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Delve ran 4 ads across 2 TLDR newsletters and brought in 66 leads, with a meaningful chunk from enterprise. The result: $1M in attributed pipeline and a 52x ROI.
A study using passive panel data found that YouTube podcast simulcast ads drove a 7-8% lift in site visitation among exposed audiences compared to pre-campaign levels. Viewers skewed younger, more male, and less diverse than the broader podcast audience. This points to the need for tailored creative and media strategies depending on the mix of audio and video podcasts.
Gen Z, now more than half of Pinterest's user base, is reshaping autumn style with an emphasis on sustainability and individuality. Searches for thrifted fashion and decor have surged, and Pinterest is amplifying this with a new in-app Thrift Shop. Complementing the thrift wave are nostalgic aesthetics like 2000s prep, polka dots, 1960s glamour, and Art Deco interiors, alongside beauty looks rooted in grunge, sea-inspired skincare, and cozy layered scents. Seasonal interests also extend to travel escapes and playful mini bakes.
User-generated distribution (UGD) drives growth by turning user actions into marketing, as seen with Notion, Duolingo, Canva, and Figma. Notion scaled from 1M to 100M users by making templates shareable, while Canva's 90% user-created templates led to over 13B designs shared. Duolingo leveraged volunteer-built courses and streak-sharing to attract learners, and Figma's collaborative files turned invites into new sign-ups. Successful UGD loops require seeding initial content, incentivizing quality contributions, making outputs easy to share, and continuously curating and iterating to sustain growth.
Not every platform is right for every audience since Gen Z spends time on TikTok and Snapchat, Millennials use Instagram, Gen X prefers Facebook, and B2B buyers engage on LinkedIn. Choosing the right platform means matching where your customers spend time with what you want to achieve, whether it is conversions, engagement, or awareness. When brands prioritize platform fit over hype or wanting to be everywhere, they are able to maximize return on investment and avoid wasting money.
This report was vibe-coded by the Ahrefs team. It shows how traffic from Google compares to traffic from ChatGPT, including how both grow month-over-month. The data automatically updates every month.
To capitalize on social search, advertisers need to move from individual channel optimization to ecosystem thinking, ensuring coordination across search, social, and content teams. Building authority through creator-driven communities and brand advocates is becoming a competitive edge, alongside a disciplined test-and-learn approach to evolving platform features. Success will depend on flexibility, structured experimentation, and readiness to adapt strategies as consumer behavior and ad tools continue to converge.
Social media has fueled an epidemic of borrowed opinions. One viral video can instantly set the dominant view. TikTok's algorithm magnifies this by flooding feeds with repetitive takes until familiarity feels like truth. This makes it easy to adopt opinions without reflection. Instead of doing the harder work of reading, questioning, and debating, many outsource thinking to comments and trends, leaving beliefs fragile. Reclaiming independent thought means resisting this cycle by pausing, challenging biases, and seeking diverse views.
Panera capitalized on Taylor Swift's mention of sourdough by launching a themed meal and merchandise within 16 hours, generating 500 million impressions and selling out products in hours. Reese's leveraged its brand color and Swift's fan terminology to connect an Oreo collaboration to the cultural moment, securing premium ad placements and strong early engagement. These examples illustrate how speed, cross-channel execution, and cultural alignment can translate directly into consumer response and short-term growth.
A quadrant that maps where formats like conferences, webinars, and data snacks land.
7 questions to ask to gauge how good or bad your messaging is.