A suite of AI tools is on the way
Remember how Google wasn’t fond of AI written content? Well, that’s because it wasn’t their AI.
The tech giant announced a number of AI generator tools that will soon be available for public use, including text-to-image, AI audio generator, and a text editing tool. Whoa.
How totally not surprising: Google is using their next-gen conversational AI model LaMDA to power Wordcraft, their prototype writing app.
They claim the app will “add spice” when it comes to editing already existing content.
Apparently Wordcraft is capable of creative writing, too. Fun fact: it’s the same system a Google engineer described as “sentient” earlier this year. Hmm…
How about generating sounds? Google’s AudioLM framework can produce realistic speech as well as piano music by listening to audio only.
… And then there’s Imagen: The text-to-image generator is getting added to AI Test Kitchen, the platform where you can try out Google’s emerging AI technology.
It’s still limited, though. Right now prompts can only generate city buildings and little monsters. Doesn’t make it any less spectacular!
Why we care: Theoretically, all these different technologies would be enough for marketers to generate video ads—complete with imagery, sound, and copy—without leaving the desk.
How wicked is that?
TIKTOK
New studies demonstrate where TikTok is most effective
TikTok knows you’ll take their research with a grain of salt.
So they commissioned a number of research companies to study the effectiveness of TikTok Ads and called it TikTok Works. Suggestive much?
Jokes aside, here’s what they found…
Packaged goods are crushing it: According to Nielsen, TikTok successfully drives sales with paid media, especially in the US, where it saw 96% higher ROAS compared to other channels.
Beauty, personal care, and food and beverage categories have seen the biggest success, with TikTok Ads even topping TV ads revenue per 1,000 impressions, despite lower costs.
Discovery channel: A study by Fairing found that TikTok is often the first touch point when it comes to learning about new products.
Apparently, 15% of all product discoveries start with TikTok. Seems… big.
Ditch TV for TT: Kantar Link AI discovered that more than 3,500 TikTok ads outperformed digital and TV norms by 15%–20% when it comes to metrics like persuasion and enjoyment.
Makes sense, since youngsters rarely watch TV.
Why we care: TikTok seems to be a great channel for prospecting and content marketing, especially if you sell packaged goods.
We’ll just assume you’ve already integrated it into your marketing stack.
And if you’re recruiting influencers, you should probably know that…
SPONSORED BY #PAID
72% of brands are only scratching the surface with creator marketing. Here’s how to get ahead of them…
How do you increase the ROI of your influencer marketing campaigns?
Easy: get rid of the reach limitations of social media platforms.
See, most companies invest in a creator that endorses their brand and produces beautiful content. But creators’ organic viewership is limited by the ever-changing algorithms of social media platforms.
And limited views mean limited sales.
The #paid team is hosting a free webinar where they’ll show you innovative strategies for maximizing the value of collaborations with creators.
They’ll also reveal case studies of companies that are using these strategies to boost views and revenue.
You will leave the session with actionable steps for increasing the distribution of your influencers’ content—and you’ll be able to squeeze more revenue from each dollar you invest into influencer marketing.
SEO
The most common causes of traffic loss after website migration
For marketing teams, migrating a website is the virtual equivalent of completing a triathlon.
Only for SEOs, the process doesn’t stop when the migration is complete, because that’s usually when volatility in rankings and traffic loss happens.
SEO consultant Natalie Slater asked search engine experts on Twitter to share their views on what causes traffic loss when you migrate your website.
Here’s what they said…
- Poorly done redirects. Many SEOs said that sometimes it’s because redirects are missing completely, and sometimes it’s due to partial or poorly done redirects. Of course, redirects are just one of several potential causes.
- Not migrating title tags on images and page structure changes. One SEO pointed out that changes to headings, image size increases, etc., can also tank your rank.
- Continuing to work at the same time you expect Google to crawl the new website, for example redesign, URL restructuring, adding hreflang, and more.
- Slam-dunking design and architectural improvements can also cause traffic loss.
There were also a bunch of replies related to domain authority:
- A new brand not being well received by Google – yet.
- Migrating a good website to one that’s less good.
- Switching to a less distinct brand.
- Badly optimized content and topical map on the new domain.
Many SEOs believe that post-migration traffic drops are normal and it will take time for Google to accept that your new domain or brand has replaced the old one.
There’s a common thread in all this: Whatever you do, you should understand and plan for every part of the migration, down to the tiniest, most nuanced details… if you want to avoid any huge inconveniences, that is.
SPONSORED BY WORKSTREAMS.AI
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Going from email to Salesforce, to Trello to Excel, chatting on Slack, and hopping back into email… yeah, that gets tedious real quick.
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Workstreams.ai offers a centralized workspace for teams to collaborate on standardized, repeatable processes.
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THE CREW’S INSIGHTS
This four-stage revision process will dramatically improve your writing
Ask any writer and they’ll almost always agree on one thing: revision is the key to good writing.
First drafts are almost always bad. Revision is how you take a messy first draft to something that people actually want to read.
And the more complex your writing project is, the more important revision becomes.
We’ve spent thousands of hours reading good writing, and a fair chunk of those hours breaking down that writing both in this newsletter and in Stacked Marketer Pro.
Here’s a common revision process you can use to make your writing better:
- First, revise for ideas. This is high-level, big-picture stuff. Go back to what you’ve written and ask yourself if your ideas make sense, and if you need to completely rethink things for the writing to work.
- Next, revise for structure. Now that you’ve figured out your ideas, decide how to present your ideas. Should you bring a novel paragraph up to serve as the hook for your piece? Should you create a more narrative flow? Something else? This stage is important.
- Then, revise for tone. Determine what tone you’re trying to use, then read your writing aloud and edit to make your writing fits that tone.
- Finally, revise for sentence-level improvements. Once you’ve done all of the above, you can hone in on the specific, sentence-level stuff. Make your writing sing.
This four-step process is used, in one way or another, by many of the best writers out there.
By starting high-level and progressively getting more specific, you reduce the chance of anything big slipping through the cracks.
ROUNDING UP THE STACK
CONVERSION RATE OPTIMIZATION: “A website without good copy is like Chuck Norris without a beard. Powerless. Unnatural. A tragedy.” So true. It’s also one of the 150 examples you’ll find in our Landing Page Deep Dive, along with analysis, breakdowns, and templates. Join Stacked Marketer Pro and make your website’s copy powerful.*
SNAP: Online shopping is getting big on Snapchat – literally. The app announced a new integration with BigCommerce, allowing BigCommerce merchants in the US to display their products in Snaps. Hooray for more options.
TWITTER: The plot thickens. The Interpublic Group of Companies—a global ad giant—is urging brands to pause Twitter ad spend for a week until there’s “more clarity on the platform’s plans for trust and safety.”
STREAMING: What has 720p quality videos and 5 minutes of ads after every hour of content? Yep, Netflix Basic with Ads plan. It’s launching today and with less content that they hoped for. Apparently, five major studios are yet to be convinced it’s okay to run ads against their content… Let’s see what happens.
*This is a sponsored post
BRAIN TEASER
How can you make six into an odd number?
You can find the answer here.
POOLSIDE CHAT
Cool tech, (funny) business, lifestyle and all the other things marketers like to chat about while sipping cocktails by the pool.
Next destination: Portugal?
Want to spend time in a country with pristine beaches, vibrant nightlife, and a rich history?
Portugal is one of the hottest European destinations. And it could easily become your home for a few months.
The country passed a law allowing workers from all over the world—even those who aren’t part of the European Union or European economic area—to apply for a digital nomad visa.
Reading Stacked Marketer on a European beach? Sounds like a dream…
If you’re lucky enough to make it to Portugal with a digital nomad visa, don’t forget to send us a postcard!