2023 digital roadmap
Digital Marketing is an ever evolving landscape. Back in our Colorado days, the daily snow report was a big deal - a roadmap of current conditions to help you plan for your next adventure.
Today, we created our own internal "snow report" (via Slack channel) to stay up-to-speed on the rapidly changing digital world, unique marketing campaigns, and people/places/things our Lifties are passionate about.
Happy skiing!
December
16 social media best practices to use to succeed in 2024
The 100 best albums of the year, according to Rolling Stone
8 social media myths to unlearn (and dispel across your organization)
How to use social media ecommerce effectively in 2024
This app helps you access tons of e-books and audiobooks—for free
Content Marketing Checklist for 2024: 24 Steps to Online Success [Infographic]
Ten minutes of sounds that every ’90s kid will remember
75 Instagram Reels Ideas [Infographic]
An expert Lego builder makes a functioning miniature ski slope
New Research Shows YouTube Remains the Top Social App for Teens
These are the most Googled terms of 2023
How to meet Google and Yahoo's email sender requirements in 2024 (***this is really important if you run any email campaigns***)
Three minutes of the best GoPro footage of 2023
The secret to the success of Costco’s Kirkland Signature brand
The 100 best photographs ever taken without Photoshop
November
Reddit Unveils Branding Refresh, Including an Updated ‘Snoo’ Character
A method to learn French in one year
Meta Publishes New Guide on How To Maximize Post-Holiday Promotions
One man’s yearslong quest to identify the greatest sandwich in world history
7 Creative Design Trends for 2024 [Infographic]
These are National Geographic’s top destinations for 2024
Pinterest Shares New Insights Into the Value of the Platform for Promoting Luxury Brands
Eight hours of a cozy, crackling yule log in 4K resolution
5 Email Marketing Best Practices To Get Emails Opened and Read [Infographic]
Seth Godin has advice for the amateur presenter
6 ways social media impacts consumer behavior
Get inspired by a man who ran 365 marathons in 365 days
Always Up-to-Date Guide to Social Media Video Specs
The inspiration for Pepsi's hated $1 million logo is kind of unhinged
October
SMS marketing 101: What is SMS Marketing (+ examples)
Reddit Shares an Overview of the Key Events To Plan For in 2024 [Infographic]
How to make money on TikTok: 15 strategies to use in 2023
6 effective ways to increase online sales through social media
Browse: A hundred lesser-known but useful websites.
A 7-Step Guide to a More Effective Content Strategy [Infographic]
These are the finalists for this year’s National Book Awards.
Marketing vs Branding: The Key Differences You Need to Understand [Infographic]
The CEO of Levi’s gives a definitive answer on how often to wash your jeans.
Instagram Tests Collaborative Carousel Posts
Rolling Stone offers a list of the 250 best guitarists of all time.
The coolest neighborhoods in the world.
How to exchange numbers by tapping iPhones together.
Time magazine’s Best Inventions of 2023 include a graphene radiator, a personal helicopter, and lots of AI gizmos.
The history of how the donut became America’s favorite treat.
September
The importance of social media marketing: 7 stats that prove social’s role in business success
How To Build an Effective Content Marketing Funnel [Infographic]
Impress the youths with your music knowledge, thanks to Billboard’s new TikTok Top 50 chart.
Meta Unveils Updated Facebook Logo Design and In-App Color Palette
Five reads that will teach you all about AI.
The most photographed restaurants of 2023, according to Yelp.
23 Sweet and Savory Apple Recipes for Fall
The Most-Viewed YouTube Videos of All-Time [Infographic]
Listen to music from any place and any time with this website
How to get more followers on Instagram: 15 tips to grow your real audience
11 Cool Tricks You Can Do With the Google Search Box
Instagram Adds Following Filter in the Reels Tab
TikTok Officially Launches In-App Shopping Feature
When it comes to where ads show up, marketers and consumers have different preferences
New YouTube face just dropped
Instagram Tests Out Location Tags in Notes
August
Instagram Lifts a High-Engagement Sticker from TikTok
Agorapulse’s New Social Media Benchmark Site (change industry in top right)
TikTok Will Be the Top Social App in Daily Minutes in 2025
Late-night hosts Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver teamed up and made a podcast to support their striking staff.
Drone aerial advertising startup gets green light from aviation authorities
Welcome to User Inyerface, a challenging exploration of user interactions and design patterns.
AI-generated art cannot be copyrighted, rules a US federal judge
A Field Guide to the Great Hot Dogs of America
Instagram Announces That It’s Testing Audio Clips for Notes in the App
Call the Peptoc Hotline, which features life advice and pump-up messages from elementary school kids in California.
Meta Announces Initial Launch of Threads Web App
A unique way to generate fresh and vibrant colors based on lighting and pigment, instead of math
ChatGPT Cheat Sheet [Infographic]
Instagram Is Testing New Comment and Share Counts on Posts In-Stream
Apple Patent Says Siri Could Be Trained to Read Your Lips
New Google Business Profiles Pets Attribute (Are Dogs Allowed)
36 Hidden Messages in Company Logos You See All the Time
July
Ray Ban Stories, Meta’s First Foray Into Digital Wearables, Fails to Catch On With Users
DMs is #1 surface on Instagram
Local SEO Ranking Factors [Infographic]
AnswerThePublic: discover what people are asking about…
Threads Sees Significant Decline in Usage, but Opportunity for Disruption Remains
What Apple’s iOS 17 privacy shift means for marketers
A Canadian farmer has been ordered to pay $82,000 in damages for breaching a contract by using a "thumbs-up" emoji in a text message.
Are static posts making a comeback?
8 tips to boost your video conversion rate
Take this quiz to test your AI knowledge, like whether you can tell pictures of real people from AI-generated ones.
How to use Google Analytics for stronger social media reporting
Summarize URLs, detect fonts, generate privacy policies, and more at this website.
Instagram’s Threads app has reached 100 million users in a matter of days
Gorgeous Sunflower Fields Are Returning to Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh, N.C.
Twitter is experiencing a significant drop in traffic
Amazon Prime Day starts tomorrow: Here are the best early deals.
June
Disappearing content is more memorable
Gen Z and millennial workers feel confused, irritated, and left out by endless ‘workplace jargon’ in the office, LinkedIn research shows
The meanings behind the acronyms you encounter every day
100 incredible photos—without any photoshop
What is the “Song of the Summer”? Here’s a helpful guide
Why one sunglasses brand has several Instagram accounts
Customer retention strategies for 2023
Top 5 social media customer service tools for your brand
Google Search Cheat Sheet [Infographic]
5 Lead Generation Ideas for Your Marketing [Infographic]
Video Ads Are Coming to All Your Uber Apps
YouTube’s Culture & Trends Report: Moving at the speed of culture
Instagram Will Now Allow Users to Download Publicly Posted Reels Content
May
Instagram’s Testing a New Generative AI Sticker Creation Process In-App
TikTok Launches 2023 Holiday Marketing Playbook to Assist in Campaign Planning
An Overview of Instagram Ad Formats
100 Outdoor Summer Concerts in Raleigh, N.C.
The complete guide to finding your Instagram target audience
The “golden prompts” to get the most out of ChatGPT and other chatbots
Here are all the methods filmmakers use to keep you on the edge of your seat
This app could help you cure writer’s block
Take a 3D tour of the Titanic’s shipwreck, which just got its first full-sized digital scan
The hottest glamping spots in the US
The state of social media 2023: Business leaders weigh in on what’s next
Get a new password using this Kenny Loggins password generator
Here Are the Top 10 YouTube Ads of the Year
April
Instagram Adds the Capacity to Display Up to 5 Links in Your Profile Bio
Adobe teases generative AI video tools with Adobe Firefly
The best podcasts of the year…so far
Social Media Hacks to Make Your Content Stand Out [Infographic]
The Biggest Food and Drink Events of 2023 in Raleigh, N.C.
Instagram Adds New Analytics for Reels, Updates Reels Creation Flow
Try Bard — Google’s new creative and helpful collaborator
SEO Principles: An Essential Guide for Beginners [Infographic]
The 18 Best State Parks in the U.S.
The Updated 2023 Social Media Image Dimension Guide for Marketers [Infographic]
This website shows which weather forecasts have been the most accurate for your area. News flash: it ain’t WeatherBug.
Instagram and Facebook will force their checkout experience on Shops soon
Pinterest announces partnership with Amazon to bring third-party ad demand to the platform
12 Ideas to Test in Paid Social Advertising in Q2 2023
March
Instagram Tests New Birthday Profile Effect
Check out this website that publishes one historical diary entry every day
10 Social Media Myths That Are Hurting Your Business [Infographic]
If you want the 30,000-foot view of what’s happening in tech, read this deck
How to Build Trust in Your Target Market Using Content Marketing [Infographic]
Here are the best podcasts of 2023, according to Vulture
Check out the winners of a nature photography contest
Instagram’s Testing Full-Length Reels Replays Within Stories
Here are the 500 best country and western songs of the last century
LinkedIn Report: 17 Predictions on the Future of Recruiting for Talent Leaders
This game shows you a video of a street, and you guess what city you’re in
New Study Finds that Including Negative Terms in Headlines Drives More Clicks
This game tests your reaction time
Meta releases its ‘Culture Rising’ report on emerging trends based on what people are talking about on FB & IG
11 Tips to Take Your ChatGPT Prompts to the Next Level
Jack Dorsey-backed Twitter alternative Bluesky hits the App Store as an invite-only app
TikTok Earned $205 Million More Than Facebook, Twitter, Snap And Instagram Combined On In-App Purchases In 2023
February
Twitter Blue Subscribers Can Now Post Tweets Up to 4,000 Characters Long
Tell this website what ingredients you have on hand and it will tell you what to make.
Microsoft Previews Updated Bing Search Engine, with ChatGPT Integration
Life hack: Use this one-page calendar
17 Content Options for Each Stage of the Sales Journey [Infographic]
The human compulsion to correct each other is now an algorithmic growth hack.
Instagram Launches ‘Channels’ Broadcast Chat Feature
Google Search Operators Cheat Sheet [Infographic]
Architectural wonders: 20 imaginative feats of architecture, art, and design.
You can’t not like this Lee Fields Tiny Desk Concert
Adobe has the easiest-to-use site ever for merging PDFs
Instagram Tests New Memories Prompts to Re-Ignite User Engagement
Making waves: Unexpected industries innovating on social
Updated 2023 Social Media Industry Benchmark Report for 14 top industries
National Geographic selected its photo of the year.
Views on Instagram Reels Fall as Platform Course Corrects to Images
How To Conduct A Content Audit Step-By-Step
Adults in the US are watching the equivalent of nine episodes of “Friends” in digital video each day.
10 Social Media Trends Marketers Should Watch in 2023 [New Data]
Why ‘inserts,’ aka the ads slipped into packages, are having a moment
January
New Report Shows that Time Spent Using Social Apps Rose to New Highs in 2022
With Business Connect, Apple escalates its competition with Google Maps
Apparently it’s 3,000% easier to peel garlic than we previously thought.
Planning for 2023 - Researching the Competition
Amazon begins drone deliveries in California and Texas
100 of the Biggest Events and Festivals in Raleigh, N.C., in 2023
Instagram now lets you pause notifications with Quiet Mode
New Wordle spinoff dropped: It’s a great game for movie fanatics.
LinkedIn Shares New Data on Engagement and Ad Performance [Infographic]
7 Visual Trends Set to Dominate in 2023
Nostalgia Marketing: Statistics, Benefits, and Examples
These drone photographs turn historic high-rises into whimsical structures worthy of Wes Anderson.
Here’s a look at what books from the 1990s kids are reading in college classes now.
Instagram Adds Lead Forms as CTA Button Option on Business Profiles
14th Annual Trader Joe’s Customer Choice Awards Winners
Should You be Using AI Creation Tools in Your Process?
Guess the year each photo was taken in.
TikTok’s 2023 Marketing Calendar [Infographic]
This website showcases the wonders of Google Street View
YouTube SEO: Strategies to optimize your videos for search
