Howdy, Howdy!

Have you ever noticed how many hats we wear day-to-day? Sibling. Partner. Friend. Coworker. Volunteer. Parent. Athlete. Musician. They all could be full-time roles if we allowed them. First, give yourself a pat on the back for handling all those roles. Then, ask yourself… how’s the balance? Don’t forget about taking time for yourself to decompress. Much of the time, you can give yourself at least 10 minutes to reset (napping, taking a walk, etc.). If not, give yourself an elongated breath.

Now that we’re a little more centered, let’s put on our digital marketing hats, shall we? 🧙🏻🧙🏽‍♂️

• Search Engine Land covers Google’s new AI model “Gemini” that is being integrated with Search, Google SGE, Bard, and Ads. The article includes snippets of an interview with Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai. Here’s one of the quotes we found interesting:

Pichai: “Our fundamental vision is that people come to search to experience the richness and the diversity of the web and the content ecosystem. So even though with search generative experience we can expand what we do, we’re actually designing the product in a way so that people can go explore. And I think that’s what users want. I view it as a fundamental value proposition of search, so that’d be part of our goal as we evolve the product.”

So it sounds like rather than being just an answer machine, Google is still looking to connect searchers to other websites as part of their search journey. We’ll be watching closely as this AI-driven story evolves.

• Speaking of AI (as we often do), here’s a warning about how using AI for automating prospecting emails can be counter-productive. Bottom line: whatever you are using AI for, best practice is to pay close attention to the output before releasing into the real world.

• Interested in seeing B2C Marketer’s Biggest Ethical Concerns with AI? Look no further as MarketingCharts has the results of a recent survey. Not a big surprise “privacy invasion” is at the top of the list but “biased content” at the bottom?

In the week of July 24th, Twitter rebranded to “X” almost overnight. The volatility of the platform since last October has left many dedicated Twitter users confused about the fate of the platform. Announcements from Elon Musk, current Executive Chairman and Chief Technology Officer, about the rebrand mentioned a continuing transition to an “everything app”, including “comprehensive communications and the ability to conduct your entire financial world”.

Many users have ventured into new platforms such as Mastodon, Bluesky, and most recently Meta’s Threads. Each app offers a variation of text-based social posting, but they provide them in varying ways. We have covered each of the platform’s current structure and future plans in the infographic below.

Hey y’all 😀

The digital marketing world is ablaze. 🔥Between the X rebrand and the AI revolution, there’s so much dirt to dish. Let’s get to it!

• The blue bird was retired last week for “X”, the “everything app”. The X may be familiar to you from Musk’s previous and continuing endeavors, including SpaceX and X.com. One thing I want to note here: it looks like Twitter isn’t going to be Twitter anymore. Yet, there are countless apps trying to take its place. It’s a classic case of wanting something you don’t have.

• From a business standpoint, Twitter’s rebrand has lots to teach us. Inc. has a great piece on that for us.

• On the topic of unhinged social media, let’s talk about the person in charge of branded social media accounts. Sure, we love a good Wendy’s roast or the relentless owl of Duolingo’s TikTok. But this relatable, human-like approach can be overdone and cross the line from relatable to offensive. We just have to know the balance for the brand. More from DigiDay.

• Was Threads just a fad? Was the launch rushed? Possibly. The Washington Post reviews Meta’s history of quick, bare-bones launches and the future possibilities of Threads.

Howdy! 😊

I hope you all have been enjoying the start of July! We kicked it off with a nice 4-day weekend and sometimes that’s all you need to recharge yourself.🔋Here’s some interesting digital marketing news for your browsing:

• You may have heard about the TweetDeck becoming a subscriber feature and it’s true. In addition, Twitter rolled out a new version of the feature that will only be available to paying users in less than a month.

• Get out your popcorn, because this news is almost like a movie 🍿📽️🎬: Meta’s new text-based app and aspiring replacement for Twitter, Threads, is rapidly gaining popularity with over 30 million downloads in just 16 hours. Twitter (X-Corp) has threatened Meta with a cease and desist letter, accusing it of hiring dozen’s of Twitter’s ex-employees to make what they are calling a “copycat app”. Zuckerberg dismissed the claim, saying that no members of the Threads engineering team are previous Twitter employees. On top of this debacle, Meta is gaining further attention from regulators.

Welcome!

I don’t know about you, but April was beyond busy! Everyone in my friend circles agreed. It’s a new month though, so let’s wipe the slate. Take moments of pause when you need it. There’s wayyy too many studies proving breaks are healthy for you (including this one from the American Psychological Association). This is your opportunity to make sure you’re getting the mental, physical, physiological reprieves you need to keep being the best you possible.

Okay, now to the nitty gritty in digital marketing!

• “If SEO vs. PPC was a monster film (ala Godzilla vs. Mothra), we would have already had a ton of sequels but with no real plot twists.” ~ Marc Engelsman
  You can read the pros and cons for each OR you can fast-forward yourself to the happy ending that (spoiler alert!) SEO and PPC are better together in your marketing plan.

• Brendon Kraham, Google’s VP of search and commerce, discusses “How AI is helping marketers” and how Google Ads is using it. Of course, our readers need to read this with a critical eye as the examples he provides for using “broad match” and “Performance Max” settings cede more and more control to the machine. But we thought it is still worth your time to see Google’s perspective.

• Patagonia’s founder, Yvon Chouinard, has some interesting viewpoints on growth and sustainability in today’s complex corporate environment (pun intended 🌍). Learn how business doesn’t have to be bad for the earth in this McKinsey interview.

Hi,

I’ve long had a special place in my heart for Thursdays. When I was in elementary school, for several years in a row, gym was on Thursdays. I loved the chaos of physical activity in the middle of the school day and the randomness of the activities the gym teachers came up with: dodge ball one week, rope climbing the next. It didn’t matter if I was good at the activity or not, I just enjoyed the physicalness of it.

Do you have a special preference for a particular day of the work week, and do you know why? I know Friday is easy to love and Monday tends not to be a favorite, but let me know what you think.

Here are some of the things that got me thinking in new directions this week, I hope you enjoy them too:

• Expert witness? Most of us who have specialized strengths have considered being an expert witness for court cases. As this article by Ruth Stevens points out, it’s a pretty arduous process and not for everyone. Guess what emails I won’t be answering anymore–I’ve learned I’m not the expert-witness type.

• Had a conversation over lunch with a friend this weekend. She’d recently spent time with Elon Musk at a conference and he shared his vision, or one of them, for Twitter with her. We discussed the bigger picture aspects and then I found this article by Charlie Warzel in The Atlantic about what’s happening to Twitter. It intrigued me as I wondered what Elon Musk is really all about and what kind of brilliant he really is. This quote by Cathy O’Neil, in particular, struck me, “Elon is the perfect embodiment of what I mean when I say that algorithms are opinions embedded in code. This technology is never neutral—people in power help decide what they privilege. Algorithms are policy, and Twitter’s policy is to make Elon Musk the focus of everything.”

• Have you ever had to console a crying colleague? I’m not talking about the time the crying person was you, though true confessions, I cried despite my best efforts a few times in my career. And actually, that’s what drives tears for a lot of people: situational frustration. Often work crying is an outlet for frustrations you can’t figure out how to appropriately express. Next thing you know, the tears a flowing. So what do you do to help a colleague whose eyes are about to overflow? Jennifer Winter has some great tips in The Muse. Let me know if you agree with her.

• And on a related note (see previous issue re: witches and climate change), how is your company working to reverse the adverse effects of climate change? In this article for Chief, I learned that, “According to research by Deloitte, 57% of executives had implemented an ESG working group in 2022, with 42% planning to follow suit — a huge jump from the 21% who had implemented it by 2021.” There are several useful and informative links in this article on what companies are doing and how we can all do more. Heavy suggestion to read this and strategize with your team on how your company can do more.

Greetings 🤖

All the world’s been talking about is AI. It’s not just a workplace conversation anymore. It’s spilled over into family dinners and everyday living. If you are looking for an escape from the AI action… you’re definitely not going to find that here. (Almost gotcha there, huh?) Yeah, we’re all tuned in to the digital marketing intelligence news, and we’re ready to share it with you.

• Updates on the head-to-head AI showdown between Google and Bing:
  • Bing has been gaining some traction in the search market.
  • Google’s releasing new features for Discovery Ads.

• Think with Google’s Future Ready Video Series with host Katie Couric interviewed Google’s SVP of Technology and Society on the impact of AI for businesses. While it is a little basic it also includes the recognition that there will be some jobs lost due to AI efficiencies but there will also be some job gains and, certainly, job change

• Speaking of AI (and who isn’t these days?) eMarketer makes the excellent point that AI-generated content needs to be reviewed by human editors, as AI is prone to inaccuracy and plagiarism. This is especially true for optimized search engine content where Google is now looking for human Experience and Expertise as part of its Double-E-A-T guidelines we’ve been covering.

Heyo!

Fun fact: it’s Buzzards Day! Did you know that this bird returns from migration at the same time every year? It’s a popular tradition to watch for the bird in Ohio! It’s fascinating how nature has its own way of keeping time like we do a calendar… Anyway, here’s the latest in digital marketing flying your way! 🦅

• YouTube overlay ads are being underlayed. Creators are rejoicing at the chance to earn revenue from other, more profitable ad placements. This will also mean more competition for advertisers….

• TikTok is launching *drumroll 🥁* search ads! Advertisers will be able to bid on keywords along with interests, demographics, and behaviors. We’re keeping our eyes peeled to see how TikTok will be competitive against the Google search behemoth.

• Another day, another verification step. Google Ads is requiring one or two more verification processes for users. Gradually, certain accounts are getting pinged to provide basic information and identity to comply. See more.

• What makes a person think more sustainably? Documentaries? News articles? Good guesses, but it’s influencers. A study by Unilever with the Behavioral Insights Team (BIT) found that influencers were rated as impactful in helping consumers make sustainable choices by 78% of respondents. Here’s the lowdown.

Good day! *hat tip* 🎩

January whizzed by faster than a hummingbird’s wing, but I hope you had a good start to the year! Let’s get down to it….

• The Department of Justice is suing Google over its perspective on Google’s advertising dominance on the internet, particularly for Display advertising. Learn more on the case here. See reviews by CNN and TechCrunch.

• McKinsey Quarterly has this quick and easy-to-read, 5-minute briefing (more like an interactive infographic) on “Employee Well-Being: The Holistic Way.” The brief then links to a deeper, 50-minute dive as part of McKinsey’s Five Fifty Edition Series. While there, you could also check out the December Five Fifty edition that covered the Metaverse.

• It’s a new year, and it’s time to “move on from these nine fundamental content marketing myths.” We agree with all nine including “more is more” and the biggest myth of all is “content marketing is easy.”