TLDR Marketing 2024-02-20

Reddit struck a $60M deal with an undisclosed AI company to use its user content for training models. While this monetization of user data may benefit the company financially, it’s unlikely to be welcomed by users. The deal reflects a trend where companies are eager to use platforms with valuable UGC to train AI models. This raises concerns about privacy and user consent.

The EU is investigating TikTok’s compliance with its Digital Services Act due to concerns about child safety, advertising transparency, and the management of addictive design and harmful content. The investigation could result in penalties of up to 6% of TikTok’s global annual turnover.

Two monetization alternatives for media businesses are programmatic ads and custom sponsorships. Most media businesses such as blogs, newsletters, and podcasts have a mix of revenue streams, but sponsorships tend to be overlooked since they are harder to establish. While programmatic ads offer low sales effort and may suit some publications, they can lead to a race for scale and lower production costs. On the other hand, custom sponsorships require more effort but can be more lucrative, particularly for publications with a niche focus and strong audience relationships.

Customer care is not just another department's responsibility. It is a critical component of brand image and customer sentiment, particularly as social media becomes a preferred platform for support. Collaboration between marketing and customer service teams is essential for delivering best-in-class service and retaining customers.

Businesses often fail because they lack foundational messaging, don’t conduct market research, or only describe their products for non-customer audiences. To resolve this, brands should be clear about marketing terms, including vision, mission, and positioning statement. Use a positioning template that outlines exactly what the product is and who it’s for. Tailor messaging for the customer, ensuring it is in terms they understand and care about.

This post contains 10 recent developments in the SEO space. Google is expected to clarify its position on the use of AI for content creation, which will likely be a much firmer stance for content with minimal human input. OpenAI is developing its own web search product that will compete directly with Google. Featured Snippets disappeared completely for many users last week due to a bug, with some users noticing sudden changes in clicks as a result.

User Stories are pivotal in guiding development and fostering collaboration by focusing on users' desired outcomes. However, they're often misused as mere containers for requirements, making it essential to grasp the fundamentals. This post covers the 3 C's and the INVEST frameworks. It also shares how to effectively capture user value to guide development efforts.

This article outlines 3 lessons from fiction writing and explains how they can be applied to marketing copy. A short sentence, especially as an opener, engages readers quickly and nudges them to read on. Longer sentences that contain vivid imagery will draw readers in further. A good rhythm of long and short sentences together makes reading more pleasurable.

Skills-based hiring is a strategic necessity for marketing teams. CMOs should prioritize specialized skills when hiring instead of focusing solely on degrees. This approach empowers the marketing team to meet shifting challenges and excel in an environment where specialized expertise in areas such as tech integration, analytics, and personalized content is crucial for driving business growth.

Google’s algorithm updates tend to benefit big media publishers. This leads to biased search results and decreased visibility for independent sites like HouseFresh. Major publishers often prioritize affiliate marketing over genuine product testing, leading to biased search results and diminished trust among consumers. Despite Google’s guidelines favoring in-depth analysis, these publishers exploit their authority to boost rankings.

This article discusses how Sierra, a company pioneering conversational AI agents, is leveraging autonomous models to reshape the digital customer experience landscape.

Sora, OpenAI’s newest AI model, can create realistic and imaginative scenes simply with text instructions. It can generate complex scenes with multiple characters, specific types of motion, and accurate details.

Defaulting to asynchronous communication, such as documentation, emails, and collaboration tools, allows for more focused work and reduces interruptions in team members' schedules.