Today's Digital Marketing Pulse
Updated 2h agoSpeed-to-Culture: Brands Win by Activating Creators in Hours
Brands that can activate creators within hours outpace competitors, relying on speed rather than larger spend. The article outlines a speed‑to‑culture framework built on pre‑vetted creator rosters, master contracts, and a single decision owner, which can be established in 30 days to enable real‑time engagement.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Levitate raises $16M in growth-stage funding
News•Jan 29, 2026
Exposed: Why Launching an Agency Is a Risky Business
A new analysis by digital‑marketing firm Avid Panda shows that 39% of marketing companies launched between 2021 and 2025 cease trading within five years, with advertising agencies the most vulnerable at a 41% failure rate. The study compares incorporation data from Companies House with administration, liquidation and dissolution records, highlighting a stark mortality gap across agency types. Rising National Insurance contributions, thin margins and costly AI adoption are cited as primary stressors for fledgling firms. Consequently, agencies are reshaping recruitment, favoring senior hires over junior talent to deliver immediate value.
By DecisionMarketing
News•Jan 29, 2026
DfE Woos Bored Professionals in VCCP Training Debut
The Department for Education has launched "Give Your Skills New Life," a national recruitment drive created by its new agency VCCP to entice professionals to become further‑education teachers. The campaign uses authentic stories of real trainers and students across colleges...
By DecisionMarketing
Blog•Jan 29, 2026
Instagram Verification Cost in 2026: What Brands Should Know
The episode breaks down Instagram verification in 2026, explaining the two badge options—free verification for notable accounts and the paid Meta Verified subscription that any eligible user can purchase. It details pricing tiers, from $11.99/month for individuals to up to...
By eCommerce Fastlane
News•Jan 29, 2026
Real-Time Blackhole List – How to Remove an IP From It?
Email senders increasingly encounter DNS‑based Real‑Time Blackhole Lists that block IPs suspected of spam, phishing, or compromised servers. When an IP lands on a blacklist, major ESPs reject or filter messages, causing bounce errors, silent drops, and plummeting engagement metrics....
By Security Boulevard
![The Way Your Agency Handles Leads Will Define Success 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/2026/01/1-105.png)
News•Jan 29, 2026
The Way Your Agency Handles Leads Will Define Success in 2026 [Webinar] via @Sejournal, @Hethr_campbell
The webinar hosted by Search Engine Journal highlights that agencies’ ability to manage leads after capture will determine their success in 2026. It stresses that missed calls, delayed follow‑ups, and poor handoffs are eroding conversion rates and wasting ad spend....
By Search Engine Journal
Social•Jan 29, 2026
Authenticity Beats High Production Value Every Time
I spent $20k on a brand photoshoot with models and studios. Competitor shot iPhone videos in their bedroom. Their content got 4x more engagement. Production value doesn't matter. Authenticity does. Test everything.
By Kamil Sattar
News•Jan 29, 2026
Ain’t No Stopping Us Now: 2026 Adspend to Top £50bn
The Advertising Association and WARC report projects UK advertising expenditure to surpass £50 billion in 2026, following a 10.1% rise to £46.9 billion in 2025. Q3 2025 saw ad spend climb 11.4% to £12.5 billion, with search and online display making up 83%...
By DecisionMarketing
News•Jan 29, 2026
Introducing the Klaviyo App in ChatGPT
Klaviyo has launched a new app that embeds its marketing automation data directly into OpenAI’s ChatGPT. By tagging @Klaviyo, marketers can query real‑time campaign performance, revenue trends, and unsubscribe drivers, receiving results as interactive cards and plain‑language recommendations. The integration...
By MarTech Series
News•Jan 29, 2026
EDO Launches ‘EDO Always-On’, Delivering Automated, Scaled Outcomes Measurement for Convergent TV
EDO announced the launch of Always‑On, a cross‑platform measurement solution that streams automated outcomes data into media partners' analytics platforms. NBCUniversal and Paramount Global are the first to integrate the service, feeding real‑time performance insights for linear and streaming inventory....
By MarTech Series
News•Jan 29, 2026
The State of Browsing in 2026: Why Digital Burnout Is Now a Marketing Problem… and Opportunity
Shift’s 2026 State of Browsing Report finds digital burnout now prevalent in browsers, with 62% of U.S. adults reporting recurring fatigue. Users juggle many tabs—one in five has 11+ open—and experience frequent attention loss, costing significant time. Marketers are implicated...
By MarTech Series
News•Jan 29, 2026
StackAdapt Achieves EU–U.S. Data Privacy Framework Certification
StackAdapt announced it has earned certification under the EU‑U.S. Data Privacy Framework, the European Commission‑approved mechanism that legitimises transatlantic personal data flows. The certification confirms the platform’s GDPR‑aligned privacy program and eliminates the need for supplemental transfer tools such as...
By MarTech Series
News•Jan 29, 2026
Put a Face on It: Unpacking the Uniquely Australian Obsession with Heads in Logos
Australian retailers frequently feature founders' heads in their logos, a trend highlighted by Dan Murphy’s recent eye‑contact campaign. The practice taps into a cultural love for personable, “battler” narratives that signal authenticity and local origin. Both real and fictional founder...
By Inside Retail Australia
Social•Jan 29, 2026
Timing Amplifies Good Content, Can't Rescue Bad Messages
Posting times won’t fix a bad message. But good timing can absolutely multiply a good message.
By Rachel Pedersen
News•Jan 29, 2026
The Hidden SEO Cost Of A Slow WordPress Site & How It Affects AI Visibility via @Sejournal, @Wp_rocket
A slow WordPress site now hurts both traditional SEO and emerging AI visibility, with research showing higher bounce rates, lower conversion, and fewer ChatGPT citations for sluggish pages. Google’s Core Web Vitals remain a ranking factor, yet only 50 % of...
By Search Engine Journal
Blog•Jan 29, 2026
Shopify SEO Migration: How To Preserve Organic Traffic
In this Trustpilot episode, the host walks listeners through the SEO challenges of migrating an e‑commerce site to Shopify and offers a step‑by‑step checklist to safeguard organic traffic. Key pitfalls highlighted include missing redirects, altering title tags, changing internal link...
By eCommerce Fastlane
Social•Jan 29, 2026
Create a Content Machine That Honors Your Life
Build a content machine that respects your life. Not one that requires you to pretend you don’t have one.
By Rachel Pedersen
Podcast•Jan 29, 2026•36 min
Ep. 205: How to Use AI for B2B Storytelling Without Losing Your Brand | Nick Usborne
In this episode, Nick Usborne explains how B2B marketers can harness AI for scalable content while preserving their brand’s unique voice. He stresses that the only defensible moat is a company’s authentic story, not generic narratives or tone, and reveals...
By B2B Marketers on a Mission
Blog•Jan 29, 2026
Wunderkind + Klaviyo: Turning Anonymous Traffic Into Our Next Growth Chapter
In this episode, the hosts announce Wunderkind’s integration into the Klaviyo App Marketplace, turning the former competitor into a strategic partner. The discussion explains how Wunderkind’s real‑time identity resolution and AI‑driven decisioning layer can be embedded directly within Klaviyo’s email...
By eCommerce Fastlane
Social•Jan 28, 2026
Master Depth, Volume, Live to Boost Followers
Depth Volume Live The DVL discipline will change the outcomes so many of you strive to …. Depth - so many of you want more followers and sales but don’t reply To a single dm or comment .. from 2007-2011 I...
By GaryVee
Social•Jan 28, 2026
AI Brand Rankings Unreliable; Track Mention Frequency Instead
Ranking position in AI responses is meaningless. Across repeated runs of the same prompt, LLMs almost never return the same list of brands in the same order. In many cases, they don’t return the same list at all. New research...
By Amanda Natividad
News•Jan 28, 2026
Starbucks Says Digital Platforms Are Key Piece of Turnaround Strategy
Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said digital platforms are central to the company’s turnaround, emphasizing the progress of the "Back to Starbucks" plan. In Q1 FY2026, global comparable store sales rose 4%, with U.S. comparable transactions up 3%—the first increase in...
By PYMNTS
News•Jan 28, 2026
How Did Yves Saint Laurent Build a Long-Term Retail Strategy?
Yves Saint Laurent built a durable retail strategy by pioneering owned boutiques that separated ready‑to‑wear from haute couture, giving the brand direct control over pricing, presentation, and customer experience. The 1999 acquisition by the Gucci Group (now Kering) introduced corporate discipline,...
By Retail Insider Canada
Social•Jan 28, 2026
Prioritizing Guided Onboarding for Complex Data Platform
I spent 2025 building out the best product I could for brand and category tracking, and my current next product focus is making sure that I surround it with a strong onboarding and training experience. The double-edged sword of adding a...
By Liam Moroney
News•Jan 28, 2026
Bing Ads Revenue Up 10% - Is Growth Slowing?
Microsoft reported second‑quarter 2026 results showing Bing Ads revenue grew 10% year‑over‑year, a slowdown from the 16% and 21% gains in the prior two quarters. Overall company revenue reached $81.3 billion, up 17% YoY, while operating income rose 21% and net...
By Search Engine Roundtable
Blog•Jan 28, 2026
How Shopify Merchants Can Scale Meta and Google Ads While Maintaining High ROAS
The episode outlines a practical playbook for Shopify merchants handling 100‑3,000 orders monthly to scale Meta and Google ads while preserving high ROAS. It emphasizes limiting budget hikes to 5‑15% every two weeks, using evergreen campaign structures, consolidating product variants,...
By eCommerce Fastlane
News•Jan 28, 2026
AI Local Visibility Is up to 30x Harder than Ranking in Google: Report
SOCi’s 2026 Local Visibility Index reveals that AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity surface far fewer business locations than Google’s local 3‑pack. Only 1.2% of 350,000 locations appear on ChatGPT, 11% on Gemini, and 7.4% on Perplexity, compared...
By Search Engine Land
Blog•Jan 28, 2026
In Early-Scale Growth, the Dominant Cost Is Not CAC. It’s Time.
The episode argues that for early‑scale startups with clear product‑market fit and ample runway, the biggest cost isn’t customer‑acquisition spend but the time lost to slow learning. It explains why obsessing over CAC too early can double burn by extending...
By Sean Ellis
News•Jan 28, 2026
Clay, an A.I. Sales Start-Up, Lets Employees Cash Out. Again.
Clay, an AI‑driven sales and marketing startup, announced a second employee tender offer, letting staff sell shares at a $5 billion valuation—up from $1.5 billion in its first tender. The new offer arrives nine months after the initial buyback and follows a...
By The New York Times – DealBook
Blog•Jan 28, 2026
Best Brands on TikTok: Tips To Optimize Your Brand Presence
In this episode Esther Vogelfanger breaks down TikTok marketing, highlighting why the platform’s authentic, short‑form video format and booming TikTok Shop make it a powerhouse for brand growth. She showcases six standout brands—Fenty Beauty, GymShark, The Washington Post, Olipop, HOKA,...
By eCommerce Fastlane
Blog•Jan 28, 2026
Gmail Enters The Gemini Era: What Actually Changes For Email Marketers?
The episode breaks down Gmail’s new Gemini‑powered AI features and explains why they don’t upend email marketing fundamentals. While AI‑driven priority ranking and summarization will surface low‑engagement messages faster, the core rule remains: send clear, relevant emails with a single...
By eCommerce Fastlane
News•Jan 28, 2026
Canadian Government Looks to Bring News Content Back to Facebook
Two and a half years after Meta blocked Canadian news, the Canadian government is negotiating with Meta to restore news content on Facebook and Instagram as part of revisions to the Online News Act. The original act would have forced...
By Social Media Today
Social•Jan 28, 2026
Clean Customer Data Powers Personalized LLM Responses
Tealium gives LLMs what they usually lack: real customer context. Things like cross-channel behavior, lifecycle stage, affinities, and history flow into prompts and workflows, so AI responses stop feeling generic and start feeling more like they’re written for one person. Since...
By Heidi Bullock
News•Jan 28, 2026
Google Launches New Google Ads Insights Podcast
Google has introduced the "Ads Decoded" podcast, hosted by Ads Product Liaison Ginny Marvin, to bridge marketers with the Google Ads product teams. The series will feature interviews covering the latest trends such as AI, SEO, and analytics. The debut...
By Social Media Today
Blog•Jan 28, 2026
Email Marketing Trends To Watch in 2026
The episode outlines seven key email‑marketing trends shaping 2026, from built‑in AI tools that draft copy and suggest send times, to smarter behavior‑driven automation, deeper personalization using first‑party data, and interactive, mobile‑first designs. It highlights how small businesses can leverage...
By eCommerce Fastlane
Social•Jan 28, 2026
Most Companies Overestimate Storytelling; New Scale Reveals Gaps
Most companies think they’re great at storytelling. That is, until they look at this… We recently created a framework called the Storytelling Maturity Scale. It rates your organization from 1 to 5 based on how well your teams can tell stories that grab...
By Nancy Duarte
Blog•Jan 28, 2026
How to Build an SEO Measurement Framework That Actually Holds Up in a Growth Review
The episode walks listeners through building a robust SEO measurement framework that ties every optimization to a specific business outcome, such as new‑customer revenue or conversion rate, and maps pages to funnel intent. It emphasizes starting with a single, time‑bound...
By eCommerce Fastlane
Podcast•Jan 28, 2026•46 min
623: Why 90% of TikTok Shop Sellers Fail & How The Other 10% Make Millions With Ian Page
In this episode, host Steve talks with Ian Page, founder of Bullseye Sellers, about why 90% of TikTok Shop sellers fail and how the top 10% achieve million‑dollar success. Ian explains TikTok’s tightened onboarding rules, the importance of Fulfilled‑by‑TikTok (FPT)...
By My Wife Quit Her Job
News•Jan 28, 2026
Fintech Thisbank Plays on Heritage Through Equimedia
JN Bank, a 150‑year‑old Jamaican financial institution, has been rebranded as Thisbank following a takeover by UK and US investors. The new digital platform, designed by Equimedia, showcases a customer‑centric interface that highlights fixed‑term savings, competitive loan products, and interactive...
By DecisionMarketing
News•Jan 28, 2026
TikTok Shop Now UK’s Fourth Largest Beauty Retailer
TikTok Shop has become the UK’s fourth‑largest beauty retailer, posting a 60 % year‑on‑year rise in beauty sales. The platform’s discovery‑first model drives a “search‑learn‑buy” flow, moving one product per second on average and peaking at five every two seconds in...
By ChannelX (formerly Tamebay)
News•Jan 28, 2026
Google Adds One-Click Ad Previews to PMax
Google has added a one‑click preview feature to Performance Max, allowing advertisers to click directly on images or videos within the Asset Groups table to see how ads will appear across placements. The update eliminates the need to navigate to...
By Search Engine Land
Social•Jan 28, 2026
B2B Buying Is Fueled by Fear, Not Logic
B2B has a dirty little secret: 🫣 We pretend buyers are rational. Because it's easier than admitting they're human. Here's what we say drives B2B buying decisions: ✅ ROI ✅ Feature comparisons ✅ Technical specs ✅ Business cases so logical, right? chances are our work mostly revolves around...
By Anna Furmanov
News•Jan 28, 2026
Social Campaigns Alone Won’t Win Over Gen Z. Here’s What Will
Gen Z’s inflation sensitivity and mobile‑first habits make brand values essential for purchase decisions. While social platforms remain a discovery hub, 65 % of this cohort demands clear moral stances, and authenticity is now a prerequisite. Mobile‑native ads, shoppable videos, and...
By Total Retail
Social•Jan 28, 2026
Assumption Drift, Not Execution, Undermines Growth Plans
Assumption drift kills more growth plans than bad execution. But we keep blaming execution anyway. Because assumption drift is quiet. Uncomfortable. And usually leader-owned. It looks like this: • The buyer evolves • Pricing gets “tested” • Revenue targets shift • Runway tightens And no one formally resets the math. Marketing keeps...
By Krista Mollion
Social•Jan 28, 2026
Upgrade to a 5‑Email Welcome Series for Real Conversions
Most brands build a 3-email welcome series and never touch it again. Here's the 5-email flow that actually converts: https://t.co/mDwary7P4f
By Chase Dimond
News•Jan 28, 2026
How Macy’s Is Flexing Its Style Crew Affiliate Program Beyond Social Media
Macy’s is scaling its Style Crew affiliate program from 600 to 1,000 creators, adding storefronts on macys.com and offering 12% commissions. The initiative drove a 315% revenue jump, 327% traffic surge, and 30‑40% conversion lift among top influencers in 2025....
By Retail Dive
Social•Jan 28, 2026
LinkedIn Flags AI‑generated Images with New Content Label
I made this image on ChatGPT and added it to LinkedIn. Never seen this "Content credentials" label appear before - looks like LinkedIn is telling people when images are 100% AI-generated. 🤔 (Sorry if not new, it's new to me!) https://t.co/ZXENZmGKox
By Lily Ray
Social•Jan 28, 2026
ChatGPT's Recommendations Vary Widely, Challenging Brand Tracking
NEW research: https://t.co/yE1LogIFHO If you give ChatGPT the same request for product recommendations 100X, will you ever get the same list twice? And what does that answer mean for folks who try to track their brand presence in AI tools? Finally, some real...
By Rand Fishkin
News•Jan 28, 2026
Google Searches per U.S. User Fell Nearly 20% YoY: Report
U.S. desktop Google searches per user dropped nearly 20% year‑over‑year, while Europe saw only a 2‑3% decline. The fall reflects fewer repeat queries as AI‑generated answers satisfy users instantly. Zero‑click searches now represent about 20% of desktop events, but growth...
By Search Engine Land
Social•Jan 28, 2026
Flops Are Feedback, Not a Verdict—Keep Posting
You can post again even if the last one flopped. Flops are feedback, not a court ruling.
By Rachel Pedersen
News•Jan 28, 2026
Acoustic Launches Native Integrations with Leading Commerce Platforms
Acoustic announced native, bi‑directional integrations with Shopify, BigCommerce and WooCommerce inside its Acoustic Connect platform. The connectors deliver real‑time catalog, order and behavioral data sync, giving retailers a continuously updated view of each customer. Marketers can now trigger omnichannel journeys...
By MarTech Series