The Social Media Success Ingredient You Mostly Ignore
We’ll warn you right now. The guest on Social Pros in today’s Listen really—for a lack of better words—“comes for” millennials in this interview.
Bernhard Schroeder is a branding expert, creating and launching brands for Yahoo and Amazon. So when he says millennials “don’t understand branding,” it cuts deep. Cuts real deep, Bern.
But it’s not all our fault—it’s that branding concepts are not immediately inherent to the digital world. Bernhard and Jay Baer address the issues with modern branding and some other disconnects between millennial marketers and strategy. Plus, Bernhard offers up a solution, “the social media success ingredient,” as it were. (Spoiler: peep the bonus below.)
Okay, let’s get to it (btw, the interview starts at 2:50):
- (03:45) Bernhard answers the questions: Why do you feel like now is the time for a new branding lesson? What’s the disconnect? Where have we gone astray?
- (03:55) Why many millennials don’t understand branding
- (06:45) How the move to digital has affected the passing of branding knowledge from generation to generation
- (07:15) The crucial importance of finding a mentor in this age of digital agencies with “no branding mentality”
- (10:58) Jay asks: Do you feel like social media allows brands to double-down on the essence of that brand. Isn’t that what good social really is—to reflect and amplify the brand attributes that make that business stand out?
- (12:15) Why social media engagement doesn’t always equal brand value
- (13:55) Jay’s hot take on Wendy’s snarky Twitter account
- (14:45) The issue with “snark” on social media and what happens when you try to “out-snark snark”
- (16:40) Why having a cause and putting it forward can solidify your brand image
- (18:10) Why millennials want to “save anything”
- (21:25) Why we don’t see a Chief Brand Officer like we see Chief Marketing Officers
- (25:45) Advice to someone who wants to be a leader in marketing
- (27:15) The value of “strategy first, execution second” — you can’t get strategic knowledge quickly like you can with social media strategy
- (31:15) Why your social media content should be dictated by a brand story
Bonus: What’s Bernhard’s one tip for becoming a social pro? “Get a mentor that’s been there and done it.”
You Need This 2018 Marketing Calendar & Free Template!
Did you know there’s a National Don’t Go To Work Unless it’s Fun Day? We’ll give $5 to anyone who can tell us what date that lands on. No cheating! (Disclaimer: That’s a lie. We’re not giving out money for that.)
That random “holiday” got us thinking, what other weird holidays are out there and how do we find out about them? It seems like some companies know all the best holidays and are always posting on social media about them. Well, we’ve got your new secret weapon in today’s Read.
Not only does this article have a list of every holiday you could ever want to know about for 2018, it also includes examples of what other companies have done for these holidays. You can plan now for National Daiquiri Day (7/19), World Sleep Day (3/16), or Random Acts of Kindness Day (2/17)
But wait! There’s still more. What kind of article about holidays would be complete without a downloadable marketing calendar that includes all of those dates? Yep, that’s right, you won’t even have to bookmark this article because you can just download the 2018 marketing calendar and never worry about missing National Taco Day on October 4th (Jordyn already has that one on her calendar).
We’re keeping today’s Read short because, quite honestly, there’s not a lot you can say about a calendar.
Get the calendar and all important dates here →
Create a Better World
Think we can all agree that 2017 came with a large side of “We should get a better world.”
While Microsoft’s most recent holiday spot isn’t realistic by any means (we’re talking aliens, a yeti, a peg-legged ferret pirate, etc.), the central themes are community and inclusivity. Not to mention imagination, as we see a girl in bed on her Microsoft pad, creating a whimsical world of aforementioned creatures.
It’s a beautifully animated ad highlighting all that is special about the holiday season—whether it be the magic or the colorful lights or heartwarming togetherness.
Hey, Look at This
Remember when we introduced you to Flywheel yesterday? Turns out they love you as much as we do! They’re giving away a bunch of free (seriously cool) t-shirts to our fam.