3 Things I Took Away From AdWeek’s Social Media Week
Earlier this year I had the pleasure of virtually attending AdWeek’s Social Media Week: The Creatorverse conference which explored the changing social media landscape and the rising significance of creators across the industry. The conference focused on how marketers can effectively collaborate with creators to drive engagement and how innovative digital content is being used to create communities that marketers can engage, grow and monetize.
As a millennial who was born and raised on the internet, creator marketing is an area of the industry that piqued my interest early on in my career. Over the past six years I have watched it evolve from tummy time tea to fully integrated ad campaigns with creators at the center. As we adjust our strategies to accommodate new and evolving platforms, shifting algorithms and cultural trends, one thing is clear: creator marketing isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
With highly influential and knowledgeable speakers from Barstool’s Brianna LaPaglia (aka Brianna Chickenfry) to Kate Spade’s VP of Marketing for North America, Amanda Bopp, the three-day conference provided interesting insights and perspectives into the evolution and the future of creator marketing. Here are three of my main takeaways from the event:
Adopt a social-first approach to marketing
A recurring theme across the conference was the importance of building marketing strategies that are rooted in social. Gone are the days of force fitting a creative idea or campaign into a social asset or format. To succeed and thrive in a social first economy, brands need to have a social-first lens from the onset. No one understands this better than DuoLingo’s VP, Global Head of Marketing, Manu Orssaud, who detailed the success they have achieved from this approach. From becoming the number one education app in the Apple app store to growing their TikTok following to over 7 million followers.
Viral moments are unicorns
Do you even work at an agency if your client hasn’t told you “we want to go viral”? Soyoung Kang, Chief Marketing Officer of eos detailed her experience on the viral creator campaign ‘Bless Your F*ing Cooch’ and following the success, being asked to recreate it. Her answer? You can’t! Viral brand moments should be viewed as a gift from the social media heavens and laying the foundation to jump on these moments is what’s most important. Understanding when, how and where you show up is imperative to being well equipped for when a viral moment gift is bestowed upon you. At that time brands need to be prepared to capitalize on the moment with speed and show up for their audience in a meaningful way.
Build meaningful relationships
I’ve long advocated for creator marketing living with PR professionals because of our ability to nurture and foster meaningful relationships. This belief was validated throughout the conference, especially fromDenis Vitola, VP Brand Integration PR, Social and Influencer for Consumer Health, Bayer and Jamie Hess, social media creator @NYCFitFam. The two discussed the development of their relationship and the importance of building long standing relationships with creators. It’s important to view creators as partners and not hired talent, and recognize that they have assets beyond just their posts that can be tapped into to unleash a creator's full potential.