Hire Social Strategists Who Prioritize the WHY Over Trends
What do I look for in a social media STRATEGIST? Not trends, or ~culture~, or even content. I look for social media professionals that can explain the WHY behind their ideas. Social Media Strategy is all about coming up with strategic ways to showcase your brand / product on social media in ways that are true to the product AND can generate both views & sales. It’s about understanding the emotional value of your product to your customers & highlighting those emotional insights in a compelling, creative way. But it often feels like professional social media has been pulled down into constantly thinking about trends, or worrying about content calendars & daily content more than the WHY and strategic thinking behind the content. So much of brand social falls for the two major social sins: attempts at virality that don’t really have anything to do with the brand / product, or highly branded content that has no shot at real views. If you want to become a Head Of Social someday, or maybe even reach that elusive CMO title, it’s all about explaining your why. There’s no one “right” way to do strategy, but being able to build strategic thinking and share it is everything.
From Agency Employee to 85K‑Subscriber Entrepreneur
Seeing my name + my publication I own on a conference badge will always be cool. I never planned for this to be my life—I was perfectly happy being an agency guy. Now I’m years into owning a newsletter with 85,000...
Rising AI Tool Fees Threaten Small AI-Only Businesses
Oh man, this is definitely gonna happen: - someone builds biz on AI tool - AI tool increases fees - aforementioned biz no longer profitable God… I hadn’t even thought of this. Feels like sometime in 2027, this’ll happen and crippled small AI-only businesses.
AI Accelerates Attention‑Span Collapse Beyond Social Media
I think AI is gonna kill attention spans wayyy more than social media supposedly has. It’s instant gratification within search. The idea of slow learning & patience are over.
Success Isn’t Enough—Therapy Keeps Me Grounded
Decided I'm gonna go back to therapy. I'm actually the happiest I've been in a long time. I've finally built great friendships and a found family in New York, I just tackled the last remnants of some old financial trauma I...
Claude's Value Justifies $200 Monthly Subscription
Welp, officially paying Claude $200/month. The tool's just far too valuable to not use constantly.
From Consultant to Insider: Landing Major Clients Fast
So I started a social media consultancy. I haven't ~announced~ it yet, but pulled in two pretty cool / major clients right away, and man... I'm having the most fun. Writing & speaking about social are great, but I really missed being...
Show Grace: Appreciate and Support Struggling Co‑workers
You should appreciate your co-workers more. Most people are just out here doing their best despite all the insane real world things happening outside our windows (or inside our households). Most people want to be good at their jobs, maybe even...
Higher Pay Boosts Social Media Team Performance
Pay your social media team more money. Pay your social media team more money. Pay your social media team more money.
Instagram Launches TikTok‑style Shop, Reshaping Influencer Marketing
Instagram just copied a big TikTok feature. Meta now has their own TikTok Shop. It’s either gonna ruin Instagram… Or revolutionize Influencer Marketing… https://t.co/wnlWi5RDr7
MrBeast’s Head of Virality Shares My Uncommon Surname
TIL that @MrBeast has a "Head Of Virality," and his name is Chucky APPLEBY. Our last name is nottt terribly common... and we both work in content & virality... SOMEONE FIND ME MY LONG LOST BROTHER. https://t.co/7NS7hZpmLG
Digital Signatures Must Come with Signing Tools, Not PDFs
It should be illegal to request a digital signature without sending a docusign or some sort of signing tool. No I do not want to download your PDF
Unplanned Nomad Life Cripples Productivity Across Time Zones
I'm a digital nomad right now... and I really hate it. I've spent the last 6 weeks in Bangkok + Germany, working on 12 hour time differences from New York, and I find it damn near impossible to accomplish my professional...
Average Post Views: The Underrated Consistency Metric
What's the most underrated social metric? I'd say Average Post Views. Anyone can go viral. Anyone can make a content calendar. But can your content consistently perform? Can you routinely get views on your videos and static posts? If you wanna dig...
AI Writing Quirks Benefit Consumers More Than Marketers Realize
I think most of the AI writing quirks that marketers complain about are probablyyy better for the average consumer than marketers admit.