KIMP’s Picks 27th December: Weekly Highlights In Design, Marketing, AI, & More
Are you ready to wrap up another week? But worried about all the big social media updates you missed? Worry not for the KIMP’s Picks is here. KIMP’s Picks is your weekly social media digest. Your quick social media recap so that FOMO does not have to intimidate you.
In the KIMP’s Picks 27th December Edition, we bring to you all the buzz from social media – AI news, social media updates, marketing inspiration, and anything else that’s share-worthy. All that bundled together just for you.
So, without further ado, let’s get started with this week’s social media round-up.
- In the Marketing Realm
- In the Content Marketing Realm
- In the Design Realm
- In the AI Realm
- Infusing transparency into reasoning with Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking
- 12 days of OpenAI – day 11
- 12 days of OpenAI – day 12
- OpenAI expands Sora access
- X is testing an iOS app for Grok
- xAI secures $6B in Series C funding to propel AI innovation
- The most common sref codes used in Midjourney
- Ulta Beauty demonstrates creative use of AI
- Social Media Feature Updates and Algorithm Changes
- To Conclude…
In the Marketing Realm
A deep dive into customer lifetime value
Google shared an insightful discussion delving into customer lifetime value – a crucial but often underrated parameter in marketing.
The post particularly talks about the 80/20 rule which defines that nearly 80% of any company’s revenue comes from 20% of their customers. It then discusses the use of first-party data to understand and better communicate with customers.
The post also dives into the idea of using AI to better collect and process customer data and therefore obtain actionable insights.
The significance of building a community
Community building is an essential strategy in marketing. This involves nurturing a community of strong brand advocates – among customers and employees alike.
Google’s inaugural company-wide “ugly sweater” contest brought a creative twist to holiday celebrations, spotlighting the brand’s playful side and fostering a sense of togetherness among employees.
The contest wasn’t just fun, it was strategic. By engaging employees in a creative, inclusive activity, Google reinforced its brand culture of innovation and collaboration.
On another note, the use of its AI assistant, Gemini, as the contest judge added a clever nod to the company’s technological prowess, seamlessly integrating Google’s core identity into a lighthearted event.
AI-powered dining recommendations in Google Search
Google has been refining the search experience with diverse AI-powered features. In a recent post, Robby Stein, VP, Product Management at Google, unveiled an innovative new AI feature for dining recommendations in Search.
This update allows users to find personalized dining options with localized search queries. The results are now presented in an organized format, featuring AI-generated categories tailored to the search intent.
The curated pages include a mix of resources like articles and videos. This helps users grasp a more comprehensive view of the results.
Working with local influencers
Search Engine Journal shared a thought-provoking discussion on how working with local influencers can benefit small businesses in many ways.
This post talks about identifying and working with influencers who have an engaged local audience. They have smaller followings but wield significant influence in their communities.
Therefore, collaborating with local influencers helps small businesses directly connect with audiences who are more likely to visit their store. Moreover, recommendations from a community-focused influencer resonate with the audience as more genuine therefore fostering trust.
Tips for creators to succeed in YouTube TV reach
When creating content for platforms like YouTube, creators and brands often think about small screens like smartphones and when it comes to large screens, they take into account laptops and tablets. But you cannot ignore the audience who watch YouTube on TV. In fact, data shows that by 2023, nearly half of YouTube viewership came from televisions.
With this in mind, if you are wondering how to improve your reach on YouTube TV, then you will find this post from YouTube to be resourceful.
The post here discusses five useful tips to maximize reach through YouTube on TV. It highlights the need for understanding the unique needs of TV viewers. It also explores the need for content that looks good on a large screen and the use of catchy thumbnails and other tips.
Microsoft is refining Bing Search
With Google consistently upgrading search Bing has a lot to catch up on. In recent news, according to Search Engine Roundtable, Microsoft is improving Bing Search. This upgrade comes with a “How to pick” section. This will be like a shopping guide for consumers looking for product recommendations and comparing products.
The “How to pick” section will tell them what to look for when shortlisting products and comparing them.
In the Content Marketing Realm
Sprout Social’s Social Media Content Strategy Report 2024
The popular social media management solutions provider Sprout Social shared their 2024 Social Media Content Strategy Report. The post discusses the various social media platforms where brands are active and what generations of consumers each platform works best with.
It highlights how most social media platforms now have diverse users ranging from Boomers to Gen Z. It also highlights the need for brands to create relatable content in order to engage their users. Additionally, the report reminds us that social media continues to be a leading source of brand discovery with Instagram seemingly dominating the game.
Content marketing mistakes to avoid
As we are getting ready to welcome another new year, are you working on refining your content marketing strategies? Then this post from the Content Marketing Institute is for you.
The post talks about some of the common content marketing mistakes brands make and some tips to avoid them.
From creating content with no clear purpose or intent to using content that lacks empathy, the post delves into diverse aspects of content marketing and proposes effective solutions to these.
In the Design Realm
The best Christmas logo makeovers by brands
Brands often make subtle changes to their core brand elements like logos and mascots to complement their seasonal messaging. Creative Bloq recently shared a post discussing some of the best logo makeovers for Christmas.
The post explores the seasonal updates to the logos of Target, Facebook, Unilever, M&S Food, Tesco, and Google. So, if you are looking for some inspiration to give your designs a festive look, then this is an insightful article.
Brand identity design inspiration
The Brand Identity shares design projects from various industries to inspire designers and marketers around the world. This time it was a post discussing the brand identity of MUI Coffee, a roasting shop in Kawasaki City, Japan.
The redesign aimed at a blend of Italian style with Japanese culture. Drawing inspiration from Italy’s rich cultural heritage and Japan’s love for quirky mascots, the design team looked to evoke nostalgia from “Carosello,” a 1960s Italian television broadcast filled with beloved animated characters. This fusion resulted in a fresh, contemporary identity that reflected both countries’ values.
The approach here highlights the power of blending cultural elements in branding.
Tips to create presentations on Canva
Canva shared a video demonstrating some useful tips for presentation design on the platform. So if you use Canva to create your brand’s presentations then these tips will come in handy to make your designs more visually intriguing.
The video highlights the need for presentation shortcuts and how they can enhance the experience. It also demonstrates the use of interactive polls and quizzes as well as talking presentations to keep the content engaging and interesting to consume.
Creating animated cards on Freepik
Freepik is no longer just another stock assets library. Their AI tools have become popular among creatives. And in a recent post, they shared a quick tip on how to create animated cards for the holidays using the AI features on the platform.
The post details the steps involved and the features used in the process. Therefore, if you are looking to put together a quick holiday card and wish to make it more interactive, then this post is for you.
In the AI Realm
Infusing transparency into reasoning with Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking
Google DeepMind’s chief scientist Jeff Dean shared a post announcing the arrival of Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking. According to the demonstration video in his post, this model not only answers complex queries but also displays its thought process, providing transparency into how it arrives at solutions.
The Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking model works by breaking down tasks, allowing it to approach problems systematically. While not replicating human-like reasoning, this method provides more robust outcomes by analyzing multiple elements, including both visual and textual information. Google is positioning this model as a major step in AI’s journey toward becoming more “agentic,” as it continues to evolve in its reasoning capabilities.
12 days of OpenAI – day 11
The 12 days of Shipmas event by OpenAI came to an end this week with a whirlwind of updates. Day 11’s announcement highlighted how OpenAI is working toward making ChatGPT more agentic.
They announced that there will soon be increased support for note-taking and coding apps that ChatGPT can interact with. This includes working with apps in Advanced Voice Mode and searching and revisiting conversations using keyword search.
12 days of OpenAI – day 12
OpenAI has released early evaluations for its upcoming o3 model. This is their next iteration in the o-model reasoning series a jump after their o1 models. o3 sets new milestones in areas like coding, mathematics, and scientific reasoning, significantly advancing the capabilities of AI in tackling complex problems.
In addition to these improvements, OpenAI is focused on leveraging these advancements to enhance model safety. A new paper on “deliberative alignment” details how the improvements in o1 and o3 models contribute to making them safer for use.
OpenAI also unveiled a faster, and simpler version of the o3 model, called o3-mini. Optimized for coding tasks, o3-mini is expected to be the first version of o3 made publicly available in early 2025.
OpenAI expands Sora access
In addition to the 12 interesting announcements, OpenAI added a 13th surprise announcement to excite ChatGPT Plus users. This surprise 13th announcement offered a bonus holiday treat for ChatGPT Plus users. Over the holidays, all Plus users can enjoy unlimited access to Sora, OpenAI’s new AI video generator, completely free of charge.
Sora, which was only released to the public last week, has already gained significant popularity for its simplicity and quick ability to turn any text prompt into a video. Altman shared the announcement on X, explaining that with fewer users during late December, OpenAI’s GPUs would be less busy, making it the perfect time for people to experiment and have fun with AI-generated videos.
X is testing an iOS app for Grok
xAI is testing a standalone iOS app for its Grok chatbot, which was previously only available to X users. The app, currently in beta in Australia and a few other countries, provides real-time data access from the web and X, along with various generative AI features such as rewriting text, summarizing long paragraphs, Q&A, and generating images from text prompts.
Along with the iOS app, xAI is preparing a dedicated website, Grok.com, to make the chatbot accessible on the web as a standalone web application.
xAI secures $6B in Series C funding to propel AI innovation
xAI has announced the successful closure of a massive $6 billion Series C funding round. The investment includes participation from major firms like BlackRock, Fidelity, Sequoia Capital, Morgan Stanley, and NVIDIA, among others. This funding marks a pivotal moment in xAI’s mission to redefine AI capabilities.
The funds will enable xAI to expand its infrastructure, ship products that can reach billions, and advance research in frontier technologies. With backing from strategic investors like NVIDIA and AMD, xAI is set to challenge industry leaders, including OpenAI, by pushing the boundaries of AI innovation.
The most common sref codes used in Midjourney
In Midjourney, sref codes are used in prompts to define the visual styles or effects used in the generated art. These codes help creators generate consistent-looking designs for their projects. In a recent post, Midjourney shared some of the most commonly used sref codes along with the corresponding outputs. So, if you are looking for some inspiration on the visual styles to explore in Midjourney art generation, it’s right here.
Ulta Beauty demonstrates creative use of AI
Gone are the days of wondering if AI will replace jobs. Brands now rely on AI to automate workflows, improve efficiency, and other applications. NVIDIA recently discussed a creative use of AI by Ulta Beauty.
Renowned beauty retailer Ulta Beauty is redefining the haircare experience with its GLAMlab Hair Try On, a cutting-edge AI application powered by NVIDIA’s StyleGAN2 generative AI model. This innovative tool lets shoppers virtually try new hairstyles and colors in near-real time using selfies or uploaded photos.
This application demonstrates the power of AI-powered personalization for brands and how this can be used to enhance user experience.
Social Media Feature Updates and Algorithm Changes
TikTok spreads festive cheer with #HolidayMusic hub
TikTok has launched its #HolidayMusic hub, a festive in-app experience. This one offers curated playlists, exclusive content, and interactive features for the holiday season.
Users can explore top Christmas tracks, trending new releases, and global holiday music. Additionally, TikTok will also provide users with special profile frames, visual effects, and the ability to save tracks directly to streaming platforms.
YouTube introduces multitasking for Playables
YouTube’s Playables allows users to play simple interactive games directly on the platform without downloading them. YouTube recently announced the introduction of multitasking for Playables. This means that you can continue to play your favorite games on the platform while also watching videos.
The feature is now available on desktop and Android devices and the iOS support will be coming soon. This innovation bridges gaming and video consumption, offering an immersive, multitasking experience for YouTube users possibly to retain user attention longer.
A round-up of updates from X
X shared a post highlighting some of the biggest updates from the company this year. From the unveiling of Grok 2.0 to the much-anticipated X TV app, introduction of the NFL portal, X Shopify App, and improved Community Notes and Ads Platform, the post gives a quick snapshot of all the major announcements.
This summarizes how much X has evolved this year through enhancements for creators, brands, and advertisers.
Movie Gen updates coming to Instagram
There are several AI-powered creativity tools in the market – for image generation and editing as well as for video generation and editing. However, to keep up with the competition, social media platforms are introducing their own creative AI tools to allow creators to directly edit and customize their content within the respective platform.
Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram recently shared a post previewing some AI-powered video editing updates coming to Instagram. Movie Gen, Meta’s native video editing suite is reportedly coming soon to Instagram. And this will allow creators to add a creative twist to their videos.
This includes changing outfits, scenes, backgrounds, accessories, and other elements in the video. Movie Gen aims to simplify creative customization, making advanced editing accessible to all users.
Facebook now lets you add social handles
Cross-platform promotion can be a huge plus. That’s one of the reasons why brands add their website URLs on their social media profiles and their social media page links on their websites. Accordingly, most social media platforms allow you to add links to other social media pages in your account.
Facebook now joins the list and will allow users to add links to their social media pages and will display the respective follower counts as well. This can be a good way to build your credibility on Facebook by leveraging your presence on other platforms.
To Conclude…
As we wrap up the KIMP’s Picks 27th December Edition, we hope these posts gave you a quick dose of inspiration. For such end-of-the-week round-ups stay tuned and we’ll be back with a freshly curated list of share-worthy posts. So, no more worries about missing out on the social media buzz.
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