Happy Friday everyone! I spent most of the week in LA, nice change of scenery from North Carolina. I went and visited the rest of the Cadence brand team for a nice brand strategy session. But I’m finally back home. Getting back into my routine. And hey, I even hit a nice PR in the gym this morning. Let’s get it.
We’ve got some good stuff today. You ready?
In this issue, we will go over the following:
Strategic Insight: Why you should flop more and how it drives success, learnings, and insights for social teams.
What stopped my scroll: Jimmy Johns x Fetty Wap? 🤔
Social Pro Spotlight: Katharine Frieburg speaks on experiential x social
5 hot social job opportunities that you should check out
Let’s get to it.
-Sam
I’m sure you’re a bit confused…
I should flop more? Well that makes absolutely zero sense.
Giphy
I get it. This is your face right now.
But yes, we should flop more as social media professionals.
Let me explain.
As social media professionals, we need to take more risks. We need to test creative ideas. We need to shoot our shot more - like Steph Curry (sorry, I’m a big basketball nerd). The formula to succeed on social media is this in my honest opinion:
Strategy + Creativity + Risk
Your social media strategy is your strategic foundation - your social extension of your brand strategy that’s optimized for social growth.
From there, we must think big. Be disruptive. Be memorable. And stop the scroll. This is where you push creative ideas, stunts, moments, and brand experiences via social.
And finally. You can’t be afraid to take some risk. Could your idea flop? Sure. Could it break the internet and generate 10M views and put your brand on the map? It sure can. Are you willing to take that risk? Let’s hope so.
Strategy → Creativity → risk.
This. is. the. way.
The thing is that when there’s risk and uncertainty around social content and campaigns - there’s a chance it flops. And the reality is that it’s fine if content flops. We need to come to terms with this and understand that content can indeed flop.
Flops provide learnings. Flops just prove that something didn’t work. Flops provide you insights on what your community wants and needs from you.
And guess what?
You can always archive a post.
It’s fine.
It’s not the end of the world.
I’ve proposed wild ideas for social content that has generated 10M+ views and 300K+ engagements. I’ve proposed wild ideas that generated 150 likes.
Brush it off. Learn from it. Archive a post if you have to (we’ve all done it. It’s fine I promise).
So now what? Here’s what you can take away from today’s newsletter.
The Takeaways
Look at your social media strategy as not just your guide. But a starting point and your foundation. Refer to that strategy, and find creative extensions and big ideas that layer back to it.
Evaluate trends in the social ecosystem right now. Is there a trend that makes sense to hijack or jump on? Think big. Think of creative ways you can add to it.
Ask yourself this difficult question: “am I playing it safe with my social content?” This is a tough one to ask yourself, and I need you to be super honest with yourself 😅
Lock yourself in a room with the most creative people you work with and don’t leave the room until you have a social idea you want to explore. Think big. Think different. And have fun with it.
What Stopped my scroll
Fetty W(r)ap? Yeah, this was genius by Jimmy Johns. I’m a sucker for a play on words, and this brand collaboration was exactly what we needed. The #1738 Fetty W(r)ap Meal launched and was executed to perfection with this commercial & skit.
Jimmy Johns really leaned into it, and owned it. The result? a solid 10M views and 250K+ engagements. Strong social performance to kick off the launch of this collaboration and drop.
Check it out for yourself.
Social Pro Shoutout
Social is bigger than social, and sometimes…just sometimes the best social content is amplifying IRL experiences. The Bandit Grand Prix is one of the biggest running events of the year, and it’s truly optimized for shareability via social. Katharine has a line here that I truly love “it’s no longer just about the event, but how it lives online'“. This is a bar. And a great reminder for us as social pros.
Make sure to go give Katharine a follow here!
Social Opps
If you’re on the job hunt and exploring new Social Media Opportunities, here are some roles to check out.
✌️ KBYG (Know Before You Go)
Before you go…here are a few quick hitters for you! We’ve got a new Instagram update and a few reminders.
⛽️ Follow Cadence I lead social & brand over at Cadence, a fast-growing sports hydration brand. Be sure to give us a follow here and follow along.
📱 Are you a one-person social team? Check out last weeks issue to catch up here.
‼ Forward to a friend! If you do find Stronger Social helpful, be sure to forward to a friend.
🤔 Got a topic that you want to see addressed in a future issue?If so, respond to this email and let me know!
Sam Wells
Thanks for reading and hope you have a great week!
Follow me on LinkedIn here
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