Hey guys, 

Welcome to our fourth and final week of our “Best of Content”! We’ll be going over the most popular interview content. 

Over the last two years, we’ve conducted exclusive interviews with bigwigs like Kevin Frank (former Executive Creative Director for LinkedIn & Creative Director for Apple) and Michael Donner (Sr. Global Brand Creative Manager at Converse), to start-up founders like Steven Lewis (co-founder of Clean) and everywhere in between. 

See the articles section for their top advice for marketers! 

This week in the news…

• Reddit announced six new features for managing campaigns
• Bill Gates published a seven-page article titled: “The Age of AI has Begun”
• Google Ad Transparency Center is on its way to your useful marketing toolbox
• Canva unlocked new magic AI tools that are totally game-changing

Let’s get into it, 

Josh

P.S. Remember these days? 🤣

THIS WEEK’S MOST IMPORTANT MARKETING NEWS

REDDIT ANNOUNCED SIX NEW FEATURES FOR MANAGING CAMPAIGNS

Not a lot of advertisers use Reddit, even though they have over 1.5 billion users. Maybe worth looking into now that these updates really enhance their advertising platform…

1. Create ads easily in just three steps.
2. Save time with automated ad creation and testing.
3. Use one of our 40 international currencies.
4. Find targetable communities with improved search.
5. Get a better perspective with 12-month reporting.
6. Make changes to multiple ads at once with bulk edit.

MICROSOFT AUDIENCE NETWORK WILL SOON UPGRADE TO ENHANCED CPC (eCPC)

Since opening up their AI-powered search, Microsoft has seen a 15% increase in page visits. Hoping to win over more advertisers, eCPC will automatically adjust your bids in real-time to increase conversions. Starting April 24, manual bidding won’t be available and all campaigns will be upgraded to eCPC. No action is required on your part. Good move Microsoft.

GOOGLE LAUNCHED PERSPECTIVES, “ABOUT THIS AUTHOR” AND MORE

These new features help improve source verification and allows you to fact-check your sources. They’re giving more weight to you and your brand’s authority and reputation on the subject. Something to think about when you’re writing content. 

TIKTOK RELEASED BRANDED EFFECTS FOR BUSINESSES TO IMPROVE PROMO’S

You can now work directly with TikTok effect creators to produce custom Branded Effects. You can customize calls-to-action, elements, and other features. According to their recent survey, 61% of users like brands better when they create or participate in TikTok trends and 73% of users feel a deeper connection with brands on TikTok compared to other platforms. They’re not slowing down even in the face of potentially being banned from the US. 

META IS TESTING TWO NEW ADVERTISING FEATURES

The first new feature is a tool for retailers and CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) brands to work together to create personalized ads. The second is a new ad type that targets nearby customers with relevant offers.

GOOGLE AD TRANSPARENCY CENTER COMING VERY SOON

Google has launched a new Ads Transparency Center, which allows users to search for ads by topic, advertiser, or website, and filter by region. It provides information on when each campaign previously ran, and the ad format/s used. It also enables users to block or report any ads that they find. Particularly useful for us marketers researching our competitors’ ad strategies. The Ads Transparency Center will be available globally over the coming weeks. Thank you Google.

USEFUL LINKS

THE FUTURE ISN’T A MYSTERY AND NEITHER IS SUCCESS

These guys cover the latest in business, entertainment, and internet culture. They also dive into stories of the future identifying what’s coming up next that we need to be aware of and prepare for. Get ready for what’s coming next every day with The Future Party newsletter.

BOOST YOUR AVERAGE ORDER VALUE WITH THESE FIVE STRATEGIES

Encouraging your customers to spend more with each order is a quick way to increase revenue without adding new products or firing your employees. Here are two of the five strategies… 

1. Offer live chat support to increase sales by up to 15% per cart, as it provides immediate answers and encourages repeat purchases.
2. Set a minimum free shipping threshold at 30% above your current average order value (AOV) to increase conversions without losing money on costs.

GO OVERBOARD WITH CART ABANDONMENT TO WIN OVER NEW CUSTOMERS

KetoneAid offers a free sample of their energy drink to customers who didn’t complete their purchase. This helps to handle the buyers’ biggest objection: not knowing if they’ll like the product. This totally surprises and delights customers, building brand loyalty and humanizing the brand. Getting a free can to potential customers is $10, but this gets people hooked and buying subscriptions, which have an average lifetime value of $3,000. Genius. 

GOOGLE ADS EDITOR UPDATED TO VERSION 2.3 WITH LOTS OF USEFUL UPDATES

If you run Google Ads, you’ll love these new updates on their desktop application. 

1. Automatically generate text assets for Performance Max campaigns.
2. Get full support for various asset types, including images and location/business information assets.
3. Use Discovery ads and campaigns with a product feed to reach more customers.

Go here to download Google Ads Editor and start using these new features right away.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM “THE AGE OF AI HAS BEGUN” BY BILL GATES

According to Bill Gates, we have entered a new era that’s going to change everything. He says: “Artificial intelligence is as revolutionary as mobile phones and the Internet”. He goes over how AI will soon entirely change entire industries including productivity and the workplace, healthcare, education, and more. Read his whole article here and stay up to date with how AI will change your life. 

The highlights from our exclusive interviews. Enjoy.

“The beautiful thing about marketing is you can wear many different hats. Put yourself in those conversations and learn to wear many different hats. Because in the future, if someone you know is looking for help or needs someone to work on a special project, you’ll be the first person they think of.” 

– Ana Bolerjack, Marketing Manager at Divvy

“Great work only happens when we feel free to try new things.” 

– Kevin Frank, former Executive Creative Director for LinkedIn & Creative Director for Apple

“Success doesn’t just depend on the metrics but on how our work changes the world. For me, success means the ability to be fulfilled at work while leading a fulfilling life outside of work. As we’ve seen recently, work can be taken away from you in an instant. If you can’t answer the question, Who am I outside of this job? You’ve got some work to do.” 

– Asha Davis, Head of Integrated Brand Strategy at Snap Inc.

“As creatives, we have to be our worst critics… Self-challenging myself has always driven me in the right direction.” 

– Michael Donner, Sr. Global Brand Creative Manager at Converse

“Networking is so important nowadays! So many of these past relationships, whether it’s been Dateline NBC, Fox NFL Sunday, or wherever I’ve gone, the people who have helped me along the way have remained good friends that I reach out to.” 

– Briana Barker, VP of Marketing Operations for the Utah Jazz

“In a world where everyone is trying to have a consistent brand or putting up the same message and making a bunch of spots that all look the same; our intention is the exact opposite. We’re just trying to entertain you, and that’s sort of the basis of it. We want to come from the same place and mindset every time. But everything we’re going to make is new. That’s the exciting part about what we’re doing; you never know what’s coming next.”

– Andy Pearson, VP of Creative for Liquid Death

“Before creating an Influencer program, consider the reasons behind it. Is it brand awareness? Is it gaining followers or Increasing sales? What key performance metrics will determine the success of the program?” 

– Steven Lewis, co-founder of Clean

INTERESTING STUFF

👁️ CHATGPT NOW HAS INTERNET ACCESS & CAN SOURCE CONTENT PUBLISHED AFTER 2021

😵‍💫 TWITTER’S LEAKED SOURCE CODE REVEALS THE PLATFORMS INTERNAL WORKINGS

📚 AUDIBLE TESTING ADVERTISEMENTS IN YOUR AUDIOBOOKS

✋🏻 AI IMAGE GENERATORS FINALLY FIGURED OUT HANDS

🔮 TRANSFORM YOUR WRITING & DESIGNS WITH CANVA’S MAGIC NEW AI TOOLS

⚠️ AMAZON FLAGS ‘FREQUENTLY RETURNED’ PRODUCTS THAT YOU SHOULDN’T BUY

📢 BING CHAT TO FEATURE ADS, SHAKING UP THE AD-FREE EXPERIENCE

⭐️ PAY TO PLAY – TWITTER WILL ONLY SHOW VERIFIED ACCOUNTS IN “FOR YOU” TIMELINE

🍎 APPLE LAUNCHES BUY NOW, PAY LATER SERVICE

🥤 PEPSI HAS ITS FIRST NEW LOOK IN 14 YEARS