ICYMI: The Best Books for Marketers 2024 📚
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Happy PSL and back-to-school season to all who celebrate 🍁☕️ I’m headed to Perth (Australia!) tonight for the State of Social conference. I’d like to say I’m going to write a recap next Friday but depending on the state of jet lag, I may take a week off and be back Sept. 6th.
But first, I’ll be sending a bonus resources email to paid subscribers on Monday. Look for it in your inbox!
⏰ 1-SECOND SUMMARY
The Best Books for Marketers: the business strategy, personal growth and career advancement books inspiring the ICYMI community
Instagram released a new Music for Profile feature that’s giving MySpace
Adam Mosseri confirmed Instagram is testing a vertical profile grid
TikTok released it’s Top 10 Songs of Summer list
The FTC is cracking down on creators who buy fake followers
Report: 46% of social media users changed their political opinions due to influencers
Plus, 14 top headlines from this week’s social media and influencer marketing news
💻 ROADMAP
📲 Meta Updates
Instagram launched a new Music for Profile feature allowing you to add a song directly to your profile to “express your vibe.” The feature was first used by Sabrina Carpenter who dropped the first-ever teaser of her new song, “Taste” on her Instagram profile, which is in line with Instagram’s 2024 product marketing strategy that allows announcements to roll out FIRST through creator posts, followed by corporate updates.
My Takeaway: It’s a fun feature for broadcasting your mood (it worked for MySpace, right?!) and seems like an incredibly powerful tool for mobilizing artist fandoms, college students or sports fans around new music or a classic anthem.
Adam Mosseri confirmed Instagram is testing a vertical profile grid. “The vast majority of what gets uploaded to instagram today is vertical.”
Some Instagram users are seeing an “add a school/university” prompt on their Instagram profile.
Instagram is testing new profile cards with select creators.
A template for Threads ads has been spotted in the app.
📲 TikTok Updates
TikTok released it’s Songs of Summer list and the winner is… rapper Tommy Richman with his track MILLION DOLLAR BABY (VHS).
TikTok released a 2024 Holiday Guide for marketers and advertisers
TikTok partnered with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for exclusive live content from Paris.
📲 YouTube Updates
YouTube expanded its Shopping affiliate program partnership with Shopify, giving YouTube creators greater access to more brands they can tag in their shopping content.
YouTube is launching a new AI support assistant tool to help users who believe their account has been hacked.
📲 Pinterest Updates
Pinterest released its Fall 2024 Trend Report showing searches for camouflage outfits, green home decor and pistachio butter all increasing since last year.
📲 Twitch Updates
Twitch announced it would auto-generate a portrait version of every Clip that streamers create, making it easier to clip, edit, and share clips to other platforms. They’ll also be launching a new Clips setting soon that allows viewers to share streamer’s Clips from Twitch directly to their TikTok and YouTube.
Twitch announced Drop Ins, a new feature designed to make it easier for people to just “drop in” on each other while they are streaming.
📲 LTK Updates
LTK creators using its free automated response tool can now customize up to 10 unique trigger words (beyond “Shop”) along with the DM response message per post. Recent examples include CONGRATULATIONS and METALLIC.
📚 The Best Books for Marketers 2024
In honor of back-to-school season, I asked the ICYMI community for its book recommendations for the second annual Best Books for Marketers list. And you guys delivered - thank you!
No surprise, I instantly want to add all of these to my cart. They’re not just marketing books but run the gamut from business strategy and personal growth to career advancement.
If you’ve been looking for advice, insights and inspiration — in work and life — this is your Fall reading list.
Happy reading!
📖 “10x Is Easier Than 2x: How World-Class Entrepreneurs Achieve More by Doing Less by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy. I read this at the perfect time — while transitioning from a 9-to-5 job to becoming a solopreneur. The book argues that achieving 10x growth is easier than aiming for 2x. By focusing on fewer, more impactful actions, you achieve better results because 10x growth requires a fundamental change in how you work, whereas 2x growth often means doing more of the same, just harder and longer. This shift in mindset has been helpful in my journey so far, forcing me to be more conscious of how and where I spend my time in my business.”
-Lindsey Gamble, Creator Economy & Influencer Marketing Consultant
📖 “I loved Alchemy: The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business, and Life from Rory Sutherland. For me it was a refreshing reminder of perceptions, inclusion of emotions when it comes to planning and strategy and mostly to not always approaching things with traditional logic. the anecdotes and quirky humor keeps you engaged from cover to cover!”
-Alexis Mannello, Campaign Performance Manager, Outside
📖 “The book that I recommend all professionals read and reread is The First 90 Days. It's a really important career book. Every time I've gotten a promotion or even approached a new campaign, I view it as this checklist of how to get early wins, how to build trust, and really just how to understand navigating your career. If you're going to read one book to help you elevate how you approach your job, it's that book.”
-Jack Appleby, Founder Future Social
📖 “Will Guidara is the former co-owner of Eleven Madison Park, and Unreasonable Hospitality details his successes and failures on their journey to being named the Best Restaurant in the World. I read the book in January 2024, and it's one I'll happily revisit when I need a reminder to follow my own path. Whenever I'm afraid to hit "publish" on a newsletter, blog, or social media post, I think of this quote from the book: "If you try to be all things to all people, it's proof that you don't have a point of view."
-Katie Valtchev, Freelance Copywriter and Social Media Marketer
📖 “I read Emotional Agility when I was going through a tough time professionally and navigating many transitions personally (getting married, moving across the country, changing jobs and buying a house all in a short timeframe). Susan’s book — and interviews on podcasts like Armchair Expert — put so much of my experience into perspective from an academic and psychological perspective. It helped me understand that my emotions and feelings were normal under my current circumstances and allowed me to clearly see a way forward.”
-Sara Robino, Creator Marketing Account Director
📖 “I really enjoyed Supercommunicators by Charles Duhigg. Reinforced a lot of what we all probably know as marketers but helpful as well for management. What resonated most was the chapter on connecting with others and assessing if someone needs to be heard, helped, or “hugged.” Good reminder that a team member isn’t always looking for managers to fix something but also share how they are feeling. I also thought it translated to community management and moderating comments.”
-Libby Gluck, Director of Content Strategy, Essence of Australia
📖 “This one is going to be out in October: 7 Rules of Self-Reliance: How to Stay Low, Keep Moving, Invest In Yourself, and Own Your Future. But it’s awesome. I am friends with Maha (Abouelenein) and interviewed her for my PR book that came out earlier this year and I got a sneak peak of her book. Maha is great and has some key points related to social and personal branding here!”
-Karen Freberg, Professor of Strategic Communications, University of Louisville
👆🏻 CLICK THRU
🚨 The FTC is coming after influencers and brands that buy fake followers
The Federal Trade Commission flexed its muscle last week, voting on a new rule that would crack down on creators who buy and sell fake followers “for commercial purposes” — with fake followers being defined as bots, fake or hijacked accounts.
The rule is meant to protect consumers from buying something based on an influencer’s bogus audience size or engagement. This allows the FTC to go after and fine people who break the rule.
It’s an interesting update given the FTC seems to struggle to enforce paid partnership disclosures but it’s possible they plan to pursue some big players in the fake follower space to set an example for everyone else.
📊 DATA DROP
46% of social media users ages 18 - 60 have changed their political opinions due to influencer content
-via Izea’s Influencers & The 2024 Election Report. The study results are based on responses from over 2K social media users in the U.S. aged 18 or older.
🎙️ THIS WEEK IN PODCASTS
“The United States’ greatest export has been selling the American dream through media and now social is media.”
Brendan Gahan shared this snippet during a larger conversation I had with him and Keith Bendes for their Creator Economy Live podcast. I had a chance to recap the White House Creator Economy Conference and talk about one of my favorite takeaways: the power that creators have to create a positive global perception. To Brendan’s point, we used to export blockbusters that amplified American culture, now there are millions of skits, reality shows, miniseries and telenovelas produced by creators and making their way around (most of) the world every single day. The shift blows my mind. Listen at the 23-minute mark!
I also had a chance to speak with Politico Tech’s Steven Overly about the creators invited to the Democratic National Convention and the blurring of the lines between creators and journalists. I’m fascinated by this topic and the emergence of the hybrid news creator, whether that’s journalists who are setting up their own shingle or creators who make news their niche. Listen at the 4:30-minute mark!
🪩 🏢 🚕 UPCOMING EVENTS
📌 Pinterest’s 4Cs of Creative Effectiveness | Online, Aug. 28
📌 VidSummit Conference | Dallas, Sept. 3
📌 TwitchCon Conference | San Diego, Sept. 20
📌 Forbes Creator Upfronts | Los Angeles, Oct. 28
👀 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
YouTube becomes first streaming platform to break 10% of total TV viewing -Nielsen
Google got tech reviewers and influencers twisted and people freaked out -The Verge
In a new filing, TikTok says it’s being illegally singled it out. Oral arguments in the potential ban case are scheduled for Sept. 16 -NPR
Trend alert: Viral Instagram meme asks ChatGPT to roast your profile -NBC News
‘There needs to be an AI clause;’ Influencers are looking to future-proof their intellectual property and content usage rights -Digiday
Capturing young Gen Z and Alpha’s tech use at each age -Qustodio
Alarming: Creators are perceived as less sincere, likable, and persuasive when they disable their social media comments -HBR
Harris is beating Trump at his own game with an influencer army -Bloomberg
The Democratic National Convention launched its first-ever ‘Creator Platform’ on the convention floor -Passionfruit
A 36-page “How to Succeed at MrBeast Production” handbook has been leaked and, yikes! -Passionfruit
Meet the #MomTok influencers in Hulu's The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives -E! News
Alex Cooper jumped from Spotify to SiriusXM in a $125 Million Deal -The Hollywood Reporter
Netflix is withholding ‘The Influencer’ reality show prize money after the winner leaked the results -NME
Fans aren’t just consuming culture, they’re creating it -Think With Google