In this episode of Cinch Academy, Shyan sits down with retail veteran Lee Myers to discuss the hidden psychology behind retail merchandising, product placement and consumer buying behaviour. With more than 30 years of experience working in major retailers like Walmart Canada and Woolco, Lee shares insights into branding, impulse buying, packaging strategy and the growing importance of digital marketing in modern retail. The conversation explores how stores influence consumer

In this episode of Cinch Academy, Mandy and Shyan are joined by special guest Lindsey Loring to discuss the pros and cons of modern website-building platforms, including WordPress, Wix, Squarespace and Shopify. The conversation explores why WordPress remains popular despite its complexity, how plugins can create major maintenance issues and why platforms like Wix and Squarespace are becoming increasingly attractive for visual designers and businesses focused on user experienc

In this episode of Cinch Academy, Mandy and Shyan break down one of the most common questions businesses ask: What is marketing, and how is it different from sales? The conversation explores how marketing builds awareness and trust long before someone is ready to buy, while sales focuses on converting interested people into paying customers. Mandy and Shyan also discuss websites, SEO, social media marketing, graphic design, online reviews and why modern businesses need both s

In this episode of Cinch Academy, Mandy and Shyan are joined by Renee from the Cinch Communications team to discuss one of the most overlooked but powerful digital marketing tools for local businesses: the Google Business Profile. The conversation covers how Google Business Profiles impact local SEO, map rankings, customer trust and online visibility. Renee shares insights into profile management, posting strategies, reviews, product listings and why businesses that actively

In the very first full-length episode of Cinch Academy, Mandy, Shyan and graphic designer Kiana discuss the biggest digital marketing trends shaping 2025. The conversation explores the rise of AI tools, voice search, wearable technology, short-form video content and changing consumer behaviour. The team also discusses how SEO is evolving alongside AI-driven search experiences and why authenticity remains one of the most important elements in modern marketing. Main Takeaways:

In this episode of Cinch Academy, Mandy, Shyan and guest Lauren discuss how AI is reshaping digital marketing, from Google Ads automation and AI-generated creative to SEO foundations and emerging AI search behaviour. The conversation explores how tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude are changing the way marketers research, build campaigns and optimize websites, while also highlighting the continued importance of human strategy and technical SEO. Main Takeaways: AI search too

In this episode of Cinch Academy, Mandy, Shyan and Michaela discuss how SEO is evolving inside social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok and Facebook. The conversation explores how hashtags are becoming less important, how semantic search and AI are changing discoverability and why businesses need to think about keywords differently across social platforms. The team also discusses video captions, short-form content, Hootsuite listening tools, algorithm changes and the rol

Chat GPT & AI for Marketing: Podcast Episode Summary In this episode of Cinch Academy, Mandy, Kat and Shyan break down three practical ways to use GPT and other AI tools in digital marketing: maintaining a consistent brand voice, using AI as a fast “search engine” for troubleshooting and research, and adding chatbots to improve website lead handling and customer support. They also discuss why AI needs a human editor, how “auto-optimized” ad creative can go sideways and why st

Graphic Design in Marketing: Podcast Episode Summary In this Cinch Academy episode, Mandy, Alicia and Shyan discuss what it’s like to work with a graphic designer in a modern marketing agency, from tool choices and colour theory to branding inputs and how AI is changing the workflow. Alicia shares how her background in print and production shaped her preferences, why some teams still rely on Adobe Illustrator (even when faster tools like Canva are in the mix) and what clients

In this episode of Cinch Academy, the team dives into SEO for social media and what it really means for modern social media management. As platforms shift from hashtags to AI-driven semantic search, businesses must rethink how they use keywords, captions and profiles to improve discoverability. The discussion breaks down practical strategies for increasing visibility, understanding indexing and staying consistent in a constantly evolving algorithm landscape. Main Takeaways: S