SocialMinds - A Social Media Marketing Podcast

If you saw Jeremy Allen White’s Calvin Klein ad, count yourself lucky. It was shared without ALT text, so blind and partially sighted people couldn’t join the fun. That was until RNIB schooled us all. Behind every sassy, creative, and inventive post from the Royal National Institute of Blind People is an important message: People with sight loss exist. Social media content manager and previous copywriter for Specsavers’ agency, Helen Dutson, and RNIB’s social media officer Holly Tuke, who’s registered blind are on a mission to show social media that accessible content is achievable, necessary, and rich ground for creativity. In this episode we got a lesson in what scrolling through social is like for someone with sight loss, how to make truly accessible content, who’s doing it well, and how platforms can improve their features. Got a question or a suggestion for the SocialMinds podcast? Get in touch at social.minds@socialchain.com.

This week on Social in Six, we’re joined by SocialChain senior strategist Gareth to break down the top stories circulating in social right now. On the agenda are two updates from Instagram – the first being a test for text overlays and different image ratios in Carousels, and the second being unskippable in-feed video ads. We also discuss TikTok replacing its Creator Centre with new TikTok Studio, X launching new analytics (with a catch), and LinkedIn implementing yet another AI ad tool. Finally we unpack findings from a new Pinterest report, which offers some key insights into getting attention on the platform. Got a question or suggestion for the Social Minds podcast? Get in touch at socialminds@socialchain.com.

Oatly’s punk reputation needs no introduction, but its new media plan does. The brand is scaling up and growing up. So how can Oatly’s provocative ads and content stay that way, while it steps into this next, more mature, phase? In this episode we’re joined by its Global Media Director, Sarah Sutton, to reveal when brands are over-strategising, why Oatly still won’t write TOV guidelines (I know, I know) and how they’re approaching social reactive and creator partnerships after watching the rest of us do it first.  Got a question or a suggestion for the SocialMinds podcast? Get in touch at socialminds@socialchain.com.

A good social strategy should be a lot of things. But the best ones are built around, and for, the fans. Go behind the curtain of a campaign that dominated the FYP page in 2023: SharkNinja’s fan-first approach promoting the Ninja Creami on TikTok. And discover how you too can build campaigns that outlast you. Hear from SharkNinja director of social media & influencers, and SocialChain’s head of influencer Amelia Wollaston, and senior strategist Gareth Harrison. Got a question or a suggestion for the SocialMinds podcast? Get in touch at socialminds@socialchain.com.

Measuring social’s effectiveness can be a minefield. We all want to create more effective outcomes for our brands through social, but social media’s KPIs often seem disconnected to marketing effectiveness principles. That’s what we aim to clarify through this panel discussion – with Ric Hayes, SocialChain group strategy director; Hannah Kimuyu, Brave Bison MD of performance; and Angie French, founder of ALF Consulting. In this, they simplify what it means to know how hard your ads are working – and show you exactly where to start. Got a question or a suggestion for the SocialMinds podcast? Get in touch at socialminds@socialchain.com.

In this instalment of Social in Six, we’re joined by SocialChain strategist Kieran Hughes to break down the latest social updates. This time that includes collaboration posts from TikTok, an algorithm change from Instagram, and several new premium ad types from TikTok. We also talk about Meta and TikTok’s new crackdown on AI generated content, Instagram’s plan to grow Threads’ userbase further, and what Adam Mosseri had to say on Reels best practice. Got a question or suggestion for the Social Minds podcast? Get in touch at socialminds@socialchain.com.

What should we, as brands, be doing to make our campaigns more engaging and, ultimately, more effective? There’s no one better to ask than those who write the rules of engagement – the platforms themselves. At SocialMinds LIVE 2024 we put three of the major social players around the same table to find out – algorithm be damned - what formats, campaigns and ad solutions really drive engagement on their respective channels. Hear from Tobi Demuren, head of advocacy marketing at LinkedIn; Matthew Siberry, head of home at Pinterest UK; and Molly Rajanathan; agency solutions at Meta. Got a question or a suggestion for the SocialMinds podcast? Get in touch at socialminds@socialchain.com.

Our first panel at SocialMinds LIVE in London asked one simple question: how can brands bin the buzzword and build a genuine community? Answering our question was Leah Silverlock, global director of social media at American Express GBT; Jake Gauntlett, head of content at MOB; and Tom Bellamy, SocialChain’s executive creator director. But here’s the catch: how we define community and how the wider industry defines it, is wildly disconnected. Through this discussion and the following Q&A, we set the record straight and set brands on the right path. Got a question or a suggestion for the SocialMinds podcast? Get in touch at socialminds@socialchain.com.

Join us from the SocialMinds stage in London, as we go behind the scenes of the ODMC (the Oatly Department of Mind Control) to find out what makes a distinctive brand on social. Hear from Sarah Sutton, global media director for the illustrious Oatly, as we learn how vowing to be consistently inconsistent has enabled everyone’s favourite oat drink to build reams of brand equity. Plus, listen as your questions get answered in our Q&A section. Got a question or a suggestion for the SocialMinds podcast? Get in touch at socialminds@socialchain.com.

This week on Social in Six, we’re talking about Instagram’s latest move into collaborative social, with Blend, TikTok’s push into shopping ads and search, and YouTube’s focus on creator-led shopping. Elsewhere, Facebook’s rules for video uploads have changed, while Reddit and LinkedIn both have exciting updates to their ads offering, branching into generative AI, live events, and Connected TV or CTV.  Got a question or suggestion for the Social Minds podcast? Get in touch at socialminds@socialchain.com.

This episode is proudly sponsored by Riverside.fm. Click here to try it for yourself, and use the code socialminds to get 15% off any available plan. What we learned this episode: saying people don’t care about product-focused posts isn’t true. What today’s guest says, is they don’t care by default. Doesn’t mean you can’t make them. That guest is John Thornton, senior creative at Surreal and ex-SMM & copywriter at Innocent Drinks. Surreal’s product posts and ads make people care - as do Innocent’s. So in this episode, we’re on a mission to find out how the hell John does it. Why do some brands just *get* how to make their product pop, while other brands are in the trenches? Expect to learn where self-awareness trumps ‘story’, why “soft outrage” often equals success, and how you’re probably breaking that promise you made to humanise your brand. Got a question or a suggestion for the SocialMinds podcast? Get in touch at social.minds@socialchain.com https://creators.riverside.fm/SocialMindsPodcast 

SocialMinds Live is back, and we’re heading to London! Listen to this quick update to get the lowdown, and be among the first to register your interest to hear Oatly, SharkNinja, American Express and more, in the flesh. To find out more, visit https://www.socialchain.com/event/