What’s New in the Marketing world

• Instagram is teasing a paid subscription tier

  Rumored as “Instagram Plus,” the tier would include extended Story lifespans, rewatch analytics, and prioritized placement in feeds. Translation: the organic reach you’ve been nursing? It may start costing something soon. Not confirmed yet but worth watching closely.

• LinkedIn is killing real-time livestreams

  Starting June 22, LinkedIn Live will only support pre-scheduled broadcasts. Meanwhile, the platform is doubling down on video overall (watch time is up 36%), and LinkedIn long-form content is now ranking #2 across AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity. For agencies managing B2B clients, this is a real signal to start building a content calendar around video and articles.

• TikTok’s search-first era is officially here

  TikTok video titles and captions are now showing up directly in Google Search results. If your clients’ content still treats captions as an afterthought, this is your reminder to change that. Keywords in the first two lines of a caption now have SEO value beyond the app itself. That changes how you brief content.

👋 Hey there,

Let’s talk about the thing nobody wants to admit they’re doing.

AI is everywhere in content right now. Every agency is using it, to write captions, generate ideas, repurpose posts, fill calendars. That part is fine. Expected, even. But somewhere along the way, a lot of feeds started looking the same. Same structure. Same phrasing. Same vague inspirational energy. Same suspiciously perfect stock-adjacent visuals 👀.

That’s AI slop. And your clients’ audiences can feel it, even if they can’t name it.

Here’s the thing: the problem isn’t using AI. The problem is using AI as a replacement for a point of view. And that’s fixable.

AI should generate options, not finished content

Use it to give you 10 caption directions, not the caption. Use it to outline a post structure, not write the post. The moment you start publishing the first output without editing, you’ve handed over your client’s voice to a language model. That’s when content starts sounding like everyone else’s.

A brand voice guide is now non-negotiable

If you’re using AI for any part of content creation, your client needs a documented voice guide that you feed into every prompt. Phrases they use. Topics they avoid. The tone they take when they’re excited vs. when they’re educating. Without this, the AI defaults to generic. With it, you get something that actually sounds like a person.

The hook still has to be human

Audiences scroll past AI-sounding openers instantly. The first line of any post, the one that stops the scroll - needs to feel specific, opinionated, or surprising. That usually means it needs a real person behind it. Use AI for the body. Write the hook yourself.

Show the actual people behind the brand

No AI prompt generates a photo of your client at their desk at 7am. Or the screenshot of the message that made their week. Or the behind-the-scenes shot from a client event. Real moments are the hardest thing to fake and right now, they’re the most valuable content you can produce. Build a system for capturing them.

Edit for personality, not just correctness

AI writes clean copy. It rarely writes interesting copy. When you edit AI-generated content, your job isn’t just to fix errors it’s to add the sentence that makes someone feel something. A wry observation. A specific detail. An admission. That’s the gap between content that gets scrolled past and content that gets saved.

The feeds standing out right now aren’t the ones with the most content. They’re the ones that still feel like a person made them. That’s the job.

AI Tip of the week

Here’s a simple hack

Want AI to write in your client’s actual voice instead of generic marketing-speak? Give it examples first. Here’s the prompt:

The “do not use” instruction alone eliminates most AI slop instantly. Worth testing this week.

Final Thoughts 📝

AI isn’t the problem.

Using it without thinking is.

The agencies that will win this year aren’t the ones avoiding AI, and they’re not the ones outsourcing everything to it either.

They’re the ones using it to go faster and then adding the human part back in at the end.

Talk next week 🤍

Additional Resources 🪄

If you want a couple of helpful things to read this week, these two are worth your time.

The Ultimate Guide to Automated Content Creation

A practical guide to using automation in your content workflow without losing the quality and authenticity your clients expect. Covers what to automate, what not to, and how to build a system that actually scales.

How to Increase Social Media Engagement: A Guide for Agencies

When AI-generated content is flattening engagement across the board, this guide covers the specific tactics that move the needle — from content formats that earn saves and shares, to how to build an audience that actually responds.

Take what you need, bookmark what you don’t, and make your workflow a little easier this week.