KIMP’s Picks 28th August: Weekly Highlights In Design, Marketing, AI, & More
As a new week unfolds, we’re ready with our roundup of trending social media posts and hidden gems packed with insights into marketing, AI, graphic design, and more. We’re more than excited to share this list with you.
What is the KIMP’s Picks 28th August edition about? It is about must-know updates in marketing, tips to boost your marketing strategy, exciting updates in your favorite AI tools, new AI ventures from well-known brands, inspirational marketing and branding designs, and a whole lot more!
So, are you ready to step into a brand-new week with a quick dose of inspiration? Let’s go!
In the Marketing Realm
Nike finally responds by adding Mary Earps’ jersey
Our first post is from Fast Co Design, a great place to find business design trends and updates. This post is about Nike’s recent World Cup controversy and the brand’s response.
If you have been following the Women’s World Cup you must know about the recent Nike controversy. For a quick overview, Nike faced backlash for failing to provide replicas of England goalkeeper Mary Earps’ jerseys. The brand has finally responded to public outcry by announcing the sale of replicas of England goalkeeper Mary Earps’ jersey.
This incident comes as a quick reminder that brands should listen to customer feedback and respond promptly to address their concerns. Ignoring demands, especially around inclusivity and representation, can result in public backlash and negative brand perception.
Taking outdoor advertising to the next level, with drones
Business Week brings all the critical updates and some valuable tips from the business world. The below post from Business Week talks about a recent creative outdoor advertising campaign.
As a move to transform the banner advertising segment, Sustainable Skylines has come up with a creative twist to outdoor ads.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted approval for the first drone operation utilizing large airborne advertising banners, a concept developed by Sustainable Skylines Corp. Sustainable Skylines plans a Miami Beach demonstration before expanding to other markets, partnering with aircraft manufacturer Velary for advanced drones.
This step is a clear example of the fact that brands can leverage innovative technologies to transform traditional advertising methods, enhancing reach and cost-efficiency.
Lead scoring – quick tips for small businesses
Finding the right leads is tough but finding a good strategy to score them and segregate these leads is even tougher. If you can relate to this, you will find the below post to be resourceful.
Matt Heinz, Founder of Heinz Marketing, shared the below post that delves into the nuances of lead scoring.
From the importance of scoring leads to some of the strategies based on which the decision can be made, the featured blog covers all the foundational details.
Using Performance Max Campaigns to skyrocket your ROAS
The Google Small Business page is a great place to find all the latest information about managing your Google Business Profile and for some quick tips on local marketing and more. In the below post, Google highlights one critical feature, Performance Max Campaigns.
Performance Max is Google’s AI-based campaign type that lets advertisers access their entire Google Ads inventory in one campaign, complementing keyword-based Search campaigns. It optimizes conversions across Google’s channels using Smart Bidding and AI technologies, aligning with advertisers’ specified goals and creative assets. It covers YouTube, Display, Search, Discover, Gmail, and Maps, enhancing performance through real-time optimization.
According to Google, Never Fully Dressed, a contemporary women’s wear brand was able to skyrocket its return on ad spend (ROAS) by 890% by using Performance Max Campaigns. There are several such ways to optimize the performance of your Google Ads.
Enhancing influencer marketing
Influencer marketing has become a trend that brands cannot ignore. Because collaborating with influencers makes it easier to boost a brand’s engagement on social media. However, if you are confused about where to begin and how to make influencer marketing work for your brand then the below informative post from Semrush is for you.
From starting with competitor research to setting goals for your influencer campaigns all the way up to launching them there are tips for the whole process.
Leveraging awareness days
Brands are always on the lookout for occasions to engage with their audiences in a meaningful day. Awareness days are often seen as good opportunities for this. However, there are a lot of sentiments attached to several awareness days and some of them involve the discussion of sensitive topics. Even the slightest mismatch between the brand’s values and the awareness day’s purpose can lead to negative popularity for the brand.
On the other hand, if the brand manages to tackle these days mindfully they can provide a good boost to their customer engagement.
The below post from BuzzSumo, a leading content marketing tool, talks about building PR around awareness days. From finding the right newsworthy occasions to identifying the ones relevant to your niche, the post covers various tips for building campaigns for awareness days.
In the Content Marketing Realm
Yoast now has a generative AI tool
Yoast is one of the most popular SEO plug-ins for WordPress. So, if you are in the content management business you know the perks of using Yoast while publishing your blogs and other SEO content.
In a recent update on X, Yoast gave a quick introduction to its new generative AI feature. This feature is currently available along with the Yoast Premium subscription. The purpose of the tool is to help you quickly and conveniently generate titles and descriptions for your post.
Quick and easy ways to create YouTube Shorts
YouTube Shorts garners nearly 50 billion views per day. And this short-form video content has become a crucial way for brands to broaden their reach and keep their existing audience engaged.
Are you struggling to find the best ideas and tools to create YouTube Shorts and increase your channel visibility? Then the below tips from YouTube will be a good starting point.
What to post on social media
Finding the right content to post on your brand’s social media page can feel like a struggle. Then comes the challenge of finding content types based on your brand’s goals for each social media platform. But if you wish to decide based on what your customers are looking for then the below post from Sprout Social, a popular social media management platform, is for you.
The post gives a snapshot of the most important types of content for brands. From customer testimonials to behind-the-scenes content, customers expect brands to share a wide range of posts. These are meant to help them understand the brand and its offerings better. While posts talking about specific products and services take the lead, a good number of people also expect brands to create content that highlights the brand’s personality.
In the Graphic Design Realm
Kinetic brand identity designs
Kinetic brand identities are dynamic and adaptable brand systems. They are built to respond to different contexts and interactions. In place of static brand identity designs kinetic brand identities incorporate motion, flexibility, and interactivity.
These are meant to go beyond static logos. And they do so by including animated elements, transitions, and visual effects. The core purpose is to help brands engage audiences in more immersive and memorable ways.
Given that the digital landscape is becoming more and more visually immersive, kinetic identities are perfect ways to capture attention, enhance storytelling, and create a cohesive brand experience across various platforms. For all of these reasons, kinetic brand identities have become an essential element for brands aiming to stand out and forge meaningful connections with their audiences.
The Brand Identity is an online resource where you can find all the latest branding design inspiration. The below post was shared on their page featuring creative kinetic brand identities. This can be a great post to gather ideas and start working on your own.
The Reverse Double Diamond option in the design process
The Double Diamond is a design process framework that gives a visual model for the design process. It emphasizes divergent and convergent thinking at different stages of problem-solving.
There are 4 key phases defined according to the Double Diamond – discover, define, develop, and deliver. While this is a popular concept that most designers are aware of, the below post from Smashing Magazine is sure to challenge your perspectives. It talks about the Reverse Design Diamond process where you develop and deliver first and then gather insights and improve the design.
Getting creative with your ad designs
To promote the BIGGER art book fair in Shenzhen, a creative installation was created. This includes a simple design made extra-ordinary through the use of the right method of execution.
Type-focused design magazine TYPE01, shared the below post as a source of inspiration for designers and marketers. It highlights a campaign through the use of 264 books meticulously arranged to bring the design to life.
This shows how the simplest design can take so much more meaning when you execute it right and use the right medium for the execution.
A medley of colors
Letterform Archive shares the best designs from design archives around the world. So, if you are looking for a quick creative break, this page has plenty of posts to scroll through. The below post was shared last week and it features a decades-old design created by Marget Larsen for Du Pont’s Color Council.
From the unique choice of colors to the creation of the eye-grabbing texture through these colors, every little detail about the design is worth exploring. The design also brings several critical lessons in color contrast and the use of shapes to deliver the message in the most visually engaging manner.
Where are all the colors in the brand logos?
Recently, the graphic design realm has been seeing a lot of unexpected turns of events. Trends that were thought to make a buzz faded away quickly and some unexpected trends took center stage.
Print Magazine highlighted one such trend in the below post. From TikTok to Uber as well as the recent Threads app and rebranded X, everywhere we are seeing black and white logos. While some might argue that the designs are starting to look the same, there is an inherent practicality in going with neutral color schemes like black and white that some brands benefit from.
The featured post takes a deep dive into this discussion.
Make the most of Canva TypeCraft
To leverage Canva to its fullest, you should know the right Canva apps to tap into. Apps are available within Canva to edit your designs and add interesting details quickly and easily. One such app to explore is TypeCraft. Canva talks about this app in the below post.
TypeCraft is an easy-to-use tool that lets you style the text in your design creatively. It lets you warp and twist your text in the most impressive ways to give your design a fresh look.
Finding it hard to customize your Canva designs? Get a KIMP for Canva subscription.
In the AI Realm
OpenAI x Scale – for GPT-3.5 fine-tuning
OpenAI has been busy fine-tuning GPT-3.5 for enterprises. And in this process, it has announced a collaboration with Scale. This partnership is focused on combining Scale’s expertise in fine-tuning and the capabilities of GPT-3.5 to create a more productive tool for catering to the specific needs of large enterprises.
OpenAI announced this collaboration in the below post.
Midjourney’s new feature update – Vary (Region)
Midjourney has grown to become one of the most popular AI-generators in the creative segment. There have been a lot of new updates added to boost the capabilities of the tool.
In a recent announcement, Midjourney introduced a new feature called Vary (Region).
This feature lets you play with specific parts of the generated image. The option is displayed once you select and upscale one of the 4 generated designs for your prompt. In addition to Vary (Region), Vary (Subtle) and Vary (Strong) are the other options available.
On selecting the Vary (Region) option the tool lets you select specific portions within the design. And then you can add your text prompt to regenerate the selected part and thus tweak your design to your liking.
More new generative AI updates from Google
Google’s AI-powered Search Generative Experience (SGE) has received a warm welcome. And keeping up with the reception, Google has been continuously refining the interface for a better search experience. Last week Google announced more new generative AI features to help users comprehend the search results better.
This update is meant to help users learn from every Search and quickly grasp the displayed information and process the data. This is achieved by providing definitions within Search, and better coding-related information.
Social Media Feature Updates and Algorithm Changes
Ads in TikTok search
With over 100 million monthly active users in the U.S. alone, TikTok is one of the top social media platforms for brands to focus on. The concept of search ads is not new but it is new on TikTok. The below post shows a recent announcement from TikTok that permits brands to display ads in search.
To use this feature, look for the Search Ads Toggle when you create your TikTok ads. The best part is that your current In-Feed ad can be repurposed to display along with other ads displayed on the search page. Like other ads, these will also display the “Sponsored” label for establishing transparency.
X’s new media improvements
X is changing rapidly – whether we like it or not! But we cannot deny that some of the new updates have been good. As an example for this, X summarized some of the most recent media improvements brought to the platform in the below post.
This includes the introduction of video controls, automatic captioning for trending videos, an immersive video player on the mobile app, and a resourceful media studio among others. All of these are meant to improve the content experience on X.
Threads on Web
The Threads app became an overnight sensation but saw a steep downfall in usage within a week. On the whole, things have been pretty unpredictable with Threads. However, the team has been busy bringing all the new updates that users have been requesting.
One of the biggest announcements from the team came last week – possibly one of the most anticipated features – Threads on Web. Yes, you can finally access Threads from a desktop web browser.
Post by @threadsView on Threads
Threads on Web packs a good number of features including the option to add posts, repost content, view notifications, and other basic options.
LinkedIn Newsletter creation gets better
Several businesses especially those in the B2B realm capitalize on LinkedIn for lead generation. One of the most popular strategies in this respect is newsletter creation. LinkedIn is bringing a lot of new updates to the newsletter creation interface.
Social Media Today, an online resource for all the important social media updates, shared the below post discussing these updates.
As a response to user feedback regarding the old newsletter creation UI, LinkedIn has updated the interface incorporating many new functional updates. Additionally, the option to add several newsletters is also anticipated to come to the platform soon.
A possible UI update on X
X News Daily brings all the latest discussions and updates concerning X. In a recent post, X News Daily spoke about a UI update that’s likely to come to X.
Responding to a user’s post, Elon Musk hinted at a possible update to the UI to accommodate the suggestions and to make the interface more user-friendly. This was about the bottom navigation bar on the platform.
If you haven’t noticed this already the latest update of the app introduced a sticky bottom navigation bar becoming translucent as you scroll down. While this is a functional inclusion, it does compromise on the aesthetics a little. When a user pointed this out, Elon Musk responded that there might be an update coming for this.
This post and the above are both examples of the need for brands to stay vigilant and listen to customer feedback about UI design. Because at the end of the day, even if you have the best content, if the UI is not user-friendly, it affects the experience.
Need help refining your UI design to create more user-focused experiences? Get KIMP!
Farewell!
And now it’s time for the virtual curtains to draw close. We hope that these posts gave you all the inspiration you needed to kickstart the week. From useful social media updates to resourceful marketing discussions, this week had it all. Stay tuned for more captivating trends, insights, and creativity in the realms of marketing, AI, and graphic design next Monday. Until then, keep pushing the boundaries!