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Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web. Google officially drops support for FAQ rich results...View the full article

Improving customer support is vital for any business aiming to boost satisfaction and loyalty. By focusing on ten proven strategies, you can create a more effective support system. These strategies range from establishing a clear service vision to leveraging technology and collecting customer feedback. Each component plays an important role in optimizing the customer experience. Comprehending how to implement these strategies can greatly impact your organization’s success. What steps will you take to raise your customer support? Key Takeaways Empower customer service teams with ongoing training and development to enhance their skills and improve issue resolution speed. Implement AI-driven solutions to handle routine queries, allowing agents to focus on complex customer issues for faster support. Map the customer journey to identify key touchpoints and reduce friction, leading to a smoother overall experience. Collect and act on customer feedback regularly to drive continuous improvement and ensure service aligns with customer needs. Establish SMART goals for customer support teams to create clear objectives and enhance accountability in performance measurement. Understand Your Customer Service Vision Comprehending your customer service vision is vital for creating a cohesive strategy that improves the customer experience. A clear vision aligns your organizational goals with customer satisfaction, ensuring consistency in service delivery. This consistency is important for building customer trust and loyalty. So, how can you improve customer service? Start by defining what great guest service looks like for your organization. This will guide your team in delivering exceptional experiences across all touchpoints. Regularly revisiting and updating your customer service vision helps keep it relevant to evolving expectations, enhancing overall effectiveness. Companies that prioritize a strong service vision often see higher customer satisfaction scores, with many consumers willing to pay more for better experiences. Build a Customer-Centric Culture To build a customer-centric culture, you need to empower your team members and promote open communication. When employees feel they can make decisions during customer interactions, it leads to quicker issue resolution and stronger loyalty. Furthermore, encouraging regular feedback discussions helps everyone understand customer needs, promoting continuous improvement throughout your organization. Empower Team Members Building a customer-centric culture begins with empowering team members, as granting them the autonomy to make decisions can greatly improve the overall customer experience. When employees have the freedom to resolve issues quickly, it boosts customer service care and builds loyalty. Implementing effective customer handling tips and offering continuous professional development can lead to a more experienced support team, increasing retention rates by 34%. Encouraging collaboration nurtures a sense of connection, boosting productivity by 20%. Furthermore, regularly soliciting feedback from team members not only empowers them but also uncovers actionable insights that can refine how to provide good client service. In the end, this empowerment leads to a more engaged workforce, translating to higher service quality and customer satisfaction. Foster Open Communication Empowering team members lays the groundwork for nurturing open communication, a vital aspect of a customer-centric culture. When you cultivate an environment where employees freely share insights and feedback, it leads to improved problem-solving and innovative customer service strategies. Research shows that a transparent communication atmosphere boosts employee engagement by 47%, directly correlating with improved customer service delivery. Regularly soliciting customer feedback through surveys makes customers feel valued, enriching their overall experience. Establishing accessible channels for inquiries encourages dialogue, as 88% of customers expect prompt responses. In the end, building a culture of open communication guarantees every employee understands their role in the customer experience, promoting a shared commitment to delivering exceptional customer experiences. Map and Optimize the Customer Journey When you map and optimize the customer experience, you’re fundamentally visualizing the various interactions customers have with your brand, which helps you pinpoint key touchpoints that may need improvement. A well-structured customer experience map reveals areas requiring improvement, leading to a potential 20% increase in customer satisfaction scores. To achieve this, regularly update your maps to reflect evolving customer behaviors and preferences, addressing any bottlenecks effectively. Engaging in both solicited and unsolicited customer data collection during the mapping process can uncover pain points that might otherwise go unnoticed. This data-driven approach enables you to make informed decisions that drive strategic improvements in service delivery. Utilizing experience mapping not just optimizes touchpoints but also reduces friction in the customer experience, creating a seamless interaction that keeps customers coming back. Empower Your Customer Service Team A well-mapped customer experience highlights the importance of effective customer service, where your team plays a pivotal role in maintaining satisfaction and loyalty. Empowering your customer service representatives by granting them decision-making authority can greatly improve issue resolution speed. Studies show that organizations with empowered staff see customer satisfaction scores rise by up to 25%. Providing ongoing professional development equips your team with vital skills to address complex customer needs effectively, improving service quality. When agents feel supported and trusted, employee engagement increases, boosting productivity by 20% and reducing turnover rates. Implementing collaborative tools encourages a supportive environment, improving communication and teamwork, which are critical for delivering exceptional customer experiences. In addition, investing in your customer service teams correlates with employee satisfaction and customer loyalty, as happy employees can lead to a 12% increase in customer retention. Empowering your team is vital for achieving these positive outcomes. Leverage Technology for Better Customer Service To improve your customer service, leveraging technology is vital. Integrating AI-driven solutions, like chatbots, can streamline your support processes by handling routine inquiries around the clock, freeing your human agents for more complex issues. Furthermore, modern CRM systems provide valuable insights that help personalize interactions, ensuring a more efficient and effective customer experience. AI Integration Benefits Integrating AI into customer support not just improves efficiency but also transforms how IBM interacts with their customers. By handling up to 80% of routine queries, AI allows your human agents to concentrate on more complex issues. Implementing AI-driven chatbots means you can provide 24/7 service, greatly improving response times and cutting customer wait times by up to 70%. Furthermore, AI tools analyze data to identify patterns in inquiries, enabling you to proactively address common issues and improve service quality. Personalized interactions fueled by AI can boost customer satisfaction scores by as much as 20%. In the end, these advancements lead to a more effective support system, resulting in greater customer loyalty and retention. Streamlined Support Processes With the advancements in AI and technology, businesses now have strong tools at their disposal to streamline support processes and improve customer service. Implementing AI-driven chatbots can efficiently handle a high volume of customer queries 24/7, markedly improving response times whilst allowing human agents to focus on complex issues. Modern CRM systems integrate customer data across all channels, enhancing personalized interactions and streamlining support processes for greater efficiency. By automating routine tasks, companies reduce average handling time, leading to quicker resolutions and improved customer satisfaction. Furthermore, leveraging data analytics tools helps identify trends in customer interactions, enabling proactive adjustments to support processes. Finally, integrating omnichannel support ensures consistent experiences across various platforms, increasing overall engagement and satisfaction. Implement Omnichannel Support Implementing omnichannel support is essential for meeting the diverse needs of your customers, especially since over 50% of them engage through multiple channels during their purchasing experience. By allowing customers to interact with your brand through phone, email, live chat, and social media, you provide a seamless experience customized to their preferences. This consistent communication across touchpoints improves customer engagement considerably. An effective omnichannel strategy can improve response times by up to 50%, streamlining communication and ensuring inquiries are addressed swiftly, regardless of the platform used. Brands that execute this approach often see a 10% increase in customer retention rates, as flexibility and continuity in interactions are highly valued. Moreover, a unified communication platform reduces customer effort by 40%, enabling them to switch between channels without repeating themselves or losing context. Collect and Act on Customer Feedback Collecting and acting on customer feedback is crucial for improving your support services and overall customer experience. Utilizing post-interaction surveys is an effective way to gain timely insights, as 85% of customers are willing to share their thoughts when asked. Implement systems to track satisfaction scores, like Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) and Net Promoter Score (NPS), to pinpoint areas needing improvement. Engaging with dissatisfied customers through follow-up communications shows your commitment to addressing their concerns, which can help restore their loyalty. Regularly analyzing feedback allows you to understand customer pain points better, driving strategic decisions that improve service delivery. Furthermore, providing accessible feedback channels, such as online surveys and suggestion forms, guarantees that all customer voices are heard, informing your continuous improvement initiatives. Set and Track SMART Goals Setting and tracking SMART goals is vital for effective customer support. By defining specific objectives, you can create clear targets that your team can aim for. During regularly measuring progress helps you stay on track. Adjusting strategies as needed guarantees that you’re continuously improving and aligning with customer needs, in the end enhancing performance and satisfaction. Define Specific Objectives Defining specific objectives is crucial for any customer support team aiming to improve their performance. Setting SMART goals guarantees your objectives are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound, providing a clear framework for your team’s focus. Time-bound goals, in particular, motivate your team by establishing deadlines, promoting accountability, and driving urgency. Regularly evaluating progress against these goals allows you to pinpoint areas needing improvement, enabling timely adjustments to strategies that boost overall performance. Furthermore, incorporating customer feedback into your goal-setting process keeps your objectives aligned with their needs, driving continuous improvement in service delivery. Aligning your team’s objectives with SMART criteria improves job satisfaction, as members can see clear paths toward success and contributing effectively. Measure Progress Regularly To effectively measure progress in customer support, it’s vital to implement a structured approach that revolves around SMART goals. These goals—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound—help guarantee your customer support objectives are clearly defined and attainable. Regularly tracking your progress against these goals allows you to assess the effectiveness of your strategies and make necessary adjustments in real-time. Utilize metrics like Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) and Net Promoter Score (NPS) within the SMART framework to gather quantifiable data on your performance. Establishing time-bound goals creates urgency and accountability within your team, encouraging a focused effort to achieve customer support objectives. Adjust Strategies Accordingly Adjusting your strategies accordingly is essential for maintaining an effective customer support operation. Setting SMART goals—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound—helps you focus your efforts and measure progress. Regularly tracking these goals allows you to adapt your strategies based on performance data, keeping your initiatives aligned with evolving customer needs. For instance, you might aim to increase your Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) by 10% within the next quarter through targeted training. Here’s a quick overview of SMART goals: SMART Goal Element Description Specific Clear and precise aim Measurable Trackable progress Achievable Realistic and attainable Conducting assessments against these goals helps identify improvement areas, ensuring high-quality customer support. Measure Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) Measuring Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is vital for comprehending how well your customer support strategies are working, as it provides concrete data to evaluate performance. Key metrics like Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) and Net Promoter Score (NPS) help you assess how customers perceive your support. Tracking Customer Effort Score (CES) is likewise important; it reveals how easy or difficult your customers find interactions with your support team, highlighting potential friction points. Regularly measuring these KPIs allows you to establish benchmarks and monitor improvements over time, aligning your efforts with customer satisfaction goals. Analyzing trends in these indicators can inform strategic decisions, such as where to allocate resources or which areas might require additional training. Consistent KPI monitoring encourages a culture of accountability within your customer support teams, motivating them to aim for excellence and ensuring that your service delivery continuously meets or exceeds customer expectations. Invest in Continuous Improvement Investing in continuous improvement is a strategic approach that can greatly enhance the effectiveness of your customer support efforts. Regular training and development programs help keep your customer service representatives updated on best practices, enhancing their skills and boosting overall service quality. By promoting a culture of continuous learning, your team can adapt to evolving customer needs, markedly increasing customer satisfaction. Collecting customer feedback through surveys and monitoring interactions allows you to identify trends and areas for improvement, driving actionable insights. Establishing a feedback loop where changes based on customer input are communicated back shows your responsiveness and commitment to service excellence. Moreover, ongoing assessment of key performance indicators (KPIs) related to customer service provides measurable benchmarks for evaluating your improvement initiatives and their impact on customer satisfaction. This method guarantees you’re consistently refining your strategies for better outcomes. Frequently Asked Questions What Are the Strategies to Improve Customer Service? To improve customer service, start by implementing a feedback system, like post-interaction surveys, to gather insights. Empower your representatives with decision-making authority for quicker resolutions and higher satisfaction. Use omnichannel support to provide a consistent experience across various platforms. Regularly train your team to elevate skills and cultivate a customer-centric culture. Finally, set and track SMART goals to measure success and align actions with customer satisfaction objectives, driving continuous improvement. What Are the 4 P’s That Improve Customer Service? To improve customer service, focus on the four P’s: People, Processes, Products, and Personalization. Hire representatives with empathy and a customer-centric mindset. Streamline processes to guarantee quick resolutions for inquiries. Equip your team with extensive product knowledge to build trust and exceed expectations. Finally, personalize interactions based on individual needs, nurturing relationships that encourage repeat business. What Are the 5 R’s of Customer Service? The 5 R’s of customer service are Recognize, Respond, Resolve, Reassure, and Retain. First, you recognize customers’ needs and emotions, which helps them feel valued. Next, you respond quickly to their inquiries, as promptness is vital for satisfaction. Then, you resolve their issues efficiently, demonstrating your commitment. After that, you reassure them with effective communication, and finally, you retain them by building long-term relationships through targeted strategies that encourage repeat business. What Is the 10 to 10 Rule in Customer Service? The 10 to 10 Rule in customer service suggests you respond to urgent inquiries within 10 minutes and non-urgent matters within 10 hours. This approach highlights the importance of prompt communication, as many customers expect quick responses. By adhering to this rule, you can improve customer loyalty and satisfaction, reducing the likelihood of customers switching brands because of poor service. Timely responses correlate with positive experiences and increased customer retention rates. Conclusion Improving customer support involves implementing effective strategies that prioritize customer needs and streamline processes. By establishing a clear service vision, optimizing the customer experience, and empowering your team, you can improve overall satisfaction. Leveraging technology and consistently collecting feedback helps you stay responsive to customer expectations. Setting SMART goals and measuring key performance indicators guarantees continuous improvement. By adopting these proven strategies, you can create a more efficient support system that nurtures loyalty and drives business success. Image via Google Gemini and ArtSmart This article, "10 Proven Strategies to Improve Customer Support" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

This week's Out-of-Touch guide explains the online mogging competition that is Omoggle and examines who was behind a hack that brought learning to a screeching halt nationwide. We also look at a viral AI music trend, and discuss how technology we use every day might kill us all. Mogging get organized on OmoggleThe Omoggle website is blowing up. As you can read in my glossary of Gen A and Gen Z slang, "mogging" is the act of being more attractive than someone else, usually in an intentional or aggressive way: If you're a young gentleman having a conversation with a woman, and a more handsome young man stands next to you and takes over, you have officially been mogged. Omoggle gamifies that conflict of attractiveness. It's a player-vs.-player contest where a user uploads a picture of their face and pits it against another user. An AI then analyzes the competitors' features to determine who has been mogged and who has done the mogging. It may be named after defunct chat site Omegle, but Omoggle is more like Hot or Not. Except it's more disturbing because the winner of the attractive-off isn't determined by other users' votes, but by an AI that was programmed to reinforce incel ideas. Over the last 10 years or so, incels and manosphere types have developed and spread a massive, ad-hoc, shared delusion about what women find attractive. Despite being a self-selected group of men who don't relate well to women, incels believe they understand what women find attractive better than women themselves. All women, the theory goes, are looking for a specific set of facial features—a thick jaw, high cheekbones, etc.—and if you don't have them, you have no chance, so why try? Omoggle is really part of incels' ongoing effort to convince themselves that the reason women won't talk to them is because the geometry of their Canthal Tilt is off, not because they're creepy weirdos. School computers went down across the country last week A website going down temporarily is probably a minor inconvenience to us older people, but when Canvas went down this week, right in the middle of finals, it was a full-life disruption for many in Generations Z and A. Canvas is the learning management system that controls just about every college and high school in the country's schedules, homework, grades, and more, so hackers taking it out pretty much shut down academia. The hacker group responsible, called ShinyHunters, threatened to release user information if an unspecified ransom wasn't paid, but fortunately, the site seems to have beaten the hackers back, and Canvas is functioning again—but for how long? Shinyhunters: the new generation of hackersShinyhunters, the group that pulled off the Canvas hack, took its name from the Pokémon franchise. Shiny Pokémon are rare, and according to security experts, Shinyhunters seem to focus on rare data. The group is thought to be part of a large affiliation of younger hackers called "The Com" who are mostly from the U.S. and the UK. While other groups within The Com collaborate with Russian ransomware groups, Shinyhunters don't. They're about data leak extortion, i.e.: "We'll release all this data if you don't pay us" instead of the usual ransomware's message of "we locked your systems and will free them when you pay us." Shinyhunters have been especially active lately, having targeted Ticketmaster, Wattpad, Pixlr, Bonobos, BigBasket, Mathway, Unacademy, MeetMindful, and more. Viral videos of the week: text songsArtificial intelligence's takeover of all human endeavors continues. The latest evidence: the popularity of "text songs" videos on TikTok. The concept is simple: You enter text conversations as lyrics into song generation engines like Suno or Udio, make it into a song and video, and make people laugh. While there are lots of different musical styles represented in these videos, gospel tends to work best; maybe it's the contrast of the mundanity of the text messages with the dramatic nature of the music. Here are a few examples: Bonus: Because I sometimes have funny conversations with my teenage child, I made my own. If you'd like to listen to a computer sing to you all day, check out the SongText hashtag where you can find almost 30,000 more examples. Reddit discusses technological nightmaresAI sure is fun, isn't it? Unrelated: Young people spend a lot of time thinking about how the technology we've already developed will likely kill us in the near future. It's not necessarily that there's more anxiety now than when you were young, but there are more options. Realistically, you only had to worry about nukes falling, but, judging by this Reddit thread, young people are worried about hundreds of different kinds of technological nightmares that might happen in the next few years or tomorrow afternoon, including: Being arrested by your own car Undetectable deep fakes being used to scam you Killer drone swarms Direct energy/microwave weapons Left chirality bacteria and viruses I could literally go on all day, but I won't. You can read the thread yourself if you lack things to worry about. View the full article

AI announcements tell you what Google shipped. Changing user search behavior tells you where your audience is going. Are you watching the right signal? The post Google’s AI Announcements Are Events, The New Search User Is The Trend appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. At $484.99, the Insta360 Go Ultra Vlogger Bundle has dropped from its usual $574 price, and according to price trackers, this is the lowest it has been so far. The whole idea behind the Go Ultra is convenience. The camera itself is tiny enough to wear on a shirt, as a magnetic pendant, or as a hat clip without constantly reminding you it’s there. Then, when you want something that feels more like a traditional action camera, it docks into the included Action Pod, which has a larger screen and an extra battery, notes this PCMag review. Insta360 Go Ultra Vlogger Bundle Magnetic wearable action camera $484.99 at Amazon $574.00 Save $89.01 Get Deal Get Deal $484.99 at Amazon $574.00 Save $89.01 The camera shoots stabilized 4K video at 60fps, and the larger 1/1.28-inch sensor helps noticeably indoors or during evening shoots, where smaller action cameras often turn footage muddy fast. Stabilization is also one of the better parts of the experience. Walking footage stays smooth without requiring much effort, so it works well for bike rides, city walks, festivals, or travel clips where carrying a gimbal would feel excessive. And if framing starts becoming a problem, you can just dock it into the Action Pod and use its 2.5-inch flip-up touchscreen, which makes it much easier to see yourself while recording. Video tops out at eight-bit color, so creators who spend a lot of time color-grading footage may find it more limiting than larger action cameras from DJI or GoPro. There’s also no built-in storage, meaning you’ll need to pick up a microSD card separately before you can start shooting. Battery life changes quite a bit depending on how you use the system, too—the standalone camera lasts roughly 30 to 36 minutes at 4K60 before heat starts becoming a factor, while the Action Pod pushes total usage much closer to two hours. And as for its audio quality, it's decent for casual clips and quick vlogs, but wind noise and distance can still affect recordings, unless you rely on the included mic transmitter or external audio gear. Still, the bundle is generous—along with the camera and Action Pod, you get a magnetic pendant, quick-release mounts, a mini tripod remote kit, a magnetic clip, and a Mic Air transmitter for better audio options. For creators who constantly move between casual recording and more deliberate filming, the setup feels more versatile than most compact action cameras. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 3 Noise Cancelling Heart Rate Wireless Earbuds — $199.99 (List Price $249.00) Apple Watch Series 11 [GPS 46mm] Smartwatch with Jet Black Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band - M/L. Sleep Score, Fitness Tracker, Health Monitoring, Always-On Display, Water Resistant — $329.00 (List Price $429.00) Fitbit Versa 4 Fitness Smartwatch (Black) — $149.95 (List Price $199.95) Apple iPad 11" A16 128GB Wi-Fi Tablet (Silver, 2025) — $299.00 (List Price $349.00) Anker 20,000mAh Portable Power Bank With Built-in USB-C Cable — $49.99 (List Price $69.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

Every few weeks, someone publishes a piece about AI agents taking over Google Ads, SEO, or social media. Inevitably, the agents look impressive — in theory, at least. But then you dig deeper to determine what data the agent is working with. Almost always, the answer is the same. These agents typically work with data that’s native to the platform. For Google Ads, that means impressions, clicks, conversions, and return on ad spend (ROAS). This oversimplified approach is the reason AI agents in PPC often fail at the input layer, before they’ve made a single decision. An agent that has access to platform-native data only can’t truly manage your marketing. Why many PPC agents are just AI assistants Many tools positioned as PPC agents are simply AI assistants that write ad copy. They handle tasks like: Generating 10 headline variants. Describing a product image for a Responsive Search Ad (RSA). Drafting call to action (CTA) options for a Performance Max (PMax) asset group. These are genuinely useful tasks that save time. But they aren’t agentic PPC. Instead, they’re generative AI tools with a Google Ads wrapper. A true PPC agent acts on the ad account. It analyzes performance data to make informed decisions. Then it applies the analysis to implement changes such as budget shifts, bid adjustments, negative keyword additions, campaign structure modifications, and feed-level optimizations. Your customers search everywhere. Make sure your brand shows up. The SEO toolkit you know, plus the AI visibility data you need. Start Free Trial Get started with How AI agents for PPC inadvertently create a closed loop Google Ads has limited insight into your business data. So, when you build an AI agent that factors in only Google Ads signals, you end up optimizing a closed loop. This causes your agent to focus on hitting targets that often have nothing to do with business performance. In some cases, the agent may negatively impact the business while improving its own reported metrics. For example, Google Ads doesn’t know your average deal size, sales cycle length, or cash position this month. The ad platform lacks data on which product lines currently have margin worth defending. And it doesn’t know that a campaign generating 40 leads per week is producing zero qualified opportunities or that a campaign with a mediocre ROAS is your most profitable acquisition channel once you factor in customer lifetime value. Performance Max established a dangerous precedent This isn’t a new problem. PPC managers have been navigating the tradeoff between ROAS and profit for years. PMax surfaced this problem long before AI agents entered the conversation. PMax campaigns operate as a black box. You provide Google with your budget, assets, and conversion goal. Then, you let the algorithm decide where to spend. Advertisers quickly discovered that without margin data, customer relationship management (CRM) signals, or conversion insights, PMax would enthusiastically optimize toward the wrong outcome. It would chase cheap conversions that probably would have converted anyway, deprioritize high-margin products in favor of high-volume ones, and hit the ROAS target while missing the profit goal. PPC agents risk misalignment in the absence of business data AI agents for PPC amplify the speed and scale at which a misaligned optimization loop can do damage. Before you invest in an AI agent, consider that PM, built by the largest digital advertising company in the world and trained on more data than any independent agent ever will have, still can’t make good decisions without backend business data. Your agent is no different. Incorporating a large language model (LLM) doesn’t fix the underlying architecture problem. To optimize PPC campaigns toward business goals, your agent needs relevant business data. Dig deeper: Agentic PPC: What performance marketing could look like in 2030 Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. See terms. 3 types of business data for high-performing PPC AI agents These three types of business data — CRM, product, and operational — are key to improving PPC agent performance. 1. CRM data The most critical missing layer for lead generation accounts is CRM data. Without it, an agent that targets conversions bids on form fills without any idea what those outcomes are worth. There are two practical ways to close this gap and connect CRM data. Offline conversion tracking Offline conversion tracking (OCT) involves exporting qualified leads or closed deals from your CRM and pushing them back into Google Ads as offline conversion events, ideally with assigned values. This gives Smart Bidding a useful signal to work with. With OCT, an AI agent that analyzes conversion data from within Google Ads gets something that reflects business reality rather than just form volume. OCT is a lighter-touch option that offers a realistic starting point, particularly for agencies managing multiple accounts. It doesn’t require direct CRM integration with the agent. The data flows into Google Ads on a delay (typically 24 to 72 hours), flowing revenue-weighted signals into the system the agent already reads. Direct CRM access The second path involves giving the agent direct CRM access. This way, it can query deal stages, average contract values by campaign source, win rates by lead type, and time to close by channel. Direct CRM access unlocks a more intelligent decision layer. No longer dependent on conversion data imports, the agent can assess pipeline health in real time. For instance, it might detect that a campaign is generating volume but the leads are stalling at proposal stage — and then flag that for human review or adjust targets accordingly. Compared to OCT, direct CRM access is harder to build and maintain. But it allows an agent to make business-aware decisions rather than using platform data alone. 2. Product margin data Ecommerce accounts running Shopping or PMax campaigns with a product feed need access to product margin data. Yet these insights almost never exist natively inside Google Ads. Google Ads knows the product cost, conversion rate, and reported revenue for everything in the product feed. But it doesn’t know that product A has a 55% gross margin while product B has a 12% margin after factoring in fulfillment and returns — despite having a higher ROAS. An agent optimizing for ROAS in this environment will naturally bid for product B conversions while starving product A. That’s why a properly connected Shopping agent should have margin data at the product or category level, fed directly via a supplementary feed or accessible via a backend data connection. With product margin data, the agent can set differentiated target ROAS values by margin tier, suppress spend on structurally unprofitable SKUs, and prioritize budget toward the lines the business wants to grow. An agent that can read inventory levels and margin data can also dynamically adjust custom labels, pull products from active campaigns when stock is critically low, and reprioritize when a high-margin product returns to supply. 3. Operational data Operational signals (e.g., fulfillment capacity, seasonal staffing constraints, promotional windows) also affect whether an agent’s decisions hold up in practice. When you aggressively bid into a product line you can’t fulfill, you quickly burn budget and decrease customer satisfaction. For instance, say your agent scales campaign spend because performance looks strong. But the warehouse team is already at capacity and can’t fulfill the orders in a timely manner. This decision might seem optimal in theory, but in practice, it lacks context. Operational signals rarely come from a clean API. Instead, they’re stored in enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, manual exports, and internal dashboards with no standard integrations. This data can be challenging to extract. And getting the upstream coordination right can prove even more challenging. After all, an agent is only as organized as the humans that provide the context. Marketing teams often struggle to coordinate promotions, sales pushes, and seasonal campaigns with other departments, agencies, and external partners. These initiatives happen constantly, with details communicated via email threads, Slack messages, and spreadsheets that no agent will ever see. Adding an autonomous system to this setup just accelerates the confusion. That’s why for many organizations, the first step is simplifying operational data. Why PPC agent implementations often skip business data connections Backend data connections tend to be time-consuming to build and expensive to maintain. They often require syncing with a range of ecommerce, bookkeeping, inventory management, CRM, and ERP platforms. Plus, every implementation is a custom job that often requires API connections or a data warehouse layer. It also requires buy-in from finance, operations, and sales teams that have their own systems, formats, and priorities. As a result, agencies and in-house teams that build AI agents for PPC often take the path of least resistance. They connect to the API, pull the standard metrics, and build the automation without providing additional context. This approach is faster to ship and easier to demonstrate. It also avoids the internal politics of touching finance data. The result is a layer of automation that looks impressive but provides an incomplete picture of business reality, leading to performance that drifts in the wrong direction. The current AI agent ecosystem doesn’t reward anyone for solving this problem. Agencies are paid to manage ad accounts, not to build data pipelines into client ERP systems. Tool vendors want you dependent on their connector layer, not on custom integrations you own. In-house teams rarely have the political capital to touch finance or operations systems. And even when they do, the procurement cycle alone can outlast the enthusiasm for the project. The incentive structure points everyone toward quickly shipping something that looks like an AI agent, rather than building something that works in real business conditions. See the complete picture of your search visibility. Track, optimize, and win in Google and AI search from one platform. Start Free Trial Get started with What to ask before you build an AI agent for PPC Before investing time or budget in developing an AI agent for Google Ads, clarify what business data the agent needs to optimize performance. For lead generation accounts, the answer starts with OCT as a minimum viable data bridge, with direct CRM integration as the ideal architecture worth building toward. For Shopping and ecommerce, it starts with margin data at the SKU or category level and extends to inventory and fulfillment signals. And for all campaign types, operational data is critical. Creating a functional PPC agent is the easy part. Connecting it to reality is where you have to put in the work and where you extract genuine value. Dig deeper: Agentic AI and vibe coding: The next evolution of PPC management View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. At $199 on Woot, the GoPro Lit Hero has dropped well below its original $269 launch price from October 2025, and according to price trackers, this is the lowest price the camera has hit so far. The same model is selling for $229.99 on Amazon. Shipping is free for Prime members, while everyone else pays an extra $6, though Woot only ships within the lower 48 states. GoPro Lit Hero Waterproof action camera with built-in light $199.00 at Woot $269.99 Save $70.99 Shop Now Shop Now $199.00 at Woot $269.99 Save $70.99 The main reason someone would buy the Lit Hero is portability. At just 3.3 ounces, it’s genuinely tiny, small enough to slip into a jacket pocket or stay clipped to a bike helmet without becoming annoying to carry around all day. It records up to 4K at 60fps, captures 12MP photos, and is waterproof down to 16 feet without needing extra housing, which makes it practical for casual travel, cycling, beach trips, or quick vacation clips. Startup speeds are fast, autofocus works reliably most of the time, and the battery lasts around 90 minutes of continuous shooting, which is decent considering the battery is sealed and cannot be swapped out mid-day. The built-in LED light is also brighter than expected for a camera this small, although it feels more useful underwater or during emergencies than for everyday clips. On the minus side, its 1.76-inch touchscreen is extremely small, and navigating menus can become annoying fast, especially outdoors or with wet hands. And because there are barely any physical controls, almost everything depends on tapping through menus on that tiny display. There’s also no built-in image stabilization. Instead, you have to transfer footage into the GoPro Quik app and apply stabilization afterward, which adds an extra step that is frustrating. And while the image quality is decent in bright conditions, its small 1/2.8-inch sensor struggles once lighting drops, producing softer footage with visible noise. People who like color grading or tweaking footage later won’t get much flexibility here either, since there’s no log mode or meaningful manual control to work with. Overall, the Lit Hero feels less like a smaller Hero Black and more like a compact point-and-shoot action cam for beginners who care more about convenience and size than image quality. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 3 Noise Cancelling Heart Rate Wireless Earbuds — $199.99 (List Price $249.00) Apple Watch Series 11 [GPS 46mm] Smartwatch with Jet Black Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band - M/L. Sleep Score, Fitness Tracker, Health Monitoring, Always-On Display, Water Resistant — $329.00 (List Price $429.00) Fitbit Versa 4 Fitness Smartwatch (Black) — $149.95 (List Price $199.95) Apple iPad 11" A16 128GB Wi-Fi Tablet (Silver, 2025) — $299.00 (List Price $349.00) Anker 20,000mAh Portable Power Bank With Built-in USB-C Cable — $49.99 (List Price $69.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

As countries continue to deal with a hantavirus outbreak linked to passengers aboard the M/V Hondius cruise ship, government and public health agencies have begun repatriating both those confirmed to have the virus and those potentially exposed to it. This includes the United States, where 17 American citizens who were on board the ship are being repatriated by the U.S. State Department. Here’s what you need to know. What’s happened? On Monday night, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) confirmed that the repatriation of Americans aboard the M/V Hondius cruise ship had begun. In a post on X, the HHS said that its Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) division, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is supporting the U.S. Department of State with the repatriation of 17 Americans who were on board the cruise ship. That repatriation is being spearheaded by the State Department, which is airlifting the cruise passengers from Tenerife, Spain, where the ship was allowed to dock, to Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska. The 17 Americans are being flown to Omaha because that’s where the National Quarantine Center at the University of Nebraska is located. The National Quarantine Center is a federally funded facility, which “provides unmatched quarantine monitoring and care for those exposed to high-consequence pathogens,” according to the center’s website. The HHS confirmed that two of the 17 Americans being airlifted are traveling in the plane’s biocontainment units. This is because one of these passengers has tested “mildly” positive for the Andes strain of hantavirus, and the other is currently experiencing “mild symptoms,” according to the HHS. What are the symptoms of hantavirus? Symptoms can start anywhere from one to eight weeks after initial exposure to the hantavirus, according to the CDC. The symptoms can also come in two waves. Early symptoms include fatigue, fever, and muscle aches, “especially in the large muscle groups like the thighs, hips, back, and sometimes shoulders,” the CDC notes. Some patients also experience headaches, dizziness, chills, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or abdominal pain. Late symptoms typically appear four to 10 days after the early symptoms and can include coughing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and fluid in the lungs. Hantaviruses can cause a disease known as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), which the CDC says can kill about 38% of the people who come down with the condition. Is there a risk to the wider public? It’s possible, but experts think it’s unlikely. Most hantaviruses can only spread from animals, such as rats, to humans. But the Andes strain, which is the strain that has infected some of the cruise passengers, can be transmitted from human to human. Worse, the CDC says symptoms of infection may not appear for up to 42 days, and since the virus is believed to be most transmissible when symptoms are present, the affected passengers could be contagious for a long time. However, in a May 8 notice, the CDC also stated that the “risk to the public’s health in the United States is considered extremely low at this time.” This is because the Andes strain of hantavirus does not spread easily from person to person. As the HHS noted in a May 10 statement, “transmission is rare and limited to close-contact settings.” In part because of its difficulty in transmitting between people, public health officials have stressed that the Andes hantavirus outbreak is not another COVID-19 situation. View the full article

China holds the cards — and might settle for flashy but empty announcements while playing a long gameView the full article

AI is reshaping growth audits, turning weeks of manual analysis into actionable 90-day roadmaps that prioritize execution over documentation. The post How We Use AI To Run A 90-Day Growth Audit appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

AI regulations are still in their infancy. Europe has taken the lead with the EU Artificial Intelligence Act. In the United States, nearly 20 states have enacted AI legislation. At the same time, federal policymakers have signaled interest in limiting state-level regulation to keep the overall regulatory environment relatively light, as shown by the recent AI policy wishlist published by the White House. Regardless of how quickly new regulations emerge, one thing is clear: AI isn’t reinventing the legal landscape; it’s accelerating it. Most AI risks trace back to familiar areas like intellectual property, privacy, contracts, consumer protection, discrimination, and liability when things go wrong. So instead of thinking of “AI law” as something entirely new, it’s more helpful to look at the core business areas where these familiar risks tend to arise. The 9 areas where AI risk lives in an organization The following nine areas are where most AI risk shows up inside a business. You don’t have to be a legal expert to manage these risks; you just have to ask the right question in each area to get to the heart of the matter and address it well. 1. Intellectual property The one question: Who owns the work, and are we accidentally using someone else’s intellectual property without realizing it? Ownership is still evolving in the AI context, but we do have some early guidance. The U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) stepped in early, stating that works created purely by AI are not protected. Meaningful human authorship is required. If a human plays a substantial creative role in shaping an AI tool’s output, protection may still be possible. Such determinations are to happen on a case-by-case basis. On the patent side, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO’s) revised guidelines show a slightly more flexible position, stating that patentability is still possible if a human conceived the idea but used AI to make the idea come to life. That said, these guidelines haven’t been tested in court, so it’s unclear how they will stand up against real-world applications. At the same time, concerns about infringement continue to grow. Many generative AI tools were trained, at least to some extent, on protected materials, and we’re watching this tension play out in real time. We’ve seen case filing after case filing, including The New York Times lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, which alleges that the AI tools reproduced substantial portions of copyrighted content without permission. This creates two practical risks: Using AI outputs that unintentionally incorporate protected material. Struggling to prove ownership over work that lacks sufficient human input. If you’re creating content you want to own, protect, or commercialize, keeping a human meaningfully involved isn’t optional — it’s essential. 2. Advertising and misinformation The one question: What are we saying, and is it accurate? AI tools make it dramatically easier to create content at scale, which is a clear upside. The tradeoff, however, is that these tools also make it easier to publish something that’s misleading or incorrect. We saw in real time how costly such errors can be. During Google Bard’s product demonstration, the tool incorrectly stated that the James Webb Space Telescope had taken the first images of an exoplanet. This one error cost Google $100 billion in market value because it raised serious questions about the credibility of its tool. AI hallucinations can show up in subtle ways, including incorrect data, fabricated citations, false logic, exaggerated claims, and confident but flawed reasoning. When such content is published under your brand, it becomes your responsibility. And while your company may not have as much at stake financially as Google does, reputationally, one mistake can absolutely cost you. 3. Privacy and personal data The one question: Are we using people’s personal information in ways that are transparent, lawful, and respectful? Consumer expectations around data privacy have shifted dramatically — and the law is catching up. Frameworks like the EU’s GDPR, Canada’s PIPEDA, and California’s CCPA have established new standards around how personal data is collected, used, and disclosed. While marketers have adapted (begrudgingly, to a degree), personal data remains at the core of many campaigns. That data includes cookies, pixels, contact and behavioral data, purchase and payment information, and more. And the risks don’t just arise in collecting the data; they also arise in failing to clearly communicate what you’re doing with it. Regulators have already shown us how seriously they take these matters. In ChatGPT’s early days, Italy blocked the app countrywide over concerns about how personal data was being collected and processed under GDPR. The Italian government only lifted that ban after OpenAI added more privacy safeguards. At a practical level, your company needs a clear policy on the collection and handling of private consumer data. You need to know what data you’re collecting, where that data is going, and who is handling it. Your team needs to know which privacy laws apply to your company and its customers, and how to respond if a customer makes a request under those laws. If you can’t quickly and clearly communicate that your company knows all this, now’s the time to start taking action so you limit your exposure. 4. Data protection and trade secrets The one question: Are we keeping sensitive data, internal knowledge, and company secrets out of places they shouldn’t go? When we talk about data protection, the focus often stays on customer data. Just as important, however, is company data, especially trade secrets and proprietary information. AI tools introduce a new layer of risk here, particularly when employees use unapproved tools or free versions that lack privacy and security guardrails. Samsung learned this lesson the hard way. A couple of engineers pasted proprietary source code into ChatGPT while troubleshooting issues. That data was then transmitted to an external system, which would use the data to train its models and potentially deliver replicated source code in future outputs. This isn’t a case of bad actors; it’s a case of bad workflows and SOPs. If your team is using AI tools without clear guardrails, you risk any team member unintentionally disclosing confidential business information, client data, or proprietary processes or code. And once that information goes out, it’s incredibly difficult to get it back. 5. Employment and workplace fairness The one question: Could AI be influencing hiring, promotion, or evaluation decisions in ways that create bias or discrimination? For years, companies have been relying on AI in hiring and HR processes, primarily to improve efficiency. But such efficiency doesn’t guarantee fairness. Research and real-world examples have proven time and again that these tools bake in the prejudices and biases of their training data. One well-known example comes from Amazon, which scrapped its 2018 AI hiring tool that was found to downrank resumes that included indicators of applicants being women. In another case, iTutorGroup was held liable for damages after its AI-powered job-application software exhibited bias against older candidates. It’s not that using AI in these instances is unacceptable. It’s just that companies using AI should not do so blindly. When it comes to having AI tools partake in decisions about people, your company needs to regularly audit the tools for bias, understand how the tool’s decisions are being made, and always keep a human in the loop. 6. Contracts and customer expectations The one question: Are our customer-facing agreements clear about how AI is used—and who’s responsible if something goes wrong? AI-generated content isn’t just “content.” In many cases, it’s part of your customer experience, which carries great weight. The Air Canada chatbot story offers a good example. A customer relied on information provided by an AI chatbot on the Air Canada website. The chatbot described a bereavement fare policy that didn’t actually exist. Air Canada refused to honor the policy; the customer sued. A Canadian tribunal ruled that the airline was responsible for the chatbot’s statements. Your website, chatbots, automated content, AI-generated social media content, and so on can all be considered company-created and company-approved content. And if we follow the Canadian tribunal’s logic, if the content lives on your platform, it’s your responsibility. If customers rely on the content you provide to make decisions, you need to ensure that the content is accurate. You should also take care to clearly address how AI is used on your platform and where responsibility for it sits. 7. Vendor and AI tool risk The one question: Do we really understand the risks of the AI tools we’re bringing into the business? Every AI tool you use comes with its own ecosystem: third-party integrations, underlying libraries, and data flows that aren’t always visible on the surface. If you don’t understand that ecosystem, you’re taking on risk. And no company, small or large, is immune. In 2023, a ChatGPT bug briefly allowed some users to see titles of other users’ chat histories and certain subscription payment details. The issue was traced to a bug in an open-source library used by OpenAI, highlighting how risk can live deep within a tool’s infrastructure. This risk extends beyond the tools you choose to the vendors you work with. Which tools do your vendors use? How well do they understand the privacy and data protection policies that are in place? Do their practices align with yours? And if a vendor’s AI use leads to a problem, are you liable, or is the vendor liable? Companies cannot blindly enter new vendor relationships or AI tool subscriptions. Initial assessments are necessary, as are ongoing reviews and, if necessary, corrective actions to remain compliant and limit risk. 8. Product liability and AI decision risk The one question: If an AI system makes a mistake that affects customers or users, who is responsible? AI systems redistribute risk in ways we can’t always predict. Zillow’s Zillow Offers program is a strong example. The company used automated algorithms to estimate home values and guide purchasing decisions. When those models misjudged market conditions, the company purchased homes at inflated prices, ultimately causing the company to lose hundreds of millions of dollars. Zillow’s algorithms impacted external parties by inflating home prices. But its internal impacts were even harsher. It raised questions, including those relating to accountability. Who is at fault? And what consequences will the responsible parties face, if any? These aren’t theoretical questions; they’re governance questions. And organizations that spend time addressing these questions upfront find it much easier to address solutions should a system make a mistake in the future. 9. Regulatory compliance and governance The one question: Are we keeping up with evolving rules, and can we demonstrate we’re using AI responsibly? Regulators aren’t waiting for a comprehensive AI law to emerge. Unsteady, they’re applying existing frameworks as they can, and are already taking action. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have brought enforcement actions against companies for failing to bake in proper guardrails around their use of AI. The SEC has charged numerous firms with making misleading statements about their use of AI or falsely advertising their AI capabilities (“AI washing”). The FTC has also issued numerous warnings to companies about overstating or misrepresenting their AI capabilities, as AI claims must be substantiated like any other marketing or advertising claims. Enforcement is also expanding beyond messaging. The FTC took action against Rite Aid over its facial recognition technology, which produced thousands of false positive alerts and disproportionately impacted people of color. This action, while important for consideration of disparate harm, signaled a shift in what regulators are looking for. It’s not just about what your AI systems do; it’s about how your organization governs data, vendors, and risk. When regulators come calling, they won’t just ask what happened. They’ll ask how you govern it. And they’ll want the receipts. What this likely means for the future No one can tell you how any of this is actually going to play out. That said, where things stand does help shed light on how the legal landscape will impact your day-to-day business operations in the near future. More lawsuits, across more industries Expect litigation to increase as AI use expands. Courts will play a central role in clarifying how existing laws apply to new AI‑driven scenarios, especially where regulations are vague or silent. These cases will help define boundaries, but they will also introduce cost, delay, and uncertainty for businesses caught in the middle. More formal requirements and internal guardrails Marketing organizations should plan for growing expectations around disclosures, documentation, and process. This includes clearer customer‑facing policies, internal SOPs governing AI use, bias audits, risk assessments, and incident response plans. In practice, responsible AI use will increasingly look like a compliance discipline, not an ad‑hoc experiment. A growing need for privacy and data protection expertise AI tools are evolving quickly, and they also make malicious activity easier and more scalable. That combination raises the stakes. Companies will need dedicated teams or well-defined ownership to monitor developments, maintain policies, and respond to incidents as they arise. Privacy and data protection will be core operational functions, not side considerations. Ongoing uncertainty, by default There is no final version of AI regulation on the horizon. Rules will continue to change, sometimes unevenly and unpredictably. The most resilient organizations will be those that plan for what they can, learn from early missteps, and remain flexible enough to adapt as expectations shift. Introducing the ‘safest legal way to use AI’ playbook Listen, we know what you’re thinking: boring. Legal guardrails, policies, and governance are not shiny or sexy. Experimentation is. Speed is. Seeing what these tools can do is genuinely exciting. But we care more about you and your company coming out ahead than chasing short‑term wins that create long‑term problems. This playbook isn’t about slowing innovation. It’s about protecting your team, your work, and your organization so you can use AI confidently, responsibly, and without unnecessary risk getting in the way. With that, let’s dive in. 1. Start with a clear AI use policy Every organization should have a short, plain-language policy that explains how AI tools can and cannot be used. The policy need not be overly complex, but it should be clear enough that any team member can read it and follow it as intended. A strong policy usually includes: Which tools are approved for use (and which have been rejected and why). What types of data can be entered into AI systems. When human review is required before publishing AI-generated content. Situations where AI use should be avoided entirely. A prompt library, along with prohibited prompts. As you build your policy, remember to include an approved tools list, a list of prohibited tools, an acknowledgment form for employees to sign, and disclosure guidance for when AI-generated content is used. These are the pieces that put policy into action. 2. Separate AI workflows by risk level Not every AI use case carries the same level of risk, so treating everything the same either slows your team down or leaves your company exposed. A simple way to manage this is to think in terms of a three-lane highway: Green lane: Brainstorming, outlines, tone variations (no sensitive data). Yellow lane: Internal drafts + summaries (allowed data only, reviewed). Red lane: Hiring decisions, regulated info, public claims, legal advice, medical claims (requires legal/privacy review + logging). This approach allows your team to move more fluidly, slowing down only where necessary based on defined goals. The key term here is “defined.” You’ll need to clearly define which activities fall under each lane, and what level of review or approval is required before anything moves forward. 3. Use ‘clean inputs’ and ‘clean outputs’ Most AI risk actually starts at the input stage. If sensitive, protected, or proprietary data goes in, you lose control over where it may appear later. That’s why it’s critical to set guardrails in place around both what goes in and what comes out. Example guardrails include: Avoid pasting proprietary documents into consumer AI tools. Use trusted internal knowledge sources where possible. Require citations or sources for factual AI-generated content. Clean inputs reduce risk. Clean outputs protect your brand. 4. Review AI vendors and tools carefully It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of new AI tools. But the desire to join in often leads organizations to adopt tools before proper evaluation. This is where risk starts to creep in. Every external tool or vendor you bring into your company also brings its data practices, dependencies, and potential exposures. Make it a policy to ask questions that identify risk before adopting a new tool or hiring a new vendor. Ask and then document the answers (ideally in your vendor contracts) to questions such as: Does the vendor train their models on customer data? How long is data retained? What security standards are in place (SOC 2, ISO 27001)? What happens if an IP or data breach issue arises? Remember, risk doesn’t happen in a vacuum or at any single point in time. Review tools and vendors regularly. 5. Bake in human oversight and review AI is great for accelerating work, but it doesn’t grant a free pass from accountability. At key points in your workflows, there should be clear expectations around when a human needs to step in, review, and take responsibility for the outcome. This is especially important for: Public-facing content. Customer communications. Regulated or high-stakes decisions. Keeping a human in the loop isn’t about slowing things down. It’s about ensuring that speed doesn’t come at the cost of accuracy, fairness, or trust. 6. Document your governance “Radical transparency” is the phrase of the day in many AI, data protection, and privacy conversations. What that really boils down to is simply being able to show your work. Because when something goes wrong, or when a regulator comes knocking, you’ll need to be able to clearly show how your organization responsibly uses AI. To that end, we recommend every organization: Maintain an AI tool inventory. Document risk assessments for higher-risk use cases. Record review steps for public-facing AI outputs. Create an incident response plan for AI-generated errors. This documentation protects your business. But perhaps more importantly, it provides your team with the clarity and consistency it needs to perform well. 7. Train your team Once you have the documentation in place, you have to take the next step to ensure your team understands how to apply your policies and procedures. Training should equip your team to identify risks, respond to threats, and otherwise use AI tools in line with your expectations. At a minimum, your training should ensure your team knows how to: Use approved AI tools effectively. Recognize phishing attempts, deepfakes, and other AI-driven threats. Protect work computers against AI-driven information disclosure attacks. Build AI tools like chatbots to protect against prompt injections. By bolstering your team’s AI proficiency, you’re setting your company apart from the competition and eliminating significant risk along the way. This post first appeared on the author’s website and is republished here with permission. View the full article

Venmo is getting its first full app overhaul since its inception in 2009, and it’s addressing some major UX issues that have made using the platform feel like the digital equivalent of flipping through a phone book. When Venmo was launched, it was a breath of fresh air in the finance space. It stood out for its social network-style approach to bill splitting and rent requests. Since then, though, Venmo’s aspirations have far outgrown its app interface. In the first quarter of 2026, PayPal (Venmo’s parent company) shared that Venmo’s total payment volume was up 14% year-over-year, marking its sixth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. According to Alexis Sowa, Venmo’s SVP and general manager, the app boasts over 100 million active accounts and 67 million monthly active users, with the average user visiting the app 10 times per month. That user behavior reflects a broader effort at Venmo; the brand has spent the last several years shifting from an occasional peer-to-peer money lending service to a more all-encompassing financial tool. In 2018, the company introduced a debit card feature that took it from an app to part of users’ wallets, which it has since expanded through partnerships with retailers like TikTok Shop, Uber, McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and more. And, last fall, Venmo debuted its own rewards program to keep users engaging with the platform. Venmo is expanding its capabilities to become an everyday payment method. For users, though, many of those updates have gotten buried in the app’s archaic, scattered design. Finally, it’s getting a facelift that brings its UX out of the 2010s—and fixes one of its most perennially irritating features. Venmo’s complicated design web Sowa and her team have spent the last year interviewing customers to learn how they use Venmo, which features they like the most, and where they’re experiencing the biggest sticking points on the app. Their biggest learning, she says, was how many new Venmo features customers simply don’t know about—or can’t find. As Venmo began introducing more advanced features over time, Sowa says its engineering team needed places to put them that fit within the app’s existing information architecture. That meant new functionalities would get buried in unexpected places. To send a gift card, for example, users would have to first initiate a payment to the recipient in order to activate the gift card flow; or to split an expense with a group, they would have to navigate out of the payment tab and into their own profile settings. Using Venmo was starting to feel less intuitive, and more like hunting for buried Easter eggs. Untangling this convoluted web of information required Sowa’s team to rework Venmo’s app from the ground up—updating each of its key sections to surface new features and make payments easier. Username search is finally getting the boot Venmo’s app updates will roll out in phases over the coming months, starting with the Home page. The ethos of this page remains relatively unchanged; you can still browse through others’ transactions and interact with them. Now, though, the feed has been pared down to be less information-dense and more proactive. The design team increased the feed’s font sizes to highlight relevant details, like who was paid and how much, and given users the option to browse through a portfolio of curated hero images to accompany their payments. They’ve also added buttons to make payment flows simpler. If a user grabs some seats on Ticketmaster, for example, Venmo will automatically surface a “Split” button to share the cost with friends; or if a user pays a friend, Venmo will automatically offer a “Pay again” feature to make the next payment quicker. Outside the feed, the app’s most noticeable changes will show up in the new version of the Pay/Request hub. In the old version of Venmo, this page loaded as a black-and-white list of individual contacts and names crowding the screen. In order to make a group for splitting payments, users had to navigate out of this hub and into their personal settings. Perhaps most frustrating, though, was the process for adding a new friend. Every Venmo user will be familiar with the experience of trying to search for someone on the app, only to realize that the only way to find them is by already knowing their exact Venmo username—dashes, nicknames, and all. In the new version of the Pay/Request hub, the phonebook-style list of names has been scrapped for a more aesthetically pleasing bubble layout. This function analyzes users’ payment history to display their top contacts inside a central web graphic. The new layout also allows users to make groups directly in the Pay/Request hub, and displays frequently used groups within the web. Sowa says her team is working on AI tools designed to suggest new groups based on payments—like, for example, a roommate cohort based on recurring rent payments. And, at last, the search function has gotten an upgrade. Now, users can search for new friends with their phone number and instantly locate their profile, bypassing the rigamarole of reading usernames aloud. According to Sowa, this feature rolled out in early 2026 as part of a new integration with PayPal, which allows Venmo and PayPal users to send money to each other directly through either app. As Venmo angles for an expansion of its brand’s capabilities, its new app is providing the UX jumping board it needs to make sure that users can find new features—and start to treat Venmo more like a one-stop shop for managing their money. View the full article

Google announced on Friday that Google Search, as of May 7th, no longer shows FAQ rich results within the Google Search results. Google will also drop reporting on it within Google Search Console and the respective APIs in the future.View the full article

Google Ads has posted new help documentation on site visits assets, which we covered as tests numerous times - the label that says how many people visited the site. Well, now there is official documentation for it and we know they are officially called site visits assets.View the full article

Defining a business entity is essential for determining how your organization will operate, manage liability, and fulfill tax obligations. You need to evaluate various structures, such as sole proprietorships, partnerships, LLCs, and corporations, each with unique benefits and drawbacks. Comprehending these options can help you make informed decisions about asset protection and management flexibility. The right choice can greatly affect your business’s long-term success and compliance. So, what factors should you consider next? Key Takeaways A business entity is a legal structure that defines how an organization operates and its liabilities. Common types of business entities include sole proprietorships, partnerships, LLCs, and corporations. Each entity type has distinct implications for liability, taxation, and operational governance. Choosing the right structure affects personal asset protection and the ability to raise capital. Registration involves selecting a business name, filing formation documents, and obtaining necessary licenses. Understanding Business Entities Grasping business entities is crucial for anyone looking to start or manage a business. A business entity, by definition, is a legal structure that enables an organization to operate, outlining its liability, tax obligations, and operational framework. To explain business entity options, consider the common types: sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability companies (LLCs), and corporations. Sole proprietorships are the simplest form, with one owner bearing unlimited personal liability. Partnerships involve multiple owners sharing profits and liabilities. LLCs offer limited liability protection, keeping personal assets separate from business debts, with flexible tax treatment. Conversely, corporations function as distinct legal entities, providing strong liability protection for shareholders but may incur double taxation unless they elect S Corporation status. Comprehending these distinctions helps you make informed decisions about which business entity aligns best with your goals and needs. Importance of Business Structure Choosing the right business structure is fundamental to your company’s success and sustainability. The structure you choose not merely defines what is a business entity but likewise greatly impacts your tax obligations, personal liability, and ability to raise capital. Sole proprietorships and partnerships expose you to unlimited personal liability for business debts, whereas LLCs and corporations can protect your personal assets. Business Structure Key Features Sole Proprietorship Simple, few regulations, high liability Limited Liability Company (LLC) Protects personal assets, flexible taxation Corporation Complicated, potential double taxation, limited liability Understanding the importance of business structure helps you navigate legal intricacies. Consulting with professionals, like attorneys and accountants, is advisable to guarantee you choose the appropriate structure customized to your specific needs. This choice lays the foundation for your company’s future. Key Considerations When Choosing a Business Entity When you’re choosing a business entity, comprehending liability protection and tax implications is vital. Different structures offer varying levels of personal liability; for example, LLCs and corporations limit your risk, whereas sole proprietorships expose you to more. Furthermore, tax treatment differs considerably among entities, so it’s important to analyze how each option could impact your overall tax burden. Liability Protection Importance Comprehending the significance of liability protection is essential for anyone considering a business entity. Choosing a structure like an LLC or corporation can protect your personal assets from business debts and legal claims, minimizing your financial risk. Conversely, sole proprietorships and general partnerships expose you to unlimited personal liability, making them less favorable, especially in high-risk industries. LLCs offer liability protection and allow profits to pass through to your personal tax return, avoiding double taxation during the preservation of your assets. Corporations provide strong liability protection but may face double taxation unless you opt for S Corporation status. Thus, when selecting a business entity, carefully evaluate the liability protection each option offers, as it impacts your long-term financial security and risk management. Tax Implications Analysis How can the choice of a business entity affect your tax obligations? Your selection considerably influences how you’re taxed. Sole proprietorships and general partnerships face single taxation, whereas corporations experience double taxation except they opt for S Corporation status. Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) offer flexibility, allowing you to choose among various tax treatments, potentially optimizing your tax situation. Be aware that self-employment taxes apply to profits from sole proprietorships and partnerships, and LLC members might incur these taxes too except taxed as an S Corporation. C corporations face corporate tax rates, whereas S corporations allow profits and losses to pass through to shareholders, avoiding double taxation. Consulting a tax professional can help you navigate these intricacies effectively. Types of Business Entities When you’re starting a business, comprehending the different types of business entities is essential for making informed decisions. Each structure, whether it’s a sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, corporation, or nonprofit, comes with its own tax implications and levels of liability. Common Business Structures There are several common business structures you can choose from, each with distinct characteristics and implications for liability, taxation, and management. A Sole Proprietorship is the simplest, where one individual owns the business and faces unlimited personal liability. Partnerships can be general, where partners share liability and profits, or limited, offering protection to limited partners based on their investments. A Limited Liability Company (LLC) blends the benefits of a corporation and partnership, providing liability protection as it allows profits to pass through to personal income. Corporations, classified as C or S Corporations, are separate legal entities that offer limited liability for shareholders. Nonprofit corporations focus on public benefit and can qualify for tax-exempt status, adhering to specific regulations. Tax Implications and Liability Choosing the right business entity is crucial since it greatly affects your tax obligations and liability exposure. Comprehending these implications can help you make informed decisions. Here’s a quick overview: Sole Proprietorships & General Partnerships: Simpler tax processes, but owners face unlimited personal liability. Limited Liability Companies (LLCs): Offer pass-through taxation, protecting personal assets and potentially reducing tax liabilities. C Corporations: Taxed at the corporate rate and may encounter double taxation on profits and dividends. S Corporations: Allow pass-through taxation to shareholders, avoiding double taxation. Limited Partnerships: Offer limited liability for limited partners, whereas general partners maintain unlimited personal liability. Your choice greatly impacts both taxation and personal financial risk, so choose wisely. Sole Proprietorship Defined A sole proprietorship is the most straightforward business structure, allowing an individual to own and operate a business without the need for formal registration. This form of business organization has no legal distinction between you and your business, meaning you’re personally liable for all debts and obligations incurred. Here’s a quick comparison of sole proprietorships with other business structures: Feature Sole Proprietorship Ownership Individual Liability Personal Registration Not required Taxation Personal income Common Users Freelancers, consultants Sole proprietorships are popular among freelancers and small business owners owing to their operational flexibility and minimal regulatory requirements. As they simplify tax processes, you should be aware that profits are taxed as personal income, which could lead to higher self-employment taxes. General and Limited Partnerships When considering partnerships, it’s important to understand the key differences between general and limited partnerships. In a general partnership, all partners share equal management responsibilities and face unlimited personal liability, whereas in a limited partnership, at least one partner has unlimited liability and others enjoy liability protection up to their investment. Furthermore, both types typically share profits based on their agreements, but the mechanics of these arrangements can vary considerably. Ownership Structure Differences Comprehending the differences between general and limited partnerships is crucial for anyone considering these ownership structures. Here’s a breakdown of key distinctions: Management: General partners manage the business; limited partners usually don’t participate in daily operations. Liability: General partners have unlimited personal liability; limited partners’ liability is confined to their investment. Profit Sharing: In general partnerships, profits are shared equally; limited partnerships may have different profit-sharing arrangements. Taxation: Profits in both types are taxed only once at individual rates, avoiding corporate double taxation. Formation: General partnerships require minimal formalities, whereas limited partnerships need to file a certificate of limited partnership with state authorities to formalize their structure. Understanding these differences can help you make informed decisions when choosing a partnership type. Liability Implications Comprehending liability implications is essential for anyone involved in general or limited partnerships, as these structures have distinct legal protections. In a general partnership, all partners face unlimited personal liability for the debts and obligations of the business, meaning your personal assets could be at risk. Conversely, in a limited partnership, general partners bear unlimited liability, whereas limited partners enjoy protection, only liable up to their investment amount. Nevertheless, to maintain this limited liability, limited partners shouldn’t engage in daily management activities. In Idaho, you can further clarify liability by formalizing your status with a statement of partnership authority or organizational documents. These steps help define the extent of your legal responsibilities and protect your assets effectively. Profit Sharing Mechanics Profit-sharing mechanics in both general and limited partnerships play a vital role in defining how earnings and losses are distributed among partners. In a general partnership, profits and losses are typically shared equally except specified otherwise in a partnership agreement. Conversely, limited partnerships involve general partners who manage the business and limited partners with restricted liability. Here are key points to reflect on: General partners assume unlimited personal liability. Limited partners’ liability is confined to their investment. Profit-sharing often follows the partnership agreement’s terms. General partnerships benefit from pass-through taxation. A written agreement is important for clarity and dispute prevention. Understanding these mechanics helps guarantee fair distribution and protects partners’ interests in the business. Limited Liability Company (LLC) Overview If you’re considering starting a business, grasping the structure of a Limited Liability Company (LLC) can be crucial for your success. An LLC combines the liability protection of a corporation with the tax benefits of a partnership, safeguarding your personal assets from business debts. To establish an LLC, you’ll need to file a Certificate of Organization with your state. The profits and losses typically pass through to your personal income, which helps you avoid double taxation, even though you might face self-employment taxes. Here’s a quick overview of key characteristics: Feature Description Liability Protection Shields personal assets from business debts. Tax Structure Pass-through taxation or elect C/S Corporation tax. Formation Requirement Requires filing a Certificate of Organization. Management Flexibility Fewer formalities than corporations. Understanding these aspects can help you make informed decisions for your business. Corporations Explained When you consider forming a corporation, it’s crucial to understand the different types available and their respective advantages and disadvantages. Corporations can be categorized mainly into C Corporations and S Corporations, each with unique tax implications and structural requirements. Types of Corporations Comprehending the various types of corporations is crucial for anyone looking to establish a business entity, as each type offers distinct advantages and disadvantages. Here’s a brief overview of the main types: Benefit Corporation (B Corporation): A for-profit entity that focuses on social missions alongside profit, with annual performance reporting. Advantages and Disadvantages Comprehending the advantages and disadvantages of corporations is vital for anyone considering this business structure. One major advantage is limited liability protection, which safeguards your personal assets from business debts and legal issues. Furthermore, corporations can raise capital easily by selling stock, attracting more investors compared to other structures. On the other hand, they face disadvantages, including double taxation on profits and dividends, which can reduce overall earnings. Additionally, corporations require extensive documentation and compliance with regulations, like maintaining a board of directors and formal records, adding complexity to operations. Finally, although corporations can exist indefinitely, allowing for smooth ownership shifts, this permanence can likewise create challenges in management and decision-making. Balancing these factors is critical in your decision-making process. Nonprofit Organizations Nonprofit organizations play an important role in addressing societal needs by operating for public or charitable purposes rather than for profit. If you’re considering starting a nonprofit, it’s important to understand the regulations and requirements involved: Nonprofits can obtain tax-exempt status under IRS Section 501(c)(3) if they meet specific criteria. Profits generated must be reinvested into the organization’s mission, not distributed to shareholders. To keep their tax-exempt status, nonprofits must file annual reports with the IRS and adhere to state regulations. Funding can come from donations, grants, and fundraising, but transparency is vital for public trust. Many states require a charitable solicitation license before reaching out for donations, ensuring accountability. Understanding these key points will help you navigate the complex environment of nonprofit organizations effectively, allowing you to focus on fulfilling your mission. Comparing Business Structures When you’re considering starting a business, grasp of the various structures available can help you make informed decisions that align with your goals. The main business structures include Sole Proprietorships, Partnerships, Limited Liability Companies (LLCs), and Corporations. Sole Proprietorships are the simplest, requiring no formal registration but exposing you to unlimited personal liability. Partnerships allow shared management and profits; yet, general partners face unlimited liability, whereas limited partners enjoy some protection based on their investment. LLCs offer limited liability protection, letting profits and losses pass through to your personal income, though self-employment taxes may apply. Finally, Corporations are distinct legal entities that provide strong liability protection but can be subject to double taxation unless you meet specific IRS criteria for S Corporation status. Comprehension of these structures is essential in determining how best to protect yourself and manage your business finances. Advantages and Disadvantages of Each Entity Comprehending the advantages and disadvantages of different business entities is crucial for making the best decision for your venture. Each structure has its unique traits that can impact your business greatly. Here’s a quick overview: Sole Proprietorship: Offers simplicity and control, but exposes personal assets to unlimited liability and makes raising capital difficult. General Partnership: Facilitates shared decision-making and resources, yet each partner faces unlimited liability, risking personal assets. Limited Liability Company (LLC): Provides limited liability protection and flexibility, but involves more paperwork and potential self-employment taxes. C Corporation: Delivers strong liability protection and capital-raising through stock, but is subjected to double taxation, increasing overall tax burden. S Corporation: Avoids double taxation by passing income to shareholders, though it has strict eligibility requirements and limits on shareholders, which may hinder growth. Understanding these factors helps you choose the right entity for your needs. Tax Implications of Different Business Entities Tax implications play a significant role in determining the right business entity for your venture. Sole proprietorships are taxed as personal income, meaning all business profits appear on your individual tax return, which could push you into higher tax brackets. Partnerships likewise face pass-through taxation, with profits reported on partners’ tax returns, potentially leading to increased tax liabilities. Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) provide flexible taxation options, allowing you to choose how you want to be taxed, optimizing your tax obligations based on your specific situation. Corporations, conversely, encounter double taxation—profits are taxed at the corporate level and again when dividends are paid to shareholders, unless you elect S Corporation status. Nonprofit corporations may qualify for tax-exempt status, meaning they don’t pay federal income tax on profits, but they must follow strict regulations regarding profit distribution and transparency in operations. Comprehending these tax implications is essential for informed decision-making. The Role of Professional Advice in Entity Selection Choosing the right business entity isn’t just about comprehending tax implications; it furthermore involves traversing legal requirements and operational goals, which can be complex. Seeking professional advice is vital in this process. Here’s how professionals can assist you: Tailored Advice: Consultants offer insights based on your unique circumstances and objectives. Tax Clarity: Tax specialists help you understand the implications of different entities, preventing costly mistakes. Streamlined Setup: Early professional engagement can ease compliance with legal requirements, reducing administrative burdens. Complex Structures: Experts can clarify non-standard business entities, which often require supplementary documentation. Enhanced Decision-Making: Professional guidance improves your choices regarding liability protection and long-term planning, encouraging sustainability. Incorporating professional advice guarantees you navigate the intricacies of entity selection effectively, setting a solid foundation for your business’s future success. Steps to Register a Business Entity Registering a business entity involves several essential steps that lay the groundwork for your new venture. First, determine the appropriate business structure, such as a sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, or corporation, considering liability, taxation, and operational needs. Next, choose a unique business name that complies with state regulations and conduct a name search through the Secretary of State’s office to confirm it’s available. After that, file the necessary formation documents, like Articles of Incorporation or a Certificate of Organization, with the appropriate state agency. You’ll additionally need to obtain a federal Employee Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS for tax purposes and hiring, except you’re a sole proprietorship without employees. Finally, acquire any required licenses or permits specific to your business type and location to operate legally. Following these steps will help you successfully register your business entity and start your entrepreneurial expedition. Frequently Asked Questions What Is a Business Entity Example? A business entity example is a limited liability company (LLC). In an LLC, you can operate your business while enjoying personal liability protection. This means your personal assets are typically safe from business debts. Profits can pass through to your personal income without facing corporate taxes. An LLC combines the flexibility of a partnership with the liability protections of a corporation, making it a popular choice for small business owners like you. What Is the IRS Definition of a Business Entity? The IRS defines a business entity as an organization formed to conduct business activities. This includes various structures like sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability companies (LLCs), and corporations. Each type has its own tax implications; for example, sole proprietorships and partnerships typically allow for pass-through taxation. To comply with tax regulations, business entities need a Tax Identification Number (TIN) for accurate reporting and classification, influencing how they report profits and losses. How Do You Determine Your Business Entity Type? To determine your business entity type, start by evaluating your need for personal liability protection, as some entities like LLCs shield you from personal risk. Next, consider tax implications; entities such as S Corporations may offer tax benefits. Evaluate the complexity of formation and ongoing requirements, with sole proprietorships being simpler. Finally, think about your fundraising needs, as partnerships and corporations attract investors more easily. Consulting with a professional can help clarify your options. What Are the 4 Types of Entities? The four primary types of business entities are Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, Limited Liability Company (LLC), and Corporation. A Sole Proprietorship is owned by one person, who’s unlimited liability. A Partnership involves two or more individuals sharing responsibilities and liabilities. An LLC offers limited liability protection during allowing profits to pass to members’ personal income. Finally, a Corporation is a separate legal entity that protects owners from personal liability but may face double taxation on profits. Conclusion Choosing the right business entity is essential for your organization’s success. By comprehending the various structures, including sole proprietorships, partnerships, LLCs, and corporations, you can make informed decisions that align with your operational needs and financial goals. Consider factors like liability, taxation, and management flexibility before finalizing your choice. Consulting with a professional can further clarify your options, ensuring compliance with legal requirements and optimizing your business’s growth potential. Take the time to define your entity wisely. Image via Google Gemini This article, "How to Define a Business Entity" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Google now allows you to run vehicle ads in your Standard Shopping campaigns. Previously, this was only available in Performance Max for Vehicle ads only, according to PPC News Feed.View the full article

PPC is moving past keywords as AI-driven systems redefine targeting, forcing marketers to focus on intent, data quality, and post-click performance. The post I Helped Build Google’s Keyword System. Here’s Why It’s Becoming Obsolete appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

Google has updated its Google Merchant Center landing page requirements help documentation to expand and offer more options for out-of-stock products. Google wants you to "ensure your landing page clearly displays product availability for online purchases."View the full article

Google may be integrating Google Tag Manager directly into the Google Ads interface. The integration of Tag Manager also comes with a new interface and user experience.View the full article

AI use is becoming pervasive across the legal system, with both experienced staff and absolute novices turning to ChatGPT and other tools to try to make the most persuasive case possible when they arrive in court, even if some of those claims turn out to be literally too good to be true. Last month, top law firm Sullivan & Cromwell was forced to apologize for filing fictitious case names and fabricated quotes in a legal document submitted in a case, as well as citing incorrect statutes in the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. “We deeply regret this occurred,” the firm wrote in an apologetic letter to the judge in a case about an alleged scam operation run out of Cambodia, which the defendant denies. It’s far from the only legal hitch blamed on AI. A 2025 High Court case in the U.K. saw a barrister submit 18 fictitious case-law citations out of 45 total. In another 2025 disciplinary case, a barrister used AI to prepare for a hearing and attempted to mask fabricated citations, while the widely publicized 2023 Mata v. Avianca case was among the first major examples of an attorney using ChatGPT to draft a legal filing that relied on entirely nonexistent judicial precedents. The impact of AI on the legal system is also starting to come into focus through new research examining the underlying numbers. A recent study suggests that U.S. federal courts are beginning to see significant increases in their caseloads. “The pro se share of all civil cases has been 11% for quite some time,” says Anand Shah, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who led the research. “And then in the post-AI world, we see it jumping all the way up to something like 18%.” At the same time, Shah and his co-author, Joshua Levy of the University of Southern California, analyzed the proportion of AI-generated text in complaints using a random sample of 1,600 filings drawn from an eight-year period. They found that AI-generated text rose from “basically 0%” before generative AI to about 18% in early 2026. “We were just floored,” says Shah. By digging deeper into the filings themselves, Shah and Levy found that the increase was concentrated in simpler, more templatable case types, rather than highly technical areas like patents or securities law. Shah believes that may suggest AI is helping people pursue cases they previously would not have attempted, because it has become far easier to generate the framework of a legal argument and the accompanying documents with minimal effort. While anecdotal evidence suggests the AI influx is beginning to strain the legal system, Shah says the broader disruption has not yet fully materialized in the data. “Cases are not resolving any faster or slower, which itself is a little surprising,” he says. But he notes that the back-and-forth between opposing parties is increasing, dramatically expanding the number of filings judges must review. That number is up roughly 158%, Shah says. Just because judges are managing to work through their expanded workloads, at least for now, doesn’t mean the system can absorb the pressure indefinitely, Shah argues. Society, he says, needs to start setting boundaries around AI in the courts before the strain becomes severe enough to slow the legal system down. The adoption of AI isn’t entirely negative, according to Will Pearce of Orbital, a company that provides legal AI tools to the real estate sector. “There’s a complete paradigm shift, not only in legal, but just generally in terms of how society accesses and interprets information,” he says. Pearce claims that AI has been “incredibly empowering,” opening up a legal system once dominated by dense legalese and arcane processes to people who can now use AI tools to parse documents and figure out possible next steps. But the risks remain significant. Shah says the lower courts are already under intense strain, and warns that the pressure is likely to grow quickly as AI models improve and more people realize they can use them to generate legal filings. “I don’t think we have a lot of time,” he says. That means more work is needed to establish rules and norms governing how and when AI should be used in the legal system. “We very much should not YOLO this transition of letting AI courts pop up willy-nilly and try a lot of stuff,” Shah warns. View the full article

Not sure where to start with social media marketing? This guide walks you through everything from choosing platforms to building a strategy that sticks. Marketers, social media is where your audience already hangs out — and it's one of the best ways to connect with over 5 billion of them in a real, meaningful way. And it’s not just about staying in touch. Social platforms have become powerful discovery engines. A growing number of people actively use TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and others to research products, read reviews, and decide what to buy next. In fact, 63% of Gen Z and 49% of millennials say social media ads or recommendations influence their purchasing decisions. In other words: your audience isn’t just scrolling. They’re searching, evaluating, and acting, so it’s well worth your business’s time to meet these potential customers on their social channels of choice. In this guide, we'll walk you through some of the most popular social networks for marketing (including what we've learned from analyzing millions of posts through Buffer), plus how to build a social media marketing strategy that actually works for you. You’ll also find some resources that take a deep dive into particular areas of this increasingly important marketing arena. Key takeawaysDefinition: Social media marketing involves connecting with audiences to build brands, drive traffic, and increase sales through content, engagement, and ads.Strategic approach: Success requires a cyclical 7-step strategy: setting SMART goals, defining the audience, establishing content pillars, choosing platforms, calendaring, analyzing, and evaluating.Platform selection: Focus on the platforms where your target audience is most active, rather than spreading resources too thin across all networks.Engagement is critical: Modern SMM has evolved from simple broadcasting to meaningful two-way engagement and social listening. Jump to a section: What is social media marketing? The evolution of social media marketing and management Quick-start guide to major social media platforms Facebook Instagram YouTube TikTok Pinterest X (formerly Twitter) LinkedIn Threads Bluesky and Mastodon Social media marketing strategy Social media listening and engagement Social media advertising 8 social media marketing tips from the experts Social media marketing resources FAQ about social media marketing What is social media marketing?Social media marketing (SMM) is the use of social media platforms to connect with your audience to build your brand, increase sales, drive website traffic, and more. This involves publishing high-quality content on your social media profiles, listening to and engaging your followers, analyzing your results, and running social media advertisements. You've got plenty of platforms to choose from, and just as many tools to help you manage it all without losing your mind. We’ll unpack all of these things in this guide. The evolution of social media marketing and managementBack in the early days, brands treated social media like digital billboards — just another place to shout their message and hope people clicked through to buy something. But social media has become increasingly crowded, and users have become more selective and savvy. Today, simply showing up is no longer enough. To stand out, you need to create stuff people actually care about. And, more importantly, talk with them, not at them. The good news is that as platforms have evolved, so have the tools and tactics that make social media marketing easier and more rewarding, too. Along with posting, social media management also involves: Social listening and engagement: Monitoring social media conversations and responding to relevant mentions.Analytics and reporting: Analyzing reach, engagement, sales, and more on social media with an analytics tool.Paid social: Reaching a specific audience at scale with highly targeted social media ads.Together, these pieces make up what we think of as modern social media management. Bonus: they're all things Buffer can help you with. Quick-start guide to major social media platforms Platform Monthly active users (MAU) Dominant age group Top content format Facebook 3.07B 25–34 Image Instagram 3B 18–34 Carousel YouTube 2.6B 25–34 Video TikTok 1.9B 18–24 Video Pinterest 578M 18–34 Video X (Twitter) 557M 18–34 Text LinkedIn 350–450M (est.) 25–34 Carousel Threads 400M 25–34 Video Bluesky 5.2M 18–24 Video Mastodon 1M 25–34 Text There are so many platforms out there. We've rounded up over 20 in our guide to the top social media sites — but don't let that overwhelm you. One of the most important things to know about social media marketing is that you don't need to be everywhere. In fact, we'd recommend picking just a few platforms to focus on (we'll get into how to choose in a bit). When you're deciding which platforms to use, the biggest question to ask yourself is: where does my audience actually spend their time? Here’s a high-level explainer, plus a breakdown of the demographics of the most popular social media marketing platforms to guide you: FacebookMonthly active users: 3.07 billionBreakdown by gender: 43% women, 57% menDominant age group: 25–34 years79% of organizations use it for social media marketingFacebook is still the biggest social network out there, with over 3 billion people logging in at least once a month. For perspective: That's more than a third of the world's population. You can post pretty much any content format on Facebook, including links, text, images, and videos. We analyzed over 15 million posts and found that images get the most engagement on the platform (but only just!). You’ll see from the graph, however, that images, videos, and text posts are all clustered within one percentage point of each other. Our data also shows that the best time to post on Facebook is generally early to mid-morning on weekdays. Wednesday and Thursday are the best days of the week to share content on the social media platform. Facebook (owned by Meta) also has some really useful tools built in, like Meta’s Business Suite and Facebook Ads Manager, which can help you schedule posts and run ads. 🔍 Deep dive: Understanding the Facebook Algorithm ⏫ Level up: How to Get More Followers on Facebook InstagramMonthly active users: 3 billionBreakdown by gender: 47% women, 53% menDominant age group: 18–34 years86% of organizations use it for social media marketingInstagram is all about visuals. You can share photos, carousels (multi-photo posts), stories, reels, and live videos. Our latest research revealed that carousels are the best content to post on the platform for engagement. You may be surprised: surely reels reign supreme? Interestingly, the data above measured engagement, not reach. Essentially, reels and carousels serve different goals on Instagram: Reels are great for reach and discoverability thanks to distribution on the explore page and reels tabCarousels tend to drive deeper engagement by keeping people interacting with your content longerWe also uncovered that the best time to post on Instagram for engagement is weekday evenings between 6 p.m.–11 p.m. Midweek posts on Instagram see solid engagement, with Wednesdays topping the stats. Also owned by Meta, Instagram plays well with Facebook for crossposting content and ads. You’ll also be able to access Meta’s Business Suite and Ads Manager with your Instagram account. 🔍 Deep dive: How the Instagram Algorithm Works ⏫ Level up: How to Get More Followers on Instagram YouTubeMonthly active users: 2.6 billionBreakdown by gender: 46% women, 54% menDominant age group: 25–34 years58% of organizations use it for social media marketingYouTube was the OG video platform, and it's still going strong. For years, YouTube was all about landscape videos, but they've since jumped on the short-form video trend and introduced portrait short-form videos up to 60 seconds, called YouTube Shorts. It makes sense to differentiate between long-form videos and YouTube Shorts when we look at the best time to post on YouTube, since each type performs a different function and attracts different audiences at different times. As you can see from the heatmaps below, the best time to post long-form videos is Sunday at 10 a.m. (by a long shot); whereas the best time to post YouTube Shorts is Friday afternoon and evening. When it comes to the best days of the week to post on YouTube, the same pattern applies: Sundays for long-form videos; Fridays for YouTube Shorts. YouTube also offers shopping tools like YouTube Shopping (only for certain users) plus YouTube Ads, allowing you to advertise before and during other YouTube videos. 🔍 Deep dive: Understanding the YouTube Algorithm ⏫ Level up: How to Get More Subscribers on YouTube TikTokMonthly active users: 1.9 billionBreakdown by gender: 44% women, 56% menDominant age group: 18–24 years43% of organizations use it for social media marketingOn TikTok, you can create videos anywhere from 15 seconds to 60 minutes long, and there are tons of filters, AI effects, sounds, and music to play with. It makes creating content fun and accessible, even if you don’t have mad editing skills. The social media platform also introduced stories and carousel-style photo posts. But there are no surprises when it comes to the best content format to post on TikTok: on a video-first platform, video still performs best. Buffer data revealed that the best time to post on TikTok is Sunday at 9 a.m., followed by Monday at 1 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m. Generally speaking, views tend to pick up in the evening hours, which makes sense considering the entertainment value of most TikTok content. Unlike many other social platforms, which tend to see more engagement during the week, the best day of the week to post on TikTok is Saturday. Monday comes in second place, followed closely by Sunday. TikTok offers a powerful ads platform with formats like in-feed ads, Topview, and Spark ads, helping you reach new audiences and boost high-performing content directly within the app. 🔍 Deep dive: Understanding the TikTok Algorithm ⏫ Level up: How to Get More Followers on TikTok PinterestMonthly active users: 578 millionBreakdown by gender: 70% women, 23% menDominant age group: 18–34 years10% of organizations use it for social media marketingPinterest is a bit of a hidden gem. It’s part social platform, part visual search engine, and it’s where people go to discover ideas, plan projects, and find brands they love. Think of it as a digital pinboard: users save images and videos (called pins) to curated boards, whether they’re dreaming up a new recipe, redesigning a space, or researching products. With nearly 600 million users (and over a third actively looking for brands), Pinterest offers a powerful, often overlooked way to get your content discovered and send traffic your way. Interestingly, our data found that video posts on Pinterest get 83% higher engagement than images. So if you're using Pinterest primarily as a visual catalog, it might be worth testing a few video pins and seeing how they perform with your audience. Pinterest also has built-in advertising tools, including promoted pins and shopping ads, making it easy to get your content discovered by users actively searching for ideas and products. 🔍 Deep dive: Pinterest Marketing Strategy ⏫ Level up: How to Get More Followers on Pinterest X (formerly Twitter)Monthly active users: 557 millionBreakdown by gender: 36% women, 54% menDominant age group: 18–34 years38% of organizations use it for social media marketingX (formerly Twitter) has been around since the early days of social media. It was actually the very first platform Buffer supported! That said, the platform has been through a lot of changes lately. But don't count it out just yet. Sure, there are some interesting X (Twitter) alternatives popping up (like Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads) but none of them have surpassed X's monthly user count yet. After acquiring the platform in 2022, Elon Musk set out to transform it into a broader “everything app,” expanding far beyond its original focus on short posts and conversations. Since then, we’ve seen a wave of updates, including new account types, longer-form posts, improved video features, and early steps toward digital payments and e-commerce. Like Facebook, X supports links, images, text, and video posts, but according to our analysis of over 10 million posts sent through Buffer, text is the most engaging content format on X. The best time to post on X (Twitter) is 9 a.m. on Tuesday. In general, posting on weekdays from 8 a.m. to about 12 p.m. gives your content the best shot at higher engagement stats. The best day of the week to post on X is Wednesday, followed by its fellow midweek buddies, Tuesday and Thursday. X offers a range of advertising options through X Ads, including promoted posts, accounts, and trends, helping you boost visibility and reach targeted audiences in real time conversations. 🔍 Deep dive: Understanding the X (Twitter) Algorithm ⏫ Level up: How to Get More Followers on X (Twitter) LinkedInMonthly active users: 350 – 450 million (estimated)Breakdown by gender: 43% women, 57% menDominant age group: 25–34 years75% of organizations use it for social media marketingLinkedIn has evolved from a resume-sharing platform to one of the best networks for thought leadership content and building a personal brand. From a business social media perspective, your employees’ personal brands can be a powerful digital marketing tool. More so, in most cases, than sharing from a company page. Although the platform also allows for text, video, image, and link posts, LinkedIn carousels (documents) take the top spot by far in terms of engagement. We also uncovered that late afternoon and evening hours (3 p.m.–8 p.m.) now drive the highest engagement on LinkedIn. As you can see on the heatmap below, the best times to post on LinkedIn are Wednesday at 4 p.m., Friday at 3 p.m., and Friday at 4 p.m. The best day of the week to post on LinkedIn is Wednesday. We found that posts shared on Wednesday tended to get the most engagement, closely followed by Thursday, then Friday. LinkedIn’s ads platform uses formats like sponsored content, message ads, and lead gen forms to help you target professionals and expand your reach. 💡 Pro tip: Because personal profiles are where it’s at on LinkedIn, we introduced LinkedIn profile analytics to help you see what’s working and refine your strategy over time. 🔍 Deep dive: Understanding the LinkedIn Algorithm ⏫ Level up: How to Get More Followers on LinkedIn ThreadsMonthly active users: 400 millionBreakdown by gender: 42% women, 58% menDominant age group: 25–34 years11% of organizations use it for social media marketingThreads may be positioned as a conversation-first, text-forward platform, but posts with visuals currently see higher median engagement. That said, format isn’t everything. There’s plenty of overlap, and a strong text post can still outperform an average video or image. As Threads continues to evolve and refine its algorithm, these trends may shift, but for now, a simple, effective approach is to mix in visuals alongside your text to give your posts an extra boost. No matter the format, one of the most effective ways to engage on Threads is to add your insight to trending topics (before they run away from you). Using Buffer’s Trending Topics feature, you can see what's taking off right now, browse actual posts from the conversation, and jump in with your take, all without leaving the Buffer app. So, when is it best to post? Our research revealed that the best time to post on Threads is 9 a.m. on Thursday. Other high-performing slots were 12 p.m. on Wednesday and 9 a.m. on Wednesday. Generally speaking, midweek mornings and early afternoons are your best bet for maximum engagement. Midweek is where it’s at for the best median engagement, so it’s little surprise that Wednesday seems to be the best day of the week to post, followed by Thursday, then Tuesday. 💡 Pro tip: Good timing won’t save mediocre content. Remember that Threads rewards specificity and niche interests, so don’t be afraid to geek out on your favorite topics. As of January 2026, Meta has officially completed the global rollout of Threads as an advertising placement through Meta’s Ads Manager. 🔍 Deep dive: Understanding the Threads Algorithm ⏫ Level up: How to Get More Followers on Threads Bluesky and MastodonBluesky and Mastodon are two fairly new decentralized social media platforms. Bluesky has 5.2 million monthly users, while Mastodon has 1 million. Being decentralized means that they aren’t owned or controlled by a single company, but instead are made up of smaller, community-led networks. That structure shapes how people show up: these spaces are far more community-first, with a strong emphasis on authentic conversations and people over polished brand content. So before you post, it’s worth asking whether your audience is actually there. If they are, focus on engaging, not just broadcasting. Instead of engagement rate, Bluesky uses total interactions (likes + comments + reposts), so it's not one-to-one with the other platforms in this section. Nevertheless, our data found that video content earns the most interactions per post on Bluesky. Like Bluesky, Mastodon uses total interactions (shares + favorites + comments) instead of engagement rate. It came up as the most stable platform in our dataset: Images and videos both earned a median of three interactions per post, and links and text both averaged out at two interactions. Keep an eye on these two platforms; it’s going to be interesting to see how decentralized social media networks evolve. 🔍 Deep dive: Understanding Decentralized Social Media ⏫ Level up: How to Schedule, Crosspost, and More on Bluesky Social media marketing strategyNow that you understand more about the most popular social media marketing platforms, let’s explore the key to social media marketing success: a social media strategy. Good social media marketing starts with a strategy. Before you start creating content, take a step back and look at the big picture. Before you even start thinking about content creation, it’s wise to take a step back and look at the big picture to devise your social media marketing plan. Remember: random acts of content lead to random results. Here’s a step-by-step guide to creating your social media strategy: Set your social media marketing goalsDefine your target audienceChoose your content pillarsChoose your platformsCreate your content calendarAnalyze your content performanceEvaluate your content strategyYour social media marketing strategy is not a one-and-done process: it’s a plan that should be regularly tweaked and iterated upon. So, instead of thinking of the above steps as a to-do list to move through, visualize them as a cycle, like the flywheel below. You should be regularly tweaking and building on your strategy to hit your goals. 1. Set clear social media marketing goalsStart with your business goals. Then ask yourself: 'How will growing an engaged social media following help me (or my team) reach these goals?' This is especially important if you need to convince leadership that social media is worth the investment. They'll want to see real results. The more you can show that social media is working, the easier it'll be to get the resources you need to grow. Build a solid foundation for your social media strategy by making these goals SMART: SpecificMeasurableAchievableRelevantTimebound SMART Goal Element Ask Yourself Examples + Guidance Specific What are we trying to achieve on social media? Increase brand awareness Drive traffic to your website Generate leads Increase signups or sales Measurable How will we measure success? What metrics will we use? Increase in followers or subscribers % increase in engagement rate % increase in click-through rate Attainable Are our goals realistic and achievable? Growing a new YouTube channel to 5,000 subscribers within a month might not be realistic if you’re new to video. Relevant Are our goals aligned with broader business objectives? Try using the prompt: “so that we can [insert business goal here].” Time-bound What is the deadline for achieving the goal? Give yourself a reasonable timeframe. Many companies work in quarterly (three-month) periods. 2. Define your target audienceBefore you dive headfirst into creating content, you need to know who you're actually talking to. Once you know who your audience is, you'll have a much better idea of where to find them and how to talk to them. Answering these questions will help you get a clear picture of your target audience: Who are they? (e.g., job title, age, gender, salary, location, etc.)What are they interested in that you can provide? (e.g., entertainment, educational content, case studies, information on new products, etc.)What goals and challenges do they have? (Ideally, this will be one your content or company can help them achieve or solve.)Where do they usually spend their time online? (e.g., TikTok, Instagram, etc., or niche platforms)When do they look for the type of content you can provide? (e.g., weekends, during their daily commute, etc.)Why do they consume the content? (e.g., to get better at their job, become healthy, stay up to date with something, etc.)How do they consume the content? (e.g., reading social media, watching videos, etc.)3. Choose your content pillars and formatsWhat kind of content will your audience actually care about? Could short-form video content be the best format for capturing their attention? Could partnering with an influencer take your brand awareness to the next level? Your marketing personas will come in handy here. It's also worth checking out what similar businesses are doing on social media. A competitive analysis can help you learn a lot from what's working (and what's not) for them. What are your competitors doing that works? Have they made mistakes you can learn from? Your content pillars and formats aren't set in stone. You can (and should) adjust them based on what's actually working. Here’s a comprehensive guide to creating content pillars for social media (with a handy template). 4. Choose your platformsSo, which platforms should you focus on? With so many options out there, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. Here are some things to consider when making this choice: Focus your efforts instead of spreading yourself thinWhen you're just starting out, it's better to focus on a few platforms where your audience actually hangs out, rather than trying to be everywhere at once. Brands focusing on just one or two platforms tend to get more engagement per post than those spreading themselves across three or more. Understand your target audience Even basic demographic info about your audience (like age, location, and interests) can help you figure out where to focus. Check out the stats for each platform above for some guidance. For example, if you're trying to reach teenagers, LinkedIn isn't where you want to spend your time. The same goes for TikTok and Snapchat if you're trying to reach retirees. They're probably not hanging out there. Use built-in shopping toolsMany social networking sites, like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, have robust e-commerce tools that may increase sales if that is your social media goal. It makes sense to reduce friction when it comes to sales by letting your customers shop right on their favorite platforms. If it works for your particular business, the availability of these tools is also an essential factor in your choice. Explore newer or niche platformsIf you’re serving a particularly niche market segment, it’s worth exploring the alternative platforms gaining traction. Don’t write Mastodon or Bluesky off simply because their active monthly users don’t number in the billions (yet). Less popular (but still powerful) social media marketing platforms like Pinterest may also prove valuable, especially for categories where visual discovery drives purchases, such as home decor, fashion, food, and DIY. 5. Create your content calendarYou’ve outlined the big picture; it’s time to get into the details — and implementation. Social media marketing usually starts with having a consistent social media presence, i.e., regularly sharing content on your chosen platforms. It’s best to plan your content calendar ahead of time instead of creating and publishing content spontaneously. Luckily, you’ve already done so much of the hard work required. Armed with your content pillars and formats and the platforms you’ve decided on, you can begin to map out the content itself on your social media content calendar. We have a comprehensive guide to creating your social media calendar (and template) that will walk you through it step-by-step, but here’s a high-level overview: Step 1. Choose your social media content calendar toolThis could be as simple as a spreadsheet, but social media scheduling tools like Buffer will help you plan, schedule, and analyze your content in a single platform. Prefer to start your social posts on a good ol’ spreadsheet? No problem. Buffer’s Bulk Upload allows you to convert a spreadsheet into up to 100 scheduled posts, all ready to go. Step 2. Gather your content ideasDefining your content pillars likely sparked plenty of exciting content ideas. Get them down before you lose them. A tool like Buffer’s Create Space can be super helpful here. It’s a versatile system that will allow you to save text, images, and videos for your social media posts (and organize them with color-coded tags) to keep track of all your lightbulb moments. Even if all you have is a link to another social post that has inspired you, a half-baked idea, or a reminder about an important product launch, save it. You can refine it later before you schedule it. With the Buffer app (available on both iOS and Android), you can save those ideas while you’re on the go, too. 💡Pro tip: If you’re stuck for ideas and staring at a blank composer with nothing to say, check out our Template Library of writing prompts. Take that, writer’s block. Step 3. Decide on a content cadence for each platformWhen it comes to building an engaged social media audience on any platform, consistency is key. It makes sense. The platforms want you to use their sites and apps, so they reward that behavior. Every platform is different when it comes to the best days and times to post on social media for optimal engagement. While you’re revving up your social media content engine, it can be helpful to know the best times to post on each network to maximize your chances of likes, comments, shares, and views. Here’s a recap of the best time slots for each platform: Platform Best time to post Facebook 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. (weekdays) Instagram 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. (weekdays) LinkedIn 3 p.m. – 6 p.m. (Wed–Sun) TikTok 6 p.m. – 11 p.m. (daily) plus weekend mornings YouTube Shorts 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. (Fri–Sat) YouTube (long-form) 6 p.m. – 10 p.m. (Sun–Tue) X (Twitter) 8 a.m. – 11 a.m. (weekdays) Threads 7 a.m. – 12 p.m. (weekdays) While these best-time-to-post guides can be helpful, they’re no substitute for knowing your best time to post. Every audience is different, and yours may be more likely to engage with your content at different times. After some time posting to your chosen platforms with Buffer, Buffer’s analytics will recommend your unique best time to post for each platform to maximize your chances of high reach and engagement. Step 4. Map key launches and datesPlan out posts for all your product launches, company news, and events. You can use placeholders if you don’t have all the details or social media marketing assets you need just yet. Why map them out first? Those posts should be your priority on those days, and you may want to hold off on sharing other content that detracts from these on key dates. It will also help you gather all the copy, images, and other assets with enough time to plan and schedule these posts. Step 5. Batch your content Consistently creating content for multiple channels is no cakewalk. But content batching (sitting down to create content in bulk, enough to last several days, weeks, or even months) can help you be more efficient. Here are some examples of social media manager content batching: Using the same Instagram template for several carousel posts spread out over a few weeks. All you need to do is change the text.Similarly, using the same template for LinkedIn carousel posts, and changing the content to create several carousels in one sitting.Planning a warehouse or factory visit to film several videos of how your product is made for future TikToks, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.Having a shooting day with several colleagues to take advantage of trending TikTok sounds or trending Instagram audio.Step 6. Schedule your contentWith all that content batched and ready to go, it’s time to start scheduling. Scheduling your social media marketing posts in advance is essential. There are so many benefits to scheduling your content in advance, especially for the social media managers themselves. Having your posts scheduled in a social media management tool like Buffer means: You don’t have to be online at all hours to post.You can take time off and rest, knowing that your audience is still engaged and growingYou can post your content at the best time to post on each platform.You can free up time for last-minute changes.6. Analyze your content performanceUnderstanding how your content is performing using social media analytics is a hugely important step in your social media marketing plan. Are you reaching more people than last month? How many positive mentions? How many used your brand’s hashtag? Are you driving traffic to key pages? Metrics to look at include: Reach and impressionsEngagement rateClick-throughsConversionsThe social networks provide basic metrics, but for more in-depth analysis or cross-platform comparison, use a social media analytics tool. We’re biased, of course, but Buffer’s analytics are tough to beat. Rather than just numbers, Buffer uses your reach and engagement data to recommend the best time to post, frequency, and content format to grow your channel. 7. Evaluate your content strategyIt’s time to step back and ask: “Is our social media marketing strategy working?” Use your analytics reports to see if your efforts are helping you reach your business goals. You might be gaining followers and engagement, but not increasing sign-ups or sales. If so, revisit earlier steps and adjust your strategy. Platforms evolve, and so should your approach. Adaptation is part of the process. Social media listening and engagementAs your business and following grow, conversations about your brand will increase. People comment, tag, or message you directly. And how you respond to these is important. As you’ll see in our 2026 State of Social Media Engagement Report, the biggest driver of post performance isn’t when or how you post. It’s whether you show up and talk back to your audience. Here’s a quick recap: Replying to comments is one of the strongest patterns we found: Accounts that do this consistently see higher engagement across every platform (up to +42% on Threads and +30% on LinkedIn).Content format performance isn’t universal: What works on one platform won’t necessarily work on another (and sometimes not even for different goals on the same platform).Consistency still matters: Accounts that stop posting see a clear drop in performance, while posting regularly increases your chances of being seen.Timing and frequency help, but only as a boost: The real lever is creating content people want to engage with and responding when they do.If there’s one takeaway: don’t just publish: participate. An easier way to engageAs you can see, responding to these interactions is a mega win for your engagement, but it’s easy to miss a notification, especially when you’re managing multiple social media accounts. If you’re like most people, you’ll post something, close the app, and forget to check back. Buffer’s Community makes it easier by bringing all your conversations into one calm, organized space, where you can filter unanswered comments, get real-time notifications, and reply across platforms without jumping between apps. The Community motto: “Don’t post and ghost.” You can respond faster with saved replies or AI-assisted suggestions (that still sound like you), track how consistently you’re engaging, and even turn great replies into new content — so no comment gets missed, and every interaction becomes an opportunity to connect and build your community. Because social media is meant to be social, right? People might talk about your brand without tagging you. These conversations are valuable — positive comments can be opportunities to surprise and delight, while negative ones allow you to offer support and resolve issues early. Manually searching for mentions can be tedious. Use a social media listening tool to find relevant conversations and participate effectively. 📚 Recommended reading: Social Media Engagement Guide Social media advertisingIf resources allow, social media ads can significantly expand your reach and grow your following. Well-executed campaigns target specific audiences based on demographics, interests, and behaviors. Meta’s Ads Manager allows crossposting across platforms, even without profiles. The average Cost Per Click (CPC) on social media is generally lower than Google Ads. For example, Instagram’s average CPC is $0.00–$0.25 (Pinterest is even lower at $0.00–$0.10), compared to Google’s $2.69. The amount will vary depending on your campaign objective, industry, and competition in your niche, so your numbers may look different. 💡Pro tip: Ads work best when they’re layered onto a consistent, organic social media presence. 📚 Recommended reading: Social Media Advertising Guide 8 social media marketing tips from the expertsWe asked social media marketers worldwide for their top tips for beginners. Common themes include authentic connection, platform selection, and partnering with creators. 1. Know your audience“Ignore fads and trends and vanity metrics. Create a solid strategy that talks to your audience. Think about their pain points, emotional triggers, and how you want to be perceived in their eyes.” – Sarah Man, Social Media and Marketing Consultant, Mantar Marketing “There’s already so much being shared by your target audience across various platforms. Work smarter, not harder! Your audience/customers will always express their pain points or challenges. If you can address those pain points or challenges head-on with your content, your messaging/products/services are guaranteed to reach those people.” – Emma Rafanello, Social Media Account Supervisor, Bospar 2. Stick to the platforms that make sense“You don’t have to be everything, everywhere, all the time! It’s better to start small and focus on one platform, at a lower posting frequency, than it is to spread yourself too thin. The best way to see if social is working for your business, no matter what your goals are, is to really focus on one channel and grow from there. If your attention is divided between 10 other platforms, it’s hard to notice those small yet promising upward trends that are whispering, ‘This could work!’ to you.” – Emily Brungard, Senior Social Media Manager, Rossman Media 3. Optimize your profiles“Optimize and fill out every aspect of all your social media profiles to create the best first impression for your audience. The better the first impression, the higher the perceived value. This will really help generate leads, too.” – Piyush Malpure, Founder and Marketing Strategist, Leads Infinity 4. Engage with your communities“Posting often will only show off part of your brand, but you’ll come across as more genuine and authentic if you take the time to comment on relevant posts and discussions.” – Naba Ahmed, Marketing Manager, Prezi 5. Be authentic and relatable“Don’t be afraid to test out-of-the-box ideas and be yourself. Understand that ‘being good’ on social means nothing if you aren’t meeting your objectives and reaching your business goals.” – Sarah Man, Social Media and Marketing Consultant, Mantar Marketing 6. Create value for your audience“Create content in which you give more to people than what you ask of them, and find peers to partner with and amplify your message.” – Meryoli Arias, Head of Marketing, The Community Marketing Company 7. Get your team involved“Your brand should be an extension of real people’s voices. For someone just building out their strategy, the best place to start is with your internal team. Interview them, use their thoughts and ideas to ideate topics, and feature them often. Give them prompts and enablement material to share those thoughts themselves. Involving the team humanizes the brand and creates real connection with your audience.” – Sam Hembree, Co-founder, Beam Content 8. Be strategic with links“This one is an easy one: stop posting links in Instagram captions and stop putting multiple links in social posts! They’re not accessible and honestly seem spammy. If you’re posting in multiple languages, just separate the posts.” – Jessica Perreault, Director of Communications, Labour Market Information Council (LMIC) Social media marketing resourcesAs you’ll have picked up from this article, social media marketing is a deep, nuanced subject, and there’s often plenty to consider before a business kicks off any kind of social media marketing campaign. In a field constantly in flux, social media pros know staying on top of trends, platforms, tools, and features is key. To help you get going (or level up), here are some high-level resources to bookmark and add to your social media marketing toolkit (along with the deep dives and zoom-outs we’ve linked above): ✍️ Social Media Marketing Blog Latest news, success stories, platform guides, and more. 💌 Social Media Newsletter Weekly updates on new features and tips. 🧠 Social Media Terms Glossary Clarify industry jargon as you build your strategy. 🚀 The Buffer Community Connect, share, and learn with other social media managers, small business owners, and creators. Got questions? We’d love to help. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, YouTube, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky. FAQ about social media marketingHow do I do social media marketing?At its core, social media marketing is about showing up where your audience already spends time and building real connections. Start by choosing one or two platforms your audience uses most, create content that helps, entertains, or informs them, and stay consistent. Just as importantly, don’t post and ghost. Respond to comments, join conversations, and learn from what’s working so you can keep improving over time. How much does social media marketing cost?It can cost as little or as much as you want. If you’re just getting started, your main investment is time: creating content, engaging with your audience, and learning what works. As you grow, you might invest in tools, ads, or extra support. The good news is you don’t need a big budget to see results, especially if you focus on consistency and genuine connection. What are the benefits of social media marketing?Social media marketing helps you get your brand in front of the right people, build trust over time, and stay top of mind. It can drive traffic to your website, generate leads, support sales, and even act as a customer service channel. But one of the biggest benefits is the direct connection. You’re not just broadcasting, you’re building relationships. Why is social media marketing important?Because that’s where people are. Your audience is already using social media to discover brands, research products, and make decisions. If you’re not showing up there, you’re likely missing out on opportunities to connect, learn from your audience, and grow your business in a way that feels natural and accessible. How do I start marketing on social media?Start simple. Pick a platform, set a clear goal, and begin sharing content that’s useful or interesting to your audience. You don’t need a perfect strategy from day one. You’ll learn as you go. Pay attention to what people respond to, keep experimenting, and build from there. Progress matters more than perfection. Which is the best platform for social media marketing?There isn’t a single “best” platform. It depends on your audience and your goals. The best platform is the one your audience actually uses and engages with. Instead of trying to be everywhere, focus on one or two platforms where you can show up consistently and do it well. View the full article

Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! I’m Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc. and Fast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to get it yourself every Monday morning. A year ago, amid a wave of DOGE cuts to federal agencies, Modern CEO highlighted the things government gets right, notably its ability to solve problems that businesses can’t or won’t because doing so isn’t necessarily profitable. Finding solutions to many of those challenges—including affordable housing, mass transit, and public education as well as environmental sustainability and climate change—is increasingly falling on city leaders, says Mike Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York and founder of Bloomberg LP. “The more [that] national governments retreat from the world stage, the more important mayors become,” Bloomberg said last month at the Bloomberg CityLab 2026 summit, hosted by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Aspen Institute. “Mayors have to move quickly and adapt to big change.” And, like CEOs, these city leaders must often think big while also managing minutiae. “Mayors, perhaps more than any other civic leaders, are expected to advance strategic, multiyear infrastructure and policy initiatives while at the same time being attentive to the hyperlocal needs of individual residents,” says Daniel Ramot, CEO of Via Transportation, a tech company that serves public transit systems. Adds Ramot, whom I interviewed onstage at Bloomberg CityLab: “I have always been impressed by how the very best mayors are able to manage this tension. It requires genuine empathy and attention to detail, combined with the ability to look beyond the status quo, dream big, and perhaps most importantly, ground those dreams in a reality informed, first and foremost, by data.” (Disclosure: Bloomberg CityLab covered my travel and accommodation.) Put another way, city hall can be as complex as a business. Here are three leadership lessons gleaned from Bloomberg CityLab sessions featuring mayors from around the world. Build inclusive coalitions Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott says one of his signature initiatives—reducing the number of vacant properties in the city—“is not just my strategy; it’s the community strategy.” Other stakeholders include the state of Maryland and philanthropic partners, but Scott singles out BUILD, a community organization, as a key contributor. The program, which provides capital to transform vacant buildings into neighborhood housing, appears to be working. Scott says the number of vacant properties in Baltimore has dropped from 16,000 when he took office in 2020 to 11,800 today. Use the spotlight as a forcing function Anne Hidalgo, who served as mayor of Paris from 2014 until earlier this year, talked about how the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games helped galvanize a number of improvements, including a cleanup of the Seine River. The games provided a deadline for making the river swimmable for athletes and the added pressure of global scrutiny. Indeed, even as the games approached, officials reported health concerns about the quality of the water. Hidalgo herself donned a wet suit to take a dip in July 2024, and the city and the Paris Olympic Committee ultimately cleared the river for competition. But Hidalgo, who made environmental sustainability a hallmark of her mayoralty, says investment in the river wasn’t just for the Olympic Games. Last year 100,000 tourists and Parisians swam in the Seine, engaging with nature in an urban setting. Embrace AI on your own terms London Mayor Sadiq Khan is an AI realist who recognizes the risks and rewards of the technology. The city, he says, is already using AI to predict traffic congestion and tackle housing challenges. At the same time, he’s aware of the impact on employment and earlier this year launched a task force aimed at helping residents strengthen skills for the jobs of the future and guiding companies on how to create new high-paying jobs leveraging AI. “We don’t want to move fast and break things,” he says. “We’re gonna move fast and make things—without leaving anyone behind.” Programming note As a reminder, our first live-streamed event exclusively for Modern CEO subscribers will take place on Monday, May 18, at 1 p.m. ET. I’m hosting The CEO’s Guide to AI featuring Matt Fitzpatrick, CEO of Invisible Technologies. The session aims to help leaders understand where AI can have an impact—and what’s hype. You can RSVP here, and if you’re not already a subscriber, you can sign up here. And if you have questions for Matt, you can submit them to stephaniemehta@mansueto.com. Read more: most innovative cities Here’s how Mobile, Alabama, is fighting blight Los Angeles is rethinking home ownership on vacant lots Paris redesigned itself to be a city of bikes, not cars View the full article

AI-powered experiences like Google AI Overviews, Gemini, and Ask Maps are changing how customers discover local businesses. People are asking more detailed, conversational questions, and AI-powered systems can now influence which businesses get surfaced. Traditional rankings are only part of the visibility equation. Complete, accurate business information — including your Google Business Profile, reviews, photos, and local content — can help customers and AI systems better understand your brand. Join SOCi and Google for an exclusive webinar, Winning the Next Era of Local Visibility, on June 3. You will learn: How AI is transforming local search. Which signals may influence AI recommendations. How to improve visibility across Search, Maps, and Gemini. What Ask Maps means for your brand. AI is already shaping how customers find businesses. Make sure yours is one of them. Register now View the full article

The changes include clearer and revamped questions and updated requirements for criminal, regulatory and financial disclosures, the CSBS said. View the full article

The changes put out by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac make it clear the Nov. 2 date applies to valuation submissions to the UDCP, not when the loan is delivered. View the full article