1. Idea Generation

• Claude
• ChatGPT
• Bing Chat
• Perplexity
• Betterresearch

Idea generation is the backbone of any creative process. Tools like ChatGPT and Bing Chat are designed to assist in brainstorming sessions, offering fresh perspectives and unique content ideas. As Riyazuddin notes, these tools can significantly reduce the time spent on developing concepts, allowing marketers and creators to focus on execution.

2. Website Development

• Dora
• 10Web.io
• Framer
• Unicorn
• Hostinger

Building a website has never been easier with AI-powered tools like Framer and 10Web.io. These platforms enable users to design and deploy websites quickly, often without needing extensive coding knowledge. “These tools are game-changers for small businesses and entrepreneurs,” says Riyazuddin, emphasizing their ability to make professional web development accessible to everyone.

3. Writing and Content Creation

• Rytr
• Jasper
• Longshot
• Text Blaze
• Copymate AI

AI has made significant strides in content creation, with tools like Jasper and Rytr leading the charge. These platforms can generate blog posts, social media updates, and even complex reports with minimal input from the user. Riyazuddin highlights that these tools are particularly valuable for marketers looking to maintain a consistent content output without sacrificing quality.

4. Meeting Management

• tl;dv – AI Meeting Assistant
• Krisp
• Otter.ai
• Fathom – AI Meeting Assistant
• Airgram

Meetings can be time-consuming, but AI meeting assistants like Otter.ai and Fathom are here to help. These tools transcribe meetings, summarize key points, and even eliminate background noise, making virtual meetings more efficient. “With tools like these, you can focus on the conversation rather than taking notes,” Riyazuddin explains.

5. Chatbot Development

• SiteGPT
• Chatbase
• Chatsimple
• CustomGPT.ai
• Mutual info
• You.com

Chatbots have become essential for businesses looking to enhance customer engagement. Tools like SiteGPT and Chatbase allow companies to create intelligent chatbots that can handle customer inquiries, provide support, and even drive sales. According to Riyazuddin, these tools are indispensable for businesses aiming to offer 24/7 customer service without human intervention.

6. Automation

• Make
• Levity
• Zapier
• Xembly
• Bardeen

Automation tools like Zapier and Make are crucial for optimizing workflows and eliminating repetitive tasks. These platforms allow users to connect different applications, creating automated workflows that save time and reduce the potential for errors. Riyazuddin believes that “automation is the key to scaling operations without scaling costs.”

7. UI/UX Design

• Uizard
• UiMagic
• InstantAI
• Galileo AI
• Photoshop

For designers, AI tools like Uizard and Galileo AI offer innovative ways to create user interfaces and experiences. These tools simplify the design process, making it easier for non-designers to create professional-quality visuals. “UI/UX design is more accessible than ever,” says Riyazuddin, “thanks to AI-driven platforms that democratize the creative process.”

8. Image Creation

• Leap AI
• Astira AI
• Midjourney
• Bing Create
• Stable Diffusion

AI-powered image creation tools like Midjourney and Stable Diffusion are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in digital art. These platforms can generate high-quality images from text prompts, making them invaluable for content creators, marketers, and designers. Riyazuddin notes that “these tools are perfect for anyone looking to enhance their visual content without a professional graphic designer.”

9. Video Production

• Eightify
• AKOOL
• invideo
• HeyGen
• Runway
• Morphstudio xyz

Video content remains king, and AI tools like invideo and Runway are making video production more accessible. These platforms offer features like automated editing, special effects, and even AI-generated avatars, allowing creators to produce professional-quality videos with ease. Riyazuddin points out that “these tools are essential for anyone looking to make an impact with video content.”

10. Design

• Canva
• Flair AI
• Clipdrop
• Booth AI
• Autodraw

Canva has long been a favorite among designers, and with AI integrations, it’s become even more powerful. Tools like Clipdrop and Booth AI offer new ways to create and manipulate images, making design work faster and more intuitive. Riyazuddin emphasizes that “these tools empower anyone to create stunning designs, regardless of their skill level.”

11. Marketing

• Pencil
• Ai-Ads
• AdCopy
• Simplified
• AdCreative

AI is transforming marketing by enabling the creation of highly targeted, data-driven campaigns. Tools like Pencil and Ai-Ads help marketers generate ad copy, design creatives, and optimize campaigns for better performance. Riyazuddin believes that “these tools are revolutionizing the way we approach digital marketing, making it more efficient and effective.”

12. Social Media (Twitter)

• Typefully
• Tweetlify
• Postwise.ai
• Tribescaler
• TweetHunter

Managing social media, particularly Twitter, can be time-consuming. Tools like Typefully and TweetHunter automate content scheduling, hashtag optimization, and audience engagement, helping users grow their social media presence with minimal effort. According to Riyazuddin, “these tools are must-haves for anyone serious about building a strong online brand.”

13. Resume Building

• Kickresume
• Enhancv
• Rezi
• Novore
• zety

Job seekers can now leverage AI to create standout resumes with tools like Kickresume and Rezi. These platforms offer customizable templates, AI-driven content suggestions, and even ATS optimization to increase the chances of getting noticed by recruiters. Riyazuddin highlights that “in a competitive job market, these tools give you an edge by ensuring your resume is both professional and impactful.”

The Future is AI-Driven

The list of AI tools shared by Md Riyazuddin is a testament to the rapid advancements in technology that are shaping our professional lives. From idea generation to automation, these tools offer solutions that not only enhance productivity but also enable creativity and innovation. As Riyazuddin succinctly puts it, “AI will not replace you, but a person using AI will.” The key is to stay ahead of the curve by embracing these tools and integrating them into your workflow. Whether you’re a marketer, designer, or entrepreneur, the future of work is AI-driven, and these tools are your gateway to staying competitive in a rapidly evolving landscape.

In this deep dive, we explore the insights shared by eight experts at Propulsion 2024, which collectively paint a picture of a future where digital transformation, AI, and collaborative strategies take center stage.

1. Ross Meyercord: The Imperative of Digital Transformation

In his keynote, Ross Meyercord, CEO of Propel Software, asserted that 2024 marks a pivotal year for digital transformation, not as an option but as a necessity. According to Meyercord, sustaining and expanding a competitive edge in today’s relentless innovation landscape requires a focus on product value management (PVM). He emphasized the importance of a single-platform concept-to-customer solution, which fosters agility and responsiveness.

“Ultimately, there is no finish line for innovation,” Meyercord remarked, underscoring the continuous need for improvement and adaptation in an ever-changing market.

2. Breg’s “Big Bang” Approach: Rapid ROI through Integrated Systems

Serena Oaks and Erika Blair from medtech leader Breg discussed their bold “Big Bang” approach to digital transformation, which prioritized a comprehensive launch of integrated product lifecycle management (PLM) and quality management systems (QMS). This strategy resulted in a 500% increase in project capacity without additional staffing and a significant reduction in time-to-market.

“Propel’s value is really in its interconnectedness. When you’re connecting your people, your data, creating process linkages, you have access to the intellectual power of your organization,” Blair highlighted, showcasing the impact of cohesive collaboration.

3. Tomasz Stefańczyk: Building a Future-Proof Tech Stack

Tomasz Stefańczyk, Head of Engineering at AMS Technologies, highlighted the transformative journey from spreadsheets to a fully integrated digital environment. By adopting Propel PLM, AMS achieved a remarkable 500% increase in engineering productivity. Stefańczyk stressed the importance of having a “single point of truth,” advocating for centralized data management as a driver of business growth.

“We knew we needed to have the single point of truth,” he emphasized, pointing to the value of accurate and centralized data in steering future growth.

4. Overcoming Resistance: The Change Agent Panel

Change, especially in technology, often meets resistance. During a panel discussion, Lori Lundergan (Allegro MicroSystems), Diana Sehawneh (MaryRuth’s), and Kirstin Sims (Guardant Health) shared their experiences leading digital transformations. They underscored the significance of communication, collaboration, and securing organizational buy-in.

“We’re constantly evolving our playbook,” Sims noted, emphasizing that flexibility and ongoing dialogue are crucial for sustaining transformation efforts.

5. Dmitriy Geler: Strategic Digital Transformation for Revenue Growth

Dmitriy Geler, VP of Quality, NPI Engineering, and Transformation at BekaertDeslee, illustrated how digital transformation can directly impact revenue growth. By fostering a culture of innovation and challenging the status quo, BekaertDeslee has maintained double-digit year-over-year growth. Geler highlighted the importance of cross-functional collaboration and selecting top talent to lead transformative initiatives.

“My team is set up for success to understand our internal customers cross-functionally,” Geler explained, showcasing the value of internal collaboration in driving continuous innovation.

6. Manufacturing Industry Insights: Navigating Change

Bruce Richardson, Chief Enterprise Strategist at Salesforce, and Tony Kratovil, VP/GM of Manufacturing Solutions, discussed the future of manufacturing, focusing on AI’s impact, evolving global supply chains, and sustainability. Their session highlighted the need for resilience in navigating these disruptions.

“Derisking your supply chain is key for maintaining your leadership in your market,” Richardson advised, emphasizing the importance of preparing for unexpected challenges.

7. Kevin Chien: Revolutionizing Health and Life Sciences

Kevin Chien, GM of Life Sciences at Salesforce, explored how AI and machine learning are revolutionizing the Health and Life Sciences industry. Chien pointed to advancements in patient engagement and product quality management, which are setting new standards in medical technology.

“This is life sciences’ Blockbuster moment,” Chien declared, signaling a significant shift in healthcare delivery.

8. Nitesh Chawla: AI’s Transformative Potential

Nitesh Chawla, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Notre Dame, closed the discussions by addressing AI’s profound impact on corporate productivity. He argued that AI presents both challenges and immense opportunities, particularly in optimizing supply chains and enhancing product quality.

“There is no supply chain today that will not be impacted by AI,” Chawla concluded, emphasizing the inevitability of AI’s influence on global industries.

Preparing for the Future of Innovation

The insights shared at Propulsion 2024 underscore the need for companies to embrace digital transformation, foster cross-functional collaboration, and prepare for the widespread adoption of AI. As we move into a future defined by rapid technological advancements and global interconnectedness, organizations must be nimble, innovative, and resilient.

The future of product innovation is here, and those who are prepared to adapt will lead the way. The roadmap provided by these industry leaders offers valuable guidance for navigating the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

Google first announced it would be dropping support for the products in April 2023. The company is issuing the final warning as a reminder to users who have not yet migrated.

About a year ago we announced that support for Dropcam, Dropcam Pro, and Nest Secure will end on April 8, 2024. Since then, we’ve reached out to impacted users through a series of email communications and in-app messages to help prepare for this transition, and to provide special offers based on eligibility.

For Nest Secure users, Google has provided offers for a Self Setup System from ADT:

Starting April 8, 2024, support will stop for Nest Secure and your Nest Secure will no longer be accessible in the Nest app.

Eligible Nest Secure users were emailed an offer for a Self Setup System from ADT on us (up to $485 value) or $200 to use on the Google Store. Offer can be redeemed until May 7th, 2024.

The company has provided a migration path for DropCam users to migrate to the Nest Cam:

On April 8, 2024, Dropcam and Dropcam Pro will no longer work and you will no longer be able to manage your camera using the Nest app. In addition, no new video history will be recorded from your camera starting April 8th.

Eligible Dropcam and Dropcam Pro users were emailed an offer towards a Nest Cam (indoor, wired). Nest Cam is part of our next generation of cameras with more helpful features like HDR and built-in intelligence. The offer can be redeemed until May 7th, 2024.

Your Dropcam and Dropcam Pro video history will be available for a limited amount of time, the timing is based on your Nest Aware subscription version and tier (which ranges from 5 to 60 days). If you wish to keep any video clips, you can learn how to create and download clips here.

Any remaining users should take action ASAP.

For Google fans, the demise of Google Podcasts may seem like another casualty in the company’s long history of product closures. Indeed, Google’s track record is littered with failed ventures, from Google Reader to Google Wave, leaving many to wonder if the company is capable of sustaining its offerings in the long term.

While perhaps inevitable, Google Podcasts’ demise underscores a larger issue plaguing the tech giant: a lack of consistency and commitment to its products. As one commentator aptly put it, “Google can’t stick to any product they make.” Many disillusioned users have grown weary of investing time and energy into Google’s offerings, only to see them unceremoniously axed at a moment’s notice.

Google Podcasts faced stiff competition from established players in the podcasting space, notably YouTube, which boasts its podcast section. However, the decision to shutter Google Podcasts highlights a broader problem within the company: a lack of strategic vision and a tendency to prioritize short-term gains over long-term sustainability.

The demise of Google Podcasts is just the latest chapter in Google’s ongoing struggle to maintain relevance in an increasingly crowded marketplace. With nearly 300 dead products to its name, Google risks eroding consumer trust and confidence in its brand as users grow wary of investing in products that may ultimately meet the same fate.

For Google, the challenge now lies in rebuilding trust and credibility among consumers disillusioned with the company’s propensity for product closures. This will require a concerted effort to demonstrate a commitment to long-term sustainability and a willingness to stand behind its offerings rather than abandoning them at the first sign of trouble.

In the meantime, Google Podcasts’ demise serves as a cautionary tale for companies large and small, highlighting the importance of strategic foresight and a steadfast commitment to delivering value to customers. As Google grapples with the fallout from yet another product closure, the tech world watches with bated breath to see what the future holds for the search giant and its ever-expanding digital graveyard.

Dave Gerhardt, VP of Marketing at Drift, was recently interviewed on the B2B Growth podcast by John Rougeux who is VP of Marketing at Skyfii. Gerhardt discusses conversational marketing as a new B2B product category and how it is changing marketing from reaching out to you later to a conversation that is happening now:

Conversational Marketing is About Connecting You Now

Conversational marketing is a whole new way of thinking about marketing and sales. The traditional way of doing marketing and sales is all about later. Come to my website and fill out this form and somebody is going to reach out to you later, when it’s convenient for them. The big shift that is happening in marketing and business over the last five to ten years is customers have all the power today. You can’t make people wait. Information is free now.

I can find anything I want to know about a company without ever having to go to your website. It’s crazy to think that you are going to force people to go to your website, fill out a form, wait three days to hear back from your sales team, and then get a demo. Conversational is all about connecting you now with the people who are ready to buy now while they are live on your website.

B2P – Marketing to People

It’s not about buyers. It’s not about sellers. It’s not about sales. It’s not about marketing. It’s about people. That’s how people all communicate online today. I pressed one button in my car and I got a list. I ordered something from Amazon while I was here this morning to send back to my house and it’s going to be there tomorrow when I get home. There are countless examples of that. That is how we all behave online in our real lives today.

But then something happens weird happens. We go to our jobs in B2B and none of the tools that we use match how we actually buy as real people. That’s the most exciting thing to me about conversational marketing. It’s really closing the gap between B2C and B2B. We just call it B2P, marketing to people.

What Ties Our Products Together is Conversation

We have an email product and we have a landing page product. Black and white versions of those people would say everybody has email, everybody has landing pages. The thing that ties those together is conversation. That forces us to think about what is conversational email? What is conversational landing pages? What is conversational whatever? That one word forces our product team to think about how can we change this? If our fundamental stance as a company is that the internet should be one conversation, then how does that weave into everything that we build?

Ultimately what we care about is that email becomes a conversation. Meaning, the way that marketers have had to use email the last decade is a one-way channel. Email is meant to be a two-way channel. Marketers have been using it as, “John come to my webinar.” What happens if you actually respond to that email? Most of the time you can’t because it’s donotreply@ or it just goes to some inbox where nobody is answering it. That is a terrible experience. Our belief is that if you reply, “Hey actually I can’t make it. Can you reregister my colleague?” That should get handled. We are thinking of that from an evolution standpoint.

The same thing with landing pages. Most landing pages today are static. You go to the landing page, put a bunch of info in and you are gone. What if that was a real-time conversation on the page? That one topic has to weave itself into everything we do from a product perspective.

>> Listen to the complete interview with Drift Marketing VP Dave Gerhardt on the B2B Growth podcast.

Nirosha Methananda, Vice President of Marketing at Bombora, discusses the challenges of marketing without annoying your potential customers by bombarding them with marketing messages in an interview with Logan Lyles on the B2B Growth Podcast:

Marketing Is Really About the Customer Experience

As a B2B marketer, I get marketed to a lot. It’s something that I have increasingly noticed and I’m probably not the only one. That’s just becoming part of the experience in terms of being inundated with different messaging and different calls and this, that, and the other. Use this, do this, buy this, whatever it is. It’s really not a great experience. It doesn’t necessarily provide value. Marketers are so busy as it is, and I know that is applicable across the board with everyone we are marketing to. Being able to cut through the noise and having an understanding of all these different things is very challenging. 

Having on top of it being inundated with this constant flow of messaging like meet me, meet me, meet me, is not very helpful. That’s one of the things that I’m passionate about. It’s really about customer experience. I think that is something fundamental to marketing. I feel like we have gone down this path of almost over automating and having to constantly pounce on people without necessarily being conscious and mindful of what their experience is on the other end. From my experience, it’s leading to me switching off and ignoring messages. I’m sure I’m not the only one. 

Create a Marketing Strategy That’s Not Annoying

It also leads to this annoyance and irritation which leads to distrust of brands and that’s not great for this industry. From a customer perspective those bad experiences, unfortunately, more than good experiences, they stay with you for longer and you remember that. Another thing that we don’t necessarily think of is that it’s wasteful. It’s wasteful of time and it’s wasteful of money especially for marketing and sales where money is a precious resource. It’s not something to be wasted. That’s basically why I’m passionate about creating a marketing strategy that’s not annoying.

As an example, our Intent Event was our first flagship event that we did last year. It was a closed event so we did have limited numbers and we were limited as to what we could do with promotion. What we did was try to have mindfulness around what we were sending out and ensuring that it was helpful. Making sure that the recipients, the people that we invited, were given all the relevant information, but there was brevity in the communication as well as encouraging them to participate without forcing them to be there. 

There was certainly some urgency around some of our communication but it wasn’t you need to attend this and this is why you must attend this. It was more about being a bit more subtle in presenting them the idea and the concept of what it was, why it would help them, and exactly the information that they needed. What that meant was not sending out multiple emails, being very controlled around it, really thinking about what the experience was before the event, to during the event, to after the event. We were really focused on the customer and making sure that all of the content and communication was educational and helpful.

While Apple’s iMessage is wildly popular among iPhone users, iOS falls back to old-fashioned SMS text messages when texting with an Android device. Apple does this despite the advent of RCS, which is the iMessage-like successor to SMS.

Google has long maintained that Apple should keep iMessage for iPhone-to-iPhone communication but fall back to RCS for iPhone-to-Android texts. Doing so would give users on both ends of the conversation a superior experience and keep conversations protected with end-to-end encryption, something woefully lacking in SMS.

Apple has resisted all such calls to adopt RCS, seeing iMessage as a way to keep users locked into the company’s ecosystem, prompting Google to release a humorous video highlighting how un-Apple-like such a stance really is.

Nirosha Methananda, Vice President of Marketing at Bombora, discusses the challenges of marketing without annoying your potential customers by bombarding them with marketing messages in an interview with Logan Lyles on the B2B Growth Podcast:

Marketing Is Really About the Customer Experience

As a B2B marketer, I get marketed to a lot. It’s something that I have increasingly noticed and I’m probably not the only one. That’s just becoming part of the experience in terms of being inundated with different messaging and different calls and this, that, and the other. Use this, do this, buy this, whatever it is. It’s really not a great experience. It doesn’t necessarily provide value. Marketers are so busy as it is, and I know that is applicable across the board with everyone we are marketing to. Being able to cut through the noise and having an understanding of all these different things is very challenging. 

Having on top of it being inundated with this constant flow of messaging like meet me, meet me, meet me, is not very helpful. That’s one of the things that I’m passionate about. It’s really about customer experience. I think that is something fundamental to marketing. I feel like we have gone down this path of almost over automating and having to constantly pounce on people without necessarily being conscious and mindful of what their experience is on the other end. From my experience, it’s leading to me switching off and ignoring messages. I’m sure I’m not the only one. 

Create a Marketing Strategy That’s Not Annoying

It also leads to this annoyance and irritation which leads to distrust of brands and that’s not great for this industry. From a customer perspective those bad experiences, unfortunately, more than good experiences, they stay with you for longer and you remember that. Another thing that we don’t necessarily think of is that it’s wasteful. It’s wasteful of time and it’s wasteful of money especially for marketing and sales where money is a precious resource. It’s not something to be wasted. That’s basically why I’m passionate about creating a marketing strategy that’s not annoying.

As an example, our Intent Event was our first flagship event that we did last year. It was a closed event so we did have limited numbers and we were limited as to what we could do with promotion. What we did was try to have mindfulness around what we were sending out and ensuring that it was helpful. Making sure that the recipients, the people that we invited, were given all the relevant information, but there was brevity in the communication as well as encouraging them to participate without forcing them to be there. 

There was certainly some urgency around some of our communication but it wasn’t you need to attend this and this is why you must attend this. It was more about being a bit more subtle in presenting them the idea and the concept of what it was, why it would help them, and exactly the information that they needed. What that meant was not sending out multiple emails, being very controlled around it, really thinking about what the experience was before the event, to during the event, to after the event. We were really focused on the customer and making sure that all of the content and communication was educational and helpful.

Dave Gerhardt, VP of Marketing at Drift, was recently interviewed on the B2B Growth podcast by John Rougeux who is VP of Marketing at Skyfii. Gerhardt discusses conversational marketing as a new B2B product category and how it is changing marketing from reaching out to you later to a conversation that is happening now:

Conversational Marketing is About Connecting You Now

Conversational marketing is a whole new way of thinking about marketing and sales. The traditional way of doing marketing and sales is all about later. Come to my website and fill out this form and somebody is going to reach out to you later, when it’s convenient for them. The big shift that is happening in marketing and business over the last five to ten years is customers have all the power today. You can’t make people wait. Information is free now.

I can find anything I want to know about a company without ever having to go to your website. It’s crazy to think that you are going to force people to go to your website, fill out a form, wait three days to hear back from your sales team, and then get a demo. Conversational is all about connecting you now with the people who are ready to buy now while they are live on your website.

B2P – Marketing to People

It’s not about buyers. It’s not about sellers. It’s not about sales. It’s not about marketing. It’s about people. That’s how people all communicate online today. I pressed one button in my car and I got a list. I ordered something from Amazon while I was here this morning to send back to my house and it’s going to be there tomorrow when I get home. There are countless examples of that. That is how we all behave online in our real lives today.

But then something happens weird happens. We go to our jobs in B2B and none of the tools that we use match how we actually buy as real people. That’s the most exciting thing to me about conversational marketing. It’s really closing the gap between B2C and B2B. We just call it B2P, marketing to people.

What Ties Our Products Together is Conversation

We have an email product and we have a landing page product. Black and white versions of those people would say everybody has email, everybody has landing pages. The thing that ties those together is conversation. That forces us to think about what is conversational email? What is conversational landing pages? What is conversational whatever? That one word forces our product team to think about how can we change this? If our fundamental stance as a company is that the internet should be one conversation, then how does that weave into everything that we build?

Ultimately what we care about is that email becomes a conversation. Meaning, the way that marketers have had to use email the last decade is a one-way channel. Email is meant to be a two-way channel. Marketers have been using it as, “John come to my webinar.” What happens if you actually respond to that email? Most of the time you can’t because it’s donotreply@ or it just goes to some inbox where nobody is answering it. That is a terrible experience. Our belief is that if you reply, “Hey actually I can’t make it. Can you reregister my colleague?” That should get handled. We are thinking of that from an evolution standpoint.

The same thing with landing pages. Most landing pages today are static. You go to the landing page, put a bunch of info in and you are gone. What if that was a real-time conversation on the page? That one topic has to weave itself into everything we do from a product perspective.

>> Listen to the complete interview with Drift Marketing VP Dave Gerhardt on the B2B Growth podcast.

Shantanu Narayen, Chairman and CEO of Adobe, discusses how the pandemic has created another “inflection point” in the move toward digital transformation:

Digital Transformation Is A $120 Billion Opportunity

It was a good quarter all around. All of our businesses performed exceedingly well. On the Creative Cloud and the Document Cloud, not only did we have a great acquisition. in other words, new customers adopting the platform, but we really focused on engagement and demonstrating the value of our products to our customers. Even our retention levels came back to pre-COVID levels which we believe is a really good sign.

What’s happening in the world is the businesses that we’re in, namely creativity and enabling people to tell their story, what’s happening with documents and accelerating document productivity, and what’s happening associated with every single enterprise needing to engage with their customers digitally, when you add all of this up we think it’s over a $120 billion of an addressable market opportunity for Adobe.

Pandemic Was Inflection Point For Everything Being Digital

What the pandemic and the current health situation has done is that it has created yet another inflection point for everything being digital. What we will have to continue to monitor is what happens in the spending environment. But as it relates to the overall need for the kinds of solutions that Adobe provides as well as the importance of digital in the marketplace I think that’s going to be sustainable for decades. You’re not going to put the genie back in the bottle as it relates to engaging digitally and creating content digitally.

We believe that we’re in this third phase of what is happening in the enterprise. Traditionally, businesses first focused on automating the back office, and then they focused on automating the front office for knowledge workers. It’s absolutely clear that the biggest imperative that exists in the enterprise today is how do you engage with customers? This is a category that we call Customer Experience Management.

Customer Insight Is Key To Your Digital Transformation

If you’re an enterprise today and you’re thinking about digital transformation, what’s top of that stack in terms of where you have to invest is to make sure that you have insight into what your customers are doing. How are they engaging with you? What’s the profile? How do you deliver the personalized experience?

We really believe that what you’re seeing in the enterprise spend environment is that the companies that are focused on this next generation of delivering customer engagement, the customer experiences, and the insight associated with how to take the most advantage of that data, they’re going to be the secular winners moving forward.

Neil Patel, digital marketing expert and founder of Neil Patel Digital, discusses the seven online marketing mistakes in his latest video release:

Stop Making These 7 Online Marketing Mistakes

I’m going to break down seven online marketing mistakes that you need to stop. You’re probably wondering you’re doing all these things but why aren’t you seeing results? Even if you’re doing the right things, if you’re also doing the wrong things at the same time it’s going to hurt you and it’s going avoid you from getting the results that you deserve.

Mistake 1: Not Collecting Emails

The first mistake you are making is not collecting emails. It doesn’t matter how good you are with SEO or marketing only a very small percentage of your visitors are ever going to convert into customers. By collecting emails not only can you get people to come back to your site but you can convince them to convert over emails.

The moment someone gives you their email address think of that as a micro-commitment. They’re much more likely to convert into a customer because they committed, they already gave you something. That’s why you want to collect emails. You can do this through sliders or exit pop-ups. You can do this for free using tools like Hello Bar.

Mistake 2: Not Collecting Subscribers Through Push Notifications

The second mistake you’re making is you’re not collecting subscribers through push notifications. There are free tools like Subscribers.com that’ll make it easy. Just add in a JavaScript or a WordPress plug-in and then when people come to your website they will automatically subscribe through the browser. Then anytime you have new content or products or services that you want to sell then you can notify them through Subscribers.

Mistake 3: Not Building a Brand

The reason tip number one on collecting emails and tip number two on getting more push notifications subscribers are really important is because you need to build a brand. This gets you into the third mistake. Google doesn’t want to rank sites that aren’t brands. Why is this? There’s an issue out there called fake news and that’s why they’re pushing brands over anything else. It’s not just going to be Facebook and in Google. Eventually, it’s going to be Twitter and LinkedIn and all the sites out there.

When you get people back to your site seven times you’re much more likely to build a brand. It’s called the Rule of Seven in marketing. So with your site, you want to provide an amazing user experience. When you provide an amazing user experience, create a great product, create a great service, it’ll help you build a great brand over time.

Mistake 4: Not Interlinking

The fourth mistake you’re making is not interlinking. You may notice on Google I’m ranking for terms like online marketing on page one. You’re probably wondering how do I do this? A lot of it comes out to interlinking. In my sidebar, I link to my most popular pages of content. When I write blog posts related to online marketing I link back to the online marketing guide that talks about what online marketing is. By having all these links it helps me rank higher.

Mistake 5: Just Focusing On Text-Based Content

The fifth mistake I have for you is just focusing on text-based content. The future of digital marketing is moving to video. It doesn’t mean you should stop doing text but it means you should also be doing video. When you do video you’re going to get more traffic because everyone’s lacking it. LinkedIn wants it right now. YouTube wants more of it. Facebook wants it. Instagram even wants it.

Why is this? They want to crush the television networks. You look at things like the Oscars or traditional movie theaters and they’re not doing as well. You look at traditional TV and they’re going to get crushed. Why? It’s because of Facebook. It’s because of Google. It’s because of Netflix. If you’re there creating that video content you can be part of it and you’re going to get extra traffic. They want as much help as possible to crush these big old-school companies.

Mistake 6: Sticking To Just a Few Marketing Channels

The sixth mistake that you’re making is you’re really sticking to just a few marketing channels. Marketing is competitive. People raise venture capital hundreds of millions of dollars just so they can compete in marketing and sales. You need to do more than one or two or three marketing channels. The more you do the better off you’re going to be.

Mistake 7: Not Asking For the Sale

The seventh mistake I have for you is not asking for the sale. Whether it’s a lead or whether it’s getting people to buy your product, there’s nothing wrong with asking people to buy from you. If you don’t you’re not going to generate any sales. Everyone’s like I get all this traffic through my online marketing but no one’s converting. Why? Because you’re not asking for a sale.

As usual, some opinionated Redditers expressed their thoughts on the ads:

1-800 Flowers CEO discusses the company’s growth that was accelerated by the pandemic:

Ecommerce Growth Accelerated During Pandemic

What we’ve seen is an acceleration of growth in our company that began back in 2018 and really then accelerated even further in 2020 with the pandemic. It’s driven by the need for us as people to connect and express ourselves. As a company whose vision is to inspire more human expression, connection, and celebration, and as an ecommerce leader, we’re well-positioned in the trends that we see coming out of this pandemic. We think these trends are sustainable going forward.

We started out as one flower shop many years ago. What we’ve done is created this e-commerce platform for growth, a platform for expression, connection, and celebration. It starts with this all-star family of brands that we have led by Harry & David, 1-800-Flowers, Cheryl’s Cookies, Shari’s Berries, and our recent acquisition just this past August of Personalization Mall. You see us now as a company in the expression and connection business with a leadership position in floral, a leadership position in gourmet food gifting, and certainly now leadership and position in expressions and personalized items which is a fast-growing market.

You’ll continue to continue to see us grow by organic product development of products that help customers express and connect. And as we’ve done through acquisition, adding to that platform and leveraging that platform that we’ve built.

Need To Express and Connect Is a Lasting Trend

Hopefully, the vaccines accelerate and we turn to some sense of normalcy sooner rather than later. As we look at our business, the momentum we saw began in 2018 and 2019 and then accelerated with the pandemic. We’ve been on a good momentum growth even before the pandemic and we really see ourselves now as a bigger stronger company than we were prior to it. We’ve acquired Personalization Mall just this past August and by putting it on our platform and leveraging our digital marketing expertise we accelerated the growth of that company. It grew by 50 percent this last quarter.

A year ago August we acquired Shari’s Berries and took a business that was stagnant and losing money to now one that’s got a nice growth rate and is generating a nice contribution margin as well. If we just keep our focus on what the consumer is looking for to help express and connect then we’ll be continuing to see double-digit growth for some time to come. That trend that we’ve all learned from being isolated, our need to express and connect is a lasting trend coming out of this pandemic along with the shift from offline to online.

John Copeland of Adobe, predicts that ecommerce spending could be $930 billion, or just under $1 trillion, in 2021:

COVID was a catalyst to the ecommerce channel last year. What we saw when you look at the full calendar year of 2020 was $813 billion dollars in ecommerce spending, 42 percent growth over 2019. That’s like combining two years’ worth of growth into a single year. Consumers have really embraced the online channel to meet their needs during these challenging times.

We’re all kind of wondering what (the vaccine rollout) is going to do in terms of ecommerce. We’re forecasting this year somewhere between $850 billion, only a 5 percent over last year, and up to $930 billion, which would be a 14 percent increase over last year. The 5 percent increase would be if everybody gets vaccinated and rushes out and we see kind of a slowdown. The $930 billion, 14 percent increase, would be more typical of what we see year over year in the ecommerce channel.

Buy Now Pay Later Up 215 Percent Over Last Year

Buy Now Pay Later is very much good for retailers. In fact, what we’ve seen in February this year relative to February 2020, which is kind of on the cusp of the pandemic, is a 215 percent increase year over year in buy now pay later orders. In terms of retailers, it comes along with larger average order values. What we’re seeing is 18 percent larger orders when customers are using that service. Unlike layaway, with buy now pay later you actually get the goods upfront, you don’t have to wait until the payment’s done.

Another trend is Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store, also known as BOPUS. In February of this year, we’re already seeing it growing 67 percent year on year. It’s always been huge and growing during the holiday season but now people are clearly working it in as part of their fulfillment options. Picking up in the store gives consumers the ability to schedule it according to their availability and knowing that stock will be there for them when they want to pick it up.

According to the SEC, App Annie and its co-founder and former CEO, Bertrand Schmitt, misled customers about how data was collected. 

App Annie and Schmitt understood that companies would only share their confidential app performance data with App Annie if it promised not to disclose their data to third parties, and as a result App Annie and Schmitt assured companies that their data would be aggregated and anonymized before being used by a statistical model to generate estimates of app performance.

Unfortunately, that’s not what App Annie did. Instead, the company used non-anonymized data, in direct violation of its promises, even selling that data to trading firms — something it explicitly said it would not do.

Contrary to these representations, the order finds that from late 2014 through mid-2018, App Annie used non-aggregated and non-anonymized data to alter its model-generated estimates to make them more valuable to sell to trading firms.

“The federal securities laws prohibit deceptive conduct and material misrepresentations in connection with the purchase or sale of securities,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division. “Here, App Annie and Schmitt lied to companies about how their confidential data was being used and then not only sold the manipulated estimates to their trading firm customers, but also encouraged them to trade on those estimates—often touting how closely they correlated with the companies’ true performance and stock prices.”

“App Annie sought to distinguish itself in the alternative data space by providing securities market participants with valuable information in a new and innovative way,” said Erin E. Schneider, Director of the SEC’s San Francisco Regional Office. “It went to great lengths to assure its customers that the financial and app-related data it sold was the product of a sophisticated statistical model and that it had controls to ensure compliance with the federal securities laws. These representations were materially false and misleading.”

The settlement is significant, as it’s the first enforcement action against an “alternative data” provider. Alternative data does not have to be disclosed in a company’s financial results, or in traditional data sources.

App Annie issued a statement, neither confirming nor denying guilt, saying it had made changes to improve trust and transparency.

Without admitting or denying the findings in the SEC’s order, App Annie settled the matter and we are pleased it is now resolved. Over the past 3 years, we made a number of material changes to our operations and established a new level of trust and transparency.

While the company says the investigation does not pertain to its current customer relationships, it’s a safe bet its customers may not have such a rosy outlook.

Brian Cornell, CEO of Target, discusses their massive Q1 results in an interview on CNBC:

Digital Performance Up 50 Percent

We’ve had a string of really solid results going back to 2017 but this quarter may be one of the highlights. Our team executed throughout the quarter. We had a great performance from our store teams with a store comp of 18%. Our digital performance was up 50%. It was really a team effort. We had great supply chain support with our merchants and marketers all coming together to support the results which speak for themselves.

We are benefitting from investments we’ve been making for years now. Our investment in our store experience, our curated Home Brand and national brand mix, and then the fulfillment services that we offer. That combined with the investment in our team, I think we are seeing continued strength. We feel really good sitting here right now about our outlook, not just for the second quarter but for the full year.

We’ve Connected With The Consumer

As we gain greater clarity around the consumer, the economy, the state of the vaccine, we feel that the consumer continues to respond to our in-store experience and the ease and convenience of shopping with some of our same-day services like pickup, drive-up, and ship. They really connect with our curation of Great Home Brand, national brands, and the service our team provides each and every day.

We are feeling very confident about our position today. I look at the proof point from Q1, we picked up another billion dollars in market share on top of the $9 billion of share last year. That’s just a sign that we’ve connected with the consumer, we’re building relevance, and we’re providing what they need and what they want throughout the year.

Newness Is A Huge Trend In Our Business

When you see the combination of stores comping up at 18%, which to me is just a highlight number, and categories like apparel growing again by over 60%, that combination of store traffic and category mix really benefited us throughout the quarter. We are seeing a resilient consumer. They’re clearly shopping our stores and when they’re there they are attracted to anything that’s new.

Newness has certainly been a trend throughout our business in the first quarter and I think that’s going to continue. That great combination of store traffic and store comps and the continued movement of same-day fulfillment services which now represent over half of our digital channel. We really like that transaction. It looks and feels more like a store transaction which from a profitability standpoint certainly is beneficial for us.

Shopify President Harley Finkelstein says the rebels―the entrepreneurs and the small business owners―are the heroes of the Shopify story… and the rebels are winning:

We Are Arming The Rebels

There’s a lot to be optimistic about even in the second half of 2021. It feels like the retail world that would have existed in 2030 was pulled back to 2020. We certainly have seen this massive catalyst to an acceleration in digitalization in commerce and retail. But actually, we are writing the future of commerce and entrepreneurs are really the heroes of the Shopify story. We are arming the rebels… the entrepreneurs, the small business owners, the independent brands, and the rebels are winning.

Consumers have been voting with their wallets for the last ten months or so to buy from independent brands wherever possible. In 2020, 47 million consumers purchased from a Shopify merchant. That’s up 52 from 2019. Our merchant’s performance helped expand Shopify’s lead on an aggregated basis to be the second-largest e-commerce retailer in the U.S. Shopify is now about nine percent of all US ecom. If you think about it, Shopify is a proxy for independent retail and for direct-to-consumer retail.

Shop Pay Launches Accelerated Checkout

We only succeed when our merchants do. This has led to us having more than 1.7 million merchants on Shopify. This includes people from first-time entrepreneurs making their first sale every 28 seconds to the likes of O’Neill and Hallmark and Herman Miller and Purina. Diageo, who also just launched in Shopify and in Q4 alone revenue nearly doubled year over year to $978 million. There’s a lot to be optimistic about. Actually, the future of retail and commerce we think is going to look a lot more like these independent brands than these sort of department stores that existed in the past.

Shop Pay is our accelerated checkout. We just announced it last week. We know that it not only helps merchants get more sales, it helps buyers convert better and much faster. Now we think that providing it to the Instagram and Facebook platforms means that our merchants can not only access new customers on those platforms, and frankly anywhere where customers are, but now can transact in a more efficient way. Shopify is becoming far more than an e-commerce provider.

Future of Retail Is Wherever Consumers Are

We are trying to build the world’s first retail operating system, which makes it as easy as possible and where the cost of failure is as low as possible, so more people can participate in entrepreneurship. We think the future retail is not online or offline or anywhere, in particular, it’s wherever consumers are. That’s what we’re trying to build. Seeing Shop Pay move into Facebook and Instagram is a really great way to demonstrate where the future of retail is happening.

We are trying to get to a point where we completely democratize entrepreneurship. We use a 100-year perspective and we want to build a 100-year company. We’re about 15 years into our journey right now and we have 85 years left to go. In the long run, we’re happy where Shopify is but frankly, on the topic of more participation in the equity markets, we think that is also entrepreneurial and we think that’s also democratizing.

Mike Sievert, CEO of T-Mobile, says that despite AT&T and Verizon spending $80 billion in the c-band auction trying to catch up and match them, they fell short:

Our Competitors Spent $80 Billion To Catch Up and They Fell Short

What the c-band auction shows is the extraordinary value of what T-Mobile has. Our competitors just spent a combined $80 billion trying to catch up and match us and they fell short. They spent $80 billion dollars and are still falling short. We didn’t just leave this auction with the most mid-band spectrum, we left the auction with the best mid-band spectrum. Our two and a half gigahertz spectrum is more than 50 percent better in most use cases. Yet we have more of it than anybody else. It’s really terrific because we’ve taken it and run ahead by about two years with the best asset base in the industry. It’s going to make us famous for network in the 5G era.

As we sit here today we’re more than a million square miles ahead of AT&T and Verizon on deployment. We have more 5G geographic coverage out there than AT&T and Verizon combined. We’re also adding coverage at a record pace, at a pace no one company in this industry has ever done. We started ramping up this engine two years ago and now it’s running at pace. While our competitors just seized some assets, they didn’t catch up, but they just seized some assets that they’re going to get after, but they’re way behind.

We Will Unlock Massive Cashflow From This Business

Yesterday we announced a business plan where we demonstrated massive cash flow potential from this business with very reasonable assumptions. These are assumptions that don’t require us to catch any unicorns. We just have to go do what we’ve already demonstrated we know how to do and we’ll unlock massive cash flow potential in this business. We have everything we need to deliver that business plan right now.

Last week we announced our Work From Home solution. We just started our rollout of home broadband for business home office workers. That’s across more than 50 million of the US population and it will rapidly expand to nationwide. It’s such an exciting thing. Now, work from home workers no longer have to share the WiFiwith their kids. That’s so important.

They also don’t have to worry about security if they are enterprises, they can get their home office workers a secure connection. Later this month, as we unveiled yesterday, we’ll be announcing our consumer launch plans across a wide swath of this country with rate plans, go to market plans. etc. We’re really excited about what’s ahead in home broadband. From a timing standpoint, we’re way ahead of the other new entrants.

Starlink Is Not A Broadband Competitor

SpaceX Starlink Constellation (and other satellite broadband provider) could be a compliment or a future collaborator. Ultimately, for the core mainstream broadband connection, it’s going to come down to capacity. Those emerging technologies won’t be able to match on capacity but they’ll be really great augments for places that macro networks don’t reach. Capacity will be the game. Nobody has the ability to deliver more capacity to more places than T-Mobile.

That’s just so great. This is a company that used to be a scrappy upstart and now we’re the number two provider but with demonstrably the best asset base in this industry.

In further evidence of the impact the pandemic is having on everyday life, video gaming has seen a significant uptick across allage groups.

With more people staying home and avoiding in-person contact, alternative forms of entertainment and socialization have been on the rise. Video gaming, in particular, has become a popular option. Rather than being a solo experience, modern video games often provide a high level of social interaction.

According to Mat Piscatella, Video Game Industry Analyst, The NPD Group, video games are rising in popularity across age demographics, and specifically among middle-aged and older groups.

https://twitter.com/MatPiscatella/status/1333452885422587912?s=20

Interestingly, the biggest jump in video game usage was in the 45 to 54 year-old age group. This impact of the pandemic is sure to open up new opportunities for enterprising companies to better engage with potential customers.

Joe Erlinger, President of McDonald’s USA, says that the Travis Scott Meal promotion is helping but their latest earnings results are actually powered by improvements in digital, drive-through, and delivery:

Digital, Drive-Through and Delivery Powering McDonald’s

I know everyone wants to focus on the Travis Scott Meal and Spicy Chicken McNuggets which definitely contributed to the fantastic September that we had. But the setup for this great quarter actually started much earlier in the year. Our drive-throughs have been getting faster at McDonald’s. We’ve made a lot of investments in digital and drive-through and delivery as well.

Then really we made a lot of changes to our business model as the pandemic set upon us including over 50 changes in operations. We limited our menu and we’ve made our restaurants easier to run. At the same time, we conserved some of our marketing funds. We began to unleash those marketing funds in the third quarter. That’s what set up this great result of 4.6% double-digit comps in September.

Breakfast Is BACK At McDonalds

When we entered the pandemic we had reversed what was a long-term trend of negative guest counts. It’s been lost in the results of what happened in the epidemic. But in January and February, we actually had positive comps at breakfast and positive guest counts. It goes without saying that we don’t sell the Spicy McNuggets or the Travis Scott orders at breakfast and we’ve obviously seen positive comps across all dayparts.

So we are actually very optimistic about the daypart. We’re excited about the bakery launch that’ll take place later this month. We’ve got a real built-in advantage on this because of our drive-throughs and just because of our overall convenience factor. I like the characterization that yes, breakfast is back at McDonald’s.

Mood Amongst Franchisees Is Strong

Franchisees did come into this in a position of absolute strength. In fact, 2019 was the highest cash flow year ever for our franchisees. Some of the steps that we took through the pandemic both to support them in terms of their liquidity but also to make the operations of the restaurant easier (helped significantly). We actually improved margins at the restaurant level as well.

They’re actually coming out of the worst of the pandemic in a very good position and in a very strong financial position. The mood amongst our franchisees is strong. I was in restaurants uh in Washington state a few weeks ago. Last week I was actually in Washington DC. There’s a lot of optimism confidence as we enter the fourth quarter.

Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO of Vayner Media, social media star and entrepreneurial guru followed by millions, says you can’t even find a 24-year-old‌ ‌on‌ ‌Facebook‌ ‌today:

I Don’t Believe TikTok Is A National Security Threat

The‌ ‌pitch‌ ‌started‌ ‌before‌ ‌all‌ ‌the‌ ‌brouhaha‌ ‌started.‌ ‌We‌ ‌were‌ ‌awarded‌ ‌the‌ ‌business‌ ‌(with TikTok) during‌ ‌this‌ ‌time‌. ‌Obviously,‌ ‌like‌ ‌every‌ ‌other‌ ‌American‌ ‌business‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌world, we‌ ‌will‌ ‌deal‌ ‌with‌ ‌whatever‌ ‌the‌ ‌rules‌ ‌are.‌ ‌Like‌ ‌everybody‌ ‌else,‌ ‌we’re‌ ‌standing‌ ‌by.‌ Personally‌, ‌I‌ ‌don’t‌ (consider TikTok‌ a national security threat). ‌But‌ ‌maybe‌ ‌I’m‌ ‌not‌ ‌sitting‌ ‌on‌ ‌information‌ ‌that‌ ‌others‌ ‌are.‌ ‌But‌ ‌no‌, ‌I‌ ‌do‌ ‌not.‌

‌Our‌ ‌small‌ ‌scope‌ ‌with‌ ‌TikTok‌‌ ‌at‌ ‌the‌ ‌Vayner‌ ‌Media‌ ‌level‌ ‌doesn’t‌ ‌really‌ ‌impact‌ ‌what‌ ‌I’m‌ ‌interested‌ ‌in‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌scheme‌ ‌of‌ ‌business.‌ ‌Facebook,‌ ‌Inc.‌, ‌Pinterest‌, and‌ ‌Linkedin‌ ‌all‌ ‌our‌ ‌platforms‌ ‌that‌ ‌all‌ ‌of‌ ‌our‌ ‌brands‌ ‌work‌ ‌on.‌ ‌I’m‌ ‌not‌ ‌overly‌ ‌emotional‌ ‌or‌ ‌I ‌have‌ ‌no‌ ‌feelings‌. ‌I ‌could‌ ‌care‌ ‌less‌ ‌if ‌Facebook‌, ‌Snapchat‌, ‌Linkedin,‌ ‌CNBC, ‌the‌ ‌New‌ ‌York‌ ‌Times‌ ‌disappeared‌ ‌off‌ ‌the‌ ‌face‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌Earth.‌ ‌I’m‌ ‌focusing‌ ‌on‌ ‌attention‌ ‌and‌ ‌that’s‌ ‌what‌ ‌our‌ ‌clients‌ ‌are‌ ‌focusing‌ ‌on.‌ ‌Where‌ ‌is‌ ‌the‌ ‌actual‌ ‌attention‌ ‌and‌ ‌how‌ ‌do‌ ‌we‌ ‌advertise‌ ‌on‌ ‌that‌ ‌platform?‌ ‌

Every Influencer Needs To Be On Every Platform

As‌ ‌far‌ ‌as‌ ‌the‌ ‌influencers,‌ ‌every‌ ‌influencer‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌‌ ‌world‌ ‌needs‌ ‌to‌ ‌divest‌ ‌and‌ ‌be‌ ‌in‌ ‌every‌ ‌single‌ ‌platform‌ ‌and‌ ‌create‌ ‌contextual‌ ‌content‌ ‌on‌ ‌each‌ ‌of‌ ‌those‌ ‌platforms.‌ Whether‌ ‌it’s‌ ‌a‌ ‌government‌ ‌getting‌ ‌involved‌ ‌and‌ ‌shutting‌ ‌it‌ ‌down‌ ‌or‌ ‌if‌ ‌it’s‌ ‌the‌ ‌consumers‌ ‌shifting‌ ‌if‌ ‌you‌ ‌put‌ ‌all‌ ‌your‌ ‌eggs‌ ‌into‌ ‌MySpace‌ ‌you’re‌ ‌not‌ ‌doing‌ ‌so‌ ‌well‌ ‌today.‌ ‌So‌ ‌something‌ ‌I’ve‌ ‌been‌ ‌screaming‌ ‌about‌ ‌in‌ ‌my‌ ‌content‌ ‌for‌ ‌a‌ ‌decade‌ ‌is‌ ‌if‌ ‌you’re‌ ‌not‌ ‌creating‌ ‌content‌ ‌across‌ ‌the‌ ‌board‌ ‌you’re‌ ‌losing‌. ‌It’s‌ ‌something‌ ‌that‌ ‌brands‌ ‌need‌ ‌to‌ ‌be‌ ‌doing.‌ ‌

Way‌ ‌too‌ ‌many‌ ‌are‌ ‌pot-committed‌ ‌to‌ ‌commercials‌ ‌on‌ ‌a‌ ‌TV ‌network‌ ‌when‌ ‌all‌ ‌the‌ ‌attention‌ ‌is‌ ‌shifting‌ ‌to‌ ‌your mobile device. ‌

You Can’t Find A 24-Year-Old On Facebook Today

What’s‌ ‌funny‌ ‌is‌ ‌if‌ ‌you‌ ‌look‌ ‌at‌ ‌what’s‌ ‌happening‌ ‌on‌ ‌TikTok‌, ‌‌we’re‌ ‌getting‌ ‌our‌ ‌advertisers‌ ‌that‌ ‌are‌ ‌trying‌ ‌to‌ ‌reach‌ ‌35‌ ‌to‌ ‌45‌ ‌going‌ ‌on‌ ‌the‌ ‌platform‌ ‌pretty‌ ‌aggressively‌ ‌because‌ ‌every‌ ‌platform‌ ‌gets‌ ‌much‌ ‌older.‌ ‌Don’t‌ ‌deviate‌ ‌from‌ ‌what‌ ‌you‌ ‌know.‌ ‌If‌ ‌you‌ ‌and‌ ‌I ‌dance‌ ‌on‌ ‌that‌ ‌platform‌ ‌I ‌don’t‌ ‌think‌ ‌we’re‌ ‌getting‌ ‌that‌ ‌many‌ ‌views.‌ ‌You‌ ‌need‌ ‌to‌ ‌stay‌ ‌in‌ ‌your‌ ‌pocket‌ ‌and‌ ‌create‌ ‌the‌ ‌content‌ ‌‌and‌ ‌let‌ ‌platforms‌ ‌evolve.‌ ‌

You‌ ‌can’t‌ ‌find‌ ‌a‌ ‌24-year-old‌ ‌on‌ ‌Facebook‌ ‌today.‌ ‌Every‌ ‌one‌ ‌of‌ ‌them‌ ‌was‌ ‌on‌ ‌the‌ ‌platform‌ ‌eight‌ ‌years‌ ‌ago.‌ ‌So‌ ‌it‌ ‌ebbs‌ ‌and‌ ‌flows‌ ‌and‌ ‌as‌ TikTok‌ ‌gets‌ ‌older‌ ‌an‌ ‌audience‌ ‌can‌ ‌emerge.‌ ‌I’ve‌ ‌been‌ ‌putting‌ ‌out‌ ‌business‌ ‌content‌ ‌on‌ ‌the‌ ‌platform‌ ‌from‌ ‌day‌ ‌one,‌ ‌it skews ‌entrepreneurial,‌ ‌which‌ ‌may‌ ‌work‌ ‌in‌ ‌teenage‌ ‌and‌ ‌early‌ ‌20s.‌ ‌CNBC‌ ‌and‌ ‌‌your‌ ‌incredible‌ ‌show‌ ‌could‌ ‌dominate‌ ‌on‌ ‌TikTok‌‌ ‌if‌ ‌you‌ ‌put‌ ‌out‌ ‌information‌ ‌and‌ ‌just‌ ‌had‌ ‌the‌ ‌nuances‌ ‌of‌ ‌TikTok‌ ‌more‌ ‌than‌ ‌trying‌ ‌to‌ ‌become‌ ‌Charlie Demilio.