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It’s 🧑‍🍳 Raspberry Popover Day, Reader! 😋 Get ya some!

In today’s edition:

• Today's 👉 Tip of the Day is for Instagram

• ✒️ 🤳 Making creativity a habit

• Meta releases new 🤖 AI-powered ads tools for Reels

• TikTok reaches 🤝 new agreement with UMG

• Snapchat unveils ✅ new ads updates

• 📣 Additional industry news from Instagram, TikTok, and more

Your Instagram content is attracting consumers, and they’re sticking around… great! Now, the goal is to sell something, but your posts aren’t converting followers into customers. Are you using the best content format to achieve your goal?

Sell With Stories

Instagram Stories are a perfect vehicle for effective selling because your engaged viewers, who typically know, like, and trust you, see them. In addition, the Stories format is versatile enough to lend itself to multiple long-form selling tactics.

You can use Stories to:

• Announce new products

• Demonstrate product features

• Highlight limited-time offers

• Show before and after comparisons

• Share user reviews 

Today's tip is inspired by Michelle Gifford, a featured guest on the Social Media Marketing Podcast.

Are You an Agency or Brand Marketer?

If your answer is “yes,” don’t miss the Marketing Agency Show. 

Each week, host Brooke B. Sellas explores the unique opportunities and challenges that agency owners and marketers face.

Learn how agency owners overcome some of their biggest hurdles, including navigating rough economic times, leveraging AI, service diversification, client acquisition, building lasting partnerships, and so much more. 

Check out the Marketing Agency Show now.

How to Practice and Expand Your Creativity

How often are you expected to devise innovative and fresh marketing approaches for your company's products and services? Have you ever seen a unique campaign and thought, “I wish I’d thought of that!”

What if you could cultivate creativity?

The following tips will help you unleash your creative potential:

Get Comfortable With Feeling Uncomfortable

We all have a comfort zone where we feel safe and secure. It's where we know what to expect and feel confident in our abilities. However, staying within our comfort zone can limit our potential for growth and creativity. To truly unlock your creative potential, you must step out of that comfort zone and embrace the discomfort that comes with trying new things and pushing yourself beyond your current limits.

One of the most significant barriers to creativity is the fear of being different or standing out from the crowd. The pressure to conform to your industry's norms and expectations can actually stifle your unique perspective and creative ideas. 

By embracing your unique voice, background, and perspective, you will not only differentiate yourself in a crowded market but also empower yourself. Your differences are what make you special and give you a fresh viewpoint that others may not have. So instead of trying to fit in or be like everyone else, celebrate what makes you different and use it to your advantage.

Never Stop Learning

While continuing education might seem counterintuitive to spawning creative ideas, true creativity requires continual learning and growth.

By committing to ongoing education and personal development, you can stay ahead of the curve, bring fresh ideas to your work, and avoid getting stuck in a rut. This doesn't necessarily mean spending a lot of money on expensive programs or degrees. Many affordable or no-cost resources, such as online courses, podcasts, books, and networking events, are available. The key is to prioritize learning and carve out time to pursue it consistently.

Commit to Self-Discipline and Structure

Contrary to the popular belief that creativity is all about inspiration and spontaneity, the truth is that it also requires a great deal of self-discipline and structure. While leaving room for flexibility and serendipity is important, having a consistent routine and clear boundaries that protect the time, space, and focus you need to explore new ideas and see them through to completion will grow your creative muscles.

Block out time in your calendar specifically for creative pursuits and stick to a consistent schedule as much as possible. 

This might mean setting aside a specific time each day or week to brainstorm ideas, work on personal projects, or engage in activities that stimulate your creativity, such as reading, writing, drawing, or exploring nature. The key is to prioritize creativity as an essential part of your life and give it the time and attention it deserves.

Embrace the Process

Being creative often means taking risks, experimenting with new ideas, and putting yourself out there in vulnerable ways that can feel uncomfortable or even scary. It's natural to want to protect yourself from potential criticism, rejection, or failure, but being too guarded can also prevent you from fully expressing yourself and connecting with others who might encourage your creative expression.

Whether you work with clients, collaborate with team members, or share your work with an audience, being open and honest about your struggles, challenges, and imperfections can help you build stronger, more authentic relationships based on trust and mutual understanding.

By being vulnerable and showing your human side, you not only create a safe space for others to do the same but also unleash the power of authenticity. This can lead to collaboration and creative breakthroughs, as it allows you to learn from your mistakes, get feedback and support from others, and build resilience in the face of setbacks. So don't be afraid to let your guard down and share your authentic self with the world.

Today's advice is provided with insights from Valentina Escobar-Gonzalez, a featured guest on the Marketing Agency Show.

🗞 Instagram Tests ‘Clear Mode’: Instagram is testing a new feature called "Clear Mode" for Reels. This feature would allow users to hide the description and user interface (UI) buttons on Reels clips, providing a cleaner and more focused viewing experience. Users would be able to activate Clear Mode by long-pressing on a Reel. Source: Social Media Today

🗞 Meta’s AI Ads Tools: Meta introduced AI-powered tools to enhance advertiser performance on Reels, including personalized creator recommendations, an AI tool to predict top-performing branded content, and Image Expansion for Reels. The company also announced catalog-based videos for multi-destination product ads and the ability to include external links in Reminder ads on Reels. Source: Meta

🗞 Snap’s Ads Updates: Snapchat announced new advertising solutions, programs, and partnerships at the 2024 IAB NewFronts. Key updates include AR Extensions for integrating AR into various ad formats, new AR and machine learning tools for streamlined asset creation, and an evolved 523 creator program in partnership with Issa Rae's Ensemble. Snapchat also announced sports sponsorship opportunities, the launch of Snap Sports Network, and Snap Nation, an extension of the Live Nation partnership. The platform reported a 21% year-over-year revenue growth in Q1 2024, driven by improvements to its ad platform. Source: Snapchat

🗞 Snap’s New Features: Snapchat has announced a series of new features, including Editable Chats, which allow users to edit their messages for up to five minutes after sending them, and Emoji Reactions, enabling users to react to chats with any emoji to express their thoughts. Additionally, Snap introduced My AI Reminders, which allow users to set reminders for upcoming deadlines or countdowns through direct chats or conversations with one other friend. Source: Snapchat 

🗞 TikTok Ads: TikTok has partnered with iSpot.tv and Nielsen to help advertisers understand the platform's cross-media audience reach. Source: TikTok for Business

🗞 TikTok’s Collab With UMG: Universal Music Group (UMG) and TikTok have announced a new multi-dimensional licensing agreement to bring UMG's music back to TikTok's global community. The collaboration will focus on improving remuneration for UMG's songwriters and artists, creating new promotional and engagement opportunities, and providing protections concerning generative AI. Source: Universal Music Group

🗞 TikTok Ban Could Affect CapCut: The potential ban on TikTok in the United States could also impact its sister app, CapCut, a popular video editing tool that has transformed short-form video content creation. Multiple House aides have confirmed that CapCut would be subject to the same divest-or-ban requirement as TikTok under the proposed legislation. Source: The Washington Post

🗞 X’s Live Video Playback on iOS: X has announced that it is migrating from the legacy Periscope UI for live videos to its platform on iOS devices. With this change, all features generally available for videos, such as airplay, playback in the background, and the mini player, will now also be accessible for live broadcasts. Source: @i_aliullov via X

Did You Know?

Air Dancers were initially commissioned as art for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, and called "tall boys."