🔥 Kara Redman

Agencies don’t create success in a vacuum; results come from in house & agency team collaboration. Brands should know what their business level goals are and work with the agency to develop a social strategy (posting content is not a strategy) with clear KPIs to determine performance.

A brand manual is only effective if it’s actionable. Involve the people who will be using it early in the discovery and requirements process. Include guidelines with proofs of concept so they have clear examples of how to implement, and follow up to identify gaps you may have missed.

Be wary of vanity metrics and only use them if they roll up to business goals. While direct attribution modeling is a trap, if your efforts aren't impacting revenue, don't be afraid to make a move. Every piece of content or interaction should fall within a goal category: Demand/Awareness (widen your net) Conversion (get a sale/download/form fill) Advocacy (deepen engagement and reach)

Long gone are the days of just posting great content. Our high-growth social brands use social to build relationships - by social listening & response on shared topics, PR campaigns to solicit UGC, giveaways, influencer "superfan" gifting programs, brand collabs, and constant human interaction with our social community.

Brand archetypes are a beautiful way to guide the human element of the brand, but can be a trap. Brands aren't human. Humans are messy, inconsistent, contain multitudes. Brands are consistent. Use archetypes internally as part of brand voice documentation, not as the guiding principles of your brand system.

Purpose has to align with the purpose of your ideal customer. This is the magnet that brings you together; it is the core of the messaging framework that inspires all of your content. Purposeful brands who have found their "people" - those with shared purpose, are brands that stick.