Edition #11

Quick Hits:

• The Tumblr revival is real — and Gen Z is leading the charge (2-minute read)

• TikTok's US Sell-Off Deadline Extended Another 75 Days (2-minute read)

• Meta, Amazon, and Lots of Tech Firms Will Be Indirectly Harmed by Tariffs Too (3-minute read)

• Amazon Makes Surprise Bid for TikTok (3-minute read)
  Amazon wants TikTok. If it pulls this off, it’s a whole new era for social commerce and ad data.

• Apple Stock Dips After Tariff Threats (2-minute read)
  Trump’s new tariff talk rattled markets, dragging down Apple and the tech sector.

• Gaming Grows, but Ad Budgets Lag (4-minute read)
  Big platforms are all-in on gaming. Advertisers? Still catching up.

• Trust in Social Media Is Crumbling (3-minute read)
  Disinformation and AI are eroding trust. Authenticity is your edge.

• Roblox and Google Team Up on Ads (2-minute read)
  New deal brings smarter ads to Roblox. In-game just went next-gen.

Deep Dive: Mindshare First, Market Share Second

In a world where buyers do their homework, mindshare is the new moat.

Fast Company makes the case that building trust before the transaction is no longer optional, it’s strategic survival. Buyers today are entering the sales funnel later and more informed, often arriving with a short list of options already in hand. If you’re not on that list, you’ve already lost.

Enter mindshare marketing: a long-game strategy that prioritizes brand credibility, category education, and relevance well before a purchase decision is made. Think informative content, active listening, and building a reputation as the go-to expert, not just a seller.

The article highlights how companies like HubSpot and Salesforce do this well, offering ungated content, how-to guides, and tools that deliver value upfront. These aren’t just lead magnets. They’re trust builders.

It also spotlights the shift in metrics. Success is not just clicks or leads, it’s share of voice, time spent with your brand, and how often you're mentioned when your category comes up.

The takeaway: If you’re waiting for a buyer to raise their hand, you’re too late. Influence starts before intent. And in that early phase, trust is the real differentiator.

Try this: Audit your top-funnel efforts. Are you helping your audience make smarter decisions, or just selling at them? Build content that makes people smarter, even if they never buy.

ToolBox:

Strategies & Tactics:

1. Turn Audience Research Into Business Power

Audience insights are only as valuable as your ability to get others to act on them. SparkToro’s latest post outlines how to translate your findings into decisions that matter to leadership.

The key move? Stop positioning research as “interesting.” Start connecting it directly to revenue, efficiency, and competitive advantage.

Three tactics that work:

1. Frame audience research as risk mitigation. Show how knowing where your customers spend time, who they trust, or what language they use reduces campaign waste and messaging misfires.

2. Tie data to dollars. Use simple math to connect audience alignment to improved conversion rates, pipeline growth, or reduced churn. When research sounds like ROI, leaders lean in.

3. Lead with “why it matters now.” Relevance drives urgency. Highlight shifts in customer behavior or competitor positioning to make the case for action, not observation.

The takeaway: Executives don’t need more data. They need clearer decisions. Your job is to close the gap between what you’ve learned and what the business should do next.

2. SEO Moves to AI Territory

Search is evolving fast, and AI tools like Google AIO, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Bing Copilot are changing the rules. These systems pull from top-ranking, well-structured sources to generate answers instantly, often bypassing traditional clicks.

Here’s how to stay visible in this AI-first search world:

• Prioritize ranking in the top 20 on Google. AIO pulls from those results to populate overviews.

• Optimize for Bing, not just Google. ChatGPT and Copilot rely on Bing’s index—ranking here means more AI visibility.

• Structure your content with clear headings, FAQs, and schema markup. AI tools favor clean, digestible formatting.

• Focus on authority. Cite sources, answer questions clearly, and keep content accurate—especially for Perplexity, which links back to originals.

• Monitor referral traffic from AI sources. Tools like Perplexity and ChatGPT are growing drivers of visits.

AI search isn’t a someday thing. It’s already reshaping discoverability. Make your content easy for bots to find—and people to trust.

Swipe File:

Outsmarting Google Ads: Insider Strategies (7-minute read)

This guide is packed with smart, testable tactics:

• Ditch “maximize conversions”, opt for manual or value-based bidding for more control

• Break out branded campaigns to improve performance tracking

• Exclude high-cost, low-conversion locations and devices

• Split campaigns by audience intent to sharpen targeting

• Watch out for “smart” defaults that quietly kill efficiency

Apply these to get better results without raising your budg

Trend Watch:

Agentic AI: If Everyone Has a Digital PA, Where Does That Leave Marketers? (6-minute read)
AI assistants are becoming proactive agents, not just reactive tools. That means your next customer could be an algorithm, not a human. This shift will demand new marketing playbooks built for machines who make decisions on our behalf.

Profile Pic Jacking: The Free Marketing Growth Hack You Didn’t Know You Needed (3-minute read)
A new LinkedIn growth hack is making the rounds—“profile pic jacking.” It’s clever, a little shady, and weirdly effective. And yes, it’s being used by top marketers to get noticed without paying for reach.

Ads for Busy vs. Relaxed People (5-minute read)
People under time pressure prefer social proof and authority cues. Relaxed audiences want rich stories and details. Use urgency to guide your creative: fast brains want validation, slow brains want narrative. Design around attention states, not just personas.

Closing Thought:

Marketing used to be about being louder. Now it’s about being found, being trusted, and being remembered. The best brands today aren’t waiting for buyers to show up, they’re showing up first, with clarity, credibility, and content that actually helps. Influence isn’t built at the bottom of the funnel. It starts upstream.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the newsletter. Feedback is always welcome, I’m here to make this newsletter as useful, sharp, and relevant as it can be.

Until next time—stay curious.