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KIMP’s Picks 9th February: Weekly Highlights In Design, Marketing, AI, & More

Work week got you swamped? Worried that you missed all the intriguing conversations, updates, and other social media chatter from this past week? Don’t sweat it! We’ve rounded up some of the share-worthy ones in the KIMP’s Picks 9th February Edition. 

Marketing news, AI updates, design inspiration, and more. If you are looking for a quick end-of-the-week catch-up on the most interesting things discussed by netizens, look no further! So, shall we begin? 

In the Marketing Realm 

How has Demand Gen changed advertising? 

Last year Google introduced Demand Gen as a major leap in Google Advertising. So, how has the update changed advertising? Are there brands that have witnessed significant changes in their performance since the shift? The below post from Google Ads answers these questions and more. 

Reportedly, Toyota witnessed an 83% increase in their CTR through Demand Gen campaigns and telecommunication brand Swisscom experienced a 36% increase in their CTR. this comes as good news because, with the changes in the digital marketing landscape, advertisers are facing new challenges. So, tools like Demand Gen allow a more seamless experience that engages customers and benefits advertisers. 

Understanding inbound marketing 

Popular online marketing platform Semrush shared the below insightful post that discusses inbound marketing. 

The post starts with a brief discussion on the differences between inbound and outbound marketing and then goes on to talk about the advantages and limitations of the former. There are also tips about the four stages of inbound marketing and some hacks for brands to execute them. So, if you are working on your inbound marketing strategies then this is a worthy read! 

Microsoft’s new Super Bowl ad is a lesson in storytelling 

Brands are going big on their Super Bowl campaigns this year and this topic has been the buzz on social media for a few weeks now. Brand campaigns, teasers of the upcoming ads for the big game and so much more! And now Microsoft’s Super Bowl ad promoting Copilot is something that several marketers and creatives are discussing on social media. 

What makes this ad special? It’s an excellent example of storytelling. The ad shows the product in action and depicts Copilot as a tool that serves as an everyday companion. It promotes this AI tool as one that empowers creators to do more and achieve more. 

The ad also features people using the tool in various scenarios so as to ensure that the message resonates with a wider audience. While the ad itself is about technology, it focuses more on the human side of the tech in order to make a lasting impact on the audience. This shows the need for creating ads that make an emotional connection with the audience especially when creating one for a competitive season like the big game season. 

A creative marketing campaign inspiration 

As brands are battling for a few seconds of screen space during the Super Bowl, some brands manage to create buzz without spending a huge budget. And one such brand is Liquid Death, a popular canned water brand. Ad Age Creativity spotlighted this campaign in the below post. 

Liquid Death came up with one of the most creative campaign ideas hijacking the Super Bowl advertising fever that persists currently. 

Through the campaign, Liquid Death is inviting brands to advertise their products on about half a million of their packaging boxes. And for brands to participate in this, Liquid Death is auctioning the ad space through eBay with the bid starting as low as $500. For brands looking to hop on the Super Bowl buzz but not willing to spend a big sum, this is a good opportunity. That’s one way to take part in cross-promotions and definitely an effective way to get people to talk about your brand! Brownie points for the out-of-the-box idea! (no pun intended!)

Pepsi’s new Super Bowl campaign at Las Vegas 

This next one is an ad inspiration too! After all, busy advertising seasons like this one bring a lot of creative ideas to the table and brands can take away valuable marketing lessons from them. 

Ads Of The World featured a recent outdoor campaign from Pepsi in the below post. The Las Vegas Sphere is one of the most creative outdoor advertising spaces in the world. Pepsi recently advertised on the sphere inviting users to take part in the Pepsi Big Game Vault. As an event filled with engaging fan activities, this is meant to be a memorable experience focused on football fans. 

This campaign shows the importance of coming up with innovative campaign ideas combined with the right timing to engage the audience and gain media coverage in the process. 

In the Content Marketing Realm 

Peculiar search trends in Super Bowl season 

Google Trends is a great place to identify evolving trends and in turn, identify content ideas as well. In a post they shared recently, they spoke about the increase in searches for Roman Numerals close to the Super Bowl season. 

After all, as it turns out, there are a lot of people who find the Roman Numerals used to indicate the Super Bowl season number. In fact, Heinz came up with a campaign taking a dig at this. 

What can you make of the trends you observe on Google Trends? How can you tap into these details for your campaigns? The next post discusses that. 

Leveraging Google Trends in content marketing 

Search Engine Journal is a great place to find information and ideas about all the new Search-related updates. They shared the below post, a resourceful one, discussing how you can use Google Trends in your content marketing efforts. 

We discussed a trend from Google Trends in the previous section, for example. Understanding such trends means that you know what people are searching for, and what the internet is talking about. That gives you plenty of insights to create content that aligns with current trends. 

The post discusses how to make the most of Google Trends, what to look for on the platform, and how to use it for SEO and content marketing. So, if you are looking for content ideas, this is a good place to start. 

The Doodle For Google Contest shows how to leverage user-generated content 

User-generated content is one of the most valuable content types for businesses big and small. Because with UGC, brands can build authenticity by letting real customers’ stories speak for themselves. A good example of this is Google’s #DoodleForGoogle contest. In the post below, they announced the upcoming edition of this contest. 

By letting users participate and then sharing the best works from creators, Google creates a sense of community. And for brands of such scale, efforts like this one also help humanize the brand. Moreover, the fact that this campaign calls for entries from young artists shows how the brand creatively diversifies its approach to suit its wide and varied audience segments. 

YouTube is a place where trends emerge 

A while ago, we spoke about creating content that aligns with trends. This next post from YouTube Advertisers builds on this concept. It talks about capitalizing on trends especially to appeal to Gen Z users. It particularly discusses the effectiveness of audio content like trending audio tracks in social media videos in order to grab the attention of Gen Zers. The video also discusses the pivotal role played by YouTube in nurturing such trends. 

The fact that TikTok and other social media platforms and the trends they nurture have resulted in various old music numbers gaining popularity again proves that music continues to be a crucial part of today’s marketing efforts. Especially when the goal is to engage a young audience effectively. 

Making the most of off-page SEO 

The popular SEO software platform Moz shared the below post discussing off-page SEO which is an imperative component in content marketing. The post introduces the concept of off-page SEO for beginners and then talks about its importance and how it works. 

By providing several examples from popular brands the post also delves into some useful strategies for brands to explore in order to boost their off-page SEO performance. 

In the Design Realm

Some quick Adobe Illustrator tips 

All of Adobe’s tools have changed drastically over the past few months, especially with Firefly introducing a lot of new AI capabilities into the Adobe ecosystem. So, if you are someone who uses Illustrator in your design workflow or if you are working with a team that uses Illustrator, then understanding the latest features and tips and tricks can help. 

The below post from Adobe gives a quick preview of some of the recent features on the platform and some easy hacks to explore them. So, if you are looking for a quick refresher, check this out. 

Microsoft Designer now simplifies sticker design 

Microsoft Designer is one of the most popular AI design tools that lets you create a variety of design types quickly and easily. In a recent post, they announced the introduction of a Sticker Creator within the tool. 

This feature lets you instantly create stickers that can easily be exported and embedded in designs like social media posts. These stickers can also be created simply using text prompts similar to the design creation process for the rest of the design types the platform supports. The Sticker Creator is powered by DALL·E 3, one of the most advanced generative AI models for image generation from OpenAI. 

The art of simplicity in design 

Less is more in marketing designs, in several cases. And the below post effortlessly establishes this fact. It shows how you do not need several details or the most intricate designs to deliver a strong message. 

Because Of Marketing is a great page to refer to when you need some quick marketing inspiration. They threw the spotlight on a McDonald’s campaign in the below post. Designed for the brand’s outdoor campaigns in the UK, this design features Sausage & Egg McMuffin, one of the most loved breakfast menu items in the country. By using an easily recognizable symbol and by simplifying the design the brand ensures that the ad is intriguing and effective. 

Canva at work 

Several organizations now use Canva in their workflow – to handle marketing graphics as well as to create quick internal designs like presentation decks and infographics. There are many ways in which businesses can benefit from this design tool. And there have also been several new features introduced into the platform these past few months. 

In the below post, Canva summarizes some of the business applications of Canva. It talks about some of the most useful features that can simplify the workflows of businesses that incorporate Canva into their processes. From catchy presentations to whiteboards for brainstorming and Docs that help visualize the ideas better and instantly templates for social media posts and videos the post covers various useful features to explore. 

Looking to work with a Canva designer to save time and effort? Get a KIMP for Canva subscription. 

Generating QR codes in Adobe Express 

There are several ways to include your contact details and embed your CTA into your design. But when you want to bridge the gap between the physical and digital platforms, then including QR codes is one way to do it. Businesses use QR codes in print designs as well as digital designs to effortlessly include their contact details and other useful links. 

QR codes are valuable assets because they encourage users to interact with your ad by picking up their phone and scanning the code. Wondering how to include QR codes in your designs? Adobe tells you how do do that on Adobe Express in the below post. 

In the AI Realm 

Apple introduces MGIE: AI-Powered image editing

Apple is undeniably one of the biggest names in the world of tech. But in the world of AI, Apple is yet to make its mark. Perhaps this new development is an indication that Apple is making progress. 

Apple Insider, a credible source of Apple-related updates and insights shared the below post discussing a recent AI development from Apple. Reportedly, Apple is collaborating with researchers from the University of California and has released a multi-modal model called MLLM-Guided Image Editing (MGIE). 

This is a model that lets users edit images with simple text commands. The model is reportedly trained to infer even the simplest commands and convert them into detailed instructions so as to deliver a more sensible image editing process. 

Microsoft celebrates one year of AI-powered experiences with Copilot updates 

While AI is a decades-old technology, this past year has proven to be transformative in terms of the progress of this tech. Brands have made some major investments and there have been plenty of everyday tools introduced in the segment. Microsoft has been a pioneer in this space and recently they celebrated their first year in creating AI experiences. 

What started out as Bing Chat now stands as a powerful AI assistant called Copilot and reportedly, over the year the system has managed to deliver about 5 billion chats and 5 billion images. 

Additionally, Microsoft has also announced that there are some big updates coming to copilot including interface changes to make it easier for users to access all the new features along with the simplicity of accessing prompts. The changes are meant to showcase the versatility of Copilot and let even beginners make the most of it. 

OpenAI introduces C2PA Metadata in ChatGPT generated images

In a recent post, OpenAI announced that images generated on ChatGPT will now carry C2PA Metadata. Given the increasing concerns about deepfakes and the lack of clarity in tracing image sources, OpenAI has announced that AI-generated images created using OpenAI tools will carry  Metadata that clearly indicates where the image was generated. This is to introduce more transparency and avoid misuse of the tool. 

As of now, the metadata addition is only introduced for images generated on ChatGPT and not for voice and text. 

Roblox’s real-time chat translation is meant to break language barriers 

Roblox is tapping into AI to make the gaming experience more immersive and user-friendly. In a recent update, they introduced real-time chat translation. This utilizes AI to provide instant translation within the chat interface so as to allow gamers to communicate with other gamers from around the world without language barriers. 

Reportedly, the system can handle the translation of over 16 languages at the moment. Measures like these show how AI can creatively be leveraged to improve accessibility and inclusivity. 

Bard is now Gemini!

Last week there were speculations that Google will soon be releasing Gemini Ultra and a rebranded version of Bard. The announcement came at last. And now Bard has been rebranded to Gemini. Google has also added a paid subscription model called Gemini Advanced with the Ultra 1.0 model. Google is currently also offering this as a part of the Google One AI Premium Plan for $19.99/month along with a 2-month free trial!

Another big news is that Google has also released a mobile app version of Gemini both for Android and iOS. Have you explored these changes yet?

Social Media Feature Updates and Algorithm Changes

X finally brings the Similar Posts feature to their Android app 

A few months ago X introduced the Similar Posts feature. As the name indicates, this one utilizes a recommendation engine to provide users with post recommendations based on the posts they view and interact with. This is to personalize the experience and help users find what interests them. 

This feature was not available in the Android app version of X until recently. X News Daily, a go-to source of X-related news shared the below post giving a peek into the feature finally arriving on the X Android app. But yes, like many other features, this one is currently made available exclusively to X Premium users. Have you tried it yet? 

Facebook might soon let you generate captions with AI 

Generating text is one of the most used applications of generative AI in recent times. Several content writers and marketers use AI tools like ChatGPT and Google’s Bard to generate text – be it copy for their posts or the captions to go with them. And we know well that post captions are crucial in boosting the reach and engagement of a post. Relevant captions ensure that the post delivers the message clearly and to the right audience. 

So reportedly Facebook is working on introducing generative AI into the platform to let users generate captions for their posts. Social Media Today, an online publication of social media-related news and updates shared the below post suggesting that Facebook is working on introducing this generative AI feature for captions soon. 

Things to know about Bluesky 

Bluesky is perhaps a name you are hearing about quite a lot recently on social media. This new social media platform has been gaining momentum steadily for a while now. But earlier, it was an invite-only space and there was a limited number of users on the platform. Recently, Bluesky went public and since then there has been a lot of talk about this platform.  

Amidst this, if you are new to Bluesky or if you are planning to explore the platform for the first time, then it helps to understand the features. Buffer, a popular social media toolkit for small businesses shared the below post discussing Bluesky at length. It covers a whole lot of fundamental features from moderation to interaction, personalization and user experience. The post also briefly discusses the differences between this new social media platform and its close competitors Threads and X. 

WhatsApp to soon support third-party chats 

Messenger apps are becoming increasingly popular in marketing because they help brands directly communicate with their consumers. And there is no dearth of options when it comes to messaging apps in the social media landscape. WhatsApp is one of the most popular among them. 

Reportedly, WhatsApp has been working on some updates that will allow the platform to support third-party chats. In other words, businesses might be able to soon communicate through WhatsApp directly from other third-party applications supported. 

LinkedIn’s chatbot interface to simplify job search 

LinkedIn has been quite active in seamlessly integrating AI into the platform. A recent advancement is their chatbot for job seekers. The Wired magazine recently shared a post that discusses how useful LinkedIn’s chatbot can be to jobseekers. 

This chatbot is designed to analyze the job posting and your profile and describe how well your profile aligns with the requirements and also suggest the best job postings that match your profile. This can save job seekers a lot of time and also ensure that they do not apply for irrelevant jobs. 

A Few Parting Words!

That’s all we have for the KIMP’s Picks 9th February Edition. We hope these posts gave you a quick escape into the world of social media. But yes, it’s a busy world out there and there is always something new to check out. Don’t worry about missing anything in the social media vortex. We’ll be back with another weekly roundup next week! 

Posted On

09 Feb, 2024

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