TLDR MARKETING 2025-05-28

THE PLATFORM 92% OF SOCIAL MARKETERS CONSIDER A PRIORITY

A survey of social media marketers found that Instagram is still the top priority for most (92%), followed surprisingly by LinkedIn (52%), then TikTok (50%). TikTok is considered the hardest platform to succeed on by 32.5% of respondents, while Instagram's flexibility makes it the top choice if marketers had to pick only one platform. Carousel posts have edged out short-form videos as the best-performing format, with 70.3% rating them highly. Professionally, 51% of respondents feel worse off than last year, and 61% reported budget and resource changes, with 58% seeing cuts. The biggest challenges social media professionals face are lack of time, limited creative support, and leadership that doesn't fully understand social strategy.

AI IN CONTENT CREATION 2025

Over 80% of creators use AI in their workflows, and 40% rely on it end-to-end. Video is the top format, with 52.5% of creators focused on it. Chat tools remain the most used at 37.6%, followed by increasing use of audio and image tools, especially among educators and L&D teams. Adoption is highest among L&D (100%), educators (90%), and agency teams (85%). Younger creators under 25 lag behind, with only 41.8% using AI throughout their process. Most creators use 3 or more tools, reflecting a shift toward multimodal and stackable AI-powered workflows.

HOW KEURIG BREWED A RETURN TO GROWTH

Keurig's GTM strategy originally focused on machine placement to drive high-frequency pod purchases, but it stalled growth due to customer backlash due to excessive DRM restrictions. Under the new CEO, the company shifted from a saturation mindset to segmentation, targeting new usage occasions and environments such as dorms, offices, and small households. Strengthening partner incentives and rethinking pricing also helped rebuild alignment across retail and brand collaborators.

45% RESPONSE RATES: WHAT CLAY KNOWS THAT YOU DON'T

Cold outreach campaigns on Clay are seeing 45% reply rates by activating messages at the exact moment buyer intent is detected. Rather than rely on preset segments or scheduled sends, marketers use orchestration flows that adapt in real time based on behavioral and contextual signals. This shifts marketing from batch campaigns to continuous, signal-driven engagement that reaches customers at the optimal time on their journey.

BEYOND THE OBVIOUS: UNLOCKING GROWTH WITH CREATIVE MARKETING STRATEGIES

Sock Candy, a fashion sock brand known for its sheer, artistic designs, quadrupled monthly revenue from $10,000 to $40,000 through creative Meta ad testing and weekly optimization. Growth was also fueled by indirect marketing on Reddit, where organic community engagement outperformed traditional promotional tactics. Strategic pivots based on customer behavior and selective platform use helped define a distinct brand identity focused on self-expression.

experts for their approach. Read the full report here (ungated)

ACROLINX

Acrolinx helps create clear, consistent, and compliant content at scale. It digitizes company-specific style guides, terminology, and tone of voice, providing real-time guidance to writers within their existing authoring tools. By integrating into workflows, Acrolinx ensures content aligns with brand standards, regulatory requirements, and inclusivity goals.

PODS, DASHBOARDS, AND PURPOSE-BUILT AUTOMATION: THE NEW ZAPIER AGENTS ARE BUILT TO SCALE

Zapier overhauled its Agents to support fully autonomous workflows. Features include single-purpose agents, organized Pods, an activity dashboard for oversight, and a faster creation process with new templates. These updates make it easier to build, monitor, and scale AI-powered automations that act independently across over 8K apps. Ready-to-use agent templates are available for sales, marketing, customer support, and productivity.

THE LESS PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT AI, THE MORE THEY USE IT

People with low AI literacy are more likely to adopt AI tools because they perceive them as magical. In a global survey of 19,504 people, those with less AI knowledge were 31% more likely to use AI and 29% more likely to describe it as magical. This sense of awe makes them prefer AI for tasks like writing or planning. To increase adoption, companies should highlight the "magic" of AI when targeting non-technical users, but avoid this approach with more technically savvy audiences.

GENERATIONAL MARKETING: WHY MARKETERS SHOULD NOT DISCOUNT AGE IN TODAY'S MEDIA LANDSCAPE

Age remains one of the strongest predictors of media preferences, shaping how different generations engage with platforms, devices, and content formats. While digital adoption is widespread, younger audiences often prioritize short-form, mobile-first experiences, whereas older generations continue to favor linear content, longer formats, and familiar platforms. These behavioral differences reflect deeper contrasts in motivations, such as the desire for discovery versus comfort, or speed versus depth, making age-informed segmentation essential for any campaign.

HOW THE EAGLES ARE TURNING TUSH PUSH DRAMA INTO A MARKETING MASTERCLASS

The Philadelphia Eagles are capitalizing on the NFL's failure to ban the "tush push" by turning it into a marketing campaign and fan rallying point. The team released a $40 "Push On" shirt and launched a wave of social media content, including a 26-minute video of tush push plays. A proposal to outlaw the play fell two votes short, with 22 in favor and 10 against, and only one of the Eagles' 2025 opponents voted to keep it. Retired center Jason Kelce reportedly helped influence the vote. The team has embraced the play as a core part of its identity and branding.

YOUTUBE TOPS DISNEY AND NETFLIX IN TV VIEWING, NIELSEN FINDS

YouTube is now the top TV distributor in the US, holding 12.4% of viewing time, up from 9.6% a year ago.

NIKHIL KAMATH X YOUTUBE CEO, NEAL MOHAN (65 MINUTE VIDEO)

YouTube CEO Neal Mohan joins Nikhil Kamath to discuss the platform's growth, why audiences trust podcasters more than traditional news, and how AI can enhance creativity.

6 ABANDONED CART EMAIL TEMPLATES THAT RECOVER REVENUE

The templates include simple reminders, discounts/incentives, and personalized recommendations.