The weekend is almost here, Reader! Before you unplug, here’s one last round of insights and updates. Whether you read them now or save them for later, you won’t want to miss these.

In today’s edition:

• 6 new strategic LinkedIn features

• A peek inside Instagram’s Edits app

• The ARC framework for influencer partnerships that deliver on-going results

• Before you hand that project to AI, check for these speed bumps

• 🗞️ Industry news from Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, and more

6 LinkedIn Improvements You Don’t Want to Miss

LinkedIn keeps changing the game, and Michelle Raymond's latest article explains how to make the most of six important updates you don't want to miss.

For example, did you know LinkedIn is stepping up its analytics game, showing you exactly how many people saw your comments (yes, really!) and even tracking which of your comments are driving profile visits?

Or that there's a way to save on your Premium subscription?

Whether you're building your personal brand or managing your company's presence, these updates could change your entire LinkedIn strategy. Click through to get the full breakdown and stay ahead of the curve. Read more here.

Coming Soon: What’s Inside Instagram’s Edits App

Instagram is expected to launch Edits on Mar 31, 2025 and Lucas O’Keefe has a line on what we can expect.

The best part? There will be no watermarks on exported videos!

The app promises a stacked timeline for managing multiple clips, text, and audio simultaneously - something that's been a pain point in the native Instagram editor. 

You can create AI-generated videos from still images, add stylish captions in multiple languages, and even isolate objects with video cutouts for those pro-looking edits.

Filming directly in the app will include green screen capabilities, music catalogs, and timers. Plus, all your projects stay organized in one place instead of getting lost in Reels drafts. 

Want more details? Read more here.

Need a Good Video Strategy? 

You know video is important to your content strategy. But maybe you've resisted getting started.  

That means you're missing out on a huge audience that loves consuming video content.

If you're ready to get started with video—or want to level up your current video strategy—then consider attending Social Media Marketing World 2025–March 30 - April 1. 

Not only will you learn video strategies that get results, but you'll also discover how to use AI tools to quickly and easily make great videos. 

Yes! I need a new video strategy.

How to Succeed in Influencer Marketing in 2025

Are you considering working with influencers but unsure how to get started? Wondering how to maximize your return on investment when collaborating with creators?

In this article, you'll discover proven strategies for influencer partnerships that deliver measurable results for your business.

How to Find and Vet Influencers

To research creators on your own, assess prospective partners using these criteria: 

Creator Relevance: First, determine if creators influence your target customers. While younger demographics are generally more receptive to creator recommendations, don't automatically discount older audiences. Gen X might be more influenced by podcasters or Facebook creators rather than TikTok personalities. The key is understanding where your specific audience gets its information and who it trusts.

Creator Size: Moore recommends working with smaller, more focused niche creators rather than expensive mega-influencers. Smaller nano and micro mid-tier creators with hundreds of thousands or even less than 10,000 followers often have deeply engaged audiences who follow them for specific reasons, making their recommendations particularly powerful within their niche.

Content Relevance: Ensure the creator consistently produces content related to your product category. Don't be swayed by a creator's past viral success if their recent content has shifted away from your industry.

Audience Engagement Quality: Look beyond follower counts for evidence of genuine community engagement that indicates the creator has developed loyal connections with their followers. Examine the quality of comments and be wary if a creator with 50,000 followers has only a handful of comments on their posts or if comments are limited to simple emojis rather than substantive responses.

Publishing Consistency: If someone hasn't published in months, there's no guarantee their next post will perform well even if previous content received high engagement.

How to Approach Creators

The most common complaint Moore hears from marketers is that creators don't respond to their outreach messages. Typically, that's because brands are relying on mass outreach tactics. 

"My most sincere advice to any marketer is, don't do mass outreach," he warns. "Do one at a time, individual outreach to creators."

The key is crafting a bespoke offer that aligns with what's currently important in the creator's world. To develop these personalized approaches, research the creator's recent activity across platforms. What are they currently promoting? What appears to be their current focus? Understanding this context can help you craft an offer that genuinely excites them.

For example, Moore is currently promoting his new book. 

If a company approached him with an offer to email their customer base of 10,000 creators about his book in exchange for brand mentions, he'd consider that.

How to Ensure Influencer Content Aligns With Your Goals

According to Moore, the number one mistake brands make when working with creators is not having clear goals. Without clearly communicated goals, your campaign will likely underperform regardless of the creator's talent or audience size.

Moore recommends using the ARC framework when defining your influencer marketing objective. This framework helps you articulate one of three goal options:

• Awareness: Your primary goal is spreading the word about a product launch or market expansion.

• Repurposing: Your primary goal is securing content assets you can use beyond the creator's channels.

• Conversion: Your primary goal is driving measurable actions like sales, app downloads, or trial signups.

So, if you're working with a podcaster to promote a new AI feature and your goal is awareness, you might negotiate for a badge on the podcast cover art and a mention at the beginning of each episode ("The Creator Wizard podcast, powered by Brand XYZ").

If your goal is conversions, ask the creator to focus on incorporating direct response elements like custom discount codes and strong calls to action ("Click on the link CreatorWizard20 to get 20% off your first purchase").

Influencer Marketing Compensation Models

Moore outlines three primary pricing models for creator partnerships:

• Affiliate: With affiliate partnerships, creators earn a commission on sales they generate through tracked links or discount codes. While this approach seems ideal for brands (paying only for performance), Moore cautions that motivating creators through affiliate relationships can be challenging, especially as they're likely affiliates for multiple brands competing for their promotional attention.

• Hybrid: Hybrid compensation combines a guaranteed base payment with performance incentives. You acknowledge that it is a non-trivial amount of work for the creator to generate content containing a promotion of your product, so you compensate them with a base fee ($1,000 or $1,500 or whatever it is) plus a 15% ongoing kicker on the backend. This approach de-risks the partnership for creators while maintaining performance incentives, often resulting in more enthusiastic participation.

• Flat Fee: With flat fee arrangements, brands pay a set amount for specific deliverables without performance-based components. While many marketers prefer performance-based models, Moore notes that working with in-demand creators often requires flat fee arrangements due to market dynamics.

Today's advice is provided with insights from Justin Moore, a featured guest on the Social Media Marketing Podcast.

Can’t Travel to Social Media Marketing World? 

Attending Social Media Marketing World in person is the best option. But if travel isn't an option, the conference can come to you. 

With a Virtual Ticket, you can stream all of the keynotes and sessions from the conference… live! Plus, you'll get access to the recordings of every keynote, session, and workshop.  

Isn't it time you experienced the career-changing content from Social Media Marketing World? Your future self will thank you.  

Grab your Virtual Ticket today to save $400. 

I’m ready to get the recordings!

4 Signs Your Task Isn’t AI-Ready

Feeling pressured to implement AI in your marketing but don't know where to start?

There's a lot of advice out there about what tasks you should begin with but there aren't many people talking about how to know when a task isn't ready for AI.

Katie Robbert tackles that exact challenge and gives you four red flags to watch for. Read more here.

Facebook Stories Monetization Expansion: The platform now enables creators in its Content Monetization program to earn money from views on public stories. Creators can monetize existing content by sharing it to their stories, with no minimum view threshold required. Program members with content monetization enabled will automatically have story monetization activated. Facebook plans to offer open enrollment to the program this year, having already invited millions of creators in 2024. Source: TechCrunch

LinkedIn Predictive Audiences Features: Recent enhancements include new company list targeting and retargeting sources, providing advertisers with additional tools to improve audience selection. Source: LinkedIn

Meta Begins US Testing Community Notes: On March 18, 2025, the company is replacing its third-party fact-checking program on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. The system allows community contributors to write and rate notes, providing context for posts. Notes won't initially appear publicly while Meta tests the system with gradually admitted contributors from their 200,000-person waitlist. Contributors must be over 18 and have accounts older than 6 months. Notes require 500 characters or less with supporting links and won't display author names initially. The feature will launch in six languages and cover most content except advertisements. Unlike fact checks, notes won't reduce content distribution. Source: Meta

Meta Expands Access to Google Analytics Integration: The connection is managed through Meta Events Manager and allows Meta to use aggregated Google data to establish more context for web traffic. The integration works alongside the Meta Pixel and Conversions API to provide a better understanding of campaign performance drivers. Advertisers can share "All traffic sources" or "Only traffic coming from Meta," giving them some control over shared data. Meta recommends maintaining "connection quality" by ensuring relevant events are properly mapped. The integration is still rolling out gradually and may not be available to all advertisers yet. Source: Social Media Today

TikTok Shop Seller Features: The platform has introduced new seller features based on community feedback to provide greater control over business operations. These updates include customizable automated aftersales processes, PO Box exclusion to prevent delivery issues, adjustable cancellation request windows, customizable return periods ranging from 14-90 days, a final sale option for fashion sellers to prevent returns, and extended shipping handling times of up to seven business days for qualified sellers. These changes aim to increase seller flexibility and improve the overall TikTok Shop experience. Source: TikTok

Did You Know?

The first soda pop made in the U.S. was Vernor's Ginger Ale, created in Detroit, Michigan, in 1866 by James Vernor. He sold it in his drug store for 30 years before opening a factory to produce it on a larger scale.