The Daily Carnage

The savvy marketer's hub for industry news, insights, resources, and culture.

Today’s Issue

The Countdown ⏳

The time is now.

Issues

View All

Writing for The Web

AUGUST 20, 2023

The UX Cookbook has whipped up a quick guide for web writing, which is especially handy because it’s written precisely following its own rules, such as:

Edit and revise the day after you write.
Use lists and numbered instructions.
Use fragments and phrases and one-sentence paragraphs.
Add pictures and other visual elements.
Employ useful headings, like questions and verb phrases.
Think journalism, not academic writing. Start with the conclusion.
Use active voice, personal pronouns, action verbs.
Use parallelisms and patterns.
Choose words that people know.
Make your links descriptive.

Check out the post for an example of how these tricks work in tandem.

TikTok vs Reels vs Shorts

AUGUST 16, 2023

The three major players in the short-form video game each have different strengths, as your anecdotal data might confirm.

For instance, TikTok generally yields higher engagement while your Reels may be racking up major organic views (due to less spam on the platform, maybe). Here’s how the apps match up by the numbers:

Engagement Rate by Views

Winner — TikTok: 5.53%
Reels: 4.36%
Shorts: 3.80%

Comment Rate

Winner — TikTok: 0.09%
Reels: 0.05%
Shorts: 0.05%

Average Number of Videos Per Month

Winner — TikTok: 16
Reels: 9
Shorts: 7

Watch Rate

Winner — Reels: 13.08%
TikTok: 9.06%
Shorts: 2.52%

Head over to Social Insider for a full report and explainer on this data.

YouTube Tests 6 New Shorts Features

AUGUST 15, 2023

YouTube has introduced new creator tools to help you harness the energy of a platform with over 2B logged-in monthly users—and to keep up with TikTok and Reels. Check it out:

Collab: The Collab feature lets you record a Short in a split-screen format with other videos (like a Duet).
Effects and Stickers: Try dozens of new Shorts effects and stickers, like “Q&A,” which lets you collect answers to a question directly in your comments.
Go Live: YouTube is currently testing a mobile-first vertical live experience that will be mixed in to the Shorts feed for maximum discoverability.
Suggestions: This new feature bundles the audio and effect from a Short so you can quickly recreate and remix trends.
Playlists: You can save Shorts to playlists right on YouTube, which is handy if you want to bookmark effects for future use, too.
Recomposition: YouTube is testing features that will let you transform horizontal videos into Shorts by adjusting the layout, zoom, and crop of video segments.

Find out more about these new features and when they’ll be rolled out at YouTube.

MrBeast’s YouTube Formula for Success

AUGUST 14, 2023

YouTuber Aprilynn Alter shared her insights after 7 days of studying MrBeast’s success—and cracking his infallible formula—on YouTube. MrBeast is an American stunt YouTuber with over 290 million subscribers across his channels. Here’s his secret:

First 5 Seconds

First sentence matches the title
First shot matches the thumbnail

First 20 Seconds

Provide context: What do viewers need to know to understand?
Introduce the stakes: Why should viewers watch until the end?
Create a curiosity gap: Don’t give away all the information.

Video Body

Cut to B and C cameras and employ other visual dynamics every 3 to 5 seconds.
Incorporate side narratives and contrasting formats to keep it fresh.
Alternate cycles of high and low energy every 2 to 4 minutes.

Video End

Reveal the payoff.
End on a high note: dramatic, wholesome, or funny.

Post-Production

Ask friends for feedback.
Watch people watch your video: When do they get bored and pick up their phones?

Intrigued? Check out the infographic and the full thread on X.

Brandformance = Strategy + Brand Building

AUGUST 12, 2023

TikTok’s holistic “brandformance” strategy leverages creativity, entertainment, and targeted advertising in one campaign to generate growth. Here’s how:

Use entertaining content ads to join trends, generate demand, attract new customers, and increase earned media visibility.
Embrace a full-funnel approach by shifting focus from short-term metrics to long-term returns.
Leverage the power of sound and storytelling to drive brand recall in a competitive environment. Ads that use sonic brand cues are 8.53x more likely to be high performing.

Check out The Drum for the full scoop.

Google’s Guide to Responsive Search Ads

AUGUST 9, 2023

Google recently released a guide to understanding the role of artificial intelligence in optimizing Responsive Search Ads. Here are the key takeaways:

More assets is better. Use tools like asset suggestion, recommendations, and automatic assets to provide as many headlines and descriptions as possible. This way, Google can test and deliver the most relevant combinations.
Use Ad Strength. Ad Strength can help you optimize your ads before they are served. Aim to have at least one responsive search ad with a Good or Excellent rating per ad group.
Measure the right metrics. Evaluate performance according to your business outcomes—remember that conversions matter more than just clicks.
Focus on high impact areas. Make the most of your time by using asset performance ratings and ad variations to improve ads after they’ve collected enough data.
Use Smart Bidding and broad match. When used with responsive search ads, these AI tools can help show the right message to the right audience at the right time.

Check out the complete guide at Google.

New ChatGPT Features

AUGUST 8, 2023

OpenAI is enhancing productivity and efficiency with these simple but consequential ChatGPT updates:

Prompt examples. Everyone wants to know: what prompts are you using? Now ChatGPT will offers some recommendations to opening a dialogue.
Suggested replies. Now, you can converse in one click, making it faster and easier to find the answers you’re looking for.
Code Interpreter beta. ChatGPT Plus users will now be able to upload 10 files for data analysis, such as keyword research data.
Stay logged in. You won’t be kicked out after 2 weeks anymore. Plus, the login page is more user-friendly.
Keyboard shortcuts. Find a complete list of shortcuts by pressing ⌘ (Ctrl) + /.

Check out the full list at Search Engine Journal.

Optimize Content for AI-Generated Search Results

AUGUST 7, 2023

It’s crucial for marketers to optimize content for AI-generated answers because these will appear above traditional search results in Google’s Search Generative Experience.

Google cites the websites it uses to generate answers, so focusing on creating high-quality, authoritative content will be paramount. Here’s how:

Use AI-friendly formats like bullet points, lists, tables, and snippets—with headings and subheadings—which are more likely to be used by AI systems to generate responses.
Deliver clear and concise answers to queries with FAQ pages and question-based headings in articles.
Leverage structured data markup to help search engines understand your content better and enhance the visibility of ratings, reviews, and product details.
Optimize for Featured Snippets by using clear headings, bullet points, and tables.

Learn more about the new search paradigm at the Carney blog.

A Closer Look at Google’s Search Generative Experience

AUGUST 5, 2023

Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) is still in development but poised to radically change the future of search.

Google is killing the 10 blue links in favor of synthesizing hyper-relevant and accurate information generated by AI in a conversational tone.

Here’s what users who enable SGE in Search Labs can expect:

A colorful, multimedia box at the top of your search results.
A more personalized, AI-generated response to your query with the potential for in-line links.
Three relevant article links with publication dates to the right.
The option to ask a follow-up question or select from additional queries at the bottom.
Below the summarization, four sponsored links are displayed with featured snippets, if applicable.
After sponsored links, the four-question dropdown menu for “People Also Ask” appears.
Finally, organic search results are displayed.

Clearly, conversational search will have dramatic implications for marketers and SEOs. Check out The Verge’s update for more info.