KIMP’s Picks 21st February: Weekly Highlights In Design, Marketing, AI, & More
Playing catch-up with the social media buzz is no easy feat. But then you cannot risk missing out on all the big news in the AI industry, social media algorithm changes, and other developments that get discussed on social media either! So, what can you do to stay in the loop without endlessly scrolling through? Say hello to KIMP’s Picks. Your weekly social media recap.
Every Friday we bring to you a handpicked list of share-worthy social media posts to give you a preview of the week that was. So, are you ready for this week’s round-up? Let’s get started.
In the Marketing Realm
Generating lifestyle imagery on Google Ads is now easier than ever
Google has rolled out a bunch of innovative creative tools in Google Ads. These new tools allow advertisers to generate highly engaging, lifestyle-focused imagery using generative AI.
These updates aim to help brands create more personalized and effective ad campaigns, ensuring they resonate with diverse audiences and drive better performance. Advertisers can use text prompts to generate images, specifying details like age, gender, race, ethnicity, and nationality to tailor visuals to their target audience.
This tool, powered by the latest Imagen 3 model, is now integrated across Performance Max, Demand Gen, Display, and Apps campaigns.
Get ready to unlock the potential of Performace Max campaigns
Performance Max campaigns are some of the most popular campaign types. But their “black box” nature can make optimization challenging.
While budget and bidding adjustments are important, maximizing PMax ROI hinges on improving data inputs and leveraging actionable insights. Search Engine Land outlines four key strategies for achieving this.
The first strategy focuses on optimizing search term coverage. Secondly, to achieve better control over your campaigns, expand your Search Term coverage. Add more terms to improve the accuracy of campaigns and targeting.
Thirdly, analyze metrics to understand the performance of diverse asset groups and find the right mix to let your message stand out. Finally, the article talks about optimizing shopping feeds for better impact.
Social media metrics that matter
Brands today know the importance of investing in social media strategy. But one thing they miss out on is tracking the right metrics. While the focus is mostly on superficial numbers like likes and follower counts, the metrics that truly matter to brands can vary from one brand to another.
Search Engine Journal, a leading authority on search news discusses some of the metrics that actually matter in marketing.
The post highlights the significance of engagement metrics like comments that allow brands to get instant feedback from their audience and sentiments to understand how the brand’s content and the brand make their customers feel and respond.
It also explores conversion metrics like click-through rates, sales and customer retention metrics like repeat purchases and loyalty. The post also delves into some useful tools to track and understand these metrics better.
Talking about crucial metrics, this next post from HubSpot explores some useful engagement statistics for brands on Instagram.
Understanding engagement on Instagram
HubSpot recently shared their Instagram Engagement Report. The report outlines some useful information about marketing via Instagram. It highlights the fact that Instagram is the second most used platform for B2B and B2B businesses alike and how this is one of the most effective platforms for engagement.
It also explores the post formats that work on the platform and the type of engagement that each type of post brings. So, if you are working on fine-tuning your social media strategy, do check out the HubSpot Instagram Engagement Report.
In the Content Marketing Realm
Leveraging X for the fashion niche
Social media can be a powerful tool when targeting niche audiences. Particularly when it comes to cultural events like popular sporting events or even fashion events.
In a recent post, X discussed the growing popularity of fashion-related content in recent times with the fashion month gaining momentum. Events like the New York Fashion Week lead to brands sharing updates and event-related news on X. Hence this has become a popular space for brands and customers to connect over shared interests.
Take the fashion and beauty niche for instance. Reportedly, in the year 2024 alone, the total volume of posts discussing this niche was over 635 million with more than 8.7 billion video views within the niche. So, if you are looking for some content ideas for this month, tap into this data and see how you can use that to your advantage.
Tips & tricks to repurpose content
Semrush shared a post discussing content repurposing. The post particularly talks about taking your old articles and repurposing them into videos. Given that videos are some of the most popular formats on most social media platforms, hacks to repurpose existing content into videos can be quite handy.
The post explores the nuances of using HubSpot’s AI Social Content Generator to get the job done and the steps involved. It also delves into the AI Video Marketing Automator tool from HubSpot and how it can be used to create simple explainer videos.
So, if you are new to article-to-video generators and wondering how to make the most of them, then this is a great read.
In the Design Realm
Adobe Photoshop turns 35
Adobe recently shared a post celebrating 35 years of innovation with Photoshop. The journey began in 1990 and over the decades, the software has transformed the creative landscape, empowering designers, photographers, and artists around the world to push the limits of digital imaging and design.
From its humble beginnings to today’s sophisticated suite of tools including its state-of-the-art AI capabilities, Photoshop has continuously evolved to meet the changing needs of its global creative community.
The post is a celebration of various critical milestones that have shaped the journey of Photoshop leading it to where it is today. And how it has evolved into a market leader in the creative space.
Exploring text effects in Adobe Express
Using text effects in design is not a new concept. Vibrant text effects have their way of breathing new life into designs. With AI this step has become much more exciting and more customizable. Adobe shared a post discussing AI text effects on the Adobe Express platform.
The AI text effect generation feature on Adobe Express has revolutionized the way creatives experiment with typography. This feature lets you add simple text prompts to describe the texture and color of your text effect and instantly creates text aligning with your requirements. Have you tried the text effect generator on Adobe Express?
Liverpool F.C. has a new look
Liverpool FC is ushering in a fresh era by putting the legendary liver bird at the forefront of its visual identity. This mythic emblem, historically associated with the city and club, now holds a more prominent role across key touchpoints. From stadium wraps to the club’s website, app, and social media platforms, you’ll find the extensive use of this emblem.
The refreshed identity isn’t just about the bird. Liverpool has also introduced two custom typefaces: LFC Serif, an elongated display font, and LFC Sans, a more compact, functional style. The new identity is all set to make a statement.
The league has already started using the refreshed identity across social media channels and more applications are to follow. Liverpool’s approach underscores the value of balancing heritage with modern digital demands.
Rebranding inspiration
Tezza, a photo and video editing app has captivated over 2.5 million monthly users and garnered more than 25 million downloads since its 2018 debut. Print Magazine discusses Tezza’s rebranding in the post below.
The comprehensive brand refresh repositions Tezza as an essential, artist-first hub, elevating it beyond a mere tool to a vibrant creative destination.
The rebrand draws inspiration heavily from the polished aesthetics of high-fashion magazines. As can be seen in the article, custom typography takes center stage with a duo of typefaces, one elegant and elongated, the other modern and compact, crafted to mirror the organic curves and crisp angles reminiscent of artistic imagery.
The revamped color scheme features chic cream and tan tones with bold accents, evoking a sense of timeless editorial sophistication while keeping the design fresh and accessible.
The rebranding project for Tezza and their approach to evolving their design highlight the need for staying up-to-date in an evolving market. And the need to create a cohesive design system that can holistically represent your brand across diverse touchpoints.
Grok gets a new look
Elon Musk recently announced the launch of their most sophisticated AI model yet, Grok 3 (more on this later). Shortly after the launch of this update, he also unveiled a refreshed identity, a new logo for Grok. This new logo looks intriguing with a unique play on the letter G and it also carries the tagline “To Understand”.
According to the post here, the idea was to create a design that draws inspiration from the concepts of “singularity” and “black hole”. And as you can see, the new design clearly draws inspiration from the Gargantua black hole.
Moreover, the sleek and adaptable style of the new logo also makes it fit beautifully into the X ecosystem working cohesively with the other logos within it.
In the AI Realm
Meet Grok 3 – the next big thing in the world of AI
Since last week there have been a lot of speculations about the next big update from xAI to tackle the buzz around recent AI developments like DeepSeek. Finally, as an answer to all these speculations, xAI has unveiled their most advanced AI model yet, Grok 3.
According to xAI, Grok 3 is currently available even to Free users until server demand skyrockets. After this, X Premium+ and SuperGrok users will have access to more new features coming to Grok 3.
The model introduces two groundbreaking features: DeepSearch, which swiftly sifts through complex and sometimes conflicting data and presents them as clear insights. And second one is Think, a dedicated reasoning mode designed to tackle intricate problems by refining its approach through extended computation.
To ensure efficiency and speed, this model is reportedly trained on xAI’s powerful Colossus supercluster with ten times the computing power of its predecessors.
Perplexity unveils Deep Research
Did you observe the pattern? First, there were AI models that could answer based on historical datasets they were trained on. Then came the age of AI models that can browse the internet to provide more current information. Now it’s all about better reasoning abilities. Aligning with this trend, Perplexity has announced the introduction of Deep Research functionality within their platform.
Designed to generate comprehensive, in-depth reports on any topic, Deep Research lets users perform expert-level analysis across diverse fields. Non-subscribers can enjoy up to 5 queries per day, while Pro users benefit from an impressive 500 queries daily.
According to Perplexity, the tool stands out by outperforming top models, boasting a 93.9% accuracy rate on the SimpleQA benchmark, and excelling in complex evaluations like Humanity’s Last Exam.
Google revolutionizes scientific discovery with AI co-scientist
Google recently announced AI co-scientist – a multi-agent system powered by Gemini 2.0. This system is designed to fast-track scientific breakthroughs.
It is an innovative virtual collaborator built to generate novel hypotheses and comprehensive research proposals, mirroring the rigorous process of the scientific method.
Unlike standard literature review tools, this system is designed to uncover new knowledge and formulate original research hypotheses and proposals tailored to specific research objectives.
Google’s AI co-scientist highlights the growing potential of AI to revolutionize complex fields.
Fiverr integrates AI into the freelancer’s workflow
Fiverr is one of the leading freelance marketplaces. In a recent post, they announced the introduction of an AI suite for freelancers called Fiverr Go.
Fiverr Go allows freelancers to create and train AI models based on their own work. This platform enables gig workers to earn from AI-generated outputs while retaining control over their creative processes and intellectual property.
Fiverr Go aims to amplify human creativity rather than replace it, ensuring creators receive proper credit and compensation.
Firstly, there is the Personal AI Model Creation tool which lets freelancers generate images and copy. Second is the Personal AI Assistant which learns from past interactions and user preferences, streamlining communication by handling routine queries and even providing actionable business insights.
AI-powered dubbing made possible with ElevenLabs
Last week we discussed how ElevenLabs has transformed filmmaking with the AI-powered voice tools that come in handy in film production. This week, there’s yet another innovation from ElevenLabs demonstrating how rapidly AI is evolving and expanding into diverse markets.
Poland is setting a new standard for government communications under its Presidency of the Council of the EU by introducing AI-powered dubbing for press conferences. Over the next six months, press conferences will be available in Polish, English, and French, making critical policy discussions more accessible across Europe.
This has been made possible thanks to ElevenLabs’ AI Voices. This innovative system ensures that the original tone and cadence of each speaker are preserved, whether through pre-selected AI voices or carefully cloned versions, with explicit consent from the speakers. Applications like these demonstrate the endless possibilities of AI.
Social Media Feature Updates and Algorithm Changes
Veo 2 brings AI-video generation capabilities to Shorts
YouTube has been consistently upgrading its popular short-form video format, Shorts. Next in the line of crucial updates is the Veo 2 integration.
Building on last year’s success with Dream Screen (which enabled creators to generate unique AI backgrounds from text prompts) and other AI updates to the platform, the new upgrade integrates Google DeepMind’s latest video generation model, Veo 2.
Integration of Veo 2 not only speeds up video creation but also brings state-of-the-art realism to generated content, accurately mimicking real-world physics and human movement.
This allows creators to instantly generate clips from text prompts and blend them seamlessly into their content. But yes, to maintain transparency, all AI-generated clips come with SynthID watermarks and clear labels. The feature is currently available to creators in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
A year of significant growth for TikTok Live
We live in times when dominating the social media landscape means investing heavily in video content. And that’s not enough. You also need to regularly host live streams to consistently engage your audience. The post here from TikTok reiterates the importance of live streaming on social media.
According to TikTok, in 2024, over 100 million creators went LIVE, with more than 46 million new broadcasters joining the journey. Billions of viewers tuned in, generating a staggering 269 billion chats – a clear testament to the platform’s explosive growth and the demand for live content. This vibrant ecosystem helped 250,000 creators double their income year-on-year, while nearly 3,000 new gift options deepened monetization opportunities.
These numbers emphasize the fact that for brands, TikTok LIVE offers a unique opportunity to engage with a passionate, global audience in authentic and impactful ways.
TikTok introduces Automotive Ads to drive car sales
TikTok has announced a new product in advertising particularly optimized for automotive advertisers. Taking into account that automotive advertising is challenging considering the long buyer journey and heavy spending, personalized marketing strategies are more important than ever.
Without personalization, traditional advertising platforms seem to yield less returns.
Therefore, TikTok is introducing Automotive Ads to connect the TikTok community with the right vehicles that meet their needs and preferences.
TikTok Automotive Ads are here! 🚘 Introducing a new performance ad solution where advertisers can use their current car catalog to target high-intent users with the right car, at the right time. Learn more 👇 https://t.co/yZs1CeaEc6 pic.twitter.com/xDqD39BnXf
— TikTokComms (@TikTokComms) February 19, 2025
New DM features on Instagram
Instagram is making DMs more engaging with a set of new features. To begin with, there is the translate feature that lets creators instantly translate messages and break communication barriers when communicating with their communities.
Secondly, there is also the option to share songs from the Sticker tray and this sends a 30-second preview of the selected song. The other new option is to schedule messages. Then there is the option to pin specific messages within a chat. Finally, there are QR codes for group chats to allow group admins to invite more people into the group.
Farewell!
That brings us to the close of the KIMP’s Picks 21st February Edition. We hope you got a clear preview of the week from these posts. For more such updates and to be sure that you get all the latest social media buzz, stay tuned and we’ll be back with the next edition of KIMP’s Picks.
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