Happy Wednesday.
There are two types of people in this world: Those who keep a secret snack stash at their desk, and liars.
As for us, we have emergency chocolate, protein bars, and almonds that have been there since… actually, we’re not sure when those showed up.
What’s your go-to workday snack? Hit reply and let us know. We’re trying to build a case for why snacks deserve their own marketing budget line item.
A quicker way to spot Merchant Center account issues, an auto-assigning test, and voice search gets an upgrade
The only thing we like better than seeing results quickly is spotting problems quickly.
Tell us all the issues: There’s a new Issue Details Page in Merchant Center that gives you a single dashboard to spot and fix product or account problems before they tank your listings.
It surfaces recommended actions, impact metrics, and sample affected products all under the Needs attention tab. Do you see it?
If so, it could offer invaluable clarity and save you from lost sales and late-night troubleshooting sessions as you head into the holiday season.
But over in Google Ads, things are getting messy: Google is auto-assigning New Customer Values in some accounts without warning or consent… and advertisers can’t remove them.
One marketer noticed Google inflated revenue reports they didn’t authorize! Yikes.
Google claims it’s an experiment to improve optimization, but when your metrics get skewed and there’s no change log, that’s a problem.
We’ll keep you posted if there’s a wider rollout.
On a brighter note, voice search got smarter: Google’s new Speech-to-Retrieval approach skips text conversion entirely and uses dual neural networks to match spoken queries directly to relevant documents.
This results in faster, more contextually accurate answers, even if you say “that famous swirly sky painting” instead of “The Starry Night.”
… Because let’s be honest, some of your customers probably know you better by description than by your product name.
Halloween trends for YouTube and Reddit, plus some Q4 insights from Pinterest and LinkedIn
Pumpkin spice lattes are nice, but the real proof of autumn is the Halloween campaigns.
And the ghouls are logging on early: Halloween makeup content on YouTube has racked up over 1B views in 2025 alone. Those are big numbers if you’re in the industry.
Shorts are driving the engagement with surprise reveals and viral audio trends, while tutorials make pro-level looks accessible to anyone with a ring light and ambition.
Take note if you’re selling similar products.
Reddit’s stats tell a similar story: Halloween mentions may spike 5x two weeks before October 31, but the conversation really kicks off in July and builds fast.
66% of users are celebrating and 50% plan to spend, so Reddit seems like a primed and ready ground for timely ads targeting anyone celebrating the date.
Pinterest wants you to get ready yesterday: Demand for Black Friday and Cyber Monday is already building. Remember, pinners aren’t impulse buyers; they’re planners.
Last year, 76% of the platform’s monthly audience shopped during the deal days, making them 30% more likely to buy than non-users.
So optimize your product feed, make discounts hard to miss, and let Performance+ automation handle the heavy lifting when traffic spikes 60% week-over-week.
On the B2B side, measurement has a new look: LinkedIn is recommending a four-phase approach to demonstrate impact and justify spend: Define, capture, activate, and evaluate.
Supposedly those steps, combined with smart AI use, are the future of measurement. If LinkedIn is to be believed, of course…
Hey, if it helps you connect marketing exposure to revenue outcomes and prove what actually works, we’re all for it.
Run influencer campaigns on autopilot with AI
You know how planning influencer campaigns can feel like shouting into the void?
You spend hours hunting for the right creators, sliding into DMs, and sending follow-ups, only to get ghosted.
It’s a grind. And a slow one.
What if you could skip all that and just… close deals?
That’s the idea behind Stormy, the platform that automates your entire influencer marketing workflow.
Here’s how Stormy makes your life easier:
- AI Agents do the heavy lifting. Let AI automatically find relevant creators, send personalized outreach, and even handle negotiations for you.
- Discover creators everywhere. Find influencers across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, newsletters, and podcasts from one dashboard.
- Manage everything in one place. Track conversations and monitor campaign performance without juggling a dozen different tools.
Stop chasing influencers and start building your brand.
How do Meta’s AI-generated ad images perform?
In case you hadn’t noticed, Meta is pushing AI-generated image options pretty hard when you create ads.
On one hand, by opting in you can create entirely new AI images to run alongside your originals, or just add new backgrounds to your existing creative, and that’s pretty cool.
… But are they any good? And how much of your budget is Meta spending on them? Jon Loomer recently answered those questions, take a look:
Compare the results
Fortunately, you can see exactly how the AI versions are doing by using the creative breakdown. If you have this option, just select Image generation from the breakdown menu.
This will give you separate performance rows for your original image and any of the generated ones.
Assess your own performance
Jon saw one example where Meta spent over 40% of the ad budget on the AI generated images.
In that specific case, the versions were only AI-generated backgrounds, not entirely new images.
The results? The cost per conversion was nearly identical to the original. This isn’t too surprising since the changes weren’t radically different.
To AI or not to AI?
Frankly, fully-generated AI images are generally slop, though testing background variations seems worthwhile.
Ultimately, you should monitor your performance as you would anywhere else.
If you’re using them, or thinking about it, run a test and use Jon’s breakdown to get the real story.
Don’t just trust the machine; check the data.
Need to show your boss real conversions by next quarter? Use this CRO system (it delivers predictable wins)
Lots of senior marketers and C-suite execs want to see better conversion rates right now.
The truth is, you really only need three or four tests to improve results by 30% to 60%.
That’s what CRO expert Carlos Valdivia discovered after optimizing funnels for 300+ six-figure brands.
And he had shared his complete step-by-step system in a 2.5 hours course.
After going through it, you’ll confidently be able to analyze a funnel and understand which tests will double your conversion rate.
This Q4, take note: Millennials and Zoomers put Cyber Monday first
Yesterday, we shared a chart from our Q4 Data Story that shows Cyber Monday is the day when it comes to Q4 shopping.
But who’s fueling this bonanza? Well, the “digital natives,” of course:
A massive 74% of Millennials and 72% of Gen Z plan to shop on this day, and their participation is what turns the day from a big sale into a record-breaking event.
Gen X isn’t far behind—a solid 60% plan to join in on the deals. The real drop-off comes with Baby Boomers, where only 35% plan to make a purchase.
The message is clear: Cyber Monday belongs to the digitally native. For brands targeting younger demographics, this day is your grand finale.
The overwhelming intent from Millennials and Gen Z means your creative, messaging, and channel strategy must be perfectly tuned to their tastes.
Actionable Tip: Go all-in on mobile-first channels. Use TikTok and Instagram to showcase your deals in action, and leverage SMS for last-minute reminders.
Weave in themes that resonate with younger shoppers, like authenticity or sustainability, alongside your promotions, too.
Good luck!
5 MINUTES TO MASTER PSYCHOLOGY: That’s all it takes. Every Thursday, get a powerful marketing psychology principle delivered to your inbox that you can read and understand in less time than it takes to make your coffee. Subscribe for free.*
INFLUENCER MARKETING: It seems marketers are swiping left on AI. 72% say AI-generated content isn’t important, and only 2% call it extremely important. Now compare that to user-generated content, which 36% of marketers said is extremely important. Guess it’s time to get real.
YOUTUBE: You now have a real defense against AI clones. YouTube’s new likeness detection tool is rolling out to eligible creators in the Partner Program, and it lets you find and request removals of deepfakes using your face or voice. You will need to verify your own identity first, FYI.
FACEBOOK: … Is cementing its lead in news engagement. It saw a 17% boost in Q3. Fox News alone saw a massive 53% surge, hitting 277M engagements and owning eight of the top 10 posts. If you’re in the news or publisher sectors, don’t overlook Facebook.
WHATSAPP: Yesterday it was DM limits. Now Meta is testing advanced scam detection for Messenger and WhatsApp. If users get a suspicious message, a warning will pop up offering an AI review. Make sure you’re doing your utmost not to trigger any spam red flags, OK?
SOCIAL MEDIA: Is Airbnb turning into a social network, a search tool, or both? Its Experiences tool now lets users see who else is attending an activity and message them through a Connections tab, and its search tool offers a maps view that includes attractions and restaurants. How to optimize…
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