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TikTok's "hopecore" trend began with uplifting clips of Grammy wins, Olympic victories, and heartwarming moments. However, it soon faced backlash as users started using the tag to ironically frame bleak stories with exaggerated positivity. This shift highlights the internet's tendency to turn wholesome trends into cynical expressions of pessimism.
Meta's decision to shut down its Spark AR platform, effective January 14, 2025, has sparked outrage among creators who rely on the platform for their work. Meta stated that the decision followed a thorough assessment and is aimed at prioritizing future consumer needs, though it did not directly link the move to AI initiatives.
Value innovation allows companies to chase differentiation and low cost at the same time. Rolls-Royce innovated its pricing model in the airline engine industry, which went against the grain but ultimately solved a huge problem for customers. To find opportunities for value innovation, identify and question the assumptions in your industry, find the factors that increase costs for no gain, raise the factors that truly matter for customers, and consider creating new factors that no one else offers.
Highland Titles, a souvenir land plot company, displayed “fast, free shipping” on its mobile website despite the primary product being delivered digitally. The team tested replacing this copy with a short Forbes testimonial, which resulted in a 26% increase in conversion rate and a 31% increase in revenue.
Marketers save an average of 2.5 hours per day thanks to AI, according to HubSpot's 2024 State of Marketing Report. AI tools like ChatGPT and Jasper.ai can be used for technical SEO tasks such as generating schema tags, analyzing logs, and communicating technical concepts to decision-makers.
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In this LinkedIn post, Dan shares 3 key insights he's gained about messaging a developer-focused audience from building ScraperAPI and TLDR. Dan has been actively posting on LinkedIn - follow him for developer marketing content [10].
Google's new tools in Google Merchant Center include product trend insights that highlight popular search and purchase trends. Enhanced AI features now offer summaries of product performance, and conversational queries allow for easier access to tailored data reports. Additionally, Google has improved product availability notes with an automated onboarding process and introduced new customer acquisition goals in Performance Max and Search campaigns.
SE Ranking offers a Google Cache Checker tool, allowing users to view the full cached version, text-only version, or source code of a page. The URL Inspection tool in Google Search Console and the Wayback Machine on Web Archive are other options to access cached content. The “cache: search operator” still works, but Google plans to retire this feature soon as well.
Krithika Muthukumar, the very first marketer at OpenAI and Stripe, discusses what it takes to found and scale a marketing operation to build an enduring brand. A great early marketer doesn't blindly follow a playbook, is genuinely curious about the product, has a T-shaped skill set, and isn't distracted by vanity metrics. In their first month, they should create a “state of the funnel” report and shadow customer calls. Building a brand is often a bottoms-up motion rather than a top-down decision, so Muthukumar recommends developing a razor-sharp POV about what the product is for, learning how your audience talks and wants to be spoken to, and overinvesting in marketing craft.
TikTok Live has become a lucrative platform, with some livestreamers earning over $7K/month through viewer donations. Streamers engage their audiences in "battles" where viewers donate coins to influence outcomes, often driven by creative or trending themes. The demand for making money through these streams has led to new opportunities, including developing interactive games, selling leads lists, and offering video overlays.
Brands are often built to last forever, but the obsession with brand immortality might be limiting creativity and relevance. Instead of striving for permanence, brands should embrace their mortality, focusing on making a meaningful impact in the present rather than adhering to rigid consistency. Shifting this mindset could unlock new creative opportunities and allow brands to contribute more actively to the world around them.
This webinar explores strategies for crafting viral, culture-driven content via real-world case studies.
It's increasingly important to blend traditional and digital PR strategies to maximize impact.
Instagram now allows users to add text directly onto photo posts, as well as new fonts and the ability to layer images and stickers.