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Are you trying to influence Culture or a culture?

The scale is different. The distinction matters.

There is nothing but micro trends these days. Sometimes, things bubble up, and they capture the imagination of pop culture…but then they last for a really short time. In that environment, how do you really set yourself up to influence culture?

If your marketing is going to be trend-based, that requires a particular discipline and dedication.

Pick a direction and go all in. Half measures are where the true losses happen.

via The Sociology of Business from this chat (youtube link)

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Get weird!

McKinsey study found that companies that prioritize creativity have 67 percent higher organic revenue growth than those who do not. Yet, creativity, despite its superior business value, is often siloed in “creative” departments like marketing, design or creative. Creativity is a company-wide mandate

via The Sociology of Business from this conversation (youtube link)

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Nudge podcast: A surprisingly effective way to persuade (almost) anyone

  • The power of identity (people like us, do things like this)
  • Conforming to status
  • It’s all mimicry

Being a mirror that looks like a window.

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Running sales is a short-term solution that can create long-term problems.

Discounting Trains Customers to Devalue You → Short-term revenue spikes don’t build sustainable customer behavior. Your audience starts waiting for sales instead of buying on impulse.

Discounting is lazy. The best brands make full-price irresistible.

via Buyology

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Reports of Instagram’s Death Are Greatly Exaggerated

Meta’s various apps are the closest we have the US to everything apps. The feature sets are deep enough that people can use them in different ways.

in multiple interviews with 15- to 26-year-olds, Gen Z people, they said that they used Instagram to keep in touch with friends, scope out crushes, build businesses, and pour over cooking videos. But out of all of its features, they seemed least interested in the polished public photo feed that had once been Instagram’s marquee offering.

But Instagram (and TikTok) aren’t social networks, they’re social media

it feels more comfortable to post on TikTok than it does on Instagram. And I think that’s a common narrative and sentiment that we hear all the time. But I think the reality is that most people, young people in particular, don’t really feel comfortable posting anywhere at this point

Instagram is a mix of entertainment, inbox (DMs as the new email), and search. At least for younger users.

What does this mean for how brands use Instagram?

The traditional feed is certainly easiest for most. But how much are people engaging with this “legacy” feature.

On-platform search plus Google indexing posts for off-platform search means the Instagram feed is more like Pinterest than TikTok. A visual microblog.

via Behind the Numbers