Friends and colleagues,

I am tone-deaf, congenitally and comically so. I got a humbling reminder of this when trying to figure out the name of a character from an animated Disney movie I foolishly tried to sing a song from said movie. My mother, who was at the dinner table for this performance, laughed so hard that my wife and I thought we might need to revive her due to a lack of oxygen. When she finally caught her breath and wiped the tears off her cheeks, she reminded me that I did, in fact, have redeeming qualities and talents, but should leave the singing to more gifted folks. What you may (or may not) ask is the point, Bower? It is not that my mom served me a deep dish of tough love on the daily. It is this: As marketers, we all have weaknesses. Recognizing this quickly and employing the right resources and/or technology to address shortfalls can mean the difference between a hit song and well, a loud gong.

Having beaten this metaphor to a pulp, let me press “play” (sorry…) on these melodious and mellifluous tips and trends, whistled and whittled (not sorry…) by our archers:

Tips and Trends

1. Use the “F” word. Actually, it’s a pattern any bright-eyed, bushy-tailed user experience and/or interface designer needs to understand. But I’ve got your attention, right? Eye-tracking studies show that users read web pages in an “F” shape—scanning horizontally, then vertically. So, what should a pro-level UX’er do? Place important content, headlines, and CTAs along these focal points for maximum engagement.
2. Ice pops or ice pop-ups? Mind you, they can both suck. But when used effectively, pop-ups can be effective for capturing leads. That said they can also annoy users if they appear too soon or block important content. Exit-intent pop-ups (which appear when users are about to leave) are a better alternative to aggressive entry pop-ups.
3. When to go dark. Dark mode – a phone and PC display option that inverts the colors of your screen – isn’t just trendy; it improves phone and desktop readability in low-light environments and can enhance user experience. If your app or website supports it, consider giving users the choice between light and dark themes. They might think you’re cool like that. Or not.
4. Remember, friend, what you think doesn’t matter. Ok, this provocative teaser, pulled out of the tips vault, is aimed at those of you who are stewards of your organization’s user experience. If, when evaluating prospect journeys and designing pages, you find yourself uttering the words, “I don’t like…” or “I wouldn’t do…,” stop immediately and either slap yourself on the wrist or self-impose a 24-hour TikTok ban. Unless you are in your target segment, your personal preferences (read: biases) are not only relatively unimportant, they may significantly impact (read: degrade) your site’s effectiveness.
5. Landing pages matter. A lot. Sending paid search and social traffic to your homepage is like inviting someone over for dinner and giving them directions to the garage. Just don’t.
6. Hashtags are not spaghetti. Don’t throw 30 random hashtags at your post hoping one sticks. Use a mix of trending and niche ones. And no more than say, five or six. To quote a Brylcream ad (and date myself): “A little dab will do ya.”
7. Don’t ignore quality score (rhyme intended). Google rewards relevancy. Low score = high costs = sad marketer. Don’t want to be sad? Then here are immediate next steps: 1) Ensure keywords appear in your ad headlines, descriptions, and display URL 2) Use Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI) to automatically adjust ad copy to match search queries 3) Tailor ad variations for different keyword groups instead of using generic ads for broad searches and 4) Test different ad formats (responsive search ads vs. expanded text ads) to improve engagement. You good? Let us know if not.
8. Optimize for AI-generated search summaries. Search – organic and paid – is changing lightning-fast thanks to the robots and their human minders. Google and Bing are now answering searches with summaries from high-authority pages rather than sending you first to a trusted site. So how does a scrappy, smart, fastidious marketer like you respond? Here, friend, and you too, colleagues, is how to get featured: 1) Use structured data (schema markup) to help AI understand your content 2) Format content with clear H1s, H2s, and bullet points to answer specific queries and 3) Include concise definitions, FAQs, and summaries at the top of pages. There’s more to it, but this will start you on your merry way.
9. Write like Hemingway – when he was in 8th grade. Even young Ernest believed that only a small portion of a story, like the tip of an iceberg, should be visible to the reader while the deeper meaning remains submerged. He focused on surface elements and trusted readers to grasp the underlying emotions and themes. In marketing communications practice this means communicating with prospects and customers using short, declarative sentences and simple vocabulary to create a sense of immediacy and realism. You know, just like Papa (IYKYK).

Not so New News

• Here’s how marketers can and should thrive in ’25 even in an increasingly lean and challenging industry environment.
• Our Assisted A.I. Content service is up, running, and thriving. Our human archers work with our favorite language models to generate customized, high-quality blog content – and image selections – at a fraction of the cost. Your error-free content will be vetted for brand alignment, grammar, tone, and plagiarism. And it’s 100% yours to use (and re-use!) Interested? Reach out for some free sample content.
• We are now focused intensely and intently on our core markets. Read more by clicking enthusiastically here.

As always, if I can do anything for you—make a connection, share some experience, render you breathless with my singing—please let me know.

Thanks again for your patient indulgence.

Best,