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Reddit Introduces Community Intelligence 🤖 WhatsApp Is Officially Getting Ads 📢 Google AI Mode Traffic Data Comes To Search Console 🚦

Also: When Google Ads Can Talk And Listen In AI Mode

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🗞 Marketing News

Reddit Introduces Community Intelligence [5 min read]

The system turns its 20 years of user conversations into useful data that helps brands make better marketing decisions and connect with real communities. Also, Reddit Insights, an AI tool that helps marketers plan campaigns and understand what people think about their brands, with early users like Publicis finding new audiences for big clients like Hershey and Comcast. Reddit also created Conversation Summary Add-ons, which show real user comments below ads and increased click rates by 19% because people trust authentic reviews from other users.

WhatsApp Is Officially Getting Ads [2 min read]

Meta announced that WhatsApp will finally introduce ads through its Stories-like status feature in the "Updates" tab, despite the platform's founders being entirely against advertising and Meta previously reversing plans to roll out in-app ads in 2020. The ads will be targeted using "limited" information like your country, language, channels you follow, and ad interactions, while Meta promises never to sell phone numbers to advertisers or use personal messages, calls, or groups to inform ad targeting. Beyond ads, Meta is also introducing promoted channels when users explore new channels to follow and rolling out channel subscriptions for "exclusive updates," expanding WhatsApp's business model with multiple monetization features.

Google AI Mode Traffic Data Comes To Search Console [2 min read]

Google AI Mode traffic data is now included in Search Console Performance reports coinciding with AI Mode's rollout to all U.S. users, with clicks, impressions, and positions from AI Mode counting toward the totals. AI Mode metrics follow specific tracking methodologies where clicks count when users click external links, impressions count when pages appear in AI responses, and positions are calculated like standard search results with each AI Mode component (link cards, image blocks, carousels) having its own position based on Google's standard search element rules. When users ask follow-up questions within AI Mode, Google treats each as a separate new search, with all subsequent clicks, impressions, and positions attributed to that new query rather than the original search. 

🤖 AI 

Your Brain On ChatGPT: Accumulation Of Cognitive Debt When Using An AI Assistant For Essay Writing [10 min read]

A study using brain scans found that people who used AI tools like ChatGPT to write essays showed much less brain activity and cognitive engagement compared to those who wrote without any help or used search engines. Students who relied on AI had trouble remembering what they wrote, felt less ownership of their work, and produced very similar essays to each other, while students who wrote on their own created more unique and personal content. When researchers switched the groups around, they discovered that people who had been using AI continued to show weaker brain patterns even when writing without it, suggesting that AI use might have lasting effects on how our brains work during learning tasks.

Meta Unveils New AI Ad Tools, Including Improved Video Generation Options [4 min read]

Meta launched new AI tools that can turn images into animated video ads and let customers chat with AI bots directly through advertisements to ask questions about products. The company also improved its AI-generated content to include brand logos and colors, making it easier for businesses to create consistent branded ads automatically. Meta is working toward a future where advertisers only need to upload a product link and AI handles everything else, with their current Advantage+ system already delivering 22% better results than traditional ads.

When Google Ads Can Talk And Listen In AI Mode [2 min read]

Google launched conversational voice capabilities in AI Mode that allow users to have back-and-forth audio conversations with Google Search through the new Live icon, asking complex questions, receiving AI-generated audio responses, and following up with additional questions while exploring links from across the web. Google is exploring integrating ads into AI Mode, which could enable brands to target based on voice inflections, conversational context, and intent, potentially creating a new conversational ads format that allows brands to participate in the dialogue experience. However, while conversational ads offer new opportunities, they may result in lower click-through rates since consumers might stay within the conversational interface rather than clicking through to websites, potentially reducing ad serving opportunities and increasing competition for available ad spaces.

🧠 Hacks & Tactics

Email Overkill: Consumers Opt Out When They Get Too Much [2 min read]

While email remains the dominant marketing channel with 59% of consumers preferring it over other mediums, the survey reveals significant fatigue as 70% have unsubscribed from at least three brands in a three-month period due to message overload. Personalization has emerged as a crucial factor, with 81% of consumers more likely to open personalized emails and 75% considering personalization essential, marking a significant increase from 54% last year. The research also shows growing acceptance of AI in marketing, as 59% of consumers trust brands using AI and 58% have made purchases based on AI recommendations, though some concerns about privacy persist with 32% worried about data protection.

Why FAQs Should Be Your Go-To Marketing Tool [6 min read]

FAQs serve as a strategic marketing tool that goes far beyond customer support, acting as the backbone for developing consistent key messages that guide both internal and external communications across an organization. These FAQ documents should be carefully tailored for different audiences and purposes, making them essential for managing various situations from mergers and acquisitions to product launches and corporate crises. The development of effective FAQs requires careful collaboration between subject matter experts, stakeholders, and departments, following a structured process that ensures appropriate review and approval from relevant parties like legal and HR teams.

Factors To Look Into Before Hiring A Digital Marketing Agency For Your Startup [10 min read]

Before hiring a digital marketing agency, startups must thoroughly assess their own needs, including their business goals, budget, timeline, and desired level of involvement, as this self-awareness forms the foundation for a successful partnership. When evaluating potential agencies, companies should focus on critical factors such as cultural alignment, startup-specific experience, technical capabilities, and transparency in both pricing and reporting. The choice of a digital marketing agency represents a crucial strategic investment that can dramatically influence a startup's trajectory, with the right partnership potentially transforming growth and market reach while a poor choice risks wasting valuable resources and stunting progress.

🔮 The Future

YouTube's Open Call Lets Brands Request Custom Sponsored Content [3 min read]

YouTube launched Open Call, a new BrandConnect feature that allows brands to post open calls for creators to submit custom video content for campaigns, with companies able to browse and approve submissions through BrandConnect's creator partnerships hub and deploy selected videos as official YouTube ads. The system works like a competitive pitch process where creators submit video content without guaranteed compensation, meaning they might invest significant effort creating content but only get paid if their submission is selected by the brand, similar to how traditional ad agencies pitch concepts. Open Call provides opportunities for smaller creators to access major brands they normally couldn't contact (like beauty influencers working with multinational cosmetics companies), while brands get a variety of authentic, ready-made content that can help shape campaigns and connect with creators' engaged audiences. 

Americans Now Use Social Media As Their Primary News Source [3 min read]

According to Oxford's Reuters Institute research, 54% of Americans now get news via social media and video networks, surpassing TV broadcast news (50%) and news websites/apps (48%) for the first time ever, representing a dramatic rise from just 27% in 2013. The study found that 57% of Americans primarily use their phones to access news and 72% watch online news videos weekly, showing a clear preference for mobile and visual content over traditional text-based news formats. While the U.S., Latin America, Africa, and parts of Asia show similar social media news consumption patterns, many European countries and Japan have far less social media influence on news consumption, and the shift happens fastest among younger groups, particularly those aged 18-24.

Gen Z At Work [20 min read]

Despite stereotypes about preferring texting and social media, 42% of Gen Z workers actually choose email as their favorite way to communicate at work, though most struggle with how formal to be and find email stressful and overwhelming. Many Gen Z workers use email strategically to avoid difficult conversations, with over a third checking email just because of FOMO, showing they have a complicated love-hate relationship with this communication tool. When it comes to career goals, Gen Z cares most about work-life balance (32%) and earning good money (26%), while making a meaningful impact at work ranks much lower (15%), showing they prioritize personal happiness over traditional ideas about finding purpose through work. 

TikTok Says In-Stream Shopping Has Increased 120% This Year [4 min read]

TikTok Shop sales in the U.S. have grown 120% this year, with millions of users discovering and buying products through livestreams and videos from creators and sellers. However, this growth is still tiny compared to TikTok's Chinese version, Douyin, which made $490 billion in sales compared to TikTok's $6 billion, showing Americans are much less interested in shopping directly through social media apps. Despite the positive growth numbers TikTok is reporting, the company recently had to restructure its commerce team after missing targets, and its future in the U.S. remains uncertain due to ongoing political pressure.

👩‍🏫 Vocab

Video Marketing: The use of video content to promote products, services, or your brand story. It combines visual, audio, and storytelling elements to engage audiences effectively. Video marketing can boost engagement and conversion rates across multiple platforms.

Example: A kitchen appliance brand creates quick recipe videos showing their blender in action, sharing them across YouTube, Instagram, and their website.

Interactive Marketing: Marketing that directly engages consumers and invites them to participate in brand experiences. It creates two-way conversations rather than one-way messages. Interactive marketing makes customers active participants rather than passive viewers.

Example: A beverage company creates an augmented reality app where customers can scan their cans to play games and win prizes.

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