Today's Digital Marketing Pulse
AI drives data‑driven growth on social media for small businesses
AI is transforming how small firms use social platforms, turning guesswork into data‑driven growth. A SurveyMonkey study finds 88 % of marketers rely on AI daily for tasks like caption drafting and audience insights. Analysts project global big‑data analytics spending to reach $230.6B by 2025, highlighting confidence in AI‑powered marketing.
The 2026 Material Handling Marketing Report: Why Thought Leadership Is King
In this episode, Kevin and Ashton Maxfield dissect the 2026 Material Handling Marketing Report, which reveals that 45% of industry professionals rank Thought Leadership and Content as their top marketing priority. They explain how traditional sales tactics—like spec sheets and cold calls—are losing relevance as AI, robotics, and a new generation of buyers reshape expectations. Ashton outlines a practical framework for building a thought leadership strategy that positions companies as trusted partners in the evolving supply chain landscape. The discussion emphasizes the need to create forward‑looking, educational content that demonstrates deep industry insight.
Cultural Interoperability: How Place Branding Evolves in a Social-First World
Place branding is moving from a single, top‑down narrative to what Sara Seif Ibrahim calls Cultural Interoperability, where a destination’s identity engages with the diverse cultural lenses visitors bring. Social‑first platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels now co‑author the story,...
75% of B2B Firms Will Prioritize Influencer
Another week, walk and report. This time, 6 B2B Predictions from Forrester : The Race To Trust And Value. Renee Irion , Principal Analyst at Forrester, talked about the prediction that 75% of B2B businesses will increase investment on influencer...
How to Build AI Citations — Whiteboard Friday
Exposure Ninja CEO Charlie Marchant outlines how AI citations work and why they matter. He explains that being referenced in ChatGPT, Gemini, or Perplexity can drive qualified traffic as AI handles about 2.5 billion daily searches. The guide walks through a...
Consumers Approaching Valentine’s Day Comfortably and Intentionally: Lightspeed Commerce
Lightspeed Commerce’s latest consumer data shows Valentine’s Day is shedding traditional gifting pressure, with 62% of North American shoppers feeling little obligation to spend. Instead, more than a quarter are already purchasing gifts for themselves, and 57% say they spend...
Facebook Ads Conversion Rate Optimization Guide
The episode breaks down Facebook ad conversion rates, defining the metric, noting the industry average of 9.21% and flagging sub‑3% rates as poor. It explores key factors that influence conversions—targeting, customer journey, product price, and competition—and explains how to calculate...
Bondi Sands Bets on Feeling, Not Forecasts, with ‘Summer Never Ends’
Bondi Sands launches the "Summer Never Ends" global platform, shifting its narrative from a seasonal tagline to a year‑round confidence mindset. The campaign relies on authentic, mood‑driven creative and diverse ambassadors, extending across social, OOH, digital and in‑store touchpoints. It...
Mrge Releases New Industry Report “State of Commerce Advertising 1/2026”
mrge released its semi‑annual “State of Commerce Advertising 1/2026” report, highlighting a market shift from pure traffic provision to trusted authority. The study finds consumers increasingly rely on AI‑summarised results, making “zero‑click discovery” a critical factor. Only 11.3% of companies...
Glossy Pop Newsletter: Why Are so Many Skin Care Brands Hitting the Slopes?
Beauty brands are turning ski resorts into experiential marketing stages, hosting influencer trips and multi‑year resort partnerships to showcase product performance in cold, high‑altitude conditions. Rhode’s Snow Club activation in Big Sky, Montana features top beauty creators and pre‑seeded product...
EBay Celebrates Local Super Bowl with Live Shopping, Bay-Area Watch Party
eBay is leveraging the 2026 Super Bowl in its home market with a multi‑day live‑shopping experience called the eBay End Zone in San Francisco’s Union Square. The pop‑up will showcase rare sports collectibles, trading cards, vintage football gear and pre‑loved...
Affirm Details New AI Tool for Merchants
Affirm is piloting BoostAI, an AI‑driven tool that lets merchants A/B test promotional financing offers to identify the most effective rates and terms. Early adopters—47 enterprise clients and hundreds of SMBs—report a 5%‑15% lift in gross merchandise volume. The initiative...
We Did It Again: SAP Recognized As A Leader In The 2026 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ For Personalization Engines
In this episode, SAP announces its seventh consecutive placement as a Leader in the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Personalization Engines, emphasizing the shift from siloed personalization to unified, real‑time, AI‑driven customer experiences. The discussion highlights SAP’s capabilities in event‑based,...
Privy’s Fire‑sale Spree Adds Overlapping SaaS Monoliths
Privy keeps acquiring struggling SaaS companies via fire sales. Emotive last year, Sendlane now, and even a management buyout from Attentive Mobile. Very scrappy, but idk how you'd merge 3 monolith workflow apps with meaningful overlap between them all.
Sell Out Your First Batch in 30 Minutes by Building an Audience With No Product to Sell
In this episode, host Shane Barker talks with Kendall Kransdorf about how she sold out the first batch of her cottage‑cheese dip brand Cotto in just 30 minutes by building an audience before the product existed. Kendall shares her strategy...
AI Can Make You Multilingual Overnight — Or Create Chaos Just As Fast
The episode explores how generative AI and machine translation are reshaping enterprise localization, turning multilingual content from a niche function into a pervasive capability across all business units. It warns that treating AI translation as a simple toggle leads to...
DX3 2026 Reimagines Canada’s Leading Retail Conference
DX3 2026 will return to Toronto with a redesigned, intimate format that moves away from traditional trade‑show crowds toward senior‑level strategy sessions and curated networking. Under the Economic Club of Canada’s ownership, the conference positions itself as a thought‑leadership platform...
Google Shows How To Check Passage Indexing via @Sejournal, @Martinibuster
John Mueller clarified that Googlebot rarely hits a 2 MB HTML limit and that page size is not a primary factor for indexing. He emphasized that what matters is whether important passages are indexed, not the total bytes. Mueller suggested checking...
Threads Looks to Tap Into Super Bowl Engagement
Meta is turning the Super Bowl into a launchpad for Threads, installing a branded studio in the NFL media center to host podcasters and creators. The move aims to cement Threads as the go‑to venue for real‑time sports conversation, building...
Boost Revenue per Employee Tenfold with AI‑Driven Roles
Satya is giving eCommerce brand owners the labor playbook to follow. Product Manager + Designer + Back End Engineer + Front Engineer > Full Stack Developer Head of Growth + Meta Buyer + Google Buyer + Creative Strategist > Prophit Engineer Greater velocity,...
Dear Littler: Are There Any Concerns About Letting Our Employees Post Videos About Our Products?
A retailer’s marketing manager asks if an employee‑influencer can post a product video on social media. The FTC mandates a clear disclosure of any material connection between the employee and the company, and violations can result in fines. The company...
TikTok Offers Enhanced Shops Promotion Program
TikTok introduced the Smart Promotion program on Jan 20, 2026, replacing its Co‑funded Promotion model. The initiative co‑invests marketing spend with merchants, guarantees a 5× return on investment and reports a 70% GMV boost during Black Friday. Fees are streamlined to 3.5%,...
What Is an SMM Panel? Insider Tactics for Finding the Best SMM Panel & Safe Automation
The episode breaks down what a Social Media Marketing (SMM) panel is and why it’s a valuable automation tool for brands and influencers seeking rapid, cost‑effective growth. It walks listeners through a five‑step workflow—selecting a reputable panel, choosing the right...
X Calls on Users to Submit Grok-Generated Video for Super Bowl Promotion
X is launching a $1 million contest inviting users to create Grok‑generated video ads for its upcoming Super Bowl promotion. Participants must use the newly released Grok Imagine 1.0 engine to produce 30‑second clips that showcase the tool’s video and audio capabilities....
What’s Driving Higher Conversion Rates For Online Eyewear Stores?
The episode breaks down the key levers that boost conversion rates for online eyewear retailers, emphasizing a blend of user‑friendly site design, high‑quality product visuals, and frictionless checkout. It highlights virtual try‑on technology as a game‑changer for reducing shopper anxiety,...
Google Releases Discover Core Update – February 2026
Google rolled out the February 2026 Discover core update, initially to English‑speaking users in the United States, with a global rollout planned over the next months. The algorithmic change aims to surface more locally relevant, in‑depth, and original content while demoting...
Early Public Builders Gain Massive Edge and Revenue
I've made more money building in public than most people have made building in private. Let's talk about it. I think building in public worked for me to the extent that it did because nobody at my level was doing it...
17 Email Design Best Practices For Ecommerce
In this episode, Vytautas Palubeckas outlines 17 actionable email design best practices for ecommerce, emphasizing the need for clear messaging, a single CTA, and mobile‑first layouts to boost conversions. He highlights the importance of a design system, white space, visual...
SEO Still Works: Replicate Proven Playbook for AI Growth
I asked Adam Fard how he bootstrapped UX Pilot AI to $5M ARR in 2 years. His answer goes against every hot take on social media right now. Adam built a UX design agency before launching UX Pilot, an AI...
CMOs Join Late; Target Their Teams First
You're pitching to the wrong person. We asked 101 B2B SaaS CMOs how they actually select vendors. The finding that might change your entire sales strategy: 82% of CMOs enter after the team has narrowed the list down to the final few....
How First-Party Data Drives Better Outcomes in AI-Powered Advertising
First‑party data is now the most powerful lever for AI‑driven advertising, according to Julie Warneke of Found Search Marketing. By feeding CRM‑derived signals into Google’s AI bidding, advertisers can boost conversion quality, revenue, and ROAS even as CPCs rise. Performance...
Google Local Hotel Photos "Good To Know" AI Labels
Google is testing AI-generated “Good to Know” labels on hotel photos in its Google Hotels listings. The labels provide brief descriptions summarizing the photo content and related user reviews, and appear on both owner‑uploaded and visitor images, though not on...
AI Search Redefines SEO: KPIs, Structured Content, Citations
🚀 AI Search: Where are we so far and how to win in the current landscape - My presentation at Women in Tech SEO updated with the latest data and shifts: Here are the immediate SEO implications from these key AI...
Google Discover Update Impact Lost in Volatile Data
Trying to analyze the impact of a Google Discover core update when Discover is already super volatile 🤣 https://t.co/5Q2kyfkgux
Abercrombie, Ebay, Aldi Opt for IRL Activations to Capture Super Bowl Fervor
Brands are sidestepping the $7 million Super Bowl TV spot by rolling out real‑world activations across the Bay Area. eBay is converting its End Zone pop‑up into a live‑shopping studio, while Abercrombie & Fitch debuts an NFL‑licensed capsule and Pro Bowl...
Google and Bing Clarify Separate .md Pages for LLM Crawlers
Got answers from both Google and now also Bing (thx @facan) about using separate .md pages for LLM crawlers I’m not saying it’s right or wrong either way (jury is still out as many folks are testing the impact now),...
5 Content Marketing Ideas for March 2026
The article outlines five March 2026 content‑marketing ideas—spring renewal, National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day, Live Long and Prosper Day, Make Up Your Own Holiday Day, and the America at 250 celebration. Each concept pairs a seasonal or cultural moment with product‑focused storytelling...
Microsoft Advertising Tests Magazine Answer Card Ad Format
Microsoft Advertising is piloting a magazine‑style layout within its Answer Card ad format on Bing’s search results page. The new design places ads in the prominent card slots that appear at the top of queries. Advertisers can access the space...
Kentico Unveils Major AI Leap Bringing Agentic AI Workflows to Marketing Teams
Kentico announced the AIRA Agentic Marketing Suite, expanding its AI‑powered Xperience platform. The suite introduces specialized AI agents, starting with a Content Strategist, that automate tasks across the marketing lifecycle. Built directly into the platform, the agents eliminate the need...
Lads, Lads, Lads? Forget It, Footie Fans Are Far More ‘Sick’
GWI surveyed 26,000 UK male football fans ahead of the 2026 World Cup and found only 9% feel represented by current advertising, which still leans on the outdated "lager lout" stereotype. Nearly half now choose non‑alcoholic beer and 10% abstain...
Freshpaint (YC S19) Is Hiring a Senior SWE, Data
Freshpaint, a Y Combinator S19 startup, is hiring a senior software engineer focused on data to expand its HIPAA‑compliant infrastructure for healthcare marketers. The company enables 100s of healthcare businesses to collect, protect, and activate customer data while staying privacy‑first....
Four Tatari Clients to Air Commercials During NBC’s Super Bowl LX Broadcast, Underscoring Its Role as the Go-To Partner for...
Tatari announced that four of its clients—Ro, Manscaped, Tecovas and Life360—will run commercials during NBC’s Super Bowl LX, marking the highest number of advertisers the platform has placed in a single game. The company secured two streaming‑only placements on Peacock,...
It’s Complicated: Trust in All Ads Rises but There’s a Snag
New Credos Trust Tracker data shows public trust in advertising climbed to 40% in 2025, the strongest level in five years. Trust is strongest for TV (46%) and traditional channels, while online, social media and influencer ads lag behind at...
Making It Whole
Author Seth Godin argues that true integrity is built through countless small, consistent actions rather than occasional grand gestures. He warns that large corporations often sacrifice their founding mission for short‑term gains, eroding brand trust. Using the calculus integral as...
Bringing a B2C Mindset to a B2B Challenge - Piyush Sagar Mishra, Twilio Head of Marketing Innovation and AI, Explains...
Twilio created the Head of Marketing Innovation and AI role for Piyush Sagar Mishra, leveraging his B2C background to re‑imagine B2B go‑to‑market. Mishra’s team built the MAISON framework—a trust‑first AI stack that combines a solid knowledge base, sandboxed models and agentic workflows....
Influencer Marketing ‘Must Grow up to Thrive in 2026’
The SAMY Marketing Trends 2026 report shows that 87% of CMOs will maintain or increase influencer marketing spend despite tightening budgets. While the channel remains resilient, executives are demanding clearer performance metrics, tighter integration, and demonstrable ROI. The study highlights...
Google Bets on ‘Helpful AI’ to Push Gemini Into the Zeitgeist in Super Bowl Ad
Google is debuting a 60‑second Super Bowl commercial titled "New Home" to promote its Gemini generative‑AI assistant. The ad follows a mother using Gemini’s image‑generation tools to visualize a move, emphasizing the platform’s "helpful AI" narrative. The spot anchors an...
AA Signs Times Media Deal to Big up £66.6bn Sector
The Advertising Association has struck a strategic partnership with Times Media to launch “The Success Files”, a campaign that will turn the findings of its “Advertising Pays 25” report into real‑world case studies. The report showed UK businesses invested £66.6 billion...
Industry Urged to Adopt New GenAI Best Practice Guide
Advertising Association, backed by the UK government’s Online Advertising Taskforce, has released a voluntary “Best Practice Guide for the Responsible Use of Generative AI in Advertising.” The guide translates eight core principles—transparency, data use, fairness, human oversight, harm prevention, brand...
Chris Hemsworth Thinks AI Is Trying To Kill Him in Amazon’s Super Bowl Ad
Amazon debuted its new generative AI voice assistant Alexa+ in a 60‑second Super Bowl spot starring Chris Hemsworth. The ad humorously imagines Alexa plotting lethal scenarios, from decapitating Hemsworth to trapping him underwater, before ending with a benign massage booking....
![Why Off-Page SEO Still Shapes Visibility In 2026 [Webinar] via @Sejournal, @Hethr_campbell](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://cdn.searchenginejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/1-1-261.png)
Why Off-Page SEO Still Shapes Visibility In 2026 [Webinar] via @Sejournal, @Hethr_campbell
The Search Engine Journal webinar, hosted by Michael Johnson of GrowResolve, explains why off‑page SEO remains pivotal for visibility in 2026 despite AI‑driven SERP changes. It outlines which signals—links, brand mentions, topical authority and trust—still influence Google’s rankings. Attendees receive...