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Welcome back, Creator!

In the past, this newsletter was under the umbrella of The Digital Marketing Misfits brand. Recently, the five of us have decided we wanted to pursue our own personal projects and as such we have split up our assets, including this newsletter, The Creator Report (TCR).

But don’t fret; I (Jamar Jones - the current author of TCR for the last few months) will be taking over 100% ownership of this newsletter! This means your golden ticket is punched to continue getting your once-a-week dose of creator news, AI tips, and best-led online business strategies across the web in one stop.

Also, this report will begin to lean even more into how AI can help you automate and grow your brand as a creator. AI isn’t going anywhere, and as I learn the ins and outs of leveraging this technology, you will all be the first to hear about it! That being said, I am so glad you’re here and a part of Team TCR, and I look forward to continuing to improve this newsletter for the rest of 2024!

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Trivia Question: What is the optimal character length for a Facebook post to avoid being truncated and hidden behind a "See more" prompt, as suggested by research for improving social media post performance? (Answer at the end of the Newsletter).

TODAY’S MENU

• Major Social Platform Trends To Watch For In 2024

• My Tips For Leveraging The Trends 

• AI Tips For Social Media Marketers

• Tips For Establishing A Marketing Message

CURRENT NEWS

What Are Social Platforms Racing Towards In 2024?

• Constant Changes in Social Platforms: Social media platforms continually adapt their algorithms and UI to engage users effectively, challenging marketers to stay updated.

• Facebook's Evolution: Despite its changing relevance, Facebook remains a major player. Key 2024 focuses include messaging, Reels, and AI enhancements to maintain user engagement.

• Instagram's Strategy: Instagram aims to keep the youth engaged with Reels, Notes for Intimate Communication, and Threads as a potential standalone platform.

• X's (formerly Twitter) Direction: X seeks to carve its identity with a Premium subscription model, reduced advertising competition, and a new video-first approach.

• TikTok's Focus: TikTok plans to enhance in-stream sales, live-streaming, and creator partnerships to sustain its growth and revenue potential.

• LinkedIn's Growth Areas: LinkedIn, benefiting from X's turmoil, focuses on newsletters, collaborative articles, and enhancing video and event discovery for B2B marketing.

• Snapchat's Youth Engagement: Snapchat continues leading in AR development and seeks more brand-creator collaborations to engage the younger audience.

• Pinterest's Retail Appeal: With its growing user base focused on shopping, Pinterest improves product catalog ingestion, introduces new ad types, and explores creative collages for product showcase.

• Adaptation is Key: Marketers must adapt to these evolving trends across platforms to maintain effective social media strategies.

CREATOR MONETIZATION STRATEGIES

Let’s Dive Into How We Can Leverage What Each Social Platform Is Doing

In the evolving social media landscape, platforms increasingly incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) and video content to enhance user engagement and personalization. Facebook, leading the charge, is prioritizing AI-driven recommendations, particularly through its Reels feature, signaling a notable pivot towards entertainment-centric content over traditional news links. This adjustment reflects a broader industry trend towards immersive and interactive content. Facebook also hints at the rollout of innovative generative AI features like dynamic backgrounds and stickers to enrich user experiences.

By mirroring its parent company's strategies, Instagram is also deepening its investment in AI and video integrations. The platform is set to introduce an array of generative AI tools designed for creating captivating images and stickers alongside an expansion of avatar functionalities, including potentially new animations powered by generative AI. This underscores Instagram's commitment to fostering a more engaging and personalized social environment.

Threads, Meta's burgeoning platform, is poised for significant expansion, with new features enabling it to rival X (formerly Twitter). Integrating direct messaging (DMs) and an application programming interface (API) suggests a strategic push to cement its position within the social media ecosystem.

Meta's focus extends beyond traditional social interactions, with substantial investments in augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies. The development and demonstration of AR glasses and VR headsets are central to Meta's vision of a more immersive digital experience, offering enhanced avatar engagement options and new animated posting capabilities.

Messaging platforms are emerging as pivotal marketing channels, with new ad formats reflecting a shift towards more private forms of social interaction. This transition underscores the growing importance of messaging in the digital communication landscape.

TikTok, not to be outdone, is focusing on amplifying its in-app shopping experience, potentially incorporating food delivery and local business listings to drive commerce. The platform also experiments with generative AI tools, including text-to-video translation and AI chatbots, to innovate content creation and interaction.

Snapchat continues to innovate with the expansion of Snapchat+, exploring new DM ad products and further developing its AR spectacles. These initiatives aim to enhance user engagement and open new avenues for brand interaction.

LinkedIn is embracing generative AI to elevate user experience and content discoverability, potentially introducing new feeds for events and videos to facilitate the discovery of virtual events and user-uploaded content.

X faces challenges with its subscription model and may need to revise its strategy to remain relevant. The platform also focuses on real-time news content and sports integration to maintain relevance amid evolving user preferences.

Pinterest is capitalizing on AR and AI, exploring in-store AR integrations and advanced AR Try On features, alongside the introduction of generative AI search tools, potentially revolutionizing how users interact with content and products.

Across these platforms, the overarching theme for 2024 is the strategic incorporation of AI to revolutionize content creation, user interaction, and marketing strategies, heralding a new era of digital engagement.

AI TIPS FOR CONTENT CREATORS

Mastering AI As A Creator

As a social media and AI expert, I frequently emphasize generative AI's critical role in revolutionizing our content creation and marketing strategies. The advent of generative AI has marked a significant milestone in the digital domain, especially in 2023, showcasing its potential to transform various professions, including social media marketing. While not a replacement for human creativity, this technology offers invaluable tools for enhancing efficiency and aligning with the dynamic shifts in the digital landscape.

To harness the full spectrum of generative AI, marketers should explore its applications in:

1. Background Generation: The technology's ability to produce diverse and visually appealing backgrounds enables marketers to create unique and engaging product visuals. This approach elevates the aesthetic appeal of social media content and allows for the seamless integration of products into various scenarios, thereby enhancing the storytelling aspect of marketing campaigns.

2. Social Post Ideas: Leveraging AI tools like ChatGPT for content summarization and style adaptation can significantly improve the engagement of social posts. By adhering to platform-specific post length and style best practices, marketers can craft messages that resonate more effectively with their audience, optimizing engagement and reach.

3. Ad Creative Generation: Generative AI also proves instrumental in developing creative ad content. By analyzing high-performing ads within a given niche, AI tools can generate compelling ad texts that align with proven successful strategies. This streamlines the creative process and ensures the production of content that is more likely to engage and convert.

4. SEO Enhancement: AI's capability to assist in the SEO process by generating relevant keywords, content ideas, and meta descriptions can significantly ease the technical burden of SEO management. This allows for a more focused and effective approach to improving search engine visibility and performance.

However, it's crucial to approach generative AI with a critical eye, recognizing its limitations and potential inaccuracies. The technology serves as a tool to augment, not replace, human marketers' nuanced understanding and creativity. By strategically integrating AI into their workflows, social media marketers can enhance efficiency, adapt to the rapidly evolving digital environment, and foster meaningful connections with their audience.

Integrating generative AI into social media marketing is not just a trend but a strategic imperative for staying competitive and relevant. By leveraging AI tools judiciously and creatively, marketers can unlock new possibilities for innovation, engagement, and growth.

BOOST YOUR MARKETING KNOWLEDGE

Improve Your Marketing Message

Entering a new year presents a prime opportunity for businesses to assess and rejuvenate their marketing strategies, ensuring alignment with overarching goals for maximum impact. For many smaller enterprises, marketing efforts tend to be more spontaneous, characterized by a patchwork approach of adopting various social media trends and advice. This contrasts sharply with the strategic rigor observed among larger, established brands. However, a foundational step towards effective marketing involves defining clear goals and a coherent communication strategy to ensure all marketing activities, whether digital or traditional, are purpose-driven.

Here are three pivotal steps to refining your marketing strategy:

1. Discover Your Core Purpose ("Why"): Drawing on the "Five Whys" methodology developed by James Collins and Jerry Porras, businesses are encouraged to delve deep into their raison d'être beyond the surface level of products or services offered. This introspective journey clarifies the business's mission and aligns marketing messages with the authentic needs and desires of the target audience, thereby fostering genuine connection and engagement.

2. Condense Your Message: With a clear understanding of your business's core purpose, the next step is to distill this essence into a succinct, compelling tagline that resonates with your audience. This exercise transcends mere product features or services, touching on the emotional and aspirational aspects that drive consumer behavior.

3. Update Your Online Presence: Armed with a refined message, updating your social media profiles and other marketing channels to reflect this newfound clarity is crucial. This ensures a cohesive and consistent brand experience across all touchpoints, reinforcing your brand identity and deepening the connection with your audience.

These steps underscore the importance of a strategic, purpose-driven approach to marketing, emphasizing the need for businesses to move beyond ad-hoc tactics and align their efforts with the deeper aspirations of their target market by anchoring marketing strategies in the foundational "why" of the business, brands can cultivate lasting engagement and loyalty, driving sustained growth and success.

CURRENT TRENDS FOR CREATORS

Leverage These TikTok Trends in March

@gklsga

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Trend: Gonna Be Okay

Trend Recap: Posting a video to a trending sound with a text overlay describing a situation where you’d realize that everything will be fine with a video of you laughing nonchalantly like a character in a 2000s ROM COM who has a profound realization.

Audio - Bella

THE CHAT GPT CONTENT CHEAT CODE

Here’s how to quickly create 20 irresistible hooks with Chat GPT!

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Get My Prompts To Creating 20 Irresistible Hooks

Trivia Answer: The optimal length for a Facebook post is 25 to 55 characters.

Thanks for reading!

Catch you on the next edition of THE CREATOR REPORT!

Jamar

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Disclosure: Some things in this Newsletter may be sponsored posts. Endvr Digital LLC may be getting a small commission if you sign up / fill out their form, or Endvr Digital LLC might own a percent of the business. In particular, but not always, those sponsored, commissioned, or owned posts might have an * in the subject headline.