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Traffic Referrals From Threads Surge 🧵 Meta Continues Leveraging AI For Retail Marketing 🛍️ Discord Announces Mobile Ad Format 📱

Also: How To Optimize Your Marketing For AI

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🗞 Marketing News

Traffic Referrals From Threads Surge For Publishers [2 min read]

Newsweek is experiencing a remarkable resurgence in social media traffic, with social referrals increasing nearly tenfold compared to last year and recently hitting a five-year high for single-day social traffic. Social media's contribution to Newsweek's overall traffic has grown dramatically, expanding from less than 3% a year ago to more than doubling this month and nearly tripling in the past week. Meta-owned platforms, particularly Threads, are driving this growth, with Threads referral traffic increasing 20-fold since January and now surpassing X despite Newsweek having far fewer followers on the newer platform.

Meta Continues Leveraging AI to Enhance Retail Marketing Performance [5 min read]

Meta is expanding its AI-powered advertising capabilities for omnichannel retail, enabling businesses to drive sales both online and in physical stores through features like highlighting nearby locations with in-stock products. They're introducing new generative AI applications specifically for retailers, including virtual try-on features, background generation for catalog ads, and more precise text generation to help merchandise products effectively. To create "always-on demand," Meta is launching new advertising placements and tools including ads in Facebook notifications, email collection before promo code sharing, and site links on Instagram to help businesses maintain customer engagement beyond seasonal shopping periods.

Discord Announces First Mobile Ad Format [4 min read]

Discord is expanding its successful "Video Quests" advertising format to mobile devices for the first time, with an initial pilot launching in June 2025 to provide brands access to Discord's mobile audience. The new ad offering will maintain Discord's user-first approach with opt-in, reward-focused advertising experiences featuring full-screen video content aimed at brand awareness. Discord's advertising platform has already demonstrated success with major gaming and entertainment brands like Genshin Impact, Dune: Prophecy, and The First Descendant, achieving impressive metrics such as 85% video completion rates and significant increases in gameplay engagement.

🤖 AI

Google Is Rolling Out Gemini's Real Time AI Video Features [2 min read]

The features enable Gemini to analyze both screen content and smartphone camera feeds for Google One AI Premium subscribers. These capabilities, powered by "Project Astra" technology demonstrated nearly a year ago, allow users to interact with Gemini for screen analysis and camera-based assistance. Google maintains a significant advantage in AI assistant capabilities as competitors like Amazon and Apple are still preparing or have delayed similar features, while Samsung's Bixby exists but Gemini remains the default assistant on Samsung phones.

6 Tips To Get The Most Out Of Gemini Deep Research [5 min read]

Gemini's Deep Research tool, now widely available to all users with the addition of Audio Overviews, offers a solution for complex multi-step research tasks that would typically require opening numerous browser tabs and compiling information from various sources. The tool is particularly effective for queries like finding summer camps or researching industry trends, saving users significant time by automating the research process. Users can interact with Deep Research in various ways, including asking follow-up questions, modifying research plans, checking sources in real-time, exporting reports to Google Docs, and converting reports to audio format for on-the-go consumption.

How To Optimize Your Marketing For AI [23 min read]

Marketing for AI differs fundamentally from traditional SEO, requiring a focus on measurable referral traffic and content that AI models can effectively consume rather than chasing specific brand mentions. Effective optimization demands both technical elements (like implementing llms.txt files, ensuring screen reader compatibility, and creating knowledge blocks) and content strategies (employing multimodal formats, answering potential follow-up questions, and using appropriate jargon). Distributing content broadly across platforms you don't control—through guest appearances, press releases, social networks, reviews, and multilingual publishing—is critical for ensuring AI models can find and incorporate your brand before model makers shift entirely to synthetic training data.

🧠 Hacks & Tactics

Why Decision Makers Skip Your Proposal [9 min read]

Decision-makers face thousands of daily choices and experience decision fatigue, causing them to make rapid judgments about proposals within seconds and primarily scan for threats rather than opportunities. Successful proposals need to focus on the recipient's specific challenges and context rather than presenting generic, self-focused content that fails to engage the decision-maker's attention. The psychological principles of presentation, including the "Three-by-Three Rule" and strategic use of emotional triggers, are important for structuring proposals that effectively capture and maintain a decision-maker's interest.

8 Ways To Automate SEO And Content Tasks With LLMs [8 min read]

Large Language Models represent a revolutionary shift in SEO and content creation, marking the most significant innovation in search since Google's emergence, particularly since Google now accepts high-quality AI-generated content. There are numerous ways to automate SEO and content tasks using LLMs, ranging from content ideation and SEO validation to technical improvements and link building automation. The industry has notably shifted toward requiring AI and LLM expertise in SEO and content roles, suggesting that professionals who don't adapt to these tools risk falling behind their competitors.

When Should You Invest In Paid Marketing? [9 min read]

While the timing of paid marketing investment is important to avoid wasting money and creating unsustainable growth, companies must first establish product-market fit and optimize their landing pages before diving in. Prior to investing in paid channels, businesses should focus on building organic traffic through SEO and developing "owned" channels through product-led acquisition, including viral loops and user-generated content. Success in paid marketing ultimately requires proper technical infrastructure, including web tracking and data systems, along with a substantial budget of at least $75,000 over six months to navigate the learning curve effectively.

🔮 The Future

Influencer Marketing Insights From 50 CMOs And Influencers [4 min read]

The influencer marketing landscape in 2025 is increasingly defined by authenticity, with over 78% of CMOs acknowledging that audiences gravitate toward influencers who present their true selves rather than polished brand messaging. Data-driven decision making has become fundamental to successful campaigns, with 85% of respondents relying on analytics to measure effectiveness while also seeking deeper qualitative insights beyond traditional metrics. Simultaneously, there's been a notable shift toward micro-influencers who, despite smaller followings of 10,000-100,000, often deliver higher engagement rates and more authentic conversations, leading brands to adopt a tiered approach that balances reach with targeted audience connection.

Perplexity's Vision For Rebuilding TikTok In America [4 min read]

Their vision for rebuilding TikTok in America centers on developing a transparent, open-source algorithm with American oversight to eliminate manipulation risks while ensuring user privacy. They plan to enhance TikTok with AI-powered information tools, including citations for videos, community notes, and contextual information to create what they call "the best search box in the world." The proposal aims to transform the platform by enriching content with multilingual capabilities and contextual information, prioritizing user satisfaction and informational value over pure engagement metrics.

MIT's Artificial Muscles For Soft Robots Flex Like A Human Iris [4 min read]

MIT engineers have developed a novel "stamping" technique that uses 3D-printed molds and genetically engineered muscle cells to create artificial muscles for soft robots that flex in multiple directions like a human iris. These bio-hybrid muscles, which contract both concentrically and radially when stimulated with light, grow within a hydrogel matrix and reach the approximate size of a human iris within a day. This innovation could transform robotics by enabling more flexible, energy-efficient, and biodegradable soft robots for applications like underwater exploration and search-and-rescue operations.

👩‍🏫 Vocab

Customer Engagement: The ongoing interactions between a business and customer, built through meaningful experiences and conversations. It measures how customers interact with your brand across different touchpoints. Strong customer engagement leads to increased loyalty and brand advocacy.

Example: A coffee shop rewards app that tracks purchases, offers personalized rewards, and lets customers order ahead creates multiple ways for customers to engage with the brand.

Real-Time Marketing: The practice of responding to current events, trends, or customer interactions as they happen. It allows brands to create timely, relevant content that connects with audiences in the moment. Real-time marketing requires quick thinking and agile content creation.

Example: Oreo's famous "You can still dunk in the dark" tweet during the Super Bowl blackout, which went viral for its clever timing.

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Tools we use to keep our business running.

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