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12 AI TOOLS TO LEVEL UP YOUR MARKETING

Use Pickfu for A/B asset testing, Dante.ai for creating your brand chatbot, and Harpa.ai for turning a webpage into an article.

BREAKDOWN: STRIPE'S $19.2B MARKETING FUNNEL

A breakdown and analysis of Stripe's GTM strategy, including its digital ads, homepage, social content, videos, and more.

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ATTENTION ON SOCIAL IS SHIFTING, AND MARKETERS SHOULD TAKE NOTE

The social media marketing landscape is evolving as platforms adjust their algorithms. Meta has shifted away from news content, impacting publishers' strategies. Reddit's organic referral traffic has surged sevenfold due to its partnership with Google. LinkedIn is seeing higher engagement through newsletters, while Meta and X penalize link posts, leading publishers to explore new opportunities. Ad budgets are shifting from X to Snapchat and Reddit, with notable increases in spending from small and medium-sized businesses.

AMAZON PRIME DAY DRIVES THE MOST LOYALTY AMONG SUMMER SALES EVENTS

Amazon Prime Day has proven to be the most effective summer sales event, with 84% of shoppers only purchasing from Amazon during this period. About 19% of Amazon shoppers made purchases during Prime Day, compared to 12% at Target, 5% at TikTok Shop, and only 2% each for Walmart online and Wayfair. Amazon's sales surged by 46% during the week of Prime Day compared to the previous 4 weeks. It outpaced other events like Wayfair's Black Friday in July, which rose by 42%.

CONSISTENCY & CEREAL: HOW TO MAKE YOUR MESSAGE MORE STICKY

Cereal brands are models of consistency due to their repeated use of taglines and branding. A person must hear about your brand many times before they'll remember it, let alone be moved enough to buy something from you. Companies may choose to drive home a category, a use case, a tagline, or a slogan repeatedly and consistently in order to build a memorable brand. Doing customer research and listening to how people talk about your brand can help you hone the right message.

HOW TO TEST BROAD MATCH KEYWORDS WITHOUT WASTING SPEND

To avoid wasting ad spend, start a new campaign with select top-performing keywords. Avoid switching all match types to broad match at once to prevent inefficiencies. Monitor performance long-term, as broad match keywords take time to optimize. Conduct daily search term checks to refine targeting and add negative keywords as needed. Use automated bidding strategies like Target CPA or ROAS, and include thematically similar keywords to enhance learning while avoiding Single Keyword Ad Groups.

UNIQUERY: IMPORT MARKETING DATA INTO GOOGLE SHEETS AUTOMATICALLY

Uniquery allows you to connect your Google Sheets with hundreds of data sources and sync live data into your spreadsheets. It fetches data from Facebook Ads, Google Ads, Google Analytics, Notion, and more.

HOW TO FIND YOUR FIRST ICP GUIDE

Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) describes your ideal customer. Without a defined ICP, your company risks wasted marketing spend, lower conversion rates, and product-market misalignment. Start with details like company size, industry, use cases, and buyer personas. Use quantitative, qualitative, and market analysis to identify profitable segments, understand customer needs, and uncover competitive dynamics. Continually refine your ICP as you gain new insights into the market and your customers.

SEARCH INTENT AND THE ORGANIC FUNNEL

Search intent aligns with the stages of the organic SEO funnel. Informational searches at the top have low organic visibility due to features like snippets, so targeting keywords with organic results in position one is key. Commercial searches face tough competition from sites like Reddit and Amazon. Transactional keywords have less competition and offer opportunities, especially in local searches. Navigational searches, often post-conversion, require brands to dominate search results with their content and social media channels.

“THIS IS DISGUSTING, TRY SOME”: MARKETING CHICAGO'S VILE-TASTING LIQUEUR

Jeppson's Malört, a notoriously bad-tasting liqueur, is marketed by CH Distillery through humor and unconventional strategies. The team turns the liqueur's unpleasant taste into a bonding ritual for Chicagoans, with campaigns like "Do not drink. Responsibly" and humorous ads that break the fourth wall. The marketing embraces Malört's reputation, recognizing that different people experience its taste uniquely.

TIKTOK COMES FOR MESSAGING APPS WITH THE ADDITION OF GROUP CHATS

TikTok is adding group chats so up to 32 people can chat and share content together.

4 TO-DO'S WHEN BUDGETING CONFERENCE SPEND

To maximize trade show ROI, start small, set clear success criteria, review outcomes, and adjust your approach to avoid wasteful spending.

GURU 2024 CONFERENCE (EVENT)

The world's largest free virtual email marketing conference is taking place from October 16-17.

TIKTOK PARTNERS WITH AMAZON FOR IN-APP SHOPPING

TikTok's collaboration with Amazon brings in-app shopping to users' feeds, enabling them to buy products directly through the app. For advertisers, this means a new, frictionless way to convert TikTok's highly engaged audience into customers. As Amazon strengthens its foothold in social media, this partnership could set a new standard in social commerce.

VIRAL MARKETING STUNTS MADE 'DEADPOOL' A $1BN HIT, SAYS DISNEY EXEC

Disney's chief brand officer credits the $1 billion success of "Deadpool & Wolverine" to unconventional marketing stunts, including cameos in K-pop videos and cooking shows, that resonate with Gen Z audiences. Stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman took their in-character antics to new levels, creating viral content that cut through the noise of traditional marketing. This approach highlights the growing importance of meme-ready, platform-specific content to engage younger viewers.

GONG'S CONTENT AND SEO STRATEGY

Gong has a two-part SEO content strategy that targets bottom-of-funnel, high-intent keywords via the marketing site and top-of-funnel, low-intent keywords via the blog. This is a common strategy and the brand is executing well on the marketing site, but the blog is being wasted on informational content that doesn't convert. Gong should create blog content on comparison/alternatives and jobs-to-be-done, which would bring in more qualified traffic.

THE HOTTEST MARKETING TREND RIGHT NOW

A popular tactic currently is "Mini-Games Marketing," where brands use simple games to capture and retain user attention. Inspired by Toggl's "Startup Simulator," companies like LinkedIn, YouTube, and Netflix have adopted mini-games to increase interaction. These games work because they keep users on-site longer, foster brand loyalty (by making users feel understood), and have high viral potential, as players share scores and challenges. Mini-games also stand out by being a more memorable experience compared to traditional content.

ARE YOUR INSTAGRAM CAMPAIGNS SABOTAGING YOUR BRAND'S REACH?

Marketers should reconsider posting campaign assets on Instagram, as overuse often causes significant drops in reach and engagement that take months to recover. They should instead assess Instagram performance before, during, and after a campaign to understand the impact. Prioritizing aesthetics over performance can lead to diminished visibility and less interaction. Thoughtful upper-funnel marketing is important. Social teams should gather data to avoid these issues.

OPEN SOURCE TOOLS TO BOOST YOUR PRODUCTIVITY

By exploring open source tools like Penpot, Cal.com, and Nextcloud, marketers can find robust alternatives to proprietary software that prioritize transparency and customization. These community-driven solutions offer greater control and flexibility, appealing to those who value freedom and collaboration. While there may be trade-offs, these tools can significantly boost productivity without making you dependent on a few large tech companies.

WIX: KEYWORD DIFFICULTY ASSESSMENT MATRIX (GOOGLE SHEET)

This matrix helps analyze the SERPs to accurately determine keyword difficulty. It includes freshness signals, on-page elements, and the presence of AI Overviews. Instead of an ambiguous 1-100 scale, your keyword list will show a ranking difficulty of Easy, Medium, or Difficult. You can also link back to the matrix to explain the ranking.

TOP 10 MUST-READ BOOKS FOR EVERY GTM LEADER

A curated list of books that contain goldmines of GTM wisdom. It includes “The Context Marketing Revolution” by Mathew Sweezey, “Obviously Awesome” by April Dunford, “Product-Led Growth” by West Bush, and more.

THE HARD-HITTING TRUTH ABOUT WHAT REALLY BUILDS YOUR BRAND

Credibility is the missing link that sets successful brands apart from those that struggle. It can be gained through demonstrating results, such as testimonials, case studies, and reviews that show how you have helped others. Creating valuable content also has this effect, but it's worth considering that different mediums have different levels of impact. Credibility can also be gained through association with others, either through collaborations or when they engage with your content publicly.

GOOGLE'S “DEAR SYDNEY” AD WAS A MISSTEP. WHAT MARKETERS CAN LEARN FROM IT

Google's "Dear Sydney" ad, created for the Olympics, faced backlash for using AI to write a letter on behalf of a child. Critics labeled it "tone deaf" and "anti-human." The ad depicted a father relying on AI to craft a message to athlete Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. Experts expressed concerns about AI replacing human creativity, particularly in children's development. While Google aimed to showcase AI as a tool for enhancing creativity, the message promoted technology over genuine interaction. The ad was eventually pulled after receiving widespread criticism.

30 CONTENT IDEAS

30 ideas to overcome writer's block.

HOW TO FIND YOUR B2B “CHAMPION”

B2B marketers should avoid writing their homepage for the C-suite or end users, and instead target a mid-level "champion" who understands the problem and has the influence to drive the purchasing decision.

THE $750K MISTAKE THAT ALMOST SANK MY AGENCY

Instead of a flat rate or a risky performance based model, offer discounted rates in combination with performance-based bonuses to increase close rate and revenue.

GOOGLE AND META'S CONTROVERSIAL TEEN AD TARGETING PROJECT REVEALED

Google and Meta secretly collaborated to target Instagram ads at teenagers on YouTube by exploiting a loophole in Google's ad policies. This controversial initiative, aimed at boosting ad revenues and retaining younger users, bypassed restrictions on advertising to minors. The incident raises serious concerns about the ethical handling of data and the protection of vulnerable demographics.

INSTAGRAM UPDATES METRICS TO FOCUS CREATORS ON VIEWS

Instagram is updating its metrics to emphasize "Views" as the primary focus for all content formats, including reels, photos, and stories. Creators are encouraged to prioritize reach over follower count, aligning with changes in user behavior where people rely more on algorithmic recommendations than following profiles. The update includes counting repeat views and highlights "Sends per Reach" as a crucial metric, reflecting how content is shared via DMs.

THE EASIEST WAY TO 10X YOUR WRITING: FORMATTING

Good formatting makes your writing easier to skim, quote, remember, and share with others. Start every section with a single-sentence opener, such as a vulnerable statement or a strong, declarative sentence. Always look for opportunities to turn long paragraphs into bulleted lists. Use subheads or bolded sentences to help the reader more easily follow your line of thinking. Employ the 1/3/1 writing rhythm to vary sentence length and make it easy for readers to fall into your writing.

27 FREE TOOLS TO CREATE - TO GENERATE BACKLINKS

Offering free tools and resources on your website, like financial calculators, infographic templates, icon sets, and interactive quizzes, can naturally attract backlinks, which helps SEO.

A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO CREATING THE PERFECT CAROUSEL

Treat the cover slide like a movie poster or YouTube thumbnail — it's the thing that makes your audience want to swipe and learn more. For the middle slides, don't jam pack each one with paragraphs or a lot of text. Make your carousel flow like a conversation would, using each slide in the same way you'd take a breath or break when talking. Text placement also matters, so write out your content first, and design it after. The final slide should summarize the key points into a clear takeaway.

INTRODUCING A NEW WAY TO AMA

Reddit's interactive “Ask Me Anything” posts have gotten several feature upgrades, including scheduling, user RSVPs and reminders, and co-host roles. The updates are designed to make it easier to promote an AMA and help users navigate the Q&As.

INTRODUCING SPONSORED LINKEDIN NEWSLETTERS: AMPLIFY YOUR LONG-FORM CONTENT AND REACH NEW AUDIENCES

LinkedIn has introduced sponsored newsletters as a way to extend the reach of your existing long-form newsletter content. You can now sponsor any member's newsletter content (upon receiving approval) or any newsletter published on your Company Page as a single image ad. There are now over 184K newsletters on LinkedIn, and in the past year there's been a 47% increase in engagement with newsletters on the platform.

MARKETING TEARDOWN: SHINESTY

Shinesty is a men's underwear brand whose bold branding allowed it to take share from the incumbent industry giants. Its owned media – Instagram, TikTok, email, and website – feature a mix of memes, behind-the-scenes videos, and clever copy. The brand partnered with a college athlete for its paid media in their irreverent way: not signing a chiseled model, but instead using an offensive lineman to model its underwear. Shinesty has also taken a more chaotic (but on-brand) approach to earned media, gaining coverage for covering a customer's bail and offering free vasectomies.

WHY CAMPAIGN ASSETS UNDERPERFORM

Nathan Jun Poekert, former Head of Social at American Eagle, says that campaign assets often underperform due to rigid playbooks, misguided trend-chasing, and the misuse of content creators. Brands frequently fail by not adapting to the ever-evolving social media landscape and by neglecting audience-driven strategies. Poekert advises marketers to prioritize data-backed content that resonates with audiences over traditional campaign footage.

WHY YOU SHOULD MEASURE CUSTOMER DELIGHT ABOVE ALL ELSE

In a competitive market, customer delight surpasses traditional metrics like CSAT and NPS in driving loyalty and repeat business. The Customer Delight Index (CDI) integrates various sentiment measures to provide a holistic view of customer emotions, making it a crucial tool for businesses aiming to stand out. Focusing on delight, rather than mere satisfaction, can ensure stronger customer retention and long-term growth.

INSTAGRAM IS EMBRACING THE ‘PHOTO DUMP'

Instagram is rolling out the ability for users to add up to 20 photos/videos to their feed carousels.

IS THIS UGC VIDEO REAL OR FAKE?

Spoiler alert, Tom Orbach shares a (seemingly real) AI-generated UGC video he made with Captions.ai.

SXSW PANELPICKER

Community voting is now available for SXSW proposals that cover AI, tech, advertising, DEIB, and more.

BENDING REALITY: TIKTOK WHAT'S NEXT 2024 SHOPPING TREND REPORT

Rising inflation and economic uncertainty in 2024 have transformed shopping behaviors, with consumers embracing "fun-flation" and buy-it-for-life communities. TikTok's "What's Next" trend report explores these new shopping trends, emphasizing the significance of emotional connections, community, and transparent brand relationships.

REDDIT CEO HINTS THAT SUBREDDIT PAYWALLS ARE ON THE WAY

In a recent earnings call, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman suggested that certain subreddits might be paywalled to boost revenue post-IPO. The platform has stayed notably consistent over the years, lacking the excessive monetization found on other social media sites, but recently the site has aggressively pursued new revenue sources. The most controversial change was to hike up its API fees, which many third-party apps couldn't afford, and more recently the company signed a licensing deal with OpenAI.

CREATE A PROBLEM-SOLUTION EMAIL

A problem-solution email is an effective pitch for problem-aware and solution-aware prospects in your funnel. It should start by identifying a specific pain point that users might be experiencing, then frame the product as the solution by showing the benefits and additional details. This post includes 3 brief teardowns of problem-solution emails from haircare brands.

LINKEDIN AD TIP: SAVE AUDIENCES

In LinkedIn Ads, save an audience and open it under Plan > Audiences > Saved. Refine it by excluding irrelevant job titles on the left and applying them as exclusions on the right. Re-add the updated audience to any campaigns using it to ensure your ads target the right audience.

8 EASY, CHEAP, LOW-LIFT WAYS TO DO CUSTOMER RESEARCH

For cost-free customer research, spend time helping with support tickets and review survey feedback regularly. Watch customer call recordings and sync with your Solutions team to understand top customer challenges. Monitor chatbot performance and communicate with your product team about feature priorities. Stay updated with your design team's UX work and moderate webinar chats for insights.

USE AHREFS TO SEE THE CHANGES A COMPETITOR USED TO IMPROVE SEO TRAFFIC

Ahrefs' new "Content Changes" feature shows you the exact changes another website used to improve its organic traffic. The tool detects when changes were made and charts them alongside organic traffic over time, which helps you identify the updates that resulted in improved performance. You can then leverage these insights to improve your own page.

FREE SEMRUSH COURSE: INTERNATIONAL SEO (1 HOUR COURSE)

This free course teaches how to optimize a website for a global audience, increasing visibility and traffic from different countries. It covers key strategies, common mistakes, and essential tools for successful international SEO. Lessons include identifying profitable markets, implementing hreflang attributes, and choosing the right web structure. Practical topics on geolocation, content localization, and measuring SEO success with Semrush tools are also included.

10 BEST AI CONTENT WRITING TOOLS

The best AI content writing tools, including Copy AI, Rytr, and WriteSonic, are designed to help marketers produce high-quality content faster and more efficiently. These tools offer features like SEO optimization, content briefs, and multilingual support, making them ideal for various marketing tasks. This article lists the pros and cons, pricing, and features of 10 AI content writing tools.

VISUAL CONTENT STATISTICS FOR 2024

Visual content is set to captivate more in 2024, with 62% of marketers planning to integrate interactive elements and 85% maintaining or increasing their video budgets. The shift to mobile is significant, as 54% of website traffic is now mobile-driven, making mobile optimization crucial. With visual content getting 94% more views than text-only content, marketers should focus on leveraging images, videos, and interactive formats to boost engagement.