of What You Want from Your Business by Gino Wickman and Mark C. Winters
- AppSumo
- Topical Map AI
- Cuppa AI
- Kokomo Botanical Resort
- The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth About Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey
Related episode(s):
- “[Top Agency Series] Most Valuable Advice When Selling Your Agency With Todd Taskey of Potomac Business Capital” on the Inspired Insider Podcast
- “[Sweet Process Series] How to Save Hundreds of Hours a Month Using Top Productivity Tools with Adi Klevit of Business Success Consulting Group” on the Inspired Insider Podcast
- “#201 – Brendan Kane: Crafting Viral Content and the Future of Digital Marketing” on Drop The Mic
- “#202 – Dennis Yu: AI Integration, Niche Specialization, TikTok and Blending Technology” on Drop The Mic
- “The Two Leadership Traits To Explode Your Business With Mark C. Winters Author and Founder of RocketFuelNow.com” on the Inspired Insider Podcast
- “Master Your Craft With Jay Papasan of The 1 Thing” on the Inspired Insider Podcast
- “Leveraging Digital Marketing: Tips for Success With Dennis Yu of BlitzMetrics” on the Inspired Insider Podcast
Quotable moments:
- “Success was the only option, and that was the motivating factor to get me knocking on doors and not fearing rejection.”
- “Partner fit is so important; I’ve been fortunate enough to have a business partner that offsets all of the weaknesses I have.”
- “For us, it’s inevitable that as an agency, it’s almost like it’s a great practice to constantly evolve.”
- “The better brand you have and the more credible you are, the better leads you’re going to get.”
- “As an entrepreneur in your industry, you have the ability to use social media as your microphone to spread your message.”
Action Steps:
- Embrace continuous learning with AI tools: Stay ahead of the curve by automating repetitive tasks and generating fresh content ideas.
- Leverage partnerships for growth: Considering partnerships allows you to focus on your core strengths while others handle areas you’re less familiar with.
- Invest in AI-driven customer engagement: Implementing AI chatbots on your website improves customer service and engagement.
- Utilize social proof and strategic networking: Strategic networking opens doors to new prospects and establishes trust with potential clients.
- Adapt marketing strategies for specific audiences: Customize marketing campaigns to target specific demographics or interests.
Sponsor for this episode
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Insider Stories from Top Leaders & Entrepreneurs…
Episode Transcript
Intro 0:01
You are listening to Inspired Insider with your host, Dr Jeremy Weisz.
Jeremy Weisz 0:22
Dr Jeremy Weisz here, founder of inspiredinsider.com where I talk with inspirational entrepreneurs and leaders today, is no different. I have Jason Hunt of Merged Media. You can check them out at merged.ca and Jason, before I formally introduce you, I always like to point out other episodes of the podcast people should check out. Since this is part of the top agency series, one of my favorite episodes was Todd Taskey. Todd Taskey helps pair private equity with agency owners. He helps sell agencies. I use the Second Bite Podcast. The second bite because sometimes, when they sell, private equity sells again, and sometimes that founder will make more on the second bite than they did on the first. So that was a really interesting conversation about valuation, the business landscape, agency space and everything like that. Another good, one favorite of mine, Jason was with Adi Klevit. Adi Klevit helps as a done-for-you solution for companies to create SOPs, so we geek down our favorite software productivity tools and processes. So that was a really good one. People could check out more on inspiredinsider.com.
This episode is brought to you by Rise25. At Rise25 we help businesses give to and connect to their dream relationships, partnerships. How do we do that? We do that by helping you run your podcast. We’re an easy button for a company to launch and run a podcast, and we do the strategy, the accountability and the full execution. So Jason, we call ourselves the magic elves that run in the background and make it look easy for the host so they can create amazing content, amazing relationships, and most importantly, run their business. So for me, the number one thing in my life is relationships. I’m always looking at ways to give to my best relationships, and I found no better way, over the past decade, to profile the people in companies I most admire and share with the world what they’re working on. So if you thought about podcasting, you should, if you have questions, Jason has a podcast. We’ll talk about it. You can go to rise25.com or email us at [email protected].
I’m excited to introduce Jason Hunt. He is the co-founder of Merged Media, which is a leading digital marketing agency specializing in SEO, social media, advertising strategies and much more. He’s got over a decade of experience, and really they help businesses drive growth through innovative marketing solutions. He also hosts the Drop The Mic Podcast, we’ll talk about that, where he interviews industry leaders on AI, digital marketing, entrepreneurship and Jason, thanks for joining me.
Jason Hunt 2:57
Hey, thanks for having me. Jeremy, I’m happy to be here.
Jeremy Weisz 3:00
So let’s start off just tell people about Merged Media and what you do.
Jason Hunt 3:04
Yeah, definitely. Merged Media is a company that myself and my business partner started back in 2019 we’re actually a combination of two agencies. Back in 2016 I started a social media agency called Fresh Crowd, and grew relatively quickly. I was banging on doors and walking the streets of Toronto trying to drum up business, and grew to 100 clients very quickly, and naturally from there, I continued to sell social media. Grew a team beneath me, but realized that we were losing out on opportunities. And those opportunities we were losing out on are those businesses that required more than just social media assistance. So it was a no-brainer for me to merge my company with a leading SEO company. And I say leading because if you Google SEO companies in Canada at the time, my business partner’s company would come up, and he just so happened to be down the street from me, so I merged my company with his. We were pretty much identical in terms of revenue employees. So it was actually a seamless match for us in transition to put our companies under one roof, and hence Merged Media came to fruition.
Jeremy Weisz 4:12
There is a video piece to this. Someone’s listening. We are on the Merged website so people can check it out. But talk about that. I mean, it seemed like, okay, you’re equal in revenue, and there’s a lot of equal pieces. Talk about maybe what was good about the merger, and maybe what you would have done differently, because I’m sure, you know you, maybe you had similar roles at the time. So I’m curious — what did that look like?
Jason Hunt 4:39
Yeah, great, great question. I think one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned throughout years of partnerships, and trying to establish partnerships with other people and businesses, is that partner fit is so important. And I’ve been fortunate enough to have a business partner that offset solve the weaknesses I have and I also. A lot of the weaknesses that he possesses. So for him, he’s the CEO of the business, the CFO. He manages the operation, and I’m more of the brand ambassador, doing things like this, speaking on stages around the world, essentially the CMO of the company. So having that in a partner has been so important, because we know where our responsibilities lie, and we know who’s the subject matter expert in each of the challenges that come our way.
Jeremy Weisz 5:25
What did the conversation look like before the merger? Did you discuss those things? Like, hey, my role is marketing. I mean, I don’t know if that just evolved into that. But like, listen, I hate the finances. I don’t want to touch that. I love the finance. Like, what was that conversation like, did you divide those roles and things before you actually merged?
Jason Hunt 5:44
Yeah, it’s a fantastic question, because obviously you’re always in that exploratory phase when you’re thinking about merging companies, and the way it actually worked out and the way it shook down is, timing was key, because at the time, I was actually looking for some office space around the same area. And he said, well, my team has more than enough space over here. Feel free to bunk with us if you want for a bit. And that was the intention. We had no intentions of merging. But naturally we found ourselves in the same room together, sharing the same board room and evolving to the point where we’re cross-selling each other’s clients. And then naturally, it was like, hey, well, doesn’t it just make sense to just merge our companies together and offer all of these services and put our account managers all into one bucket, working with accounts and things like that, and then that happened. And then at first we were essentially a white label or referral partner, and then that just evolved to just having the one brand.
And so when we went to the drawing table, my business partner Todd owns thousands of domains, we spent one morning just browsing through these domains, and then we came across, oh, merged.ca. That sounds about right, and that’s where the story started and here we are today, but to figure out roles naturally, when we combined our companies, we noticed there are a lot of voids that each of the companies that each of the companies had, and one of those voids that I had was having somebody that really managed a strong operation, and plus my lack of knowledge at the time on SEO definitely made it a no brainer for him to kind of fill that seat. Because he was so focused on process and internal operations. It only made sense for him to assume that position. So it only took a few couple months before we’re just like, hey, okay, you’re the sales marketing guy and, or I’m the sales marketing guy and you’re the in-operations finance guy. So it just worked out.
Jeremy Weisz 7:33
Yeah, I had Mark Winters a while ago. He co-authored Rocketfuel with Gino Wickman, and it sounds similar. He’s like, to get Rocketfuel is, that visionary and the integrator that combined that sound like what both of you are, like, you’re kind of more of a sales, marketing visionary. He’s more operational integrator. And that creative Rocketfuel and Merged happen.
Jason Hunt 7:33
Yeah, I was just gonna add to that Jeremy, like, he’s living on, like, App Sumo, going shopping for apps and things all the time, things to help evolve our business, stay with the times and just feeding me, feeding me the knowledge that I need when I’m speaking on stages to continuously be cutting edge for the audiences that I speak to.
Jeremy Weisz 8:17
What are some of your favorite softwares at a company, maybe that you use, or it could be, an app on your phone too. But I’m curious, what from project management, CRM, what things do you like?
Jason Hunt 8:30
Yeah, so, I mean, we use, obviously, a handful. I mean, we’ve really embraced Go High Level as a platform for a lot of our clients, for building out landing pages, lead gen campaigns. Internal operations-wise, we use a platform called Cloud campaign for doing social media scheduling. You know, really embrace base camp for project management. For us as well, really, there’s AI tools that we have embedded into our agency. We’re actually part owners of a couple very popular SEO tools, such as cuppa.ai.
Jeremy Weisz 9:04
How do you spell it so people can check it out, yep.
Jason Hunt 9:07
Cuppa.ai which is a bulk content generation tool for SEO agencies. And then we have topicalmap.ai. Which is another tool for not just SEOs, but any, content creator that wants to come up with fresh ideas for content, there are two fabulous tools that we use on a regular basis.
Jeremy Weisz 9:28
Talk about the topic of AI for a second. I know, before we hit record, we were talking about AI, and we could go through the chatbot route, or wherever you want to take it.
Jason Hunt 9:37
Yeah. So I mean, for us, it’s inevitable that as an agency, it’s almost like it’s a great practice you get as an agency, of having to constantly evolve, constantly, you know, change, like our packages change. It seems like every six months over the course of the last eight years, because of some new update that happened, or some new ad placement or something like that. So constantly being ahead of the curve has been super important for us. So naturally, when we came across tools like Cuppa AI and Cuppa AI, a lot of tech developers that come up with platforms such as cuppa, they aren’t really strong marketers. So for us, it’s a no-brainer to partner with a tool like that, to do all of their marketing and get equity in the business, right? So we did that with a couple tools, but now we’re at a point now where now we’re starting to build our own tools such as AI chatbots.
And we’ve developed our own AI chatbot to put on, not just clients websites, but now we’re selling it as well, where it’s a little chat box in the corner of your website that is very conversational. It’s actually, it doesn’t seem like it’s a bot, you know what I mean. So it’s actually integrates with open AI as well, and just makes it very conversational. And every single one of these bots has a goal in mind, and that goal could be, becoming a lead, booking a reservation at a restaurant, of booking a room at a resort. So with that angle in mind, for each of these chatbots, essentially, it guides you down that journey to get to that end goal and it’s been very beneficial for the clients we’re rolling it out with, and new clients that have come on board for it.
Jeremy Weisz 11:16
Can people sign up separately, or they go through you, and you have to kind of set it up?
Jason Hunt 11:21
Yeah, so that’s one of the benefits of the tool is that it’s really built for any small business owner that finds AI to be super overwhelming. We would customize the entire bot for them using their brand voice FAQs. And we’re constantly developing these bots as well. So it is a little more hands on where our agency is developing it for that.
Jeremy Weisz 11:43
I mean, that makes sense, because they have, you know, if it’s going to be automated, this to be programmed somehow.
Jason Hunt 11:50
Oh, yeah. And the funny thing is, like, I see on the screen now, I know there’s people listening, can’t see, but you’ve got the Merged bot queued up right now, and you can ask the Merged bot anything you want, ask if, yeah, let’s see you’re asking. I want to talk to a Jason. Huh? That’s interesting. Oh, Jason is cheap, so it gives you all the data on me, and it’s got a contact form there as well if you want to be reached out too. But we have, once for resorts, ours is really geared towards the goal of getting you to sign up for a free discovery call. But there’s other websites out there, like Kokomobotanicalresort.com, I know that’s a mouthful for you. Kokomobotanicalresort.com which is, I’m the fractional CMO for that resort. If you go there, you’ll see a bot on there as well that you can engage with and basically ask anything you want about the island of Turks and Caicos, and it’s a subject matter expert on Turks and Caicos, and an expert on everything that’s encompassed in that website.
So that website, we’ve been doing SEO on it for years, so it’s got tons of blog content on it, so that bot will be educated on all of the blog content, everything there is to know, whether it’s, what time of year is the busiest time at the resort, whether there’s a hurricane policy, all that type of stuff will be educated. The bot will be educated on that.
Jeremy Weisz 13:14
That’s very cool. I love it. And so what mistakes do people make? I’m sure they come to you and they’re like, we love a 24/7 customer service person in the form of an AI chatbot. What are some of the mistakes you see people have made when you’re on their kind of chat function? Or things that are missing?
Jason Hunt 13:34
Yeah, I think, so, one thing that needs to be baked into it is the specifics of the business. So we work with, you know, we work with a franchise, and each franchise, or each Dealer of the franchise, or Dealer of the company, has their own specific offers, and products that they sell, so making sure that the bot is trained specifically on the products for that business, because, naturally, because it is connected to open AI, it’s connected to the internet, so it could be easy for it to gather information that might be incorrect, and that could be a big mistake if the bots giving incorrect information as a customer service bot for that business. So that’s all done in the configuration of the bot, so to ensure that it gives proper answers to the questions that are asked.
Jeremy Weisz 14:19
Jason, I want to go back to when you started the agency, because it’s pretty impressive to get to 100 clients so quickly. I think, instructor for any business, whether SaaS business agency anything, and you said you were knocking on doors. So I’d love to hear what was that process like early on, to get your first couple clients then do 100, what were you doing?
Jason Hunt 14:42
Yeah, yeah. So that was funny, because the day I decided to start my agency and then leave the corporate world was the same day my wife told me she was pregnant with our second child. So and immediately when I said, I’m going this direction, and she told me that news, and I’m just like, oh, geez, I’ll just go back to the corporate world. We’ll have a safe job. Make six figures, be happy. It’s going to be great. She’s like, nope, you always be resentful if you do that. So I said, okay, screw it. Let’s do it. And I went the direction of starting my business, basically eating my toenails and then, basically, I had no choice. Success was the only option, right? So that was the motivating factor to get me knocking on doors and not fearing rejection, until I got yes for an answer.
And at first, is crazy. I’m going door to door, selling social media, daily posting for $199 a month. Like, come on, we’re talking February 2016 right? So I’m just like, you look back now, that’s insane, and I’m doing it all myself, right? So, but I was able to go. I was in Oakville, Ontario, downtown Oakville, and I remember sitting inside of a Greek restaurant, talking to the business owner, Manny for probably, like, about three hours. He’s given me the full tour of his Greek restaurant. And by the end of it, shook my hand and there was my first client. $199 a month for daily posting of his Greek wrestling.
Jeremy Weisz 16:14
Wow. He got a steal, and he’s grandfathered in today.
Jason Hunt 16:18
Yeah. So that was years ago, but now we’re talking now and then. From there, I was able to get a few big-name franchises on board. And naturally, there was one franchise. It’s a massive shawarma chain here in Canada called Osmos. And through working with Osmos, I was able to leverage that name. So when I walked into a plaza that had about a dozen other businesses in it with an Osmos, I can easily go in there and say, hey, I’m the social media guy for that company. And then naturally, that gave clout. So they’re just like, okay, let’s hear your pitch. And being as cheap as we were, it was very easy to drum up a lot of business real quick. And naturally, obviously, got way too busy. Started on the brink of burnout, so had to hire somebody under me, Dave, who’s still, he’s actually a partner with us to this day, and then from there, it just evolved and grew from there.
And here we are now, we’re almost getting close to 10 years later, and now we’re just kind of, you know, working with hundreds of clients, SEO, social, everything under the sun, for digital marketing. And it’s been quite a journey. But one thing, I guess, if I were to say, you know, one thing we never did was we never really niched, you know what I mean? I think most agencies that started that long ago never actually said, Hey, I’m just going to do construction marketing, or I’m just going to do micro bleeding marketing or whatever it is, right? So that’s one thing that a lot of new agencies that are coming up are taking advantage of, is niching out.
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