KIMP’s Picks 24th January: Weekly Highlights In Design, Marketing, AI, & More
Staying up to date with all the social media chatter can feel like a full-time job. Sounds relatable? Then the KIMP’s Picks is for you.
The KIMP’s Picks is your curated guide to the shareworthy social media posts from this past week. We sift through the noise to bring you updates about the latest AI advancements, innovative marketing campaigns, cutting-edge design trends, and essential algorithm updates.
Whether you’re a marketer, designer, or just someone who loves staying informed, there’s something here for everyone.
Ready to catch up on this week’s roundup in just minutes? Let’s get started!
In the Marketing Realm
The power of advocacy marketing
TikTok shared a post discussing their community initiatives from 2024. From partnering with WHO to promote mental health awareness through authoritative content and joining forces with Verified4Climate to combat climate misinformation by elevating credible voices, the post discusses diverse measures from TikTok.
This post from TikTok highlights the power of purpose-driven initiatives. It shows that businesses big and small need to put serious thought into making a difference, and taking a stand rather than merely focusing on their products and services.
Tapping into teaser advertising
Super Bowl and other big gaming events have become major marketing moments. Brands are gearing up for the big moment and marketers are scrambling for inspiration from these brands. Ads of the World shared a post featuring a teaser for the Big Game commercial from Totino’s Pizza Rolls.
Totino’s Pizza Rolls is bringing back the laughs with a star-studded Big Game commercial featuring iconic comedy duo Tim Robinson and Sam Richardson.
The ad aims to highlight the snackability of Totino’s Pizza Rolls in a unique and creative way. This ad marks Totino’s first-ever Big Game appearance and General Mills’ first in over a decade. This could possibly mean a major push to connect with audiences through humor and nostalgia.
Campaigns like this one reiterate the benefits of trendjacking or tapping into historic moments like the Super Bowl. This campaign in particular highlights the power of teaser advertising and storytelling.
Changes coming to Google Ads
Google Ads is reportedly phasing out the Maximum Cost-Per-View (CPV) bidding strategy for new Video View Campaigns, replacing it with the more flexible Target CPV model. This update allows advertisers to set precise cost-per-view targets, offering better control over budgets and campaign performance.
Search Engine Land, one of the most popular resources for search-related news and updates shared a post discussing these updates coming to Google Ads.
According to Google, this approach can deliver up to 40% more views for the same budget compared to single-format campaigns. This shift highlights the need to reevaluate video ad strategies.
Paid ad spending trends
Social media paid ads are some of the most popular components in the competitive marketing space. MarTech, a great place to find marketing insights and news, shared a post discussing some crucial trends in social media ad spending.
Reportedly, Meta experienced a strong close to 2024, with ad spending rising 15% in Q4 compared to the previous year. This shows the platform’s dominance in the digital advertising space.
Meanwhile, ad spending on TikTok dropped significantly by 51% year-over-year in Q4 amid uncertainties surrounding its U.S. operations. Despite this dip, TikTok saw an overall annual increase of 27%, driven by strong performance earlier in the year, including a $4.8 billion ad spend total.
These trends highlight the importance of diversifying ad spending across platforms to maximize reach and efficiency.
In the Content Marketing Realm
What the links displayed in ChatGPT search mean for brands
Search Engine Journal shared an insightful discussion discussing the links displayed on ChatGPT and what these mean for brands.
Brands are noticing a rise in website traffic and sales from AI-driven search tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini, as users seem to be clicking on the displayed links. Reports from Modern Retail highlight how these tools used for quick summaries are also driving product discovery and online engagement.
These examples underline a shift in how consumers use AI search tools. Seemingly many users are engaging beyond summaries by clicking through to explore products or services.
This post highlights the need for brands to focus on creating resourceful content that’s optimized for AI-driven search.
Using LLMs for SEO automation
Moz shared a post discussing how LLMs can be used to automate various SEO tasks to improve productivity and get ready for the evolving search landscape.
Large Language Models (LLMs) are transforming SEO and content creation by automating repetitive tasks. Marketers now use tools like ChatGPT to generate content ideas, create SEO-friendly titles, and analyze search intent.
These AI tools can also streamline technical SEO, forecast traffic trends, and implement hub-and-spoke strategies for comprehensive coverage.
How is SEO evolving in 2025?
We’ve been discussing how SEO is changing with the increase in the number of AI-powered search options. Semrush, a leading name in the online marketing segment, shared a post exploring how SEO is evolving and what this means for brands and marketers. Particularly, the post analyzes whether SEO is still relevant in 2025.
Despite fears that AI technologies like ChatGPT will replace traditional search engines, SEO is evolving rather than disappearing. Google, still holding an 83.5% market share, is adjusting to these changes by integrating AI features that offer direct answers, summaries, and overviews right in search results.
The points discussed here indicate that it’s time for brands to start adapting to AI-enhanced search features while maintaining content quality and meeting evolving user expectations.
In the Design Realm
Freepik introduces MiniMax Reference Mode
Freepik has been expanding the generative AI features on the platform. From images to videos generating assets from simple text prompts is quite simple on Freepik. And recently they announced MiniMax Live Illustrations to allow users to instantly create 2D animations. This is getting better now with the MiniMax Reference mode coming to it.
So, if you have struggled with your character looking inconsistent throughout the video then this feature is for you. It lets you add reference characters and ensure visual consistency of this character throughout the video.
Have you tried the Retype feature on Adobe Illustrator?
Adobe shared a video demonstrating the Retype feature on Illustrator. So, no more confusion about fonts and no more fear of forgetting what font you used in your designs.
This feature lets you identify fonts used in your design both images and vector illustrations. It also lets you convert static text into editable text elements or find similar fonts. On the whole, this is one of those features you just cannot miss considering how crucial typography is in graphic design.
Adobe unveils updates for filmmakers
Ahead of the 2025 Sundance Festival, Adobe has announced a host of exciting updates particularly to make the creative workflow easier for filmmakers. These updates are coming to Adobe tools like Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Frame.io
The updates, currently in beta, introduce AI-powered tools like the Media Intelligence Search panel in Premiere Pro, which helps editors quickly find footage using natural language queries.
Another useful update is the Caption Translation, which allows for easy translation of captions into 17 languages, improving accessibility and expanding global reach for content creators.
Adobe has designed these updates to allow creators to spend more time on their creative workflows and less on tedious tasks.
More intuitive search results and caption translation for 17 languages? 🤯 These new updates just landed in #PremierePro (beta).
— Adobe Video & Motion (@AdobeVideo) January 22, 2025
And don't sleep on #AfterEffects' beta performance upgrades, delivering enhanced previews.
Download the betas today! https://t.co/FGjsVivF3d
Packaging design inspiration
Several visual cues shape a brand’s identity and packaging design is one among them. Therefore, “Packaging of the World” a popular library of inspiration for designers, shared a design project for for a haircare brand called Promise.
Drawing inspiration from the flower-power era, the brand’s packaging concept, “Wear Flowers in Your Hair,” celebrates nature, individuality, and the free-spirited energy of the 1960s. Each of the 15 shades in the collection is named after a unique plant, with vibrant floral illustrations adorning the packaging. On the whole, this creates a playful and visually appealing design.
The packaging’s simplicity and clarity make it easy for customers to identify the right product. And the unique illustration style sets the brand apart in a crowded space.
In the AI Realm
Perplexity’s Sonar Pro API
As AI tools continue to evolve, there is a growing need for accuracy and real-time information. Perplexity’s new Sonar Pro API addresses this need by delivering unparalleled real-time, web-wide research. This is also powered by the trusted features of Perplexity, such as citations and customizable sources. According to Perplexity, this feature is not generally available to all developers.
The Sonar API is lightweight and affordable. Moreover, it allows developers to integrate fast, accurate Q&A functionalities with citations. On the other hand, Sonar Pro offers deeper, multi-step query handling and additional extensibility for enterprises.
Moreover, according to Perplexity, Sonar Pro outperformed some of the well-known search engines and LLMs too.
Google announces exciting Gemini updates coming to Android devices
At Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event, Google unveiled exciting updates to its Gemini assistant. These are crafted to enhance the capabilities of Gemini on Android devices. The new features aim to make Gemini a more personalized, helpful, and accessible tool for users.
Some of these updates include the option to add YouTube videos and images to Gemini Live conversations. Therefore they allow more dynamic and personalized conversations with the assistant. Currently announced for the Samsung Galaxy S24, S25, and Pixel 9 devices, Google also plans to expand it to more Android devices soon.
Another major advantage is that Gemini can now assist with tasks across Samsung apps such as Calendar, Notes, Reminder, and Clock on the Galaxy S25. Users can also request multiple tasks in a single prompt, like finding lunch recipes and saving them to notes, for a more streamlined experience.
Samsung also announced that the Galaxy S25 devices will support long-pressing the side button to summon Gemini. Furthermore, Project Astra and other advanced features are coming to these devices in the next few months.
OpenAI announces the Stargate Project
OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle, and MGX are partnering to announce the Stargate Project, an initiative designed to strengthen AI infrastructure in the United States.
From creating plenty of new jobs to the deployment of $100 billion immediately, there are several dimensions to this project.
According to OpenAI, SoftBank is financially responsible for the project, while OpenAI takes on the operational role. Masayoshi Son, SoftBank’s CEO, will serve as chairman.
The Stargate Project is positioned as a vital step in the pursuit of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and aims to support AI advancements.
Circle to Search is getting smarter
Circle to Search has grown to become one of the most productive AI features on Android phones. Now Google is making this feature even better with an upgraded AI Overviews to improve visual search. This lets you instantly get some insights into what you are searching.
Additionally, Circle to Search will also identify email addresses, URLs, and numbers within the image to allow instant action.
OpenAI is upgrading Custom Instructions
OpenAI introduced Custom Instructions in ChatGPT a few months ago. This feature lets users customize their ChatGPT experience. This is where you save your preferences so that ChatGPT’s responses are more in line with your requirements.
In a recent post, they announced that this feature is getting an upgrade. Accordingly, you can now add custom traits and rules as well.
Google’s Talking Tours
Google is making the Google Arts & Culture app even more intuitive with the introduction of Talking Tours. As the name indicates, this tool is all about virtual audio guides for various landmarks. These guides are available to users through the Google Arts & Culture app on iOS and Android, or online.
Ventures like these indicate that tech companies are making strides in the generative audio segment.
Social Media Feature Updates and Algorithm Changes
YouTube is bringing more features to YouTube Premium
YouTube is making the experience worthwhile for Premium users with several new experimental features and better control on how the app and the content are personalized for them.
From audio enhancements to picture-in-picture for Shorts on iOS, smart downloads for Shorts, faster playback on mobile, and “jump ahead” on the web, there are a bunch of new features to look out for if you are a Premium user.
Instagram announces a new video editing app
Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced on his page that Instagram is introducing a new video editing app called Edits. This app is designed to provide mobile video creators with a comprehensive suite of creative tools.
The app includes features like a high-quality camera for recording, editing tools, and a dedicated space for brainstorming and inspiration. Additionally, users will be able to share drafts with friends and other creators, and access performance insights if they decide to share their videos on Instagram.
The app is available for preorder in the iOS App Store and is coming soon to Android as well.
Instagram talks about 3-minute Reels
Short-form videos are no longer on Instagram with the support for 3-minute videos.
Creators in the U.S. will be able to upload videos up to 3 minutes long. And it’s not just that, these long videos will also be available in recommendations to non-followers.
So, if you feel that 90 seconds is too short a duration for communicating your story, then explore the 3-minute Reel format to engage your audience.
X adds a new video tab for U.S. users
X is adding a dedicated video tab for U.S. users, following a year-long testing phase. The new feature places a play button icon in the bottom function bar of the app, replacing the “Communities” tab, allowing users to quickly access a full-screen, immersive video feed.
This move aligns with X’s strategy to position itself as a “video-first” platform, reflecting the growing importance of video content on the app. With video views having increased by 40% year-over-year, the platform is betting on video as a key driver for engagement.
Bluesky also now introduces a video tab
X isn’t the only platform optimizing the app interface for video viewing. Bluesky is also joining the race by introducing a dedicated video tab in the app.
With the social media landscape displaying volatility and with the uncertainties surrounding the future of TikTok, platforms like Bluesky are showing rapid growth. Therefore, keeping up with the trends, Bluesky is expanding its features including the introduction of a video tab to allow users to quickly access videos on the platform.
WhatsApp now joins Meta’s Account Center
Meta’s Account Center has been pretty useful to creators looking to make the most of the Meta ecosystem. This lets you streamline your logins and also supports cross-posting to save time and effort. And now WhatsApp is also joining Merchant Center.
Social Media Today shared a post exploring this new update. The rollout, set to take place over the coming months, is entirely optional and maintains WhatsApp’s distinct privacy safeguards.
By linking WhatsApp, users can share WhatsApp Status updates to Instagram and Facebook Stories. And Meta is also bringing more cross-posting features in the future. Additionally, the integration simplifies logging back into WhatsApp via a unified login system.
Farewell…
So, that brings us to the conclusion of the KIMP’s Picks 24th January Edition. That was an overwhelming amount of updates, don’t you agree? For more such updates, and to be sure that you are always in the loop, sign up for The KIMP Scoop newsletter. Or come back here for the next edition of the KIMP’s Picks.