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KIMP’s Picks 15th March: Weekly Highlights In Design, Marketing, AI, & More

We all know about the Monday blues, but for marketers and entrepreneurs, Fridays can be a different kind of beast. The fear of missing out (FOMO) on the latest trends, groundbreaking AI announcements, ingenious marketing campaigns, and yes, even those ever-shifting social media algorithms can be a real nightmare.

But fret no more! KIMP’s Picks is here! This is our weekly round-up post where we take the stress out of your social media scroll. Each week, we curate a list of the most share-worthy posts that have been making waves online. We go beyond the surface noise to bring you the hidden gems and trending topics you need to know about.

So, ditch the endless scrolling and dive into our bite-sized weekly recap. Let’s see what the KIMP’s Picks 15th March Edition has in store!

In the Marketing Realm 

Google Business Profiles now get social media integrations 

When searching for information about a business on Google, have you noticed that the search engine now displays the social media profiles of the respective business along with the search results? In addition to this, there are some more updates with respect to social media integration and that is the feature that displays recent social media posts from the business. 

Social Media Today, a popular online source of social media news and updates shared the below post discussing this update and some tips for businesses to embrace this update. 

While Google might automatically link the social profiles, it’s a good idea for businesses to add their social media profile details to their Google Business Profiles. This can be beneficial to businesses that are active on social media. 

The effectiveness of AI-optimized campaigns 

Several brands are now using AI in their marketing efforts. And one of the major applications is to use AI to optimize online campaigns. NCSolutions, a company known to assist businesses in measuring advertising effectiveness, collaborated with YouTube to understand the impact of AI in advertising. YouTube shared the below post summarizing a few findings. 

The study was about finding the performance of AI-optimized campaigns. The study compared similar campaigns that were fully manually optimized with the available data and those that used AI for the optimization. 

The results showed that AI-optimized campaigns get about 3.7 times better ROAS and bring about a 111% increase in sales compared to manually optimized ones. Conclusively, now is a good time to invest in AI to enhance your advertising strategies. 

Campaign inspiration from Lunchables Dunkables

AI seems to be what everyone is talking about and Kraft Heinz’s Lunchables brand has a new campaign that taps into this common discussion. Their new campaign shows how a touch of creativity can help boost a brand’s image. 

Ad Age featured this campaign from Lunchables which takes a dig at the recent AI revolution. The campaign features designs created by AI against works of art created by children. Since the creativity of AI tools has been a hot topic in recent times, the campaign taps into this aspect. 

The idea was to ask kids to reimagine their popular products in imaginative universes. AI tools were also given similar prompts for the same products. The imaginative creations of kids were pitched against the creations of AI tools to show that kids are still the most imaginative and that no AI tools can replace this. 

This brilliant idea has earned the brand a lot of media coverage. The brand also plans to create outdoor ads featuring the designs created as a part of this campaign. 

Mark Zuckerberg shows how CEOs can be great influencers 

The Entrepreneur magazine shared an article recently delving into Mark Zuckerberg’s hands-on approach to promoting Meta. The article discusses how he has become the main influencer of Meta on social media. 

The insightful discussion discusses Mark Zuckerberg’s posts for promoting Meta Quest and how he takes time to review competitor products and more. Putting a face to a brand is important and what better face to represent a brand than that of its CEO?! 

By avidly posting updates from his personal and professional life, discussions regarding upcoming products and more both on his pages and on his Broadcast Channel, Mark Zuckerberg is championing Meta authentically. And this seems to be working in favor of the brand humanizing it in several ways. This is a great lesson for entrepreneurs to take away! 

In the Content Marketing Realm 

Paying attention to video SEO

In most SEO discussions, it’s blogs and images that are often covered. However, video SEO is yet another crucial factor for content marketers to pay attention to. And the below post from Semrush discusses video SEO in detail. 

The post gives an introduction to video SEO and its importance. It then delves into some of the most useful tips for brands and marketers to improve their video ranking. The tips include basic steps like identifying topics that people are searching for using relevant keyword research tools.

It also talks about the need to focus on the quality of the video and catchy titles. From video descriptions to thumbnails and time stamps, the post also discusses several other useful aspects that help improve video rankings. 

Insights to enhance your SEO strategy 

The next post we stumbled upon in the content marketing circle is the below post from the popular search-news-related resource, Search Engine Journal. The post takes a deep dive into 7 useful tips and insights to help marketers improve their SEO strategies. 

Audience and keyword research happens to be the first thing discussed in this post as well. Similar to video SEO, even for regular SEO for your website content identifying what your customers are looking for is the solid first step to take. 

The post also tells why it is important to not just identify the queries but to know what they mean and why they are important to customers. For more such insights and tips, this article is a great read! 

Make AI your content marketing assistant

Popular marketing software provider Moz shared the below post discussing how marketers can make AI their sidekick in content marketing. 

The post discusses how AI has transformed the content marketing game and how currently it has become an indispensable entity for most marketers. It also emphasizes that AI cannot currently replace marketers because of inaccuracies in responses and the lack of human touch.

Further, the post also talks about some of the ways in which content marketers can leverage AI to simplify their processes and to enhance their content. From drawing insights from audience interviews to identifying customer pain points, consistently delivering your brand voice to ideating content, the post discusses some useful ways in which AI tools can become a dependable virtual assistant to marketers. 

In the Design Realm 

A quick Canva tip 

If you have not used Canva Magic Studio yet, you are missing out on a lot. Canva Magic Studio is Canva’s suite of AI tools. They have transformed the way creators create and edit designs on Canva. One of the most useful features among the AI capabilities introduced on Canva recently is the AI Translator Tool. 

Canva shared a post recently featuring a video demo of this tool showing how it can particularly be useful for organizations with global teams. 

For a quick background, Canva’s AI Translator Tool works in over 100 languages. The tool can automatically detect the language in the design and translate the content into the desired language that the user chooses. 

You can also select multiple pages to translate the bulk of content in one shot. This can be useful to brands designing creatives for various geographical locations. Have you tried Canva’s AI Translator tool yet? 

Finding it overwhelming to keep up with and use all the Canva features in your account? Leave it to professional Canva designers and make the most of your subscription! 

Adobe Express tip

A few days back, Adobe announced the new Adobe Express app with all the AI capabilities that Firefly brings. And in a recent post, they spoke about a useful feature available on Adobe Expres, one that several designers might be using often – the background removal feature. 

This feature lets you create transparent backgrounds for your images instantly. This works well in images with clear subjects. Once the background is removed, users can either download the design with a transparent background as a PNG file or can proceed to add creative effects and edit the design further to add a creative touch. Have you tried the background remover feature on Adobe Express? 

Decathlon has a fresh new look 

Popular branding agency Wolff Olins has created a fresh new identity for the popular sports goods brand Decathlon. It’s Nice That is a great source of branding and rebranding-related inspiration as they share the works of famous designers and branding agencies from around the world. They shared the below post discussing the Decathlon rebranding. 

The post talks about the challenges of rebranding an organization that has not undergone drastic changes for nearly 5 decades now. The brand has only been relying on its signature wordmark and brand color. But the new brand identity includes an abstract symbol as well to add a fresh new dimension to the logo. 

Given that the brand also caters to in-house products – the clear abstract logo created will be of great help in establishing the brand. Decathlon caters to diverse demographics and hence a simple and memorable identity is what works. The one that Wolff Ollins has created is universally acceptable and sleek. 

Poster designs for Paris 2024 Olympics

The popular digital magazine for architecture and design, Design Bloom, shared the below post featuring a set of posters created to promote the Paris 2024 Olympics. 

The posters created for the upcoming events are rich in stories in every little detail. The posters have been designed meticulously so as to capture the spirit of the games. What makes the frescos truly unique is that from a broad perspective, they are aesthetically stunning creations, and upon closer inspection, they tell different stories from every perspective. 

The idea of creating fantastical details with real landmarks and building layers of stories adds more value to the design. These posters show the impact that designs crafted with strong stories can have. 

In the AI Realm 

Google’s game-playing AI agent is here

Google has made headlines again in the AI segment with the Scalable Instructable Multiworld Agent (SIMA). This is a model that can follow instructions and perform tasks in a virtual 3D environment, like within gameplay. 

Partnering with a wide range of game developers, Google is training SIMA on various video games to better understand gameplay behaviors. The objective is to get the model to perform tasks within game environments and currently, the focus is on simple ones that take less than 10 seconds. This can therefore become a gaming buddy that understands natural language instructions 

Microsoft brings in GPT-4 Turbo for free users on copilot 

Microsoft has quietly upgraded the free tier of its AI assistant, Copilot, with the option to use GPT-4 Turbo. GPT-4 is currently the most advanced language model of OpenAI. Previously the Turbo version of GPT-4 was only available with Copilot Pro and now even the free users can tap into the capabilities of this model. 

Mikhail Parakhin, CEO of Advertising and Web Services at Microsoft posted the below update about this on his X page. Reportedly, the biggest challenge with implementing this update was enhancing the user experience as the capabilities of the AI assistant were improved drastically. 

Custom GPT on Copilot 

The popular tech news website VentureBeat shared the below post talking about a recent update that Copilot Pro users are getting – the option to build custom GPTs. Yes, this is similar to the custom GPT option on ChatGPT where users can create their own AI assistants to perform specific functions. 

Similar to OpenAI’s GPT Builder, Microsoft’s version lets users provide natural language instructions to build their GPT versions. As a result, it provides users with the ability to build tools to improve their workflow and productivity even without coding knowledge. 

Within organizations custom GPT builders like the ones offered by Microsoft and OpenAI can help enhance collaborations and automate internal tasks. 

X’s AI model Grok will soon be open source

Elon Musk took to his X page to announce that X’s new AI model Grok will soon be open-source. There’s a long-standing feud between OpenAI and X since Elon Musk has called out OpenAI for straying away from its roots of being a non-profit model. 

Musk has been very vocal when it comes to criticizing tech companies profiting from AI and treating AI mainly as a money-making tech. He co-founded OpenAI in 2015 with the objective of making AI a safe technology for users. 

In recent times, a lot of his posts have focused on highlighting how OpenAI has started prioritizing profits over responsible AI development. Amidst this, his big step of announcing his decision to make Grok open-source comes as a major breakthrough in the AI landscape. 

You can now create consistent characters on Midjourney 

Midjourney has steadily grown to become one of the most capable generative AI design tools in the market. And in a recent post they announced an upcoming update – a feature that they are working on – Character Reference. This feature will soon be made available both in MJ6 and Niji6 models. 

If you have used the Style Reference feature on Midjourney you should know that Character Reference is going to be similar to this. However, in this case, the focus is to retain the character generated and thus allow users to leverage the tool for effective visual storytelling. 

Within the feature users can choose to retain all the traits of the character or adjust the face and outfit. At the moment, the research focuses on letting users use this feature to modify characters generated on Midjourney and not other images with photos of real people. Reportedly the feature will also be made available in the web alpha version. 

Figure x OpenAI collab gives ChatGPT a body 

Figure is a popular AI robotics company known for building humanoid robots. Recently, they collaborated with OpenAI, and the result of this research is a robot, called Figure 01, that can have actual conversations with users thanks to the power of ChatGPT. 

Figure shared the below post making this announcement along with a video demonstration of Figure 01. In addition to having actual human-like conversations, Figure 01 is also seen performing simple actions based on the natural language commands from the user. When it comes to the conversations, the robot is also seen stuttering and using other cues to sound natural. 

Social Media Feature Updates and Algorithm Changes

TikTok could be banned in the US 

Ars Technica is a popular website dedicated to news in technology, science, and more. They shared the below discussing the potential ban of TikTok in the US. In fact, the potential TikTok ban has been one of the trending topics on social media these past few days. 

While the votes have not been conclusive, rumor has it that there is a good chance of the app getting banned. However, TikTok creators in the US are not all very happy about this bill that was passed. And recently, TikTok has also appealed to users to share their views and register how the platform has influenced them. We’ll have to wait and see what the fate of the platform turns out to be! 

Video is becoming a prominent content type on X 

What works on one platform might not always work on another. This is a fact that most marketers know. With X changing drastically, there’s always confusion about what actually works on the platform and what doesn’t. Recently, X shared some valuable insights regarding content consumption on the platform to help brands and creators understand what content types work well on the platform. 

Reportedly, videos are watched in 4 out of 5 user sessions on X. Additionally, the video views are also growing on X at a rate of 35% year over year. All this information shows that X is slowly transforming into a video-first platform. So, if you are looking for ways to improve your brand’s X performance, then now is a good time to invest in video content. 

X will soon launch a TV app 

Buildng on the above post, there’s yet another major update indicating that X is shifting focus to video content and that is the news about the TV app for X. 

X News Daily, the go-to-source of X-related news, shared the below insightful post discussing all the details available so far. 

With X now prioritizing video content, a TV app for the video content sounds like a good idea. This app will have to keep up with the likes of the already well-established YouTube TV app. 

There might soon be a TikTok photos app 

TikTok started out as a platform for short-form videos when Instagram was still a photo-focused platform. Slowly things took a drastic turn and Instagram started prioritizing video content in the form of Reels.

From then people have been complaining of how they miss the old Instagram and how Instagram is slowly becoming TikTok. As if this wasn’t enough, there’s news that TikTok will soon be launching a photos app as an Instagram contender. Is that enough overlap already?! 

9to5Mac recently shared a post discussing this app and the news so far. 

On another note, is it just us or does the TikTok Photos app’s logo look a lot similar to the PayPal logo? 

There are some changes coming to the YouTube TV app 

The renowned tech news website The Verge shared the below post discussing some of the crucial updates coming to the YouTube TV app. 

Apparently, the changes are focused on enhancing the viewing experience and making the interface more interactive. Similar to the website version, the YouTube TV app might soon display the comments and descriptions without interrupting the video. 

This move will also be able to better accommodate the product details section that might soon be coming to the app to help users shop for products featured in the video. 

Wrapping Up Our Social Media Highlights! 

That’s a wrap for this week’s social media deep dive. We hope you found something interesting, and insightful. Remember, this is just a glimpse into the vast landscape of social media. Blink and there’s a thousand other posts to catch up on. But don’t worry, the KIMP’s Picks series has your back! Don’t forget to join us again next week for another dose of social media inspiration. Until then, happy scrolling!

Posted On

15 Mar, 2024

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