TLDR MARKETING 2026-01-22

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MY FAVORITE NEW SOCIAL NETWORK

People are moving away from public feeds toward small, intentional email networks known as ‘Heartbeat Emails'. These are periodic, semi-personal updates sent to a curated group of people you genuinely want to stay connected with. They're designed to invite replies rather than broadcast status. Heartbeat Emails extend the life of coffee meetings and create space for honesty that does not fit on LinkedIn.

CONSUMERS SPENT MORE ON MOBILE APPS THAN GAMES IN 2025

Consumers spent more on non-game apps than games for the first time last year. App spending reached $85B, up 21% YoY, as AI app revenue more than tripled and usage surged. Users spent far more time in these apps rather than simply downloading more of them. AI assistants led the charge, dominated by ChatGPT, Gemini, and DeepSeek. Mobile emerged as the primary access point for AI, especially in the US. AI has moved from novelty to daily utility.

RESULTS FROM UNGATED CONTENT

After spending $15K to generate just 106 low-quality ebook leads, a team realized gated content was blocking real engagement. Only 3% of visitors filled out the form, so they ungated everything and stopped reporting on leads. They measured cost per engagement and focused on pipeline and revenue. One year later, demo requests rose 265%, pipeline grew 242%, and cost per engagement dropped 90%. By letting people opt in only when they wanted the content, the team showed ungating drives far more business impact than chasing low-quality leads.

LET PEOPLE KEEP THEIR RETURNS

Letting customers keep low to moderately-priced items while issuing a full refund increases repeat purchase intent and brand sentiment, making customers up to 2x more likely to buy again. Across 9 experiments, returnless returns drove 24.6% higher ratings, up to 30.1% more positive reviews, and 30% higher perceived value compared to standard return policies. The effect is stronger when it is framed as customer convenience or an environmental choice and when customers are encouraged to donate items, but it weakens if proof is required, causing 20% less positive word of mouth. The approach works best for frequently repurchased and lower-cost items, while profitability depends on category, price, and fraud controls.

HOW TO MANUALLY TRACK SENTIMENT

Understanding brand sentiment does not require expensive tools. Collect 100 comments from influencer posts, reposts, and related social channels like Reddit, Facebook groups, or TikTok. In a spreadsheet, create columns for positive, neutral, and negative. Positive includes intent to buy, or tagging friends. Neutral covers mentions or facts. Negative includes skepticism, complaints, or comparisons. Count comments in each column and divide by the total to get a sentiment score.

OPENAI TEXT TO SPEECH

This credit-based AI tool converts written text into natural-sounding spoken audio using an advanced neural model.

YOUTUBE CEO NEAL MOHAN'S BIG IDEAS FOR 2026: MORE SUPERSTAR CREATORS AND TRANSPARENCY, LESS AI SLOP

Neal Mohan frames the year as an inflection point. He's drawing a clear line against low-quality “AI slop”, spam, and deepfakes. YouTube plans to increase transparency through labeling and likeness protections and continue treating creators as full-fledged studios rather than casual users. The goal is to balance openness and innovation with a viewing experience people actually want to spend time in.

UX STRATEGIST: THE ONLY JOB WHERE SAYING ‘IT DEPENDS' IS CONSIDERED EXPERTISE

UX strategy often stalls product progress because it avoids hard decisions and defaults to more research. Many UX strategists charge $120 to $180 per hour to produce frameworks and PDFs that conclude further validation is needed. In contrast, direct fixes based on obvious user pain points cut support tickets by 68% in one case and raised activation by 23% in another. The real cost is not just money but months of delay while products stay broken and teams wait for clarity that never arrives.

NETFLIX APP IS GOING TO CHANGE AS THE COMPANY COMPETES WITH INSTAGRAM FOR ATTENTION

Netflix is preparing a mobile app redesign that treats the interface as an evolving feed rather than a static catalog, reflecting how users now discover entertainment through constant scrolling. Executives framed the update as a foundation for ongoing experimentation, with vertical video and short clips playing a larger role. The shift aligns with Netflix's expanding mix of formats, including podcasts and live events, which naturally generate ‘snackable' moments.

TOP FACEBOOK ADS TRENDS FOR 2026

Facebook ad success is determined by the quality of first-party data flowing into Meta's systems.

GOOGLE DEEPMIND CEO REITERATES ‘NO PLANS' FOR GEMINI ADS

Demis Hassabis highlighted Google's ability to fund development while focusing on long-term assistant usefulness instead of short-term monetization.

DO AMERICANS USE AI FOR NEWS?

Despite widespread awareness of AI tools, Americans overwhelmingly rely on social platforms and traditional outlets for news, citing false AI-generated information as a key reason for skepticism.