Tom Kennett | Digital Marketing in 3 Minutes

Why differentiating content has never been more important

Tom Kennett — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 12:51:33 GMT

At Adobe Summit this week, SEMRush CEO Andrew Arden gave a speech and gave a really interesting summary of how visibility on search has changed, and - you guessed it - AI is why.

Essentially, AI search is starting to behave less like Google (which was more like a directory of business listings) and more like an editor. And, like any editor, it’s pedantic and picky.

The idea here is the “bland tax”: if your content looks like everyone else’s - safe, SEO-shaped, competent - there’s a good chance AI just ignores it. The irony being is that is exactly the kind of content which is exploding thanks to AI.

A few things are going on:

AI decides who gets seen. It’s not about ranking anymore, it’s about being shortlisted or even selected as the chosen one.
Generic content = invisible. If your content could have been written by anyone (or an LLM), it’s very unlikely to be cited by one.
Distinctiveness is increasingly the key to distribution. Clear expertise, strong POVs, and recognisable positioning aren’t “nice to have” - they’re how you show up at all.
It compounds. No citations means no visibility, which leads to weaker signals, which means even less chance of showing up in the future.

Being distinctive and having something to say have been best practice tenets for as long as I’ve worked in comms, but the main difference now is seemingly that it’s much harder to get away with weak, inane content.

Playing it safe used to mean that you might rank, just not be top of the list. Now, it might mean you don’t make the list at all.

This summary at Search Engine Journal is a great read.

This Week in Digital Marketing: EU moves towards teen social media ban

Tom Kennett — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 09:15:09 GMT

The EU is edging towards a coordinated teen social media ban - and if it sticks, it could quietly reshape how targeting works for everyone.

This has already been introduced in Australia (with unconvincing results), and discussed at length in the UK (a second proposal was rejected by MPs this week), however leaders from numerous nations alongside the European Comission will meet shortly to unify rules and enforcement.

For one, France plans to ban under-15s from social media, and is targeting the rollout of legislation by September.

Obviously as a digital marketer I have my own biases, and while I obviously think it’s a good thing to remove the risks of exploitation, it does feel like overkill - and, as already seen in Australia, potentially effectively pointless.

To this end however, the EU has launched an age verification app and said there are no excuses for not implementing the technology. Nevertheless, the jury is out on this, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see something similar happen to Australia in European countries, and we’ll be back to square one.

In terms of what this all means for digital marketers - targeting under-18s is, rightly, difficult on ad platforms. But consequently, unless you have an organic strategy heavily reliant on reaching younger users, this is unlikely to mean too much for you in the short term.

Instead, it feels like this, aligned with cases going on in the US and elsewhere about the “addictiveness” of the platform the bigger shift isn’t whether teenagers can use social media - it’s that platforms may be forced to dial back personalisation altogether.

What does this look like? Well, to cite one example from Sarah Wynn-Williams whistleblowing book, beauty brands might then find it harder to target vulnerable teenage girls. It should go without saying, that would be a good thing.

That said, it will make the already difficult task of targeting niche audiences on the platform harder, and likely push more people either to AI tools or away from advertising on social platforms. Which, presumably, is why platforms are so resistant. That is where the real potential for change lies - we’re a long way off that yet, but the direction of travel is clear.

Is Social Media going the way of Big Tobacco?

Tom Kennett — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 10:02:15 GMT

A jury might have just done to social media what courts once did to Big Tobacco.

This week, Meta and YouTube were found liable for deliberately designing addictive products that harmed a young user - a potentially landmark ruling that could shape the industry for years to come.

To quote The Guardian: Meta and YouTube have been found liable for deliberately designing addictive products that hooked a young user and led to her being harmed, a jury ruled on Wednesday. Jurors found the tech companies to be both negligent and having failed to provide adequate warnings about the potential dangers of their products.

The key issue wasn’t just harm - it was the intent. The jury agreed that these platforms were engineered to be addictive, drawing immediate comparisons to the lawsuits that reshaped the tobacco industry. With multiple similar cases lined up against Meta, Google, TikTok and Snap, this could be the start of a much bigger shift. Both Meta and Google are appealing.

Whether this will end with social media platforms having to display grisly addiction warnings is hard to say, but it will be a fascinating few years on that front.

The bad news didn’t end there for Meta this week, which elsewhere was ordered to pay $375 million in damages owing to misleading users over child safety on the platform.

In the short term, nothing really changes for marketers.

Longer term, it’s possible to imagine where this might go:

Tighter restrictions on targeting (especially for vulnerable groups; in her whistleblowing book about Meta last year, Sarah Wynn-Williams talked about how beauty ads could target teenagers vulnerable about their appearance, for instance)
Less visible engagement (likes, comments) to reduce addictive behaviours
Potential changes to feed and recommendation mechanics; focusing more on recency and less on curation, for instance (or in other words, the decline of the “algorithm”)

This is all speculation of course, and I expect Meta, YouTube and others to fight this with all they have. I’ll keep a close eye on this and share more updates when available.

As a whimsical aside, I can’t wait for “Thank you for using Social Media”.

Further Reading:

Elsewhere, OpenAI announced its killing it’s Sora video platform only months after launch, with Disney scrapping its planned $1bn investment.

A jury found that Elon Musk defrauded Twitter investors during the buyout; he’ll likely end up having to pay damages to former shareholders.

And finally, there was some slightly better news for Meta users this week with the announcement that you can reorder carousel tiles on Instagram after publishing. Probably not enough to drown out the negative press, but from a pure functionality perspective its long overdue.

That’s it for this week! I’ll be back next week. If you found this interesting, I would hugely appreciate it if you shared with your friends and colleagues.

If you’re feeling particularly generous and enjoyed this edition, I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Otherwise, I’ll see you next time 🫶

Search Traffic Down 60% for Small Publishers

Tom Kennett — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 10:47:45 GMT

Hello! I’m back after some time travelling.

One article that caught my attention over the last few days was this piece from Search Engine Journal, which highlights that small publishers are seeing a 60% decrease in search referral traffic - and nothing is replacing it.

This symptom of “zero click” has been theorised for some time now, but seems to now actually be happening, and is obviously starting to hit the pockets of small publishers.

What’s interesting, and more concerning, however is that while search traffic has declined, Chatbots contribute 1% of publisher page view referrals. In other words, clicks from AI tools aren’t coming anywhere near close to filling the gap left by search traffic.

Why is this? Well, AI summaries, either via Google or chatbot, are answering and summarising questions - not sending traffic. They aren’t trying to either - there are no CTAs, or intentions to “find out more here.” This is breaking the traditional content monetisation model.

What does this mean for small publishers? Nothing good - these tend to be the sites with the least resources and capability to suddenly turn on new streams or channels.

Which begs the question - how are these publishers adapting? Well, I’d expect to see a number of them turning even more to clickbait or polarising content in a bid to try and win social algorithms instead.

We might also see more of these publishers becoming social media-first enterprises, but otherwise would expect to see more consolidation for major publishers.

GenAI & Advertising: What ChatGPT and others are doing

Tom Kennett — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 08:56:43 GMT

For the past couple of years, advertising in generative AI has mostly been speculation, with the exception of Perplexity which dabbled last year before pulling back citing a lack of demonstrable ROI.

With LLM usage increasing vs search engines (but still, it should be noted, a relative minority), and only so much to be made from subscriptions, it does beg the question how with so much investment the likes of OpenAI will see a meaningful return.

So, with that in mind, ChatGPT are beginning small-scale advertising experiments for free-tier users, with clearly labelled placements appearing alongside responses rather than inside the answers themselves. It’s a little like web banner advertising was back before everything was so much more contextual and targeted.

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It should be noted that this point that Claude has fought against this positioning, and has said it will won’t introduce ads. “There are many good places for advertising… a conversation with Claude is not one of them.”

In terms of ChatGPT’s ads, it’s an intentionally cautious rollout - trust is key for the product, and anything that feels like “pay-to-win answers” would quickly undermine it. It’s also being limited only to advertisers willing to stump up $200k at minimum (which, while a huge figure, is ordinarily how these platforms roll this out, so shouldn’t come as a massive surprise).

The logistics around marking sections of text as “sponsored” also feel like a massive headache from where I’m sat.

Google, meanwhile, is approaching the shift from a different direction: using AI to bolster its ad offering, rather than integrating ads into the AI offering. Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler summarised is as such:

“Gemini’s understanding of intent has increased our ability to deliver ads on longer, more complex searches that were previously challenging to monetize… Gemini models also have a significant impact on query understanding in non-English languages, expanding opportunities for businesses to scale globally.”

So, in short;

ChatGPT - experimenting with limited ad offering for a select few
Claude - no interest in ads
Google - using AI to improve its current ad offering
Perplexity - tried ads, didn’t work. But presumably is keeping a close eye on ChatGPT’s progress.

It’s fascinating to see the major players taking different approaches, and it’s something I’ll be checking in on for sure.

Thanks for reading Tom Kennett | Digital Marketing in 3 Minutes! This post is public so feel free to share it.

That’s it for this week! I’m working a little less over the next few weeks, but I’ll be back soon with more updates from the world of digital marketing.

If you found this interesting, I would hugely appreciate it if you shared with your friends and colleagues.

If you’re feeling particularly generous and enjoyed this edition, I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Otherwise, I’ll see you next time 🫶

UK Government Consulting on Under-16s Social Media Ban

Tom Kennett — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 10:32:36 GMT

Hello! No one focus this week but instead a few interesting bits and pieces. Let’s go…

The UK government is currently consulting on a social media ban for under-16s, and tougher phone rules in school.

Long-rumoured discussions have now been made formal, and its hard not to look at Australia, where the early implementation has been (inevitably) messy. Its too early to tell if it has really made any difference, but presumably developments there will inform these discussions.

I’ll be keeping a close eye on this, and it’ll be interesting to see what measures can even realistically be put in place - there’s a reason the VPN business is booming in the UK at the moment.

In related news, Snap settled an “addictive design” lawsuit a few days before it was due to go to trial. Generally social platforms have been bullish on the line that algorithms aren’t responsible for alleged mental health issues, so this was somewhat of a surprise. But Snap, and others, continue to be involved in other such cases. I’m sceptical what meaningful change any of this will lead to, but we’ll see!
Elsewhere, over a year after the TikTok ‘ban’ was due to start and then was reprieved four times, the US has finally signed off on a deal involving Oracle and numerous other investors. We don’t know an awful lot about what will happen next; for the moment, I’d keep doing whatever you’re doing on the platform, but keep an eye on what happens next. TechCrunch pulled together a useful explainer in case you’ve missed the wider story.
Threads daily active usage keeps growing while X declines, with reports saying that Threads has overtaken X on mobile, but X is ahead for now on desktop. Its safe to say that X is no longer a dominant player, however - although surely the best X story this week is the stranger-than-fiction ongoing beef between Elon Musk and Ryanair.
Finally, and this is something I’ll look further at over the next few weeks, but this is a great article about how you need to think off-site when it comes to your SEO. It aligns a lot with what I’m seeing on LLMs/GEO at the moment - worth a look.

That’s it for this week! I’ll be back next week. If you found this interesting, I would hugely appreciate it if you shared with your friends and colleagues.

If you’re feeling particularly generous and enjoyed this edition, I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Otherwise, I’ll see you next time 🫶

Reddit has overtaken TikTok in the UK. What does this mean?

Tom Kennett — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 14:35:09 GMT

Hello! I’m back after the festive break. One of the things which has caught my eye over the last few weeks has been Reddit overtaking TikTok as the fourth most visited social media platform in the UK. Given that TIkTok isn’t exactly in decline, this represents great news for “the heart of the internet”.

Reddit has had a huge growth spurt in the last couple of years, with an 88% increase in the proportion of UK users who it reaches.

Why is this? Well, my own view is that it has somewhat taken over from Twitter/X as the place people go to have a chat and a natter about current affairs and pop culture. I’ve noticed this myself; where once I’d have been checking Twitter for key developments during The Traitors, now I’m turning to Reddit.

Less anecdotally, a change in Google’s search algorithm prioritises “human” content and Reddit has been a major beneficiary of this - though, as the SEJ phrases it, it could be said that Google is prioritising opinions over expertise. One to make Michael Gove happy, perhaps.

Either way, the impact this has had on traffic is inarguable. Outside of this, my own experience from a few client audits (and also just from my own usage of ChatGPT, particularly for matters relating to running a small business noted that Reddit is one of the most cited platforms by LLMs.

There’s a few takeaways from this. Firstly, as I’ve talked about before, it’s never been a better time to advertise on the platform. Away from that, you need to be looking at your own sector and how people are talking about you on there - as this is likely to have a bearing on both search and LLM results.

Thanks for reading Tom Kennett | Digital Marketing in 3 Minutes! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Digital Marketing in 2026

Tom Kennett — Mon, 01 Dec 2025 12:31:14 GMT

This is my third time exploring Digital Marketing trends, and while the larger themes remain the same (AI is changing things, targeting smarter has never mattered more; neither has showing your humanity and authenticity), there are a few smaller themes within this that should shape what you’re doing day-to-day.

Over the years I’ve come to think of trends pieces less cynically; at one point in time, not that long ago, I’d roll my eyes on how you could copy and paste most articles year-on-year and 90% of people wouldn’t notice.

Now, however, I think it’s an interesting moment in time to step back and look at where we all are with these increasingly inevitable themes and trends.

With that said, let’s get to it.

1. AI is redefining search, discovery and visibility

Google is rapidly shifting toward AI-native search experiences (AI Mode, generative overviews, answer-led results). The familiar journey of keyword > link > click is being disrupted by conversational, synthesised answers that often remove the need to visit a website at all.
This matters because discoverability is no longer just about rankings. Visibility now depends on being a trusted source that AI systems choose to reference or summarise. Traffic patterns, attribution models and what we define as “SEO success” are changing fast. I spent some time last week looking at exactly what that means for your website.
For marketers, this means evolving your SEO strategy and complementing with a a GEO one: prioritising clarity, authority and machine-readability. Structured data, strong expertise signals, genuinely useful content and brand trust will increasingly influence whether you appear in AI-driven answers.

Further reading:

Is Google About To Go Full AI Mode? (Search Engine Journal)
What 2026 SEO Will Look Like (Search Engine Journal)
Digital Marketing Trends in 2026 (Google)
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2. Social media is fragmenting - generational behaviour matters more than ever

Social media is still central, but platform behaviour is diverging sharply by age. YouTube maintains broad dominance, TikTok continues to skew younger, while Facebook and WhatsApp retain volume and usage among older demographics.
This matters because “just being on social” is no longer a strategy. Platform choice now shapes not only reach, but perception, trust and tone. Some customers might feel icky about certain brands being on X for example, while others might not care at all. The same message performs very differently depending on where it appears. You’re far better off being effective on the 1 or 2 platforms your audience uses, than spreading yourself too thinly across 7 or 8.
For marketers, this means sharper channel strategy. Each platform should have a defined role, audience and creative style. Distribution should be intentional, not duplicative.

Further reading:

3. In an AI world, creativity becomes the real differentiator

As AI accelerates content production, “good enough” content is abundant. Every other post on LinkedIn now features signposting, em-dashes and strategically placed emojis. The brands that stand out will be those with genuine taste, strong creative direction and emotional resonance.
This matters because volume alone will not win attention. The risk is a crowded landscape of bland, automated content that looks and feels interchangeable.
For marketers, this means investing in creative thinking, not just output. Strong visual identity, storytelling, brand voice and distinctive ideas become critical assets - even if AI supports the execution. I think this is a great way of reframing the ongoing human/authenticity conversation.

Further reading:

2026 Marketer Milk Trends Report

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4. Audiences want to participate, not just consume

Consumers increasingly expect to interact with brands, not simply receive messaging. Participation, co-creation and creator-led content are becoming default expectations, particularly among younger audiences. And when they do engage, you’d best be reposting from your stories.
This matters because passive brand broadcast is steadily losing effectiveness. Engagement now comes from involvement, relatability and shared ownership.
For marketers, this means designing campaigns that invite contribution: user-generated content, community prompts, creator partnerships, remixable formats and interactive storytelling.

Further reading:

Digital Marketing Trends in 2026 (Google)

5. Data, automation and optimisation are now baseline capabilities

Advanced measurement, automation, predictive personalisation and real-time optimisation are fast becoming defaults, not differentiators.
This matters because brands without strong data foundations simply cannot compete effectively - regardless of their creative ambition.
For marketers, this means getting the basics right: clean data, clear KPIs, reliable attribution, integrated CRM systems and a realistic understanding of performance drivers. It also means not giving up on something before you have enough data.

Further reading:

6. Inclusivity, cultural fluency and authenticity still matter (regardless of political headwinds)

Kantar argues that inclusive innovation and culturally fluent communication remain essential globally - even as certain political narratives, particularly in the US (but also in the UK), push in the opposite direction. Now, Kantar, an market research agency, might have a certain bias in making this assertion of course - but it’s food for thought.
This all matters because the world does not revolve around one market, whatever the media will have us believe. There are over 200 countries, and audiences increasingly reward brands that reflect real diversity and lived experience.
For marketers, this means maintaining authenticity over optics. Representation should feel genuine, values should be consistent, and inclusivity should be embedded rather than performative.

Further reading:

Kantar 2026 Marketing Trends

7. Digital maturity is global - but relevance remains local

Digital reach is now near-universal across many regions, but user behaviour, cultural nuance and platform preferences vary significantly between markets.
This matters because assuming global uniformity weakens relevance and effectiveness. What works in the UK may not translate seamlessly to the US, Australia or wider EMEA markets.
For marketers, this means designing strategy that balances global consistency with local intelligence - adapting tone, content and platform mix to each market context.

Further reading:

2026 Digital Global Overview (Meltwater and others)

That’s it! If you found this interesting, I would hugely appreciate it if you shared with your friends and colleagues.

If you’re feeling particularly generous and enjoyed this edition, I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Otherwise, I’ll see you next time 🫶

What AEO and GEO really mean for your website

Tom Kennett — Thu, 20 Nov 2025 09:39:44 GMT

Following on from last week’s article exploring the actual differences between AEO, GEO and SEO, I wanted to take a look this week at what this actually means for your website, and more specifically your website content. It’s a bit longer this week than usual, but I’ve been thinking about this piece for a while!

For years, our focus has been separately on driving the click, and then on informing the reader who does click, and hopefully driving them to action.

The water is muddier now - our focus is more on supplying the information that machines deliver in response to their query, and then what happens next largely depends on your business and service. We have to prepare for the idea that the user might not even see your website.

Your pages now have 2 jobs;

Convince humans
Make sense, and be compelling to, machines

In the era of AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) and GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation, but you already knew that from last week), the best landing pages don’t just convert well.

They explain clearly, structure cleanly, and earn the right to be used as the answer.

So, the big question; what do you need to do differently?

Starting at the beginning: What stays the same

Let’s be clear - AEO and GEO don’t kill good landing page fundamentals. The main tentpoles of SEO still apply.

You still need:

A clear, benefit-driven headline
A strong value proposition
Visible, confident CTAs
Authentic social proof and credibility
Minimal friction and good UX
Message match with the traffic source (i.e. keywords or phrases that match those that you’re bidding against)

A page still has to persuade. It still has to build confidence. It still has to guide an action.

The real shift: from “convince” to “explain”

Traditional landing pages are performance driven. AEO/GEO-era landing pages also need to be knowledge driven.

They’re no longer just destinations - they’re sources. They’re going to be cited by LLMs or search engines. Not just sales pages, but structured answers to key questions your customers are asking.

So the exam question now becomes - how do we make this page persuasive for people and legible for AI?

How the modern landing page evolves

1. Headline & hero

Old: Big promise, marketing-first language
New: Still persuasive, but closer to natural, answer-friendly phrasing

Instead of: Transform your growth strategy
Go with: Why most B2B marketing spend underperforms - and how to fix it

The headline must now work as:

A hook for humans
A clear statement of purpose for machines

2. Proposition

Old: Vague positioning which uses big keywords without saying what you do
New: Specific, measurable clarity

A favourite of the comms industry is Get [who] To [outcome] By [method]. This applies 100% here. Specificity benefits both AI understanding and also helps to build human trust.

3. Body content

Old: Long marketing blocks and feature storytelling
New: Modular, structured “answer blocks”. Think of a Q&A.

Sections become clearer and more functional:

How does it work?
Who is this for?
What do results look like?
What happens if it doesn’t work?
What does implementation involve?

Each section should make sense on its own. If an AI tool lifted it out, would it still be clear? These don’t need to be questions necessarily - just statements which work in the context of your page (How it works, Who it’s for, etc.).

4. Proof & case studies

Still essential - but structure matters even more. Instead of purely emotive storytelling, lean into clarity:

The challenge
What we did
What changed

If you’re writing good case studies, you’re already doing this. If not, then it’s time to implement a structure which works for humans and is easier for AI to parse and summarise convincingly.

5. FAQs (now strategic, not filler)

This is where AEO really comes alive. As we’ve already explored above, FAQs are no longer a nice-to-have. They are one of your most powerful optimisation tools.

They should:

Use real client language
Mirror real search behaviour
Be fully written as questions

Instead of: Pricing
Go with: How much does this typically cost for a mid-sized business?

This section often becomes the most “quotable” part of the page.

6. CTA & conversion

This is obviously still critical and still focused. We want humans visiting this page to take the desired action. But they need to be more contextual, build confidence, and more consultative in tone.

Think:

“See what this could look like for your team”
“Get a tailored recommendation”

Instead of “Contact us” or “Talk to us today”. Again, if you’ve been looking at best practicee pages, this won’t surprise you.

Smaller CTAs (view example, download overview, explore a case study) can also support longer journeys fed by AI discovery.

The biggest change: landing page vs website page is dead

The old distinction was simple:

Website pages inform
Landing pages convert

In an AEO/GEO world, every commercial page must now do both.

The question isn’t “Is this a landing page?” - instead, you should be asking “Is this page clear enough to be used as an answer?”

Three things you can do right now

If you don’t rebuild anything else, start here:

Rewrite your key headlines to be clearer, more specific, more answer-like
Add a proper FAQ section using real questions and objections
Replace vague claims with measurable outcomes wherever possible

That’s it! I’m working on a 2026 Trends piece at the moment which should be in your inbox in the next week or two. Otherwise, if you found this interesting, I would hugely appreciate it if you shared with your friends and colleagues.

If you’re feeling particularly generous and enjoyed this edition, I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Otherwise, I’ll see you next time 🫶

AEO, GEO, SEO, WTH?

Tom Kennett — Thu, 13 Nov 2025 15:18:16 GMT

If your LinkedIn feed looks even 5% like mine, you’ll no doubt see a lot of chatter at the moment about AEO, GEO, and possibly even around the ongoing relevance of SEO. And about how Black Friday is now just Black November, as though this hasn’t been the case for the last 5 years.

But anyway - Search and discovery aren’t a single discipline anymore. They’re a three-way mix of algorithms, AI summaries, and “how did that even rank?” results. To keep things tidy - or at least tidier - here’s a comms-friendly guide to the three flavours of “EO” shaping how your audience actually finds you.

SEO: Search Engine Optimisation

SEO is the classic: you know it, and you probably already know it’s a long game.

Fundamentally, you are optimising your site and content so humans and crawlers can find it easily. Keywords matter, structure matters, links matter. All of this was true 20 years ago, 5 years ago, and is still true now.

Why it (still) matters:
Because Google still handles billions of searches a day, and those organic clicks are the cheapest brand awareness you’ll get. Even if AI summaries eat some of the real estate, the fundamentals still dictate whether you appear at all.

AEO: Answer Engine Optimisation

AEO is about optimising for the places that don’t include links anymore - Google’s AI Overviews, Bing’s Copilot answers, Perplexity; all the tools that summarise your content for the user. Or perhaps if you’re reading this and were a junior 10-15 years ago, the job you were doing then? (I know I was)

Why it matters:
Because audiences increasingly prefer the answer right now, not the journey. We live in a TL;dr culture. If the answers engines skip your organisation’s perspective, your share of voice quietly evaporates.

Key ingredients:

Structured content
Clear, authoritative explanations
Consistent use of entities
Content that reads like something a model would quote. Or in other words, that looks like the answer to the questions your customers are asking

GEO: Generative Engine Optimisation

GEO is newer: we’re now trying to think about how generative models fetch, recalibrate, and then present information - and ensuring your brand or service appears in those responses more often, and in a flattering light.

It’s part content, part reputation management, part prompt engineering, and part saying something worth quoting.

Why it matters:
Because for a growing chunk of people, “search” is asking an AI to summarise the internet. I can feel it myself; anything beyond a transactional exchange (e.g. what time is it in New York, or what time is the sunrise?) and I’m turning to ChatGPT

If your brand never appears as an example, answer, or recommendation… you simply don’t exist in that world.

Why should you be thinking about all 3?

The modern customer journey is getting messier and messier. Once upon a time you used something above the line to get awareness out there, they’d google you, you’d retarget them, and eventually you’d get the lead or the sale. Now your users will do one or more of:

Search Google
Skim AI summaries
Follow social links
Ask ChatGPT
Ask TikTok
Ask colleagues
Ask YouTube (still the world’s second biggest search engine)

If you only optimise for one ‘EO’, you’re only visible in one part of the journey.

If you re-read the above sections, and look at SEO articles from the last few years, you’ll still note a few key overlapping themes; that of having a clear hierarchy, user-friendly content, and having something to say.

Comms teams don’t need to become technical wizards - but they do need to understand the difference between writing for humans, writing for search engines, and writing for LLMs. Although, the funny thing is, by doing the first, you’ll more or less be satisfying the second and the third (just remember to use clear metadata, clear headings, and clear markup).

The cheat sheet

SEO = “Help humans find us on Google.”
AEO = “Help AI summary tools quote us correctly.”
GEO = “Help generative models recommend us.”

The trick isn’t choosing one - it’s blending all three so your organisation stays visible whether the user types, taps, or prompts.

That’s it for this week! If you found this interesting, I would hugely appreciate it if you shared with your friends and colleagues.

If you’re feeling particularly generous and enjoyed this edition, I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Otherwise, I’ll see you next time 🫶

Five Things You Should Be Doing to Prepare for the Era of Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)

Tom Kennett — Thu, 06 Nov 2025 09:48:25 GMT

It’s all a bit quiet in the world of social and digital at the moment, or at least in terms of what’s relevant for digital marketers. So, it’s time to zoom out.

As we all know, Search isn’t necessarily dying - it’s evolving. Whether it’s ChatGPT, Google’s AI Overviews, or Perplexity, the way people discover and consume answers is shifting from “ten blue links” to “one confident summary.”

That doesn’t mean SEO as a concept is over - but it does mean we’re entering the era of Answer Engine Optimization: the art of making sure your expertise still gets surfaced, cited, and trusted when an AI does the talking. The good news is that if you’ve been playing the SEO game the right way for the last few years, then you’re already most of the way there.

Here are five ways to future-proof your website (and your sanity) for that reality.

1. Focus on first-party expertise, not just keywords

AI engines don’t care how many times you say “best B2B marketing agency.” They care whether your content sounds like it came from someone who actually is the best B2B marketing agency.

Update key pages to show real author credentials, cite your own experience, use case studies, say something meaningful, and make sure your ‘About’ page signals authority.

E-E-A-T, or Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, now matters even when there’s no visible ranking page.

2. Structure your content for clarity

Think FAQ formats, short summaries, and bullet-point answers - not just paragraphs of waffle. Use the kinds of questions people are asking LLMs as headlines - not long tail search terms.

You’re not optimising for skim-readers anymore; you’re optimising for machines that dig deeper for meaning. Clean HTML hierarchy, schema markup, and consistent headings help AI models extract your insights cleanly. Help AI help you!

3. Go deep where others go broad

Answer engines prefer to collect data from multiple sources. If your article says the same thing as ten others, it’s not worth citing. Depth - original data, niche examples, context that shows understanding - increases your chance of being the source behind the summary. To my earlier point; say something meaningful!

4. Audit your brand’s visibility beyond Google

We’re still in the early days of “answer engine visibility,” and there’s no dashboard for it yet. Tools like Perplexity sometimes cite their sources, so it’s worth checking whether your brand or site ever shows up - but treat it as anecdotal, not analytics.

What matters most right now is making sure your content is crawlable, attributed, and clearly written so that, as these systems mature, you’re in the mix when they do start crediting sources consistently.

What you can also do is run tests on LLMs, and also monitor your referrals on GA4 to see if you’re driving more, or less, traffic from them.

5. Keep humans in the loop

AEO doesn’t mean giving up on personality. In fact, the rise of AI summaries makes human tone more valuable than ever. People will still seek voices they trust; if they wanted AI-generated content, then they could have just prompted ChatGPT themselves. Use your blog, newsletter, or LinkedIn posts to build recognition beyond the algorithmic answer box.

The “answer engines” aren’t out to kill your traffic - that’s just a side effect. The brands that succeed in 5 years time will be the ones who see this as an opportunity rather than a threat.

They are rewriting the discovery journey. The brands that adapt fastest won’t necessarily be the biggest, but the clearest, most consistent, and most recognisably human.

What’s been going on this week?

It’s quarterly earnings season!

Meta, Google and Microsoft all announced record earnings off the back of significant AI expenditure - but this has fuelled speculation that we may be in an AI bubble.

Pinterest drove through the 600 million user mark. That’s where the good news ends though, with concerns about its financial performance.

Snapchat also posted strong revenue figures, though various age restrictions look set to act as significant headwinds over the next year.

Elsewhere, Ofcorm warned Tech giants that it plans to audit social media algorithms that expose children to harmful content in the UK. This will also include platforms such as ChatGPT and Grok.

That’s it for this week! If you found this interesting, I would hugely appreciate it if you shared with your friends and colleagues.

If you’re feeling particularly generous and enjoyed this edition, I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Otherwise, I’ll see you next time 🫶

Six Things You Were Afraid to Ask About YouTube Ads

Tom Kennett — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 10:29:09 GMT

It’s been a relatively quiet couple of weeks in the digital marketing landscape (as quiet as it can be, anyway). So this week I thought I’d talk about YouTube, which comes up less in conversation with clients than I would expect.

YouTube sits in a weird spot. Everyone knows it’s massive, and I suspect a few people reading this have cited “the world’s second biggest search engine” in stakeholder meetings, but relatively few people I work with include it in their marketing mix.

Why? Well, it’s not really “social,” not quite “search,” so it tends to fall through the cracks. Leave it to the performance lot or other companies.

That’s a missed opportunity. YouTube combines intent, attention, and reach in a way no other platform can. So if it’s been a blind spot in your media mix, here are a few quick things to know.

1. How it actually works

You don’t buy ads on YouTube - you buy them through Google Ads. Which is possibly great news - if you’re interested in buying ads on YouTube, then you probably already have some kind of PPC presence.

If you do already use Google Ads, it’s the same setup - same dashboard, billing, and data. You’re just selecting a ‘video’ campaign rather than a ‘search’ one.

There are advanced options like Display & Video 360 or third-party programmatic tools, but for 99% of teams, Google Ads is the route. No new platform, no enterprise budget required.

2. “Isn’t YouTube just for awareness?”

Not anymore.

Yes, it’s great for reach - but formats like TrueView (where you only pay for views) and in-feed ads can drive mid-funnel performance too.

Add in remarketing or sequencing (showing one ad to people who’ve watched another) and you’ve got a surprisingly strong funnel.

3. “Do I need a TV-sized budget?”

No. You can start testing with £500-£1,000, and cost-per-view often sits between £0.01 and £0.05. Obviously the more targeted your placements and targeting gets, then the higher this goes and it can go as high as £0.30-£0.50.

4. “How does targeting actually work?”

Pretty much like Google Ads - only smarter.

You can target by demographics, interests, or behaviour, but the real power is in custom intent: reaching people based on recent Google searches.

Someone searching “best HR software”? You can show them your HR platform demo video minutes later.

That’s both intent AND need-state - a rare combination in social media.

5. “What if I don’t have video content?”

Then make something lightweight. Don’t let perfect get in the way of good.

Your creative doesn’t have to be cinematic - repurpose short organic clips, spokespeople interviews, product explainers, or even cleverly animated slides with voiceover.

As with Google Search ads, YouTube rewards clarity and relevance more than polish. The key: tell one clear story in the first 3-5 seconds. Don’t wait for your logo reveal; people won’t be watching by then.

6. “How do I measure success?”

As with any channel, it depends on your goal.

For awareness, track view-through rate and watch time.

For engagement, look at CTR and earned views.

For conversions, focus on, erm, conversions.

And because YouTube sits inside Google Ads, it integrates cleanly with GA4 for deeper insight and analysis.

TL;DR

YouTube isn’t just a home for viral cat videos or DIY how-tos. It’s the missing bridge between broadcast and digital - one that can actually be used to drive directly attributable conversions.

That’s it for this week! If you found this interesting, I would hugely appreciate it if you shared with your friends and colleagues.

If you’re feeling particularly generous and enjoyed this edition, I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Otherwise, I’ll see you next time 🫶

Meta using AI chats to inform ad targeting

Tom Kennett — Thu, 02 Oct 2025 10:52:26 GMT

Only a short one this time, but a couple of really interesting stories this week, both of which point to more Meta dominance of the social media landscape in the coming months and years.

Firstly, the remarkable news that Threads has almost overtaken X in terms of active usage. This has always been the barometer to measure success by; it’s been a slower burn than Meta hoped, but (lets be honest) thanks to Elon Musk, the gap has closed.

That said, would I advise clients to get on Threads ASAP? Probably not, unless there is a real use case in terms of the format or the audience. It hasn’t really replaced Twitter; it’s more a case that X has declined and fallen to its level. That said, if you think it could form a part of your marketing mix, then the time has never been better to try it.

Elsewhere, Meta is working to use AI Chats to influence ad targeting. This is a natural and inevitable next step for the platform as it attempts to further automate targeting parameters and maximise how much information it has about users.

There is no opt-out if you use the bot. Sensitive stuff (politics, health, religion) is excluded, but the general principle is: chat about cycling will mean you see cycling groups, videos, and shoe ads.

It’s clever, but also poses risks. Meta is once again pushing against the boundaries in terms of consent. It also ties into the narrative which Instagram chief Adam Mosseri has recently tried to deny, that Meta is spying on us in order to enhance its ad targeting.

If I had a penny for every time someone has found out what I do, and then shortly afterwards talked about Meta spying on me, I’d have almost enough to buy a pint in London… (the reality is probably less interesting and more to do with, as Mosseri says, coincidence and the sheer volume of ads we all see every day - some of them will probably stick).

That’s it for this week! If you found this interesting, I would hugely appreciate it if you shared with your friends and colleagues.

If you’re feeling particularly generous and enjoyed this edition, I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Otherwise, I’ll see you next week 🫶

Five Things You Were Too Afraid To Ask About Advertising on LinkedIn

Tom Kennett — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 08:07:58 GMT

If you’ve ever nodded and smiled politely while someone drops terms like “matched audiences” or “audience expansion” into a conversation, then you’re in good company. I get asked this stuff far more often than you might think.

LinkedIn ads can look and sound deceptively simple — until your CPC explodes, or your reach is dominated by audiences you didn’t mean to target. Or you start getting thousands of clicks from a country you didn’t even know existed.

Here are five common LinkedIn ad questions people hesitate to ask. (Spoiler: there’s no shame in asking.)

Which ad formats actually work?
All of them - when used deliberately and appropriately. Sponsored posts, carousels, lead-gen, video - each has a good place.

Right now, LinkedIn is nudging more toward video, which can outshine static content if done well (but fade fast if it’s not thought through properly). It sounds simple to say, but the best type of content is good content - a strong static will outperform a weak video.
How do I avoid wasting budget on irrelevant targeting?
Don’t just pull together job titles and functions side-by-side. Instead, stack. Think of a wedding cake with multiple tiers - that’s what your targeting should look like, at least if you have a specific message or proposition.

Use function + seniority + industry. That’s how you whittle down to decision makers instead of blanket “managers everywhere.”
Should I use LinkedIn’s Audience Network?
It’s cheap and offers you a much lower CPM, so if you want to reach people at scale it’s an interesting option. But, you lose a lot of placement control unless you’re willing to get properly stuck in, and by which time your CPM will probably increase. I go on the side of skipping it.
Why am I getting a lot of impressions in weird markets?
9/10 the answer to this question involves broad geo targeting. “APAC,” “EMEA,” “The Americas” etc., are often broader than you assume. Always dig into the country-level breakdown and check the Professional Demographics tab to see who you’re truly reaching.
What’s the ideal ad-copy length?
There’s no magic word count. Long or short can work - the only rule is whether it adds value and resonates. If it does, people will read it. If not, it doesn’t matter whether it’s 20 words or 200.

Bottom line: LinkedIn rewards the planners more than the spenders. If you have something to say in an engaging way, can nail the targeting tiers, and geography - then you’ll waste far less money. Creativity still wins. Bold, thoughtful copy always wins over safely dull copy, particularly at a time when the feed is stuffed full of the latter.

What’s going on elsewhere?

TikTok’s US Deal

It feels like a long time ago that I did special newsletters reporting that TikTok was on the verge of ceasing in the US.

A final deal is hovering on the horizon: Oracle + U.S. investors will take majority control, while ByteDance’s stake drops below 20%. The algorithm will now be “licensed” to the U.S. entity and retrained with U.S. user data.

This won’t upend your TikTok ad strategy tomorrow - but over time, shifts in data access, transparency, and algorithm continuity could have a domino effect.

Some critics see it as replacing one set of surveillance concerns with another.

Is Evergreen Content Obsolete in the Age of AI Search?

The growing presence of AI-generated summaries (e.g. Google’s AI Overviews) means many users may get the answer without ever clicking your link. Search Engine Journal pulled together a thought-provoking piece on what this means for evergreen content (as you may have guessed, the TL;dr is - it depends).

The smart move: write so your content is the snippet that AI surfaces, not just a link hoping for clicks.

Further reading: Five things you were too afraid to ask about zero-click search

Australia Eyes Under-16 Social Media Ban Extension

Having banned the use of multiple social platforms for under-16s, Australia’s government is reportedly considering expanding under-16 bans on social media platforms to include Reddit, Twitch, and even Roblox.

If you found this interesting, I would hugely appreciate it if you shared with your friends and colleagues.

If you’re feeling particularly generous and enjoyed this edition, I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Otherwise, I’ll see you next week 🫶

What’s going on with Google Search Rank?

Tom Kennett — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 16:20:26 GMT

If your SEO reports have been looking a bit off lately, it’s not just you. Rank and position tracking is all over the place right now, thanks to ongoing volatility in Google Search caused by the ever-shifting AI landscape.

This matters because, to a large extent, search marketers are flying blind.

It wouldn’t be entirely inaccurate to suggest we’re currently flying the plane while we’re building it.

Keyword rankings have always been a proxy metric, but with AI summaries, fluctuating SERPs, and tracking tools struggling to keep pace, the picture is even murkier. Google is tailoring SERPs to individual users more than ever; this then causes haywire for SEO tracking.

As such, it’s harder than ever to prove value - just at the point in time where SEO has never been more important. PR and comms teams especially rely on ranking reports to show coverage impact. Right now, those dashboards might be telling a half-truth.

The bigger picture: As Google keeps reworking results pages - and AI overviews expand - “rank” as we’ve known it may not mean much longer term. What will replace it? That’s the ongoing question.

Further Reading: Search Engine Land

Elsewhere in Digital

TikTok’s U.S. spin-off deal is taking shape. ByteDance is preparing to hand over U.S. operations to a new, American-controlled entity. I’m not entirely sure if this counts as news any more, but the reality is its likely to remain BAU in terms of TikTok operations for marketers - and that is good news.
OpenAI has shared some very interesting data around ChatGPT. The headline is that women use it more than men, and younger users are the heaviest adopters. It’s a neat reminder that AI adoption isn’t uniform - and that marketers need to question assumptions about “typical” users.
Finally, LinkedIn has expanded verification ticks to more company pages. A small but handy trust signal in a platform still trying to clean up fake accounts.

If you found this interesting, I would hugely appreciate it if you shared with your friends and colleagues.

If you’re feeling particularly generous and enjoyed this edition, I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Otherwise, I’ll see you next week 🫶

Meta’s Getting Expensive

Tom Kennett — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 13:06:25 GMT

Meta ad costs are now growing faster than Google’s, according to new data. For the first time in a while, Meta’s CPMs are increasing at a rate greater than Google’s.

Traffic is cheaper on Meta (less specific targeting = lower CPMs), but lead costs are higher. So Meta for upper-funnel, Google for lower-funnel still holds.

Why? Well, competition is growing, and Advantage+ is making it easier for people to spend more money - meaning more competition for inventory.

Keyword CPCs remain pretty steady, which makes sense; the supply/demand balance there will generally be similar YoY for 90% of keywords, though of course the more people turn to Generative AI for these queries, the more this will change. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a significant increase in CPCs over the next 12 months..

But back to Meta; those who are reliant on its platforms for leads or sales might want to have a bit of a rethink, or at the very least monitor costs closely as we go into the busiest - and costliest - time of the year.

Further Reading: Search Engine Land

Elsewhere in Digital

The open web is in decline. We talked about the increase in Zero Click search last week, but now Google’s own execs admit people are moving away from websites in favour of apps, social, and AI answers. As we said last week, the real exam question is less “can SEO survive?” and more “what role does a website play in a closed ecosystem?”
Google was fined €3.5bn in the EU for abusing its dominance in adtech. Meanwhile, Meta and TikTok successfully challenged new EU tech fees, forcing regulators back to the drawing board.
Google is now rolling out AI Mode in beyond English-language searches.
Reddit continues to work to become more attractive for publishers, with new features designed to give more visibility on post performance.
Social Media Today
Meta has made numerous changes to its Community-notes style feature (which has effectively replaced moderators). It’ll now notify users about corrections and fact checks. Elsewhere, Facebook is also bringing back the poke!

TikTok has reached 200 million EU users.
Finally, The Guardian this week reported on how thousands of humans are fine-tuning Google’s Gemini in real time, making it seem much smarter than it actually is.

If you found this interesting, I would hugely appreciate it if you shared with your friends and colleagues.

If you’re feeling particularly generous and enjoyed this edition, I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Otherwise, I’ll see you next week 🫶

Five Things You Were Too Afraid to Ask About Zero-Click Search

Tom Kennett — Wed, 03 Sep 2025 14:25:38 GMT

You might have heard that Search is changing (no, really).

The rise of AI overviews and more information-rich search engine result pages (SERPs) means that people are getting the answers they need without leaving Google. Combine this with the increasing use of Generative AI engines, and suddenly you have a potentially major drop off in organic website traffic.

With all that’s been going on, here are five things you might have been too afraid to ask.

1. What exactly is “zero-click search”?

Zero-click search is when a user gets the answer they want directly on the search results page. No click-through, no website visit. Just a quick scroll and you’re done.

AI Overviews are making this even more common, but featured snippets, knowledge panels, and maps have been prepping us for years.

2. Is this actually that different to what we’ve been seeing for the last few years? Is it new?

Not really. Google’s been edging towards this since the “featured snippet” era (those extracts you sometimes got from top-ranking websites, such as the answer to how high Mount Everest is). The difference now is scale: AI Overviews put entire summaries, comparisons, and recommendations directly in front of the user. For publishers, that means a much steeper drop in traffic.

3. What does this mean for websites and businesses reliant on ad revenue?

If your revenue relies heavily on ad impressions or clicks, it’s a problem. Fewer clicks = fewer eyeballs on your site = shrinking CPMs.

Publishers, already creaking with limited ad revenue and many with low paywall takeups, will need to rethink business models - either by offering experiences that AI can’t easily replicate (such as those being worked on in the travel industry, where there are trends toward personalised itinerary tools), or by diversifying revenue streams beyond banner ads.

4. Can brands do anything about it?

Yes, but it requires a shift in mindset. Ranking first is no longer enough. You need to give people a reason to visit. This might include:

Interactive tools and calculators (mortgage/loan calculators, for example)
Gated content worth trading an email for
Adding brand value and building trust in a way that can’t just be summarised in a two line AI answer (think Patagonia, Monzo, IKEA - brands that have super-strong identities and comms)

5. What about SEO - is it dead?

Nope. The fundamentals haven’t changed: content still needs to be useful, relevant, and written with the customer in mind. The difference is that “being useful” now means more than answering a single query. It’s about creating depth and value that encourages the next click, not just the first impression. As an aside here, I enjoyed this article this week encouraging people to stop using GEO as an alternative term.

I hate listicles, what’s the TL;DR?

Zero-click search isn’t the end of SEO - but it is the end of lazy SEO. If your content strategy is built purely on keywords and traffic volume, it’s time to rethink. Businesses that focus on why someone should still visit their site will win in the long run (it’s almost like SEO practitioners have been encouraging this for the last decade).

What else has happened in digital marketing this week?

Meta reportedly allowed unauthorised celebrity AI-powered chatbots on its services, and they apparently flirted with users.

Meta will soon enable advertisers to exclude certain terms from AI-generated copy. It’s wild to me that this hasn’t happened sooner.

Google won’t have to spin Chrome off into a separate business, but will have to share data with rival firms.

TikTok has added voice notes, photos and video sharing to DMs. Previously users could only use text, GIFs and stickers.

If you found this interesting, I would hugely appreciate it if you shared with your friends and colleagues.

If you’re feeling particularly generous and enjoyed this edition, I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Otherwise, I’ll see you next week 🫶

TikTok booms in Europe - and isn’t going anywhere in the US

Tom Kennett — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 15:00:49 GMT

It’s been a pretty quiet summer in the world of digital, but the landscape has been dominated by TikTok news this week.

In Europe, the app is booming - record growth, bigger ad budgets, and an entrenched spot in youth culture. Yet across the Atlantic, the US sell-off debate rolls on. Donald Trump has hinted the looming shutdown deadlines will “keep getting extended,” while The White House has just launched a TikTok account. It’s safe to say they’re pretty confident that it’ll last a while, then.

It isn’t all good news though - in the UK, TikTok told hundreds of moderators their jobs are at risk as the company leans more heavily on AI moderation. The timing isn’t exactly ideal - the UK’s Online Safety Act has just come into force, placing strict obligations on platforms to police harmful content.

Like Meta, X and YouTube before it, TikTok’s thinking is clear; the benefits of automating moderation massively outweigh the risks, despite plenty of reports to the contrary. I’ll take a look at this issue in more depth in the coming weeks.

There’s more to life than TikTok…

A few other things you may have missed while ByteDance grabbed the headlines:

Google’s AI Overviews are still confusing users. Users continue to report that the summaries are either untrustworthy, or just don’t make sense. It seems like maybe this was all rolled out too soon - not exactly reassuring, given its forcing massive changes in SEO strategy, forcing SEO teams into rewrites and experiments.
LinkedIn is doubling down on video. I know, we could have said that any time in the last 2 years, but the platform has moved recently to increase ad inventory, as well as giving creators and publishers more control over who advertises against their videos. It’s growing up so fast.
Ad giant Dentsu is looking at selling off its international business - a sign that AI is having a major impact on AdOps.

That's it! It’s been a fairly quiet summer on the digital marketing front, but we do start to see more announcements, changes and also trends pieces as we get into the final stretch of the year.

From the archives this week:

If you found this interesting, I would hugely appreciate it if you shared with your friends and colleagues.

If you’re feeling particularly generous and enjoyed this edition, I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Otherwise, I’ll see you next week 🫶

What’s the story with Threads?

Tom Kennett — Wed, 20 Aug 2025 13:47:26 GMT

While the news cycle around the world of digital is in flux during the summer months, I’m going to take a moment to look at some of the more ‘alternative’ social and digital channels around. First up, it’s Meta’s rival to X/Twitter, Threads.

We all know the story behind Threads (in short; launched in opposition to Elon Musk’s X; a wildly successful first few days thanks to an Instagram tie-in, apparently diminishing returns ever since).

Threads has over 320 million monthly active users, with around 115.1 million daily active users. For context, X has 245 million DAUs, so Threads is still under 50% of the force X is on this front.

In the last two years, Threads has steadily closed the gap on X - less through its own rise than through X’s (relative) decline. It’s desktop-light, but relatively strong on mobile. It has very strong integration with Instagram (if you’re a user of the Gram, then you’ve probably seen the ‘for you’ posts linking to Threads), whereas something like Bluesky for example requires a lot more active effort.

Despite this growth, it’s hard to see Threads as a full substitute for X’s longevity and reach.

Which brands are using Threads?

Sprout social have cited all of ClickUp, Duolingo, Wendy’s, Microsoft, Gymshark, Zillow, American Red Cross, Mayo Clinic and the University of Cambridge as having good strategies on Threads.
If I’m being honest, having looked through these and others, nothing I’ve seen has really been a departure from the type of content a lot of these brands would have pulled together for X/Twitter.
It’s hard to say that any of these brands are really benefitting from a “first mover” advantage by being on the platform; or that users expect to find them on there.
If you do want to succeed, it looks like the core tenets are the same as they ever were on X/Twitter; being bold, joining in the conversation, and not being afraid to try something that might not work.

All of which begs the question; who potentially benefits from using Threads?

Well, brands with strong Instagram followings can repurpose audience and align tone seamlessly - though it might be fair to say that by doing so, you’re only really adding on to IG, rather than doing anything new.

Otherwise, its the same brands who 4-5 years ago would have been prioritising Twitter - community-driven or conversational brands (lifestyle, fitness, or niche interest communities).

There are a few reasons to use it; unfortunately, there are far more not to. The ads infrastructure is juvenile at best, with very new tech and nothing really strong in the way of case studies demonstrating ROI.

The lack of desktop usage is also offputting for B2B brands who often (not always, but often) see more website engagement from desktop users rather than mobile.

Threads itself lacks an identity, and while DAUs are increasing, isn’t really part of the public discourse in the same way as X, Instagram, TikTok or even LinkedIn is now.

The future is by no means dark for Threads, with continued DM and feature rollouts, new ad features and units being introduced, and as ever a lot of talk around AI and personalisation; but right now, it feels like a “nice-to-have”.

It might be more interesting for brands with strong Instagram DNA. But until it finds a clearer identity and proves its ROI, it’s unlikely to replace what Twitter once was for real-time relevance.

TL;DR:

Threads is growing, but still lacks cultural or strategic weight.
Big brands are present, but not innovating.
It makes most sense for IG-native, community-first brands.
For B2B or performance-focused marketers, it’s still mostly a wait-and-see.

That’s it! If you found this interesting, I would appreciate it if you shared it with your friends and colleagues.

If you’re feeling particularly generous and enjoyed this edition, I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Otherwise, I’ll see you next week 🫶

Why are brands rethinking visibility?

Tom Kennett — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 14:31:28 GMT

Search is breaking and reforming. Social is fragmenting. Even platforms that were once trusted staples of digital strategy - from Web Browsers to LinkedIn to Instagram - are either being regulated, being sold off (in the case of Google Chrome, potentially), or pivoting so fast they’re barely recognisable.

This past few weeks, the clearest theme across all of the noise and goings on has been this:

Visibility is no longer something you earn. It’s something you negotiate.

What do I mean by that? Well, Google is now letting users choose "Preferred Sources" for AI Overviews - a feature that looks empowering on the surface, but actually reflects a problem: the algorithm no longer knows who to trust.

So much content is AI-generated, or on increasingly unregulated and unmoderated platforms, that Google is wary of saying who is absolutely right and wrong. After years of rigid algorithms, the SERP is in danger of turning into something resembling a social feed; an echo chamber of views and opinions just like ours.

Meanwhile, publishers and SEOs alike are seeing organic traffic continue to decline, even as content quality (and, er, quantity) rises.

And it’s not just Google.

LinkedIn is expanding newsletter access, but also hinting at a Premium tier for SMBs, suggesting the end of organic reach for B2B is possibly in sight. Threads just hit 175 million users, but brands are still hesitant to get involved. Indeed, the platform feels like the living definition of the “if a tree falls” adage.

Add into that ongoing issues around TikTok, or privacy on Meta, got a digital ecosystem in which the rules are changing faster than strategies can adapt.

Yet, with all that changes, the solutions remain largely the same; produce relevant, quality content, and gain the trust of your audiences. You might need to pay more to play, but you probably already knew that.

Organic reach on company pages on platforms has been <5% for over a decade now; if you don’t have a paid social strategy, you likely don’t really have a social strategy. The same has largely applied in search now for quite some time.

The difference now is that the changes we’ve been navigating on social are creeping in to other platforms as well. How necessary is SEO in an era of preferred sources? Presumably this will only push people more and more towards PPC.

All absolutely fascinating, if not a little daunting.