TLDR MARKETING 2026-02-12

Dig into the findings

SPECFLUENCING: HOW ‘UNOFFICIAL' BRAND MENTIONS ARE CHANGING INFLUENCER CREDIBILITY

Specfluencing is growing fast as creators tag brands without paid deals to appear established and attract partnerships. Between June and September 2025, more than 14,000 influencers posted nearly 77,000 brand tagged posts and generated about 1.2 billion views, and most posts were unpaid. Experts say this tactic works only when content reflects real product use and delivers results, since audiences can detect staged credibility. Brands can use specfluencing to spot new creators and gain unpaid visibility, but it can also create noise and weaken trust if performance is poor. Several brands report that organic creator posts and viral moments can drive stronger trust, engagement, and sales than traditional paid endorsements.

AMAZON TO LAUNCH A MARKETPLACE FOR PUBLISHERS TO SELL CONTENT TO AI COMPANIES

The proposed marketplace would formalize AI-content relationships, shifting from unlicensed web scraping to negotiated data access. Publishers would gain compensation and clearer usage controls, while AI firms would reduce legal risk and secure reliable, high-quality data pipelines. The initiative places Amazon in competition with similar licensing efforts from Microsoft, signaling that structured data marketplaces may become a core layer of the AI economy.

POSITIONING VS. MESSAGING

In PMM interviews, many candidates give answers that lack precision when asked about positioning and messaging. The two are distinct, and your response should reflect that. Positioning is internal and defines the target audience, category, and differentiation. Messaging is external and translates that foundation into benefits and proof points. Tailor your answer to the focus of the question, walk through inputs, process, validation, and activation as relevant.

HOW TO USE EXCLAMATION POINTS IN EMAILS

Using exclamation points in emails makes the sender seem friendlier and more likable, but it reduces how powerful and analytical the sender appears in serious or task focused messages. Across five experiments with over 2,000 participants, messages with exclamation points were rated 13.5% more positive and 21.3% warmer for meeting requests. The same messages were seen as 9.7% less powerful and 12% less analytical in assignment or data-focused contexts. The effect works for both men and women, though women feel 9.7% more pressure to use them and men feel 17.1% more pressure to avoid them. Exclamation points work best in friendly and relationship-building emails and should be avoided in formal, analytical, or deadline-driven messages.

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HOW TO TELL DEEP RESEARCH WHICH WEBSITES TO USE FOR ITS RESEARCH

The ChatGPT Deep Research update allows specifying which websites to use for research. It can be activated by clicking the “+” under the prompt box or using the left panel Deep Research button. Once active, the “Sites” dropdown lets users limit searches to specific sites or prioritize them while still scanning the full web.

END-TO-END EVENT PLANNER USING CLAUDE (4 MINUTE VIDEO)

A video walkthrough of an event planning app (V1) built by Tofu's co-founder using Claude Cowork. The app connects Claude, HubSpot, and Clay to automate and streamline many of the manual tasks involved in hosting events.

TRUSTWORTHY A/B PATTERNS: ROUNDED/SQUARE CORNERS PATTERN

Large-scale replications show that rounding button corners does not actually produce a large lift in clicks. The original study reported a 55% increase in clickthrough rate from rounded buttons and had a p value of 0.037, but later researchers judged the test to be underpowered. Three replication tests found effects near zero with 95% confidence intervals. A fourth pre-registered test at METRO Russia ran for 16 weeks with over 7.4 million users, and it found results below the minimum detectable effects. The combined evidence suggests the original 55% lift was likely an exaggerated result caused by low statistical power.

WHY YOUTUBE SHOULD BRING ORIGINALS BACK

YouTube has surpassed Netflix in revenue and viewing time but still lacks big TV advertisers. Reviving original content could provide premium, predictable programming to attract advertisers and retain creators as competitors secure exclusivity deals. With serialized content from creators and more viewers watching on TV screens, the platform is well positioned to explore Originals again through creator partnerships or licensing.

DIGITAL PR STRATEGY: 2 HOURS OF WORK FOR 10+ LINKS

The author spotted an emerging trend, validated the trend on TikTok, wrote a simple pitch, and then built a hyper-relevant media list.

LINKEDIN IMPRESSIONS (JANUARY 2026 BENCHMARKS)

With 5-10K followers, 1-2K impressions places you in the top 25%.

THE NEW FABIO IS CLAUDE

Coral Hart, a prolific South African romance novelist, uses Claude to produce novels in months rather than years.