Abe Kasbo Talks Digital Marketing with Writing Students

Abe Kasbo, CEO and founder of the marketing communication agency, Verasoni, introduced his new book and discussed the do’s and don’t’s of social media marketing in today’s digital world with writing students in Taylor Memorial Library on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. 

Kasbo started Verasoni in 2005, and has been sought after by many high-ranking executives, according to Susan Van Alstyne, library director.

From 2001-2004, he also served as head men’s basketball coach at Centenary University. Kasbo currently serves as a board member of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurial Studies at Seton Hall University and community board member for Disney’s Live Action Aladdin. Kasbo also holds a bachelor’s in political science and a master’s in public administration from Seton Hall. He also published a book called Irresponsibly Digital: How to Survive Marketing’s Existential Crisis, parts of which he addressed throughout the presentation. 

Importance of Understanding Digital Media

When Kasbo started Versoni 20 years ago, websites such as Google, Facebook, and YouTube were just starting to become popular, so there was a new “intersection” of offline and online. “I recognized that was going to be a problem for businesses, because people get hyped about technology,” said Kasbo. 

According to Kasbo, knowing how digital media impacts marketing and businesses puts you “in a better competitive position.”

Personal Branding

Early on, the presentation was interrupted by a fake phone call, where he demanded the person on the other line get the money owed to them, even if the person who owes money is a nun helping kids, as an example to personal branding. Kasbo commented how if the phone call were real and he really did talk to people like that, nobody would take him seriously and think he’s a jerk. The way in which people treat their friends and colleagues, according to Kasbo, says a lot about someone as a person. 

“Preception has a lot to do with how you write about something, how you feel about certain things. Marketing happens all the time. The way that you’re wearing your hat or your shirt, the way you hold your cup, that’s marketing. How you present yourself is marketing.” 

Not Just Digital

He also discussed how companies cannot solely focus their marketing strategies in digital. “We cannot be held up by digital only. There’s just a lot there that we’re not going to be able to capture. There is direct-to-consumer marketing, business-to-business marketing, and niche marketing.”

Know Your Networks

Companies cannot jump on the bandwagon of social media platforms to grow their network, according to Kasbo. Just because LinkedIn is a professional network and people say they should be on it, certain brands don’t thrive on these platforms. 

For example, while not necessarily fascinating to the general public, Kasbo found ways to digitally monetize the OSHA and HIPAA training businesses with whom he worked. Their videos most likely will not go viral on TikTok and grant them millions of followers. Instead, Kasbo suggested this type of company sell their training videos and partner with medical, dental, and vet supply companies. Kasbo explained how the training company hosted a half-hour webinar. 1,000 people registered at $35 admission. The company made $35,000 in half an hour and made over ten times the number of connections they ever made through LinkedIn. 

Problem with Social Media

Social media influencers, or as Kasbo called them, “the clique-ocracy,” are used to promote products from companies through branding deals. However, “they’re full of crap,” he said. “They just want to sell you the technology and they will tell you what to do. They’ll never tell you how to do it, though, because they've never done it.”

Also, fame on social media is extremely difficult. Certain celebrities, according to Kasbo, only became famous on social media, because they were famous elsewhere before the rise of platforms. “It was basically a transfer from one media to another,” he said. The Kardashians had a wildly successful television series for two decades. And then there’s Rihanna, who established a successful music career before launching Fenty Beauty. “[Rihanna] could sell toilet paper, and it would be a billion-dollar business,” according to Kasbo. 

Videos and Fake Friends

Another problem with social media marketing is making videos, TikToks, and posts, because the rate of engagement is only about .02%, according to Kasbo. 

“Do you know how hard it is to get a thousand relevant people on your Facebook or Instagram page? The relevant people are your customers. Let’s assume we do a good job and get a thousand people on our page where we encourage them to follow us on Instagram or TikTok.” The rate of engagement is still extremely low, making social media extremely unreliable. 

According to Kasbo, Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, created billions of fake digital friends. Using Facebook as an advertising tool pays for the fake friends, which, if companies gain thousands of followers, a percentage of them are not real people. 

Most companies lose money through digital marketing, setting aside budget and paying someone to run their social media pages, according to Kasbo. 

Your Personal Broadcast Company

However, a company cannot just rely on traditional marking alone. “You can’t not have a social media presence. Make sure the account is set up appropriately. Social media isn’t about the network. It’s about who’s watching you. It’s your own personal broadcast company,” said Kasbo. 

You Own Nothing; They Own Everything

In this world, according to Kasbo, we own nothing except our domain name. Digitally, major corporations own everything, even our information. Smaller companies aren’t usually privy to customer information when they use third parties, such as DoorDash, UberEats, Wonder, or Amazon, to sell their products.

Thoughts from Student-Writers

Kasbo’s presentation saw 20 attendees, including Vonda Givens, adjunct professor of writing, and her writing students.

“Not only did he go into important relevant topics relating to the modern digital media landscape, but he also had a really great personality. It was really funny and entertaining,” said Tanner Sullivan, senior communication major.

“I thought it was very entertaining and very factual,” said Carlee Nigro, junior writing major. “He was able to provide a lot of insight into digital writing and how social media really influences our world in ways we don’t recognize.”

“I thought he was really funny and he gave a lot of good information about social media,” said Samantha Swayze, sophomore writing major. “I never fully realized how advertising your businesses on social media might not always be a good thing. I think it’s really important to learn more about that.”

“It was really inspirational,” said Nick Storms, junior communication major. “I learned a lot about social media and the benefits from it. A lot of people here may have brands they’d like to represent in the future, so it’s smart that we learn how to navigate social media, understand our target audience, and what our brand represents.”

“Fun and informative. Great for students going into marketing,” said Vonda Givens, adjunct professor of writing.

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For more information on Abe Kasbo, his book, and his presentations, connect with him on LinkedIn.