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KIMP’s Picks 31st May: Weekly Highlights In Design, Marketing, AI, & More

Hello there marketing wizards and entrepreneurs! It has been another whirlwind week in the digital jungle. From AI breakthroughs to marketing magic and algorithm updates – there’s a lot to unpack. But fret not, we’ve got you covered. The KIMP’s Picks 31st May Edition is here! 

This is our weekly social media round-up series where we bring to you some of the trending posts, the rare gems – share-worthy content well worth your attention. So, ready to explore the biggest trends of the week? Let’s go! 

In the Marketing Realm

Image to Video in Google Ads 

Google announced several exciting features in the Google Marketing Live 2024 event. There have particularly been many features that enhance the experience for advertisers. In a recent post, they gave a preview of one such new feature that’s sure to come in handy when creating product ads.

The feature highlighted here is the image-to-video option in Product Studio. The feature lets you animate any static image at the click of a button. It creates simple animations which can help bring your ads to life. Have you explored these new features on Google Ads yet? 

The Google Business Message option is leaving 

Adding a Google Business profile is one of the foundational steps to creating a brand’s online presence. Currently, Google lets users get in touch with businesses through a chat option directly from their respective Business Profiles. Based on a recent post from the popular Google-related news site 9to5Google, this chat option is leaving soon! 

Customers won’t be able to initiate new chats starting July 15th. And existing chats will be phased out by the end of July. so, how do you tackle this? According to recommendations from Google, now’s a good time to add a phone number to your listing. Additionally, start exploring “Reserve with Google” for appointment bookings.

In addition to all these changes, consider other chat platforms to connect with customers directly. 

Campaign inspiration from Airheads 

Ad Age, the go-to magazine for advertising inspiration, shared the below post discussing a recent creative campaign from Airheads. 

With this new campaign. Airheads is reportedly targeting lapsed adult fans. For this, they have created a unique poolside experience: an underwater vending machine that dispenses candy in exchange for fun activities.

The campaign taps into adults’ fond memories of enjoying Airheads at the pool as kids, aiming to rekindle their memories of summer. With a recent survey showing many adults swim less frequently now, Airheads hopes this playful twist will entice them back into the water.

Snapchat discloses details about advertising on the platform 

Social Media Today is one of the most popular sources of all the latest social media news and updates. They recently shared a post that discusses a report shared by Snapchat about advertising on the platform. 

A summary of the report is that if you wish to make the most of Snapchat for your marketing, then it’s important to have a blend of brand-building and direct response campaigns. This is to eliminate the doubts of brands who are deciding between the two options. In fact, their data shows that investing in brand awareness on Snapchat actually leads to a higher return on ad spend (ROAS) compared to direct response efforts alone.

This post therefore comes as a great reminder for brands looking to revamp their social media marketing strategy. 

Using humor in marketing 

Ads of The World is a popular online library of ads from diverse brands created for diverse media. They recently spotlighted an ad created for the premium cat food brand SHEBA. 

The campaign consists of a series of commercials featuring cat owners trying to impress their pet cats with diverse toys only to see that all their cat wants is “Sheba”! 

These ads work because: 

  • The message is crisp and very clearly communicated in these ads. 
  • The hint of humor and the visual elegance of these videos make the commercials enjoyable.

These are great elements for marketers to take away! 

These ads are also a reminder that humor in marketing does not always have to be elaborate or risk being insulting or sarcastic. Simple everyday humor that resonates with the target audience will make your ad work. 

In the Content Marketing Realm 

Tapping into storytelling content 

YouTube recently shared a video that discusses Tag Heuer’s effective use of the platform to leverage storytelling in marketing. 

The video talks about Tag Heuer’s shift in focus from being more product-focused in their marketing to highlighting the story behind every Tag Heuer watch. The video also shows how the brand ventured into leveraging YouTube for their storytelling-focused strategy and how both long-form and short-form content were used for this. 

Reportedly, all these changes helped the brand achieve a 71% increase in Search Lift. stories like these prove that video content shared through popular social media platforms like YouTube can help skyrocket a brand’s reach and visibility. 

Leveraging competitor keywords in content marketing 

Search Engine Journal is one of the most credible authorities when it comes to social media related news and insights. They recently shared the below post discussing competitor keywords. 

The post talks about the benefits of analyzing competitor keywords beginning with identifying keyword gaps to enhancing visibility and rankings. The post also delves into some tips for identifying competitor keywords including some tools for them. So, if you have been looking for ways to refine your content and work on your search ranking, then this post is a great starting point!

Quick facts about short-form content 

Adobe recently shared an insightful post that discusses short-form content in depth. From the top platforms where short-form content works to users’ preferences with respect to this content format, the post digs deep into several details. 

According to the post, the most searched-for platform for short videos is TikTok. Evidently, this is the platform that popularized this format! The post also digs a little deeper by capturing some information about user demographics that show the most interest in this format and their engagement rates. 

This is therefore a great read for marketers fine-tuning their short-form content strategy. 

In the Design Realm 

What’s new on Canva 

Canva’s Canva Create event has been the biggest buzz in the creative world recently. Ever since Canva ventured into AI-powered design creation and editing features Canva workflows for teams have changed drastically. 

Therefore, this major Canva event built anticipation for more new AI-powered features and changes coming to the platform. The event lived up to the expectations.

In a recent post, they gave a preview of some of the changes coming to Canva – in terms of the overall platform feel as well as in terms of the features. From features like Bulk Create, Ad Tech Integrations, and ready-made templates in Work Kits to the option to easily integrate popular marketing apps, a lot of updates involve simplifying the workflow for marketing teams relying extensively on Canva. 

In addition to this, there have also been other features introduced to enhance the experience for HR teams, sales, and creative teams within organizations as well. The post here shares 10 quick highlights from these announcements. 

Reddit’s fonts have arrived on Google Fonts  

Google recently shared on the Google Fonts page that the official Reddit font family has now arrived on Google Fonts. If you have encountered the recent Reddit rebrand and if the modern new design impressed you, then you might also have noticed that their practical and modern bespoke font plays a crucial role in this new identity. 

The good news is that this modern font is now available to the public through the Google Fonts library. There are five distinct styles, all meticulously crafted to embody the spirit of Reddit. Some of the key traits of these font families are that they prioritize readability and are versatile. So, if you are looking for some fresh sans-serif fonts to include in your design, this new collection is good to explore. 

Discord is getting back to its roots 

Discord is making a strategic shift! The popular chat app once known for its focus on gaming communities slowly branched out. And now they are doubling down on their core audience all over again.

Technology news site, The Verge, shared the below post discussing this new redesign coming to Discord in order to embrace this strategic shift coming to the platform. 

As a part of this, a new app redesign is underway. The changes aim to streamline connecting before, during, and after gameplay. This includes improvements to group messaging, voice chat, video calls, and overall app performance.

Discord’s current decision to go with a redesign reflects their need to adapt to user feedback and industry trends. Additionally, this shift also shows that an app’s brand isn’t static. It can never be absolute! Discord’s story showcases how branding can evolve over time based on various considerations. The key is to ensure these changes to your app design or brand identity align with your core values and user base.

Brand design inspiration 

This next post we have for you is also for design inspiration. It is one of the recent rebranding projects that were featured on the X page of It’s Nice That, an online community for designers and marketers seeking creative inspiration. 

This project is for the sustainable beauty brand Kindred Black. Their stunning new identity was designed by the creative duo Ania et Lucie. The design is a beautiful homage to the “old apothecary world, ” drawing inspiration from classic scripts, hand-addressed envelopes, and silver charms. From the colors to the fonts, (especially the fonts) every little detail about the design aligns with the chosen theme. 

As can be seen, this new identity combines classic scripts and modern typography, to create a sense of elegance and timelessness. What’s more, this new identity reflects Kindred Black’s core values. The brand’s signature, “Love for our Mother,” embodies their commitment to sustainability and creating products with “beautiful stories rooted in culture and ritual.”

This project is a reflection of the fact that creating brand designs that resonate with your brand values and your brand’s unique personality is the only way to create magic! 

In the AI Realm 

OpenAI is making ChatGPT better for free users 

ChatGPT has evolved by leaps and bounds within this last year. From supporting multi-modal input to allowing interactive data analysis and other functions, ChatGPT can do a lot today than it could just a year ago. However, most of these updates have been made available only to the paid users. 

But now there is some good news for free users – OpenAI announced that several of their new features are not open to free users. 

To begin with, free users now have access to browse, vision, data analysis, and file upload capabilities on ChatGPT. Additionally, they can also access the GPT store to interact with custom GPTs that can simplify and automate your tasks.

Chromebooks are getting smarter 

Microsoft recently announced Copilot+ PCs. according to this announcement, several upcoming Windows PCs from brands like ASUS, HP, and Dell will soon be coming with advanced AI capabilities built-in. 

Now joining the league and bringing AI into the hardware world is Google with their Chromebooks, especially Chromebook Plus users. 

Some of the AI features included under the hood include: 

  • “Help me write” feature to offer suggestions and rewrites for various writing tasks.
  • Generate unique wallpapers and video call backgrounds. 
  • The Magic Editor from Google Photos will let you edit photos in just a few taps.
  • Free 12-month subscription to Google One AI Premium.

There are more AI capabilities coming to Chromebooks thus enhancing computing for consumers. 

You can now chat with Copilot on Telegram 

The business news site Business Today shared a post discussing the arrival of Microsoft’s AI chatbot, Copilot, on Telegram! This is a beta program that lets you chat with Copilot for free,  using your mobile or desktop Telegram app. 

Like Meta AI on the various Meta apps, Copilot on Telegram can be accessed by simply chatting with the AI bot as you would with any Telegram user. While the full range of features is still under development, Copilot on Telegram can currently help you with web searches, simple Q&A, and conversations. 

Opera’s browser AI, Aria, gets a boost from Google

Opera recently announced that they are teaming up with Google. With Google continuously improving Gemini and bringing it to their products including their browser Chrome, web browsing has changed. Not to forget, Copilot on Edge! 

The Opera browser is not one to be left behind. Their recent collaboration with Google is about bringing AI features to their browser similar to these other browsers that have already stepped ahead in their game. 

According to their recent post, Opera’s browser AI, Aria, is getting some upgrades with Gemini integration. This means that AI-powered features like image generation, voice output will all now be available on Opera. 

Stable Assistant gets more editing features 

Stability AI’s Stable Assistant has been a revolutionary addition to their ecosystem of AI-powered tools. This user-friendly art creation tool is reportedly getting some cool new upgrades according to their post here. Leveraging the power of Stable Diffusion 3, these upgrades promise even better results for your creative projects.

Based on their announcement, the upgraded system delivers higher-quality image outputs based on your text prompts. This means your AI-generated art will be more detailed and realistic than ever before. 

Social Media Feature Updates and Algorithm Changes

YouTube will now let you play games 

A few weeks back, LinkedIn was in the news for introducing games to boost engagement. And now YouTube has joined the league and introduced Playables. This is a collection of free, playable games accessible directly on the platform. 

As of now, there are more than 75 casual and engaging games available within the YouTube app (Android and iOS) and desktop website. Also, this experimental feature is currently introduced for users in the US, Great Britain, Canada, & Australia. 

Playables allows you to save your game progress, ensuring you can pick up where you left off. Additionally, you can track your high scores and see how you measure up against others. 

X will soon support group calls 

It’s hard to believe that X was late to the game when it comes to supporting the calling option. But within the short time since its launch. The call feature has quickly gained popularity on X. and now there is news that X is also working on a group call option. 

The below post shared by X News Daily, a go-to resource for X-related information, hints at this feature being tested. 

YouTube lets you hum to search 

YouTube Music has been getting better thanks to the many AI features introduced on the platform. Most of these have been about boosting user experience and fresh on the list is the “Hum to Search” option. This option has been available on the iOS version of the YouTube Music app for a few weeks now. And now this feature is also coming to the Android version. 

This feature eliminates the struggle of finding a song stuck in your head. You can simply hum the song and the app listens to you and uses AI to identify the song. 

TikTok unveils a creator’s hub for content management 

TikTok recently unveiled TikTok Studio, a suite of tools for creators. This is to let creators streamline their content creation process. TikTok Studio integrates video upload, editing, performance analytics, and more – all in one place. So, no more jumping between different features! 

Therefore, enhancing your content before uploading it and then scheduling it, and tracking the content’s performance are all now easier with TikTok Studio. 

A Final Word…

As exciting as it might be to keep going, it’s time to bring this week’s KIMP’s Picks to a close. We hope these quick updates gave you a quick preview of the week that was. From AI updates to algorithm changes, this one has been a busy week indeed. And let’s face it, staying up to date with social media chatter can be overwhelming. But fear not, for we bring these social media recaps every week. So, stay tuned and we’ll be back with the next edition of KIMP’s Picks soon.  

Posted On

31 May, 2024

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