This statement is triggering lol: “let me set the scene: imagine you've been tasked with growing brand awareness on a zero-dollar budget, creating a tiered influencer program with no support, or, my personal favorite, making a TikTok go viral out of thin air.'“
I love the realistic and pragmatic suggestions you make throughout the piece - truly very helpful, will be sharing this for sure!
Love this. Curious how you see the role of social media evolving as platforms become more algo-driven? Will social remain a brand awareness tool while Substack and Discord take over lead gen and deeper audience engagement, or are these audiences too niche to ever overtake the larger tech platforms?
I think it’s probably too soon to say! In my current role, I use traditional socials (IG, TikTok) for awareness, not community building. That said, I’m sure there are other brands that use these platforms for community and find success there.
I do think Substack, Discord, and other “community” platforms like TYB will continue to increase in popularity for deeper audience engagement, and I suspect a few new ones will probably emerge too.
Good point! I’m excited to see how it plays out. Fascinated by the community building aspect of these platforms and currently going into a deep dive on TYB. Thanks for the insight!
What I love about this is it's tips that as a solopreneur we all have to do. I always tell entrepreneurs to stop trying to be like a big brand when big brands are trying to connect with the audiences that followers personal brands. Thanks for sharing.
Totally. On the inverse, I think there are a lot of big brands that can and should take cues from smaller brands: do things that don't scale, get scrappy, etc.
This is more about Emily’s observation I suppose - genuinely curious if all brands need to have a social strategy? Like I’m not sure strategically the best place to convert men on razors is a social media account? I’m sure if you tried hard enough any brand could be a SM brand but there may be easier, less creative intensive ways to convert people for certain products.
It’s a good question. I don’t think all brands need a social presence (Lush is a good example) but I also think we’re past the era of “social media brands.” It’s so much more table stakes than it was 10 years ago.
In my opinion, Harry’s organic Instagram feed isn’t a place to sell razors. Instead, it serves a few purposes:
1. Bring awareness (new eyeballs) to the brand
2. Drive brand affinity, helping those already aware of the brand feel more connected to it
3. Serve as a “landing page” for instagram ads
If you think about the traditional marketing funnel, I’d place organic social towards the top/middle vs at the bottom.
agreed. the goal of the social presence has to be established first. what is the first thing you do when you meet someone or a brand that peaks your interest? search for them on social
Yes AND strict parameters (like no budget) may actually help you be more creative than you would be with big budgets. Resource restrictions are challenging, but if nothing else, they can make for a fun brainstorm.
As someone who has split my career as the third hire at a startup and as a Brand Manager whose assigned brand has a team of one vs. the other portfolio brands having teams of 3-4, this one resonates! You have to get SCRAPPY but once you demonstrate any measurable results, your requests for support will be received better
“ Start to develop relationships with marketers at non-competitive brands with a similar audience.” - this is such a good tip! Often overlooked too.
Found this super helpful as a solo founder of a bootstrapped brand (aka minimal budget) !!
I’m so happy to hear that! If I can ever be helpful with anything marketing-wise, please let me know.
Thanks Kate!! 🙏
This statement is triggering lol: “let me set the scene: imagine you've been tasked with growing brand awareness on a zero-dollar budget, creating a tiered influencer program with no support, or, my personal favorite, making a TikTok go viral out of thin air.'“
I love the realistic and pragmatic suggestions you make throughout the piece - truly very helpful, will be sharing this for sure!
Oh that scene has triggered me so many times in the past! I get it. So glad this was helpful, and thank you in advance for sharing 🫶🏼
So interesting and relevant to both small and big brands in a time where budgets are shrinking for everyone.
Thanks for reading!!
Love this. Curious how you see the role of social media evolving as platforms become more algo-driven? Will social remain a brand awareness tool while Substack and Discord take over lead gen and deeper audience engagement, or are these audiences too niche to ever overtake the larger tech platforms?
I think it’s probably too soon to say! In my current role, I use traditional socials (IG, TikTok) for awareness, not community building. That said, I’m sure there are other brands that use these platforms for community and find success there.
I do think Substack, Discord, and other “community” platforms like TYB will continue to increase in popularity for deeper audience engagement, and I suspect a few new ones will probably emerge too.
Good point! I’m excited to see how it plays out. Fascinated by the community building aspect of these platforms and currently going into a deep dive on TYB. Thanks for the insight!
What I love about this is it's tips that as a solopreneur we all have to do. I always tell entrepreneurs to stop trying to be like a big brand when big brands are trying to connect with the audiences that followers personal brands. Thanks for sharing.
Totally. On the inverse, I think there are a lot of big brands that can and should take cues from smaller brands: do things that don't scale, get scrappy, etc.
This is more about Emily’s observation I suppose - genuinely curious if all brands need to have a social strategy? Like I’m not sure strategically the best place to convert men on razors is a social media account? I’m sure if you tried hard enough any brand could be a SM brand but there may be easier, less creative intensive ways to convert people for certain products.
It’s a good question. I don’t think all brands need a social presence (Lush is a good example) but I also think we’re past the era of “social media brands.” It’s so much more table stakes than it was 10 years ago.
In my opinion, Harry’s organic Instagram feed isn’t a place to sell razors. Instead, it serves a few purposes:
1. Bring awareness (new eyeballs) to the brand
2. Drive brand affinity, helping those already aware of the brand feel more connected to it
3. Serve as a “landing page” for instagram ads
If you think about the traditional marketing funnel, I’d place organic social towards the top/middle vs at the bottom.
How does that land?
agreed. the goal of the social presence has to be established first. what is the first thing you do when you meet someone or a brand that peaks your interest? search for them on social
Exactly. It's also where a lot of brand discovery happens!
As someone who has never had a budget, I truly appreciated this week’s newsletter! One day I’ll have budget & I’ll unlock my
even more of my creative potential 🤪✨
Yes AND strict parameters (like no budget) may actually help you be more creative than you would be with big budgets. Resource restrictions are challenging, but if nothing else, they can make for a fun brainstorm.
As someone who has split my career as the third hire at a startup and as a Brand Manager whose assigned brand has a team of one vs. the other portfolio brands having teams of 3-4, this one resonates! You have to get SCRAPPY but once you demonstrate any measurable results, your requests for support will be received better
Such a good point. Demonstrating measurable results with little resources can be super challenging but it’s not impossible.