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KIMP’s Picks 28th June: Weekly Highlights In Design, Marketing, AI, & More

The workweek’s over, but the social media world never sleeps! Blink and you miss hundreds of updates. So, what AI breakthroughs and marketing gold did you miss this week? Do you need to scroll for hours to catch up on everything you missed? Well, if you wish to save time and effort, the KIMP’s Picks 28th June Edition is for you.  

We’ve scoured social media platforms to put together this curated list of trending content from creators, brands, and industry leaders. Ready for your weekly social media recap? Dive in!

In the Marketing Realm 

An overview of the latest Google Analytics 4 features 

Google recently shared a post that highlights the exciting new features and areas of focus for Google Analytics 4 (GA4). 

They particularly emphasized four resourceful features: 

  • AI-powered insights about data fluctuations that help you understand what’s driving your customer journeys.
  • Secondly, the upcoming updates are to simplify cross-channel measurement to give you a comprehensive view of the entire customer funnel. 
  • Thirdly the post discusses budgeting tools for marketers. These are tools that help you plan and strategize your advertising spend as well as track progress for different objectives. 
  • Finally, there is also the privacy-first approach that keeps privacy regulations in mind when giving access to user data. 
Essential LinkedIn Ad settings 

If LinkedIn advertising holds a special place in your marketing strategy, then the below post from Search Engine Land is for you. This post summarizes some of the most useful new updates from LinkedIn, especially for advertisers. 

The post highlights some of the crucial features to explore like CTV ads thanks to LinkedIn’s partnership with NBCUniversal. Additionally, you can also control the frequency of these ads, and perform brand lift tests. It also delves into the effectiveness of boosting posts on LinkedIn and the strategic use of Conversions API. So, this is a great crash course for anyone working on revamping their LinkedIn Advertising strategies. 

Toys ‘R’ Us takes a huge step in leveraging AI in advertising 

While the world is contemplating the use of AI in marketing, Toys ‘R’ Us took a daring step and created a whole brand film with AI by partnering with OpenAI. Reportedly, this video was generated using Sora. It has been the latest buzz in the world of marketing ever since it was aired on the 2024 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. 

Technology news site Engadget shared an insightful discussion on this campaign in their post here. 

Critics have been dismantling this ad and highlighting the demerits of relying entirely on AI-generated content. The lack of human touch is pretty evident. Additionally, given that the tool is still in its beta stage and is not perfect, the video also showed visible continuity issues and inconsistencies in characters and visuals. 

This campaign, though a daring move from Toys ‘R’ Us, ended up being a live example of the need for a human factor in creatives for advertising. 

Say goodbye to Infinite scrolling on the Google Search page 

Infinite scrolling on the search page which was introduced on the desktop version of Google Search in 2022 is reportedly being withdrawn. The post from The Verge discusses this briefly. 

This means that you will see the traditional pagination bar on desktops, allowing you to jump to specific pages or click “Next” for more results. On mobile, a “More results” button will replace continuous scrolling. 

Reportedly, this move aims to improve search speed and enhance user experience. By loading results only when users request them, Google will be able to deliver search pages faster. 

This also means that it could decrease the click-through rate (CTR) for websites listed on the second page or beyond. Therefore, it’s time to revisit your SEO strategies to try and rank on the first page. 

Instagram posts show up on Google Search 

One of the most credible authorities for search news content, Search Engine Roundtable shared the below post. This is about Google Search Perspectives displaying Instagram posts. 

What does this mean for brands and marketers? Quality content posted on social media can now reach a wider audience through search as well. All it takes is to incorporate the right keywords in your post and captions. 

In the Content Marketing Realm 

An overview of pillar content 

Blogging is a must-have in content marketing. And when it comes to content marketing, cornerstone content or pillar content are crucial details you cannot miss. So, if you are wondering how to draft your pillar pages, then the below post from Semrush is for you. 

The post dives into the basics of what a pillar page is and why you need it. It also talks about the types of pillar pages a site can benefit from like the Guide page, “what-is” page, “how-to” page, etc. You will also find quick tips and tricks to work on these pages and how to choose the right ones for your website. 

All about data-driven content strategy for brands 

Talking about content strategy, the best approach in today’s age will be a data-driven approach. There’s no dearth of data sources for brands. Hence it all boils down to how you use the data you have access to. Search Engine Journal, the online search and marketing news publication discussed this in the below post. 

It talks about leveraging data effectively in order to improve ranking. Given that we are approaching a cookie-free era, identifying diverse sources of data and making the most of it will be the only choice left for brands. 

The post discusses diverse types of data like those recorded through phone conversations with customers and collected through website forms and surveys. 

In the Design Realm 

Have you built apps using Canva? 

Canva is changing rapidly and it continues to surprise creators around the world with a host of features every month. Did you know that you can also build apps on Canva? 

They explain this in their post here. 

This post talks mostly about Canva’s Connect APIs. The video shared highlights the simplicity of the process. And how users can conveniently use Canva Apps SDK to create and launch their own apps on Canva thus tapping into the vast user base. Joining the Canva Partner Program to launch your apps also gives you access to a huge community of creatives. 

All things new on Figma 

Popular interface design tool Figma announced some big updates at their annual conference, Config 2024. 

First and foremost among them is the complete UI redesign, dubbed “UI3”. This is meant to provide a more streamlined and intuitive experience for both novice and seasoned users. The redesign prioritizes clarity and focuses on the design itself, minimizing UI clutter.

Additionally, there are other changes including auto-generated placeholder text to replace the cliched “Lorem Ipsum” snippet and a built-in presentation tool. Finally, there is also a host of AI upgrades announced, like Make Design and Make Prototype. 

The Verizon brand gets a makeover 

The telecommunications giant Verizon has announced their rebranding. This includes a whole new logo design along with some refreshed campaigns that take cues from their old campaigns. 

The first and foremost change is that the brand ditches the 2015 checkmark logo for a cleaner design featuring a lighter red “V” and subtle yellow-gold accents. Additionally, the brand is also bringing back their popular “Can You Hear Me Now?” campaign. All these changes also come with additional new programs to reward subscribers. 

Digital marketing news site Marketing Dive discussed this rebranding in their post here. 

The role played by colors in branding – lessons from Microsoft 

Microsoft recently shared an insightful discussion on their colors. The post here digs deep into the colors used in Microsoft’s branding and the role played by these colors across the Microsoft ecosystem. 

It talks about the reason behind their decision to switch colors and how these colors were chosen. Insights from their decision-making process as well as the story behind the choice of these colors and how they were chosen to align with their customers can provide fresh perspectives to designers and marketers looking for branding and design inspiration. 

Myths in pairing fonts 

The popular font library MyFonts recently shared a post busting some of the most common font pairing myths. While finding fonts is a challenge, finding suitable font pairs can be an even bigger problem. Besides, there are several misconceptions when it comes to making this decision. And this post addresses the truth behind these misconceptions. 

Beginning with the confusion about typographical diversity – the choice of diverse fonts for the same design to the perception that you should only choose fonts from the same font family, this post addresses several nuances. It is therefore a great read for creatives looking for font ideas. 

In the AI Realm 

OpenAI Postpones Release of ChatGPT Voice Mode

OpenAI is pushing back the launch of its highly anticipated ChatGPT Voice Mode. Originally planned for a late June alpha release, the feature needs more time for development to meet OpenAI’s safety and user experience standards.

Reportedly, OpenAI is refining the model’s ability to identify and reject inappropriate content. And according to OpenAI, the alpha phase will commence with a small user group to gather feedback. They also have plans for broader availability to all Plus users by fall. This is subject to the tool meeting stringent safety and reliability standards.

OpenAI discussed these updates in their below post. 

macOS users can now access ChatGPT on desktop

The ChatGPT web interface is pretty smooth and their mobile app has been a big hit as well. Now it’s time for the desktop users to rejoice because the macOS version is here. This means that ChatGPT will now fit seamlessly into your workflow. From checking emails to discussing screenshots, this feature brings a lot of AI capabilities to your desktop. They have also announced that this feature can be quickly accessed with the Option + Space shortcut eliminating the need to switch between apps. 

OpenAI acquires Rockset to  make AI more powerful 

In a recent announcement, OpenAI discussed their acquisition of Rockset, a prominent real-time analytics database renowned for its robust data indexing and querying functionalities. 

This strategic move aims to integrate Rockset’s technology into OpenAI’s products. The core idea is to enable organizations to transform their data into “actionable insights” more effectively.

With Rockset’s tech allowing real-time data access, OpenAI will soon be able to empower developers, enterprises, and users to make the most of AI-driven applications and also build intelligent solutions.

These updates are particularly handy for enterprise applications where enhanced data analytics can be a boon. 

Organize your chats with Claude as shareable Projects 

Anthropic has made some refinements to the platform allowing users to organize their chats with Claude and streamline their workflows. You can also now share your chats as projects within a 200K context window. This project when shared can also include all the media shared in the chats including documents, files, and codes. 

While the chat is set to private by default, organizations using Claude can choose to automatically share chats if there is a project feed defined. 

Synthesia is revolutionizing video communication 

When we talk about video content and AI tools for video content creation, we often talk in the context of marketing and using videos as a source of entertainment or promotion. However, there is one other useful application of video content and that is communication. There are several occasions where video acts as a useful tool of communication within organizations. And the popular AI video platform Synthesia has made a revolutionary announcement to accommodate this application. 

They recently unveiled Synthesia 2.0. Creating avatars is probably one of the first things that comes to mind when you think of Synthesia. And with this new announcement, Synthesia 2.0 goes beyond basic avatars. They are introducing “Expressive AI Avatars” that can display a wider range of emotions and body language for more natural-looking videos.

Moreover, Synthesia announced that the recent version introduced has particularly been designed for enterprise applications. Accordingly, they have introduced features that streamline the video creation process, making it easier for businesses to integrate AI video into their communication strategy.

Opera for Android is getting major AI upgrades 

Opera has unveiled V 83, an update to its flagship mobile browser, Opera for Android. This update brings innovative AI-powered features. 

This includes image generation through Aria, Opera’s native browser AI. This AI image generation feature is powered by Google’s Imagen2 model. With this, you can now request Aria to create custom images ranging from landscapes to quirky designs, which can be further refined and shared directly from the browser.

These updates supplement the previously introduced features like Ask Aria and Aria Voice that let users access the tool’s capabilities using voice. 

Social Media Feature Updates and Algorithm Changes

TikTok’s Whee failed to gain momentum 

TikTok went with a low-key launch for its Instagram rival Whee. This was intended to be a platform for users to share photos. But this new venture from TikTok seems to be off to a slow start. 

Despite launching in 71 countries mid-June, Whee has garnered minimal downloads (around 13,000 on iOS and 10,000+ on Android). For perspective, when Instagram launched Threads, the app gained over 100 million users in just five days. So yes, Whee’s initial response has not been as expected. 

One of the reasons behind this slow start is the lack of marketing for the app on various channels and there also seems to be poor ratings for the app based on the few downloads so far. Whether the fact that TikTok could probably face a ban is impacting ByteDance’s US app strategy is a mystery right now. 

TechCrunch ventured into a discussion analyzing this slow progress of Whee in their post here. 

Meta opens up Threads with Fediverse integrations 

Meta is taking the next step toward a more interconnected social media space with their Fediverse integration on Threads. In a recent post, they announced that Threads is integrating with the fediverse (a network of independent social servers). This allows users to see and like replies from people on other social media platforms like Mastodon. This fosters communication beyond the walls of Threads.

Initially, the fediverse sharing feature was only available in a limited beta. Meta has announced that it is now available in more than 100 countries and there is a global rollout coming soon. 

Currently, Threads users with more than 18 public profiles can activate fediverse sharing through Account Settings. On the whole, this update indicates a significant shift toward open communication for Threads.

Pinterest revolutionizes board sharing 

Pinterest has announced some new features to improve your online visibility. For this, the platform now lets you share your Public Boards on Pinterest in the form of videos. Once you choose to share a board, Pinterest instantly generates a video and allows you to download the video or even share it on other platforms. 

One way to tap into this is to create a short video to share on Instagram Stories. This lets you showcase your ideas and your pins, probably your digital mood boards, with your followers on other platforms. This is a great option for content repurposing and to use your popularity on one platform to boost the popularity on another. 

Patreon brings some updates 

Patreon has been a silent hit among creators. The platform is particularly popular for those who wish to monetize their content. And in a recent post, they announced that there are a bunch of updates for creators to look out for. 

One among them is gifting. With this feature, creators will now be able to gift membership to select fans for a limited time. You can find this feature within the new Promotions Tab where you can also manage other promotion-related features. 

Additionally, creators will also be able to open up their community chats with their followers and create exclusive posts for free members as well. 

Finally, there are also other features in the pipeline, like the option to allow one-time purchases and some creative updates to work drop options to enhance member experiences. 

Signing Off 

With that, we’re wrapping up the KIMP’s Picks 28th June Edition. Hope you enjoyed the quick social media roundup from this past week. For more such updates and for staying in the loop with all the latest social media and AI news, stay tuned and we’ll be back with another round of KIMP’s Picks next week. 

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Posted On

28 Jun, 2024

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