How “to make your business stand out this Christmas”; or, (for this part) how to market your business any time of year:

Part of the battle to make your business stand out happens before the customer arrives in town or begins browsing online. If you can capture the attention of your target audience in advance, they are more likely to keep an eye out for your brand.

speak to the people most likely to buy from you. Target them with content that will entertain them, touch their emotions, solve their problems or add value to their decision making.

People don’t know about you. Until they do.

Search is splintering, social media is changing, and AI is here, which means the playbook needs to be updated.

For us who have built content and SEO engines in the past, we have to start to build engagement engines.

We have to move from an era where we did SEO-led growth and information-led growth, to engagement-led growth, personality-led growth.

-Marketing Against the Grain podcast

It’s about creating engaging media as more channels are creator-focused over brand-focused.

Scratch and sniff marketing?

Snap has filed a patent that…

introduces specially-modalized stickers, that when used in a chat, allow the recipient at the other end to experience certain scents. This is achieved by the recipient interacting with the sticker on their screen through a tap or rub, triggering the release of the associated smell.

Of course, this depends on device makers adding the necessary underlying tech to make it possible. (Which is why so many platforms want to be device makers.)

Inverse animal spirits?

More than a quarter of Americans are “doom spending” in order to manage their worries about the macroeconomy and foreign affairs

Some of the top concerns among respondents included inflation, cost-of-living increases, unaffordable housing, and not having enough money for small luxuries, or even basic necessities.

Concerns about the economy might be spurring actions that will empower the economy.

But also, confusing.

This was always my contention with economics assuming people are rational actors.

Pinterest’s direct links for ads is out of beta.

With other Pinterest ads, it takes two clicks for someone to navigate off Pinterest.

For ads using direct links there’s just one click, and it goes directly to the advertiser’s site.

I had a client in the beta and we saw a noticeable uptick in site sessions from Pinterest ads.

More ads in the same places: YouTube Shorts edition

To check if the YouTube Shorts ad format is available on your YouTube Ads account, go to:

• Create Campaign.
• Choose “Create a campaign without a goal’s guidance.”
• Select “Video.”
• If the feature is available on your account, you will find it under Video in the Efficient Reach section.

🚨 Update yo shit

Apple fixes two new iOS zero-days in emergency updates

I’m always saying this:

AI is a tool. We can use it for good or bad, it’s us that is good or bad.

Or, said this way:

AI is neutral. People are terrible.