🕊 TikTok talks.

New challenges and opportunities in the world of AI, how TikTok plans to win over the US government, and more. January 17, 2023 [Read in browser]( [logo] [sponsor]( Happy Tuesday. Times are changing, and so are meetings. Morning Brew tweeted [an example of what your meetings might look]( like if you want to keep team members engaged. It’s not very helpful, to be honest. But it is hilarious. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Google teases its ChatGPT rival right as the first anti-AI lawsuits take place [article-image] Just when you thought things in the AI space couldn’t be hotter… Hey look, a Sparrow: DeepMind, the Google-owned AI company, just teased the release of its own [ChatGPT counterpart called Sparrow.]( The Sparrow chatbot aims to reduce “the risk of unsafe and inappropriate answers,” and it may even cite specific sources and improve answer accuracy – features ChatGPT currently lacks. That’s not surprising, really. Google has been working on its own internal chatbot for some time, and apparently it’s [“3x more powerful than ChatGPT.”]( Whoa. When will Sparrow land? DeepMind plans to release Sparrow in open beta sometime this year. Enough time for ChatGPT to prepare? The humans strike back: Also, three artists are launching [class action lawsuits]( against text-to-image AI generators Stability.ai, Midjourney, and DeviantArt for copyright infringement, unfair competition, and more. The artists argue that images are being scraped from the internet, then copied, compressed, stored, and used by AI like a “modern day collage tool.” Interesting take. Why we care: Google’s ChatGPT alternative sounds exciting, given the massive crater Open AI’s tool has left in the marketing world. Imagine the shake up when another big player enters the scene. It will also be interesting to see if the lawsuits against AI start the first official “humans vs. robots” scenario—and how it will impact content marketers who already use AI to generate images. Umm... did you catch the above image? TIKTOK Is there hope for TikTok in the US? The clock’s been “tiking” for TikTok ever since the US banned the app on government devices. And TikTok is already making moves to prevent a nationwide ban from happening… Transparency talks: The discussions between ByteDance—TikTok’s parent company—and US officials and lawmakers [are becoming more urgent](. So ByteDance has proposed “measures to ensure oversight” in an attempt to convince the US that TikTok can operate independently from its Chinese-based parent. How? By developing a system and structure that would change how TikTok recommends content and handles user data, apparently. ByteDance claims “significant progress has been made” already. Of course, if the two parties fail to settle, ByteDance could be forced to sell some of its operations or leave the US market altogether—which would be rough for marketers. Why we care: It looks like the future of TikTok rests on these discussions, and the verdict could impact the entire marketing landscape. If ByteDance can find a middle ground with US officials, there’s still hope we can keep scrolling—and advertising. However, the new changes could also impact TikTok’s powerful algorithm for worse. Interesting times… SPONSORED BY ATTEST Ignore these top 2023 consumer trends at your peril… [article-image]( Pop quiz: Do you know… - Which age group is turning away from humorous ads? - Which age group is buying fewer things and consuming less? - What activity are 63% of Americans doing at least once a week? These are just three of the top 18 [consumer trends that will dominate 2023.]( Many marketers aren’t paying attention to trends like these… a risky move. Because if your target audience is tuning out ads, and your entire marketing strategy is based on advertising… 2023’s going to be a rough year. You can do better. Attest just published their latest Consumer Trends Report, and it’s [available here for free](. Find out what's top of mind for 2,000 US consumers right now—and how they want brands like yours to respond. [Read the report now and find out how prepared you are for 2023.]( AMAZON ADS A guide to planning Valentine’s Day Amazon Ads campaigns that make customers swoon [article-image] Yes, Valentine’s Day is a few weeks away. But the earlier you set up your ad campaigns, the more likely they are to yield results. David Zimmerman agrees, and he posted [a nice step-by-step guide to Amazon Ads]( that can help you win the eyes, clicks, and hearts of all lovebirds looking for gifts online. Here’s what to do… - Pick the right product, one that’s “giftable” for partners and loved ones. - Enter “Valentine’s Day” in Amazon’s search bar to see auto-suggestions. - Find more long-tail keywords that fit your product because the “valentine’s day’s” keyword difficulty is too high and you’ll struggle to prove your relevance. - Go after the niche keywords. If you’re selling a towel with hearts on it, you might use “valentine’s day bathroom,” for example. - Check Brand Analytics to see which long-tail keywords have the highest search frequency rating (SFR) and place it in your product title. - Place the same word in one of your bullets. Also, add some of those other keywords you saw in auto suggests or Brand Analytics. Boosting SEO will help you boost impressions. - Start 1–2 campaigns that will target those long-tail keywords in Exact, Phrase, and Broad match. Use Fixed bidding and Amazon’s suggested bids to begin with. - Monitor performance and lower bids once sales start coming. Or when you start ranking. - Start a separate campaign right now to target “valentine’s day” if you want to try winning some big sales—not impossible if you start right away. Just be sure it’s a separate campaign so it doesn’t gobble up the budget of your primary keyword. And there you go… can you feel the ROAS in the air? By the way, the earlier you start, the cheaper your cost per click (CPC), which should help you get early sales and make Amazon fall even more in love with your ads. Seems fitting for Valentine’s Day, right? SPONSORED BY T&C SUMMIT Win an incredible 12 gifts worth over $6k including an iPad Pro, Spotify subscription and a VIP ticket to Traffic and Conversion Summit 2023! [article-image]( January blues are a real thing… so we wanted to treat three lucky winners to [a prize bundle to make sure you start 2023 right](. So, what are you waiting for? [Enter now]( and you could walk away with 12 prizes totaling over $6,000 in prize value! [Enter here.]( THE CREW’S INSIGHTS Transitioning to an automated bidding strategy [article-image] So you’re feeling ready to upgrade your campaign. And you want to ditch Manual CPC and opt for a more efficient bidding strategy. Nice. Afterall, Manual CPC is… manual. It takes a lot of time and effort to monitor bids. An automated bidding strategy simplifies this process, and takes care of your bids for you. Here’s how to make the transition: - Have at least 30 conversions. The more, the merrier. Google will use this data to understand your target audience and your bids—specifically, who buys your products and at what costs. - Be realistic about your goals. If you overshoot your targets, then Google will stop spending. For example, if you set a target return on ad spend (tROAS), set it only a little higher than your current campaign’s tROAS. Increase it slowly over time once you begin hitting your goals. - Run an experiment. Don’t just switch the campaign’s bidding strategy to an automated one. Create an experiment to see how it will work for your campaign. If it’s successful, you can switch over! Manual CPC bidding can be a useful starting point for your Google Ads campaigns, but it may be time for them to graduate into the big leagues. When you’re ready, well… you know what to do. ROUNDING UP THE STACK [HIRE REMOTE MARKETERS:]( You want to move fast? Candidates want the same thing. Make the right remote hire in under 100 days with CXL Talent Program, where affordable global marketers are sourced and trained, cutting your time-to-hire and hiring costs in half. [Request talent now](.* [MICROSOFT:]( The net keeps getting bigger. Microsoft added 34 additional markets to its advertising network – upping the tally to 164 markets worldwide. Not bad for the second most popular search engine in the world. [APPLE:]( Ad dollars are pouring in. Apple is set to become one of the top 25 ad sellers, with some experts predicting it could break into the top 10 this year. Guess Apple’s ad tracking transparency update worked out after all… [GOOGLE:]( More info? Sure! Google Business Profiles are testing options that would let you share more details about your business with “say more” attributes. For example, “say more about vegetarian options,” “say more about kid-friendliness,” and so on. Nice. *This is a sponsored post BRAIN TEASER What is the longest word in the dictionary? You can find [the answer here](. [poolside-logo] POOLSIDE CHAT LOL like you mean it [article-image] How many times have you typed the acronym for laughing-out-loud… and actually laughed? Well, before you start to WOL—worry out loud—just know that “laughing on the inside” is a common trend in the online world. And there’s a new device that aims to stop it. [Meet the LOL identifier](, a new invention that will try to capture any form of laughter when you type “LOL.” If it does, it will automatically insert a verification mark into the message. Neat stuff. We just worry it may lower the use of LOL. And we love our LOLs… Which makes us wonder… Do you think ROFL and LMAO are next? SHARING IS CARING Yep, the Marketer Hoodie. You can get your hands on the Marketer Hoodie, too. It looks great with pants or without them, indoors, outdoors, opening doors, or breaking doors down. All you have to do is share our newsletter and get 50 other smart people to sign up. You’ll unlock other prizes along the way, too, like: - The Crew’s Top 10 Insights (2 referrals). - The Ultimate Holiday Marketing Deep Dive (4 referrals). Just share the referral link below to get started. Zip. Mmm, cozy. [article-image]( [CLICK TO SHARE]( Or copy your referral link: [ [SUBSCRIBE]( | [SM PRO]( | [ADVERTISE]( You are receiving this email because you want to know what is going on in digital marketing. If you aren't thrilled about our emails, reply and let us know why. Or you can unsubscribe from all daily updates by clicking [here.]( Our postal address: Spectrum IT Solutions GmbH, Canettistrasse 1/Top 0107, 1100 Wien, Austria