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Google just unveiled Gemini 3.5 Flash at I/O, and this feels much bigger than another AI model update.

The company is shifting from chatbots toward autonomous AI agents that can plan, build, and execute tasks with minimal human input. Google even claims the model can build an operating system from scratch.

• Beats Gemini 3.1 Pro on most benchmarks
• Runs up to 4x faster than rivals
• Optimized version reaches 12x faster speeds
• New Antigravity 2.0 IDE launched
• Multiple AI agents can work together
• Now powers Gemini app and AI Search

The launch also raises major concerns around AI safety and oversight.

Google says it strengthened cyber and CBRN safeguards, but broader access to autonomous agents is already facing scrutiny after earlier Gemini-related incidents.

The AI race is starting to move beyond chatbots into systems that can independently complete real work.

What is your take on this?

Something changed in the influencer marketing industry. Most brands have not fully understood that the influencer marketing industry is changing with the rise of influencers.

Virtual influencers are personas that are created using artificial intelligence, and they have their own personalities, looks, and social media followings.

There are reasons why virtual influencers are becoming more popular.

1. Virtual influencers give brands total control over the content they create.

Unlike real influencers, virtual influencers never do anything that is not approved by the brand.

They hardly ever create problems for the brand and never ask for more money. You only have to maintain the tools used in creating them.

2. They are always available to create content, and they can post as many times as they want without getting tired.

Posting at any time of the day and in different time zones.

3. A lot of young people really love influencers.

Gen Z and Gen Alpha have grown up with technology, and they do not see a big difference between real and virtual personalities.

A virtual influencer can be just as believable as an influencer to them.

4. Using influencers can also save brands money in the long run.

It costs a lot to create a virtual influencer at first, but it can be cheaper than paying a human influencer over time.

Brands should be asking themselves some questions about influencers.

Do their customers trust personas or do they prefer human influencers?

Can they keep their influencer interesting and not boring over a long period of time?

How can they make people feel emotionally connected to an influencer?

For brands that want to try using virtual influencers without creating a whole new character, tools like Imimic can help.

Virtual influencers are not replacing influencers, at least not yet. What they are doing is creating a way for brands to represent themselves and to reach different people all around the globe.

Brands that figure out how to use influencers in a real and strategic way will have an advantage over others.

Virtual influencers are a great way to market products, and the influencer marketing industry is changing with the rise of virtual influencers.

Off-page SEO advice gets old faster than almost any other part of digital marketing.

The things that helped you build authority a year ago can actually get you in trouble now. Some tactics might sound like they make sense. They do not work in real life. Let us talk about what's actually working in 2026.

✅ What is not working anymore

1. Mass directory submissions

Submitting your website to a lot of directories does not help your rankings anymore. These links are not worth anything, and you waste your time.

2. Private blog networks

Google is really good at figuring out when you are trying to cheat with links. The links from blog networks that used to help you can now get you in trouble, and it can take months to fix.

3. Guest posts that are not relevant

Writing guest posts to get links, especially on websites that are not related to your topic, is considered spam. Google is getting better at ignoring these kinds of links.

✅ What is working in 2026

1. Digital PR and earned media

One link from a known and respected publication in your industry is worth more than fifty links from random blogs. If you have a good story and original research, you can get these links naturally.

2. Guest posting on websites

It matters more that the website you are guest posting on is related to your topic than how popular that website is.

3. Being a guest on podcasts

Every time you're a guest on a podcast, you get a link to your website, and you reach a new audience at the same time.

4. Doing research and collecting data

If you have unique data and information about your industry, other writers and journalists will link to you naturally over time.

5. Asking for links when people mention your brand

If you find a website that mentions your brand but does not link to you, just ask them to add the link.

End Take

This type of SEO is about building relationships and providing value. The quick fixes do not work anymore, but the things that really matter still do.

You should check your backlinks this week using SEO tools, find your three links and try to understand why those websites linked to you. Then you can do more of the same thing on purpose.

Personalised marketing used to mean that marketers would put the names of their target audience on, say, an email, and that would be all.

What real AI-powered personalisation actually looks like

Most businesses are still treating all their customers the same way, same message, same offer, same timing, sent to everyone simultaneously. AI changes this completely by

Behavioural targeting

AI analyses what each customer browses, clicks, and purchases, then automatically adjusts what they see next.

Dynamic content

Emails, landing pages, and ads that change their message based on who is viewing them, rather than showing everyone identical content

Predictive recommendations

AI identifies what a customer is likely to want before they search for it, based on patterns from similar buyers

Automated segmentation

Instead of manually sorting customers into groups, AI continuously updates segments in real time based on live behaviour

There are tools that help businesses create personalised visual images at a large scale, and an example of these tools is Selli.

This is an AI-powered personalised marketing platform built specifically to help businesses deliver tailored campaigns without needing a large team or a complex technical setup.

Generic marketing is getting ignored at a rate that should concern every business owner.

Customers have been trained by platforms like Netflix and Amazon to expect experiences that feel built for them specifically, and businesses that can't deliver that level of relevance are increasingly invisible.

Most people with conversion rates think the problem is their offer, but the problem is usually that the offer is okay. The problem is with the sales funnel.

A sales funnel can have problems at any stage. This can be on the landing page, during checkout. Even with the follow-up sequence, each problem quietly costs you money you do not even know you are losing.

The good news is that you do not always have to start over to improve conversion rates. You just need to find and fix the thing.

Here's what actually moves the needle

✅ Fix your landing page first

Your headline has to tell people one thing about your product right away. If people do not understand what they get from it in a second, they will go away.

You should get rid of everything that does not help the person visiting your website do one thing.

Add things that show people, like your product. When people see what others say about your product, and they see real numbers, they will trust you more than if you just tell them how good your product is.

✅ Simplify your checkout process

When you make people take steps to pay for something, it can really hurt your sales.

You should only ask for the information that you really need to complete the sale.

Give people a lot of ways to pay for things like credit cards or other services, because some people do not use PayPal, and you do not want to lose a sale because of that.

✅ Follow up relentlessly with people who didn't convert

When people go to a website, they usually do not buy something right away. If you send them a series of emails in a certain order, you can get some of them to come back and buy something.

If you show ads to people who have already visited your website, it can really help get more people to buy something from you.

The other method is to create urgency about a certain product when a new lead shows up on your site. Converti is one such platform that comes to mind for this.

It's a simple conversion widget creation site built specifically to help businesses create custom sales conversion pop-up widgets to encourage visitors to make a purchase decision faster.

There is a huge difference between conversion rates, as a little difference in the same traffic can double or triple your revenue without you having to spend on running ads.

Most people who create content write a blog post, publish it, and then sit down to write social media captions from the beginning, like they never even wrote the blog post.

That is not just really tiring, it is a waste of time and good ideas. The best marketers today write something once, use it everywhere, and the right tool makes that really easy.

Let me show you what the old way is and what the new way is

❌ The Old Way

You spend a lot of time writing a blog draft that's good for search engines, then you open a document and start all over again, trying to fit that same content into a short Instagram caption, a LinkedIn post, a tweet thread.

By the time you get to the platform, you are so tired of it.

✅ The New Way

You copy your blog draft into an AI tool like Writix and choose the way you want to use the content.

In less than 60 seconds, it turns your blog into social media captions that are ready to use, each one changed to fit the tone, length and style of wherever you are posting.

Here is why this tool is really good for this

It has over 300 made workflows, including ones just for using content again for social media posts and blogging, which is good for search engines. You do not have to write anything to get started.

It can do things at the same time, e.g., one idea for a blog can make a Facebook post, a tweet, a LinkedIn caption, and a marketing email all at once.

It uses many of the artificial intelligence models, so what you get is always new, creative and does not sound like a robot.

You do not have to be an expert to use it. You just fill in the blank, and you are done. It is made for people who are very busy, and not for artificial intelligence experts.

If you are a marketer or brand owner who creates a large bulk of content, it will be very smart to use an AI tool that can repurpose and recycle your content.

About three years ago, a friend advised me when I was trying to grow an Instagram and X account to post every day and to use a lot of hashtags.

I later realised that while this friend meant well, it wasn't working for me, and this was because I didn't have a real plan.

Fast forward to 2026, you need a real plan to grow on social media, and you need to find a way to do your thing differently from others because it will make you stand out and bring a fresh side to what your audience is already used to.

Here are some ways you can do this:

1. Build the Right Foundation First

Make your niche very small. For example, "Fitness tips" is not as good as "fitness tips for Nigerian working mothers" every single time.

Be specific, as this will help you get discovered. Social media algorithms and the people will like your content when you are specific.

Think of your profile like a page that tells people about you. Your bio, the things you pin to the top of your page, and your profile picture should answer one question in under five seconds: why should I follow you?

So optimise it.

Choose one platform. Try to build on it and have a good ground before you try to be on other platforms.

If you are on five platforms but not really doing well on any of them, you are not building anything, but if you do well on one platform, you can build others.

2. Content That Works in 2026

Short videos are still the best. Reels, TikToks, and YouTube Shorts get attention from the algorithms if you do not have a lot of followers.

Start with these, no matter what your niche is.

If you share your opinions, controversial topics and perspectives, you will do better than if you just post information or statements.

When you say something different or share a personal story, people will react. And the algorithms like that.

On Instagram and LinkedIn, if you post a lot of pictures together or things that people can save, you will do better than if you just post one picture.

When people save your posts, it means they really like them, not just that they are scrolling by.

Use an idea over and over by repurposing your content, e.g., make a short video, a post with a lot of pictures, a thread and a caption from an outing you did.

3. The Engagement Discipline Nobody Talks About:

Comment on fifteen to twenty posts every day in your niche. When you comment on people's posts, they will come to your page.

This works better than a lot of other strategies.

Reply to every comment on your posts before and within an hour of posting. The algorithms look at how quickly you engage with people right after you post.

Work with creators who are at the same level as you. When you work together, you can share each other's audiences.

This is the way to grow in 2026.

Posting consistently is better than going one time. If you have one post, you will get a lot of attention for a little while, but if you post thirty times and they are all good, you will build an audience.

As you move on with your posting, you may begin to find it very difficult to keep up posting consistently, sending the right replies to your comments or replying to your DMs, which is why you could employ the use of AI tools like Engagi to help you grow your social presence through intelligent engagement and keep you on the right track.

Action call

Try these for the next thirty days:

Choose one platform, post five times a week, and spend twenty minutes every day engaging with people in your niche.

Look at how many followers you have on the first day and on the thirtieth day. The numbers will show you that this works.

What platform and niche are you focusing on? Share below. I can give you more specific advice on what kind of content to post.