It’s been a wonderful, unpredictable 12-year journey. What started internally at Tier One as a way to keep pace with the rapidly evolving social media landscape transformed into a weekly external newsletter featuring helpful tips, tricks, and digital marketing insights to add a “Spark” of freshness to ongoing marketing communications programs. But as tech innovation continues to evolve, so too have our readers’ needs, which is why we’re announcing the sunsetting of the Spark and the start of something new: an AI-focused, biweekly content series on our Top Talk blog.
These blog posts will provide timely insights into the artificial intelligence space through a marketer's lens. We aim to be your go-to resource for clever ideas and insights on strategically adding AI into your marketing tool kit.
Thank you for over a decade of readership, and we can’t wait to see you on the blog. (Still want updates in your inbox?Subscribe to Top Talk and receive email notifications of new posts. ✉️ 📬)
Pizza With a Side of Glue
In theprevious edition of the Spark, we talked about how Google’s new AI search feature might spell the end of SEO. But it’s become clear Google has a few kinks to work out before we’re ready to ring the death knell.
Since rolling out AI overviews, social media has become a screenshot playground for comically incorrect results and bizarre responses. Some of these answers seem to be pulling information from Reddit posts and other internet sources that were clearly jokes in context, but it turns out AI doesn’t have much of a sense of humor. In response, Google has been individually pulling down misinformation when flagged by social media users, but it still insists its AI tech largely outputs “high quality information.”
While all signs still point to an AI takeover of search, there are bound to be growing pains along the way. As marketers, getting featured in AI search results may be a long term goal, but in the short term, the priority should be monitoring what these AI tools say about your brand — and correcting any mistakes.
TL;DR: The launch of Google’s AI search feature was marred with misinformation, making it a priority for marketers to monitor how their brand shows up in results.
Into the Fediverse
The age of asking users to “Please follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, TikTok, and X” is on its way out — at least for publishers like The Verge and 404 Media. They’re among the first media companies to experiment withbuilding their brand in the fediverse, bringing all their social and owned content into one place.
Generally, federation refers to the uniting of many smaller parts. The fediverse brings this idea online, allowing decentralized social networks (think Bluesky, Threads, and Mastodon) to communicate with each other through one universal account. Through this interconnected network, a user’s content is not exclusive to individual social platforms. The Verge and 404 Media are slowly integrating their websites with the fediverse to merge engagement on their website and social media content. For example, a comment on an article shared on Bluesky may also show up as a comment on their website.
This tech is still in its experimental phase, so we’re not claiming it will replace all traditional social media just yet. But by transitioning into a decentralized network, these publications can zero in on building a holistic brand following instead of separate social followings — which may save time and effort. They can then focus on honing their primary content while expanding user engagement and discourse.
This strategy is the opposite of the typical social media best practices, which often encourage you to personalize each piece of content to its intended platform. As publishers make the move, we’re eager to keep an eye on how this trend grows.
TL;DR: Publishers are experimenting with the fediverse, a subset of social platforms that can be integrated with each other and with owned content.
WHAT LIT US UP
The Secret to Influencer (Marc)keting
Traditional influencer marketing follows a predictable routine: mention the brand, show the product, say nice things about it, and post to your account. Rinse and repeat. But Marc Jacobs is trying out a new spin on influencer marketing, formulated just for TikTok — and it’s captured all of the platform’s attention.
The high-end fashion brand started posting out-of-context (and sometimes truly bizarre)influencer videosfrom all corners of TikTok on its primary brand account in March. The posts do not highlight a specific product, don’t feature your typical fashion influencers, and aren’t tied to a specific campaign or hashtag. Marc Jacobs is also featuring these posts on its own account instead of asking influencers to share to their own followers — a strategy that could only work using TikTok’s laser-focused algorithm, where the posts will make their way to an influencer’s following anyway.
TikTok users are sick of seeing ads on their feeds, especially when they follow a predictable formula. This chaotic approach is a breath of fresh air among the increasingly stale influencer marketing world. Though it might be unexpected from a respected fashion house, this unique strategy not only catches users’ attention on individual videos, but also keeps them returning for each new post. The comments have turned into a guessing game of who’s next and users celebrating when their favorite influencer makes an appearance.
As the usual marketing strategies get old — which happens quickly these days — don’t be afraid to redraw the blueprints and step outside your comfort zone. There wasn’t a guarantee a fun, out-of-the-box strategy would work for a brand like Marc Jacobs, but their willingness to try turned a risky move into a strategy still gaining millions of views three months later.
TL;DR: Marc Jacobs has been experimenting with posting all kinds of unexpected influencer videos on its TikTok, showing marketers that self-awareness and intentionally deviating from your brand can be worth it.
