MARKETING MAYHEM + MORE
“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new” -Socrates
RABBIT.
Happy August. Do you say Rabbit first thing on the first day of a new month? I grew up doing that more as fun thing with my family than any superstition. My husband and I belt it out every month - ha.
There always is a lot to talk about when it comes to marketing. Especially when it comes to AI. It’s funny to me how people are now throwing that word around for everything that is “machine generated.” Also, artificial intelligence is not new, to say the least but the crazy thing about it is that it’s learning and adaptability is moving from 0 to 1000 super fast. This is not like the evolution from records to Spotify.
If you need to get caught up on what’s going on with AI, grab a coffee and watch this.
I’ve used AI to create a contract for me, take one blog post and turn it into 10 IG and FB posts with photos, put together a video, pull together a specific and unique itinerary for a short trip to Santa Fe, suggest a menu complete with recipes for a vegetarian brunch for 10. It’s not perfect by any means, but it’s damn good!
I don’t really know how I feel about it. There is something less authentic, less real about but then I guess you have to ask yourself for what I’ve asked it to do - do I care about that?
I’m taking several classes on AI prompts because truly you don’t want to get behind on this for many reasons.
Enough on that. Moving on…
AF: Kids it’s about to get weird up in here, but you asked for it. I’m sorry in advance. I’m not sure I’d call this marketing per se but this is content that is out there that is COMPETING with marketing… Also, if you are looking at creating content for your business, these are some good ideas in which to tie into. Maybe.
From Social Media Today:
YouTube Highlights Latest Shorts Trends to Help Inform Your Content Approach
Looking to get into YouTube Shorts, but not sure where to start?
This might help. To help guide creators into Shorts, earlier this year, YouTube launched a new video series, hosted by creator Jade Beason, which shines a spotlight onto key Shorts trends of note. In addition, Beason also provides tips on how you can apply each trend within your process.
YouTube has launched the third video in the series this week (the first two are here and here), which explores five of the latest rising Shorts trends in the app.
And some of them are pretty weird.
The key trends highlighted this month are:
‘Popular Media as Muse’ – Also known as ‘trendjacking’ or ‘newsjacking’, some Shorts creators are seeing success by tapping into key discussion topics and pop culture trends (e.g. Barbie) with their clips. This is a pretty tried and true social media marketing tactic. You map out the key news events of each season, then create tie-in content. The only variation here is that YouTube is suggesting you look at coming movie releases and other pop culture events as potential inspiration points, though the relative cultural impact of each is virtually impossible to predict ahead of time.
‘The Rise of Rizz’ – This is one of those trends that you could very easily get wrong, and very easily veer into cringe territory as a result. ‘Rizz’, an abbreviation of charisma, has become a trending term for describing someone’s capacity for drawing romantic interest. YouTube says that this is an example of participatory content, where the initial trend has sparked further engagement with the term, but the value of that as a creative tip is basically none, i.e. nobody could have predicted that ‘rizz’ would become a widely adopted slang term, so it’s not like the creator could have planned for such. So it’s more a point of interest than a helpful example.
‘Skibidi Toilet’ – The strangest of the trends highlighted by YouTube, ‘Skibidi Toilet’ is based around a character who sings a Biser King song. From the toilet. YouTube says that this has sparked a whole stream of content based around this character, which it suggests is reflective of the power of Shorts to drive new trends. But that’s not really what it shows. What it does reflect is Gen Z’s love for absurdist humor, which you have to be immersed in to really lock into and utilize. And it’s risky, but there are ways that you can use crazy approaches like this for your content. I’d recommend watching ‘Tim and Eric’, as opposed to trying to dig into this specific trend.
AF note: Click that TIM AND ERIC link above - IT’S FUNNY and car dealerships can appreciate.
From Search Engine Land:
SEO: HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO SEE RESULTS?
Short answer: It can take anywhere from several months up to a year to see measurable SEO results. Your mileage will vary, but it largely depends on three important factors:
Your actions. The specialists that you hire and the decks of recommendations that you collect don’t move the needle. Your ability to implement those programs do. Whatever is holding you up—internal buy-in or IT tickets—is delaying your results.
The website. A complicated site with technical issues, a manual action from Google due to previous SEO efforts, a negative consequence of a Google core update, or a new domain can set you back.
The competition. According to Search Engine Land, you want to beat the competition, not the algorithm. And that’s a tough game. Maybe you’re less resourced, or maybe you’re competing for million-dollar keywords, or maybe you’re in a tough industry.
AF: Remember, “Threads” is Instagram’s (META) answer to X (Twitter)
From Marketing Dive:
Chipotle experiments with Threads for National Avocado Day
Despite the Twitter alternative’s waning usage, the chain is using the Instagram platform to divvy out concert and festival tickets.
Chipotle is using Threads to help fans access concert tickets in honor of National Avocado Day on July 31, according to a press release. The “Get in The Pit” effort marries a yearly celebration by the chain with in-person music experiences, a popular touch-point for younger consumers, while also allowing for early experimentation on the new Meta offering.
On July 31, Chipotle for a 12-hour period (10 a.m. to 10 p.m. EST) will drop text-to-win codes at the top of the hour on its Thread’s profile. The 1,000th fan to text the code each hour will receive a pair of concert or festival tickets of their choice, with 13 winners total. In addition to the Threads activation, Chipotle rewards members on the same day can get free guacamole when they use the code “AVO2023” at checkout on the Chipotle app. Chipotle partnered with Avocados from Peru for the activation.
From Automotive News:
Jeep Girl Mafia's retail chain partnership opens doors for women Jeep owners
Working to welcome female Jeep owners has brought 4 Wheel Parts thousands of new customers
Partnering with Jeep Girl Mafia, a rapidly growing club for female Jeep owners, was "a no-brainer" for 4 Wheel Parts, a national chain of retail stores and service centers.
The partnership has brought in thousands of new customers and hundreds of thousands of dollars for the company and helped thousands of women build and upgrade their Jeeps in a female-friendly environment.
Jeep Girl Mafia is one of several all-women clubs for off-roaders across the country but is the only one officially associated with the Jeep brand, according to founder Nicole McGill. Most off-roading clubs are not officially associated with a vehicle brand. But for automakers, connecting with female consumers is essential. Women make the final decision in about 60 percent of all vehicle purchases, according to the Harvard Business Review, and show more brand loyalty, according to S&P Global Mobility.
For Jeep, such a club provides effortless marketing support for the brand — and that's helpful after Jeep's U.S. sales slipped 12.1 percent in 2022 and dropped another 11.7 percent in the first half of 2023.
Fun drives, stressful times
McGill, a Texas social worker and mom of four, fell in love with Jeep during the COVID-19 pandemic. McGill fondly remembers taking the top off her Jeep and going for a drive to calm down during stressful times.
McGill was a member of coed Jeep clubs but didn't feel at home. "I felt like sometimes as a woman you couldn't ask a question or if you asked a question you were made to feel dumb," she said. "I just want[ed] a place where I can learn about Jeep, I can ask questions, you don't have to know everything and it's a safe place."
McGill decided to make that safe place, founding Jeep Girl Mafia in July 2021. It is the only official all-women Jeep club.
When management at a 4 Wheel Parts store that worked on McGill's Jeep learned about her plans for an all-women club, "it intrigued us," said senior store manager Ryan Booth. "Up until then, Jeep clubs had been coed. I liked the idea."
Natural next step
4 Wheel Parts, which has 92 stores, had recently sponsored two women participating in the Rebelle Rally — an all-women off-roading event held annually in the southwest. Partnering with McGill seemed like a natural next step.
Through social media, events and word-of-mouth, the club grew, rapidly expanding outside Texas. 4 Wheel Parts' support for the club went national, with 4 Wheel Parts stores ready to partner with Jeep Girl Mafia members wherever new chapters sprang up.
The club has now grown to more than 20,000 members and 42 chapters across the country. It has more than 8,000 followers on Facebook, 9,000 followers on Instagram and thousands of views on its TikTok videos.
Jeep Girl Mafia members get a discount at 4 Wheel Parts stores, but McGill and Booth both said it's about more than money. "It's a place that we can go, ask questions, not have to worry about being talked to as if we don't know what's going on or worry about them trying to upsell us," McGill said. "They do a really good job."
4 Wheel Parts has built two Jeeps for McGill. She said the staff are good at helping women become more confident Jeep owners by providing explanations and options alongside service.
"Any of her members can walk in here with a picture and say 'This is what I want,' " Booth said. 4 Wheel Parts' staff help Jeep owners not only understand the build they want, they also help it become a reality.
The company isn't perfect, Booth said, but has had national conversations about how to create a positive environment for female vehicle owners.
"We can walk you through from how to open the door to our store to how to leave with a fully built Jeep that's exactly what you want," Booth said. "We've got your back the entire way."
Booth said he can't put a number to exactly how many new customers the partnership has brought in, but said he estimates it's in the thousands, with hundreds of thousands of dollars of revenue coming in with them.
HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!