Social Media Marketing – a great resource
Here’s a recap of the most important insights, trends, and updates you need to know about today. Note from Patricia: I’ve been subscribed since 2018 and find Michael Stelzner’s info incredibly useful
When You Need to Rein In Instagram Instants
Wondering how to turn off, pause or recall Instants? We have help!
Turn Off Instagram Instants: Open Instagram and go to your profile. Tap the three-line menu in the top-right corner, open Settings, scroll to Content Preferences, and turn on Hide Instants in Inbox.
Temporarily Pause Instants: Open your Instagram inbox, press and hold the pile of Instants, and swipe right.
Recall an Instant: After sending an Instant, look below the shutter button. Tap Undo as quickly as possible. This retracts the photo for recipients who haven’t viewed it.
What’s actually working in social media right now?
If you’re wondering where social marketing is headed, our 18th Annual Social Media Marketing Industry Report has the answers — and it’s free.
We surveyed thousands of marketing pros so you don’t have to guess. Here’s a taste of what’s inside:
1️⃣ Most-used platforms: Which ones are delivering results right now
2️⃣ Organic social: How marketers are shifting their approach
3️⃣ Video marketing: Top platforms, formats, and where it’s all heading
YouTube Tools That Scale Attention
Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music
Read the show notes on Social Media Examiner
YouTube is rolling out AI tools at a pace that would have been unimaginable a few years ago, and unusually many of these updates apply to organic content creation, not just ads. For small business owners and marketers who are already stretched thin, this matters. Less production friction means more room to experiment, test ideas, and stay consistent without a full creative team.
But tools alone don’t guarantee results. According to Liron Segev, the governing principle behind all of these updates is the same: ideation still matters most. The tools lower the cost of execution. The thinking still has to come from you.
That said, the right tools in the right hands can dramatically change what’s possible. Here’s what’s live, how each feature works, and how to decide whether it belongs in your strategy.
Use Add Motion to Create No-Video Shorts
YouTube’s Add Motion tool lets marketers and creators turn a single still photo into an 8-second Short using preset motion effects. You upload the image, select a motion style, and the tool animates the photo by adding movement, zoom effects, and, in some configurations, ambient sound. The result is a short-form video clip you can use as a standalone Short or dress up further with text overlays.
Liron points out that many business owners have experimented with image animation tools and found that a still photo coming to life even slightly adds enough visual energy to grab attention in a scroll.
For businesses that have product photography but no video budget, this is a meaningful unlock.
A bakery with strong food photography, a construction company with job-site shots, or a consultant with a professional headshot can now produce animated short-form content without filming anything new.
The tool also opens an interesting door for brands not comfortable putting a person on camera. Upload a photo of yourself or a team member, animate it with Add Motion, add a voiceover, and you have a presence on YouTube Shorts without a single second of filmed footage. This is a practical solution for businesses that know they should be on video but keep stalling because the production feels too demanding.
Add Motion’s animation also works in reverse, which means other users can take any single frame from your YouTube Short and use the tool to animate it into their own eight-second clip. Attribution stays intact, meaning the derivative video links back to your original, but the feature creates a path for user-generated content worth considering: inviting your audience to grab a frame from one of your videos, turn it into something new, and pick a winner.
Use Reimagine to Amplify Product Mentions
Reimagine lets you take a frame from someone else’s Short and use it as the visual foundation for your own new clip.
Liron’s rule for this format: whatever you do, don’t just slap your logo on a remixed clip and publish. Either add genuine context that your audience can’t get from the original, or don’t remix at all.
The pattern to avoid is taking someone else’s clip, dropping your face into the bottom corner as a green-screen cutout, and silently pointing at their content above your head. In this style, you haven’t said anything or added anything of value, and that kind of remix erodes your brand’s reputation rather than building it.
Say you’re a food brand, and a creator used your ingredient in their cooking video. Pause the clip right there and explain: what the product is, why it works at that stage, what the health benefit is, etc. The goal is to add your authority so the attention shifts from the original creator’s content back to you as the expert.
Other topics discussed include:
Use Voice Replies for Strategic Engagement
Use the New Creator Partnerships Platform to Reach New Audiences
Today’s advice is provided with insights from Liron Segev, a featured guest on the Social Media Marketing Podcast.
How Smart Marketers are Staying Ahead…
They’re not just experimenting — they’re getting practical, peer-tested strategies from people who are already a few steps ahead.
That’s exactly what the AI Business Society is built for.
“The AI Society is a place that I know I will be able to come for up-to-date info from a trusted source when it comes to AI in business and marketing,” said member Lisa Monks.
Join the AI Business Society today.
Instagram Launches Instants for Real-Time Ephemeral Photo Sharing: Instagram is rolling out Instants, a new disappearing photo-sharing format focused on unedited, in-the-moment interactions between close connections. Available both inside Instagram and through a standalone app, the feature pushes Instagram further into casual, low-pressure sharing experiences inspired by real-time social communication trends. Meta
Instagram Expands Edits With New Creative Controls and Sound Tools: Instagram is rolling out another wave of updates to Edits, adding finer transition controls, customizable text opacity, Live Photo video support, and hundreds of new sound effects. Creators via Threads
TikTok Launches TikTok GO for In-App Travel and Experience Booking: TikTok is expanding deeper into travel commerce with TikTok GO, a new feature that allows users to discover and book hotels, attractions, and local experiences without leaving the app. Powered by major travel partners and creator integrations, the launch turns TikTok’s travel discovery ecosystem into a direct booking platform for businesses, creators, and consumers. TikTok
TikTok Rolls Out Ad-Free Subscription Tier in the U.K.: TikTok is introducing a paid ad-free experience for U.K. users, allowing subscribers to remove ads and opt out of advertising-based data usage. The move reflects growing regulatory pressure around privacy and follows similar subscription-based ad models introduced by other major social platforms. TechCrunch
TikTok Launches TikTok Real to Strengthen Counterfeit and IP Protection: TikTok is expanding its anti-counterfeit efforts with TikTok Real, a new intellectual property protection initiative designed to improve brand verification, infringement enforcement, and counterfeit detection across TikTok Shop. The program combines expert industry collaboration with upgraded enforcement tools as TikTok continues scaling its commerce ecosystem globally. TikTok
TikTok Expands Market Scope Features: TikTok is upgrading Market Scope into a more comprehensive planning and measurement platform for advertisers. The new tools provide deeper visibility into consumer behavior, competitor performance, shopping activity, livestream engagement, and event-driven campaign planning, helping brands better understand how TikTok influences both in-app commerce and external conversions across the customer journey. TikTok
TikTok Expands GMV Max With Deeper ROI Tracking and LIVE Commerce Tools: TikTok is enhancing its GMV Max commerce platform with more advanced profitability measurement, creator performance analytics, livestream shopping tools, and cross-channel attribution reporting. The updates are designed to help sellers better understand the full business impact of TikTok Shop campaigns while improving how brands optimize commerce-driven advertising across creators, LIVE, and paid media. TikTok
TikTok Expands Smart+ With More Automation Controls and AI Reporting Tools: TikTok is enhancing its Smart+ advertising suite with modular automation settings, AI-generated campaign analysis, automated music compliance tools, and unified asset management capabilities. The updates give advertisers more visibility into how automation is applied while improving campaign optimization workflows across placements, creative assets, commerce catalogs, and performance reporting. TikTok
TikTok Expands Symphony With AI Features: TikTok is expanding its generative AI capabilities with Symphony, a new end-to-end creative platform designed to streamline video production for advertisers, creators, and agencies. The suite combines AI video generation, digital avatars, multilingual dubbing, and automated creative recommendations to help brands produce scalable TikTok-native content faster and with fewer production resources. TikTok
TikTok Launches Branded Buzz and Search Hubs: TikTok is expanding its marketing ecosystem with new creator-driven awareness and search products designed to help brands own more of the consumer discovery journey. Branded Buzz enables large-scale creator participation campaigns, while Search Hubs create immersive branded search destinations that capture high-intent traffic directly inside TikTok search results. TikTok
TikTok Introduces TopReach to Combine TopView and TopFeed Premium Ad Placements: TikTok is expanding its premium advertising offerings with TopReach, a new max-reach solution designed to help brands dominate high-visibility placements across the app. By packaging TopView and TopFeed into a unified buy, TikTok aims to simplify large-scale awareness campaigns while improving unique reach efficiency and maintaining controlled ad frequency for users. TikTok
Meta Expands Brand Safety Controls for Ads on Threads: Meta is bringing third-party content block lists to Threads Feed, giving advertisers more control over ad adjacency and content suitability on the platform. The update extends existing Facebook and Instagram brand safety infrastructure to Threads while adding more verification and filtering flexibility for brands managing campaign environments across Meta’s apps. Meta
X Launches History Tab: X is introducing a new History feature that centralizes saved and previously viewed content, including articles, videos, bookmarks, and likes into a single private dashboard. TechCrunch
YouTube Tests AI-Powered Custom Feeds for Personalized Video Discovery: YouTube is experimenting with a new Custom Feed feature that generates personalized content streams based on user prompts and viewing behavior. The update aims to make content discovery more tailored and routine-driven, turning YouTube’s Home experience into a more customizable AI-assisted recommendation system. YouTube
YouTube Rolls Out AI-Powered Ad Tools and Shopping Features at Scale: YouTube has introduced a wave of new advertising and commerce capabilities designed to help brands connect with audiences more precisely and convert attention into purchases. Custom Sponsorships uses AI to place campaigns alongside the most contextually relevant content, while a revamped Masthead format gives advertisers more surface area to showcase curated media on the YouTube homepage. On the commerce side, a streamlined Google Pay checkout for TV viewers and an affiliate boosting tool for creator content signal YouTube’s push to close the loop between discovery and purchase. The announcements were rounded out by AI video production tools and expanded retail data partnerships aimed at giving advertisers richer targeting signals across Google’s ad ecosystem. YouTube
YouTube Expands AI Search, Discovery, and Navigation Features Across TV Apps: YouTube is rolling out a broad set of updates for Smart TVs and gaming consoles focused on conversational AI, content discovery, navigation, and household personalization. The updates aim to make YouTube’s TV experience more interactive and immersive while improving how viewers explore videos, gaming content, music, and family accounts across connected devices. Google
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Michael Stelzner, Founder and CEO