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HOW TO COMMUNICATE DATA EFFECTIVELY

When presenting data to executives, start with a TLDR, use colors to highlight key points, and make bold recommendations.

META SHARES REELS MARKETING TIPS IN NEW GUIDE

Reels are Meta's most rapidly growing content type, driving more than 200 billion views per day on Facebook and Instagram. Meta's latest "Reels Performance Playbook" breaks down essential tactics for brands to capitalize on this trend. Covering everything from creative formats to storytelling, the concise guide offers actionable insights for integrating Reels into your marketing strategy.

BLUESKY CONTINUES TO SOAR, ADDING 2M MORE NEW USERS IN A MATTER OF DAYS

Bluesky added over 2 million new users in just four days following X's shutdown in Brazil. The surge in users led to Bluesky becoming the top app in Brazil, outpacing Instagram Threads. The platform's decentralized nature and resemblance to Twitter/X are key factors driving its rapid adoption.

13 EXAMPLES OF GROWTH LOOPS TO ACCELERATE USER ACQUISITION

The AARRR funnel is now seen as inadequate due to its linear structure and the silos it creates. Growth loops offer a more holistic approach, aligning with the non-linear nature of real-world user journeys. Adopting growth loops involves focusing on the entire user journey for a more agile growth strategy. This post illustrates 13 growth loops, including worth-of-mouth, UGC sharing, and product-plug.

HOW WE GOT 50+ BACKLINKS WITH ONE SEO BLOG POST

Find 10-20 link-magnet keywords that are likely to be searched for by journalists or bloggers. Create a comprehensive, long-form article targeting one of the keywords, citing information from high-quality sources without external links. Add internal links to this page from your existing, related content. Once your article starts ranking in position 1 to 3 for the target keyword, you'll likely start earning several backlinks each month.

6 FREE UNIVERSITY COURSES THAT'LL MAKE YOU A BETTER MARKETER

A list of 6 free courses from universities like Columbia, Rutgers, and Penn. The topics covered include branding, viral marketing, and marketing analytics.

POWTOON

Powtoon allows users to create animated videos and presentations without advanced design skills. It's widely used for explainer videos, training materials, and promotional content. It offers a wide range of customizable templates, characters, and scenes.

“EDUCATION” ISN'T ENOUGH: HOW TO MARKET WHEN INFORMATION IS DIRT CHEAP

A decade or so ago, Google Search was in an era of information scarcity, where hyper-relevant information was hard to find and content was costly to create. Today, the opposite is true, which fundamentally changes how marketing functions. In this era of information abundance, brands should offer new flavors of information that serve unique needs, create completely new information that competitors haven't done, and invest in entertaining the audience rather than churning out rote information.

DAY 1,095

Minjae Ormes reflects on her 3 years at LinkedIn as VP of Marketing. She shares the unique challenges marketers face, being highly visible yet often misunderstood. She stresses the need to maintain self-awareness and a distinct point of view amid external opinions. Ormes advises marketers to approach their first impression like launching a product in a new market, actively defining their value and contributions.

SOCIAL SHARING MIGHT GET YOU SUED: SOCIAL MEDIA AND COPYRIGHT LAW

Despite engaging on social media, many companies are unaware that sharing copyrighted content without proper rights can lead to serious legal issues. Copyright law protects creators by regulating how their work is used, and failure to comply can result in significant penalties. Familiarity with copyright terms like Fair Use and Creative Commons is crucial for responsible content sharing.

HOW WE HARVESTED INSIGHTS FROM AN INCONCLUSIVE A/B TEST

Adding a product comparison widget resulted in no meaningful change to the test KPIs, but this team found a significant increase in conversion when segmenting the data further.

9 MISTAKES WHEN WORKING ON POSITIONING

Common product positioning mistakes include pre-ordaining a category strategy, overfocusing on direct competitors, and not talking to customers.

US GAMBLING SECTOR'S ‘RELENTLESS' SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS BREACHED OWN RULES, STUDY CLAIMS

Over one week, 1,012 out of 1,353 social media posts by top US gambling brands potentially breached the American Gaming Association's responsible marketing code, according to University of Bristol researchers.

IS THIS EVEN LEGAL?

Cox Media Group (CMG), a marketing agency, admitted that it listens to user voice data using “Active Listening” software via smartphone microphones. The data is then used for ad targeting. The agency reportedly has access to more than 470 sources, including LinkedIn. CMG claims that the disclaimer of its software is ‘often included' in the fine print of the terms of services when downloading a new app or update.

ALL THE KEY CONSIDERATIONS AROUND X'S BAN IN BRAZIL

X has so far lost 10% of its user base this year, with Brazil's ban contributing significantly to this decline. The Brazilian government imposed the ban after X failed to remove accounts accused of inciting unrest, a decision that highlights the platform's ongoing challenges in balancing local laws with its commitment to free speech.

WHAT IS A SUNSET POLICY, AND WHY YOU NEED ONE

Email deliverability can be severely impacted by a high number of inactive subscribers, leading to your emails being flagged as spam by Internet Service Providers. Implementing a sunset policy is crucial for maintaining the health of your email list by regularly cleaning it up. This approach helps in improving key metrics like open rates and click-through rates, protects your sender reputation, and ultimately enhances the success of your email marketing efforts.

10 REASONS YOU SHOULD BUILD ALOUD ON SOCIAL

Building a product aloud on social media involves transparently sharing the development process with your audience in real time. By regularly updating followers, you can gather valuable feedback, generate excitement, and create a community around your product before its official launch. This approach also offers opportunities for content creation, humanizes your brand, and leverages user-generated content. Additionally, building aloud allows for market validation and the flexibility to pivot based on real-time feedback, reducing the risk of failure.

21 TITLES TO MAKE YOUR SEO BLOG POSTS GO VIRAL

A page's title is often the determining factor of whether or not it earns a click from Google search results. This post provides 21 title templates to use for various types of blog posts.

THE TOP 100 GEN AI CONSUMER APPS

The latest Top 100 Gen AI Consumer Apps report reveals a surge in AI-driven creative tools, particularly in content generation and editing across multiple modalities like video and music. 30% of the companies featured are also new. ChatGPT remains the top product, but competitors like Perplexity and Claude are gaining traction. Bytedance is expanding its presence with several new AI apps, and a new category of AI tools focused on aesthetics and dating has emerged. Discord remains a key platform for AI product engagement and community building.

“MORE—BETTER—NEW”: THE PERFECT FRAMEWORK TO SCALE ANYTHING

The “More—Better—New” framework can be used to scale a Google Ads account, LinkedIn content, your personal brand, and more. It involves doing more of what's currently working, doing what you're currently doing better, or doing something new. Scaling should be approached in that order, as it's better to max out the value from what you're currently doing before branching out to something new.

THE FUTURE OF GTM IS BETTER TOGETHER

The rise of specialized teams and an overwhelming number of GTM technologies have created silos, making collaboration difficult. Companies must align their teams, technology, and goals to drive growth. Key strategies include moving from cold outbound tactics to more personalized, AI-driven follow-ups, focusing on customer value and ROI, and integrating product teams to enhance customer growth.

HOW DOES GOOGLE WORK IN 2024?

A diagram showing Google's 5 main stages of crawling, rendering, indexing, ranking, and querying.

A SIMPLER AD STRATEGY IS BETTER: 10 WAYS YOU HURT RESULTS

10 common ways advertisers may be hindering their ad results on Meta.

A GOOGLE HOMEPAGE FOR EVERY MONTH SINCE ITS LAUNCH

A timelapse of Google's homepage from 1998-2024.

DO WEBSITES EVEN MATTER IN THE AGE OF AI AGENTS?

AI agents will soon transform how information is accessed online, with these autonomous applications replacing the need for humans to visit websites. This shift means that traditional web design and user interfaces will become less relevant, as AI agents will handle data collection and task execution. For marketers, this implies a need to adapt strategies by creating content and APIs optimized for AI interactions rather than human engagement.

NEW REPORT LOOKS AT SOCIAL SHOPPING ADOPTION AND TRENDS

Social shopping is growing but not as quickly in Western markets as it has in China, where Douyin saw $375 billion in sales in 2023. TikTok, in comparison, generated $4 billion in in-app spending last year. Facebook leads in driving social shopping behavior, but Snapchat and Reddit have higher purchase rates among their engaged users. Short-form videos are currently the most influential content type in social commerce, though security and trust issues continue to pose challenges for social shopping adoption.

7 UNEXPECTED LINKEDIN ALGORITHM INSIGHTS

LinkedIn's algorithm tends to favor posts made directly on the platform, so avoiding third-party tools and limiting edits within the first hour can help maintain visibility. Keeping hashtags under 5 and tagging only those likely to engage quickly can prevent the algorithm from throttling posts. Including captions in videos and using vertical formats can further boost engagement and visibility.

MASTERING THE ART OF THE COLD OPEN IN STORYTELLING

A cold open is a storytelling technique that plunges readers directly into the action, skipping preliminary setup to immediately engage their curiosity. This approach grabs attention by presenting a compelling scene without context, prompting readers to seek answers. In marketing, a cold open can make content more engaging by showing rather than telling, drawing readers in with intriguing details and questions. It focuses the narrative on a specific moment, anchoring the story and making it more memorable.

DECKTOPUS

Decktopus is an AI-powered presentation generator with built-in templates and customization tools. It can generate a deck from a simple prompt. Decktopus can also be used to create microsites, online forms, and email signatures.

MINI TOOLS ARE 10X MORE POWERFUL THAN FREE TRIALS

THREE WAYS TO EARN YOUR CUSTOMERS' TRUST

The process of selling should not be aggressive or confrontational. Companies should try to understand the questions, fears, and worries of their prospects. One tactic is to take on a teaching role that helps prospects to be smart consumers, rather than talking down to them. It's also important to clarify when your product might not be suitable and provide honest comparisons with competitors.

ZAPIER'S GROWTH STORY

Zapier grew to 10 million users in 12 years. It leveraged programmatic SEO to create thousands of landing pages, enhancing organic traffic and search result visibility. The brand's freemium pricing model lowered the barrier to entry, attracting a broad user base that gradually converted to paid plans. Strategic partnerships expanded its reach by tapping into the user bases of other SaaS companies.

WHY DO PRICES RISE LIKE ROCKETS…BUT FALL LIKE FEATHERS?

The "rockets and feathers" phenomenon describes how prices rise quickly when costs increase but fall slowly when costs decrease. Consumers typically make automatic decisions but think more carefully when prices change. Companies maintain high prices when costs drop to avoid triggering consumer scrutiny and brand switching.

WORKING IN A COMPANY THAT DOESN'T KNOW THEIR CUSTOMERS

The hidden costs of not identifying your ICP include wasted marketing spend, product-market misalignment, and increased customer churn.

WHY MEME MARKETING ISN'T LEGAL FOR BRANDS

Brands are increasingly facing lawsuits because ‘fair use' doesn't apply to most meme content used in marketing.

YELP SUES GOOGLE, ALLEGING A SEARCH ENGINE MONOPOLY THAT PROMOTES ITS OWN REVIEWS

Yelp has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google, accusing the company of using its search engine monopoly to promote its own local search services and reviews over competitors. The lawsuit claims that Google's practices have diminished Yelp's visibility and revenue by keeping users within Google's ecosystem.

YOUTUBE MARKETING REPORT 2024

This report summarizes insights from a marketer survey on the challenges, opportunities, and perceptions of YouTube as an advertising platform. YouTube's ad revenues hit $8.1 billion in Q1 2024, a 21% increase from the previous year, fueled partly by 44.7% of marketers noticing improved ad performance post-anti-ad blocker measures. Influencer marketing (25.6%) and organic content marketing (25.1%) are the most common strategies, followed by paid advertising (13.5%) and sponsored content (10.2%). About half of marketers use YouTube primarily for brand awareness.

15 MISTAKES PMS & PMMS NEED TO AVOID FOR BETTER PRODUCT LAUNCHES

The success of a product launch rests on a myriad of factors that can be hard to control, but there are common mistakes product marketers make that increase the likelihood of failure. Ensure you validate the messaging with customers – in addition to the solution itself. Include the “what” and the “why” in your content plan, not just the “how.” Adjust the intensity of the launch plan based on the value of the feature.

BLACK FRIDAY AND CYBER MONDAY: 50+ EMAIL SUBJECT LINES THAT CONVERT

Email marketers sent 183 million emails on Black Friday in 2023, yet the average open rate was a measly 5%. Pay attention to the entire inbox experience, including the preview text and sender name. Avoid excessive “last chance” messaging, which subscribers will see right through. Skip the personalized messages since many subscribers will be buying for others. This article includes 50+ BF/CM subject line examples for a variety of email types.

CUSTOMIZE GEMINI FOR YOUR SPECIFIC NEEDS WITH GEMS

Google has introduced Gems, customizable AI experts within Gemini, enabling users to automate tasks and workflows based on their specific needs. Marketers can leverage Gems to generate tailored emails or social posts, streamline copy editing, and stay updated on industry trends, all from a single campaign brief. Users can create their own Gems or customize premade ones like a Writing editor or Coding partner. These tools are available to Google Workspace customers with specific Gemini add-ons.

HEATMAP

Heatmap is a tool that provides visual insights into how users interact with websites by tracking their clicks, scrolls, and mouse movements. It creates heatmaps that highlight the most engaged areas of a webpage. The tool also offers session recordings and analytics.

PARTICL

Particl is a platform that provides consumer insights by analyzing online conversations, reviews, and social media mentions. It uses AI to aggregate and interpret data, offering actionable insights into customer sentiment, trends, and competitive positioning.

CONTENT MARKETING NEEDS TO EVOLVE BEYOND SEO

Relying solely on Google is risky, as search rankings can fluctuate, and traffic is increasingly concentrated among a few dominant brands. High search rankings don't necessarily lead to conversions. Users often find brands through other channels and then use Google to locate them, giving a misleading impression of SEO's effectiveness. Focusing on SEO limits creativity, preventing content from reaching its full potential.

THE SITES DOMINATING GOOGLE'S TOP STORIES SERP FEATURE IN 2024

In an analysis of ~45 million keywords, the top 1,000 domains accounted for 97.3% of all listings in Google's Top Stories SERP feature. Despite this dominance, only 14.7% of these top domains were independent sites, with their overall market share being a mere 3.3%. Some young sites, even those under three years old, are managing to rank well in Top Stories, indicating potential opportunities for new players.

GOOGLE IS A MONOPOLY, SO WHAT?

The DOJ's case against Google hinges on the accusation that the company violated the Sherman Act by maintaining monopolies in search services and advertising. The court confirmed that Google is a superior product but emphasized that this does not excuse its monopolistic behavior. Marketers should be aware that while Google's monopoly status is now official, the real-world impact may be delayed due to potential appeals and prolonged legal processes.

HERE'S HOW YOU CAN OUTSOURCE SEO EASILY AND EFFECTIVELY (+ BEST PRACTICES)

SEO outsourcing involves hiring an external agency or freelancers to handle SEO tasks, such as keyword research, link-building, and technical SEO.

DATA REPORT: MARKETING ROLE & TEAM GROWTH AT B2B STARTUPS

Product marketing and marketing leadership roles appear to be on an upswing right now, while roles in Content & Brand and Growth Marketing & Demand Gen areas are not growing compared to last year.

THE LOSING TEST THAT LED TO 4% MORE LEADS

HubSpot tested adding the word “Free” to its lead gen CTAs, which unexpectedly reduced conversion rates by 14%.

TIKTOK'S ‘HOPECORE' TREND SHOWS THE BEST—AND WORST—OF INTERNET OPTIMISM

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.