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Coffees & Content | Marketing, Social Media & Digital Strategy Podcast
Coffees & Content | What's Actually Working in Marketing Right Now
If you want straight-to-the-point marketing insights you can actually use, you're in the right place.
Hosted by Loren Tomlinson, founder of The Social Collective, international speaker, and social media strategist. Loren and her team run marketing every week for service businesses across NZ and Australia. The ads, the content, the email, all of it. This podcast is where they report back.
Coffees & Content covers what's working right now, what's changed, and what they'd do differently, straight from inside the accounts. Expect real talk on the digital space, the strategies delivering results this week, and honest conversations about what it actually takes to make marketing perform.
No fluff. No textbook advice. Just the stuff that matters, from people doing the job in real time.
Grab a coffee, hit play, and let's get into it.
🎙️ Presented by The Social Collective. Follow & connect: @loren.thesocialcollective
Coffees & Content | Marketing, Social Media & Digital Strategy Podcast
"Going Viral Is the Easy Part" - Live Panel From The Social Summit
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Grab that morning cup of coffee, because this one's a little different, it's live from The Social Summit Sydney.
I got to host the final panel of the day, Viral by Design: Building Brands That Break Through, with three women who've each cracked vitality in completely different ways: Lia Georgiantis from Girls with Gems and Sneaky Link, Sarah Forrai from Contour Cube, and Isabella Lynden from VIVE Management.
We got into what actually happens after a piece of content goes viral, because getting the views was never the hard part. In this episode:
- Sarah's "hook trifecta" and how she reverse-engineers vitality from content that's already working
- What happened the morning Kendall Jenner posted about Contour Cube, and what they did in the 48 hours after to actually capitalise on it
- Lia's $99 "boob job tank" and why she believes a great product without marketing is basically nothing
- Why Lia filmed an entire fake trip to Europe before AI made that easy, and why it worked
- How Isabella decides which creators have real staying power versus a single viral moment
- The uncomfortable truth about Meta ads: "if you think other people are killing it on ads, they're probably petrified too"
- Why copying a competitor's viral moment is the fastest way to kill your own brand's identity
- The line every founder on this panel repeated: nail your founder story, then don't be afraid to repeat it
If you've ever had a piece of content take off and had no idea what to do next, or you're stuck trying to reverse-engineer someone else's success instead of building your own, this conversation is for you.
Have a question? Click here to send it to me!
Links:
- Follow on Instagram: @loren.thesocialcollective
- Find Loren on LinkedIn: Loren Tomlinson
- Visit us at: www.thesocialcollective.co.nz
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All right, and last session of the day. I am very excited for this one because I'll be joining the conversation as a panelist for Viral by Design: Building Brands That Breakthrough. Moderating this conversation is Lauren Tomlinson, founder and director of the Social Collective. Lauren leads a specialist marketing agency working across Australia and New Zealand, helping establish businesses grow through social, paid media, email, and content strategy. She's also the voice behind Coffees and Content, a weekly podcast giving marketing professionals an unfiltered take on what's actually working in marketing right now. And once we're wrapped, the social collective is hosting our networking drinks from 4 till 5 p.m. So make sure you stick around, grab a drink, and keep the conversations going. But first, let's get into our final conversation. Please welcome Lauren and our panelists with a huge warm welcome.
SPEAKER_05Hello, hello. How's everybody doing? You having a good day? Is everybody excited for a drink after this? Yes, I love the nods and the smiles. Well, that's great. We are ending on a, I'm biased, but I think it's gonna be one of the most fantastic panels ever. We've got some amazing speakers that are on the stage with me today, and we're gonna be talking all around building brands and really kind of looking at how we can take the virality and continue to skyrocket things because I feel like there's been a lot of conversations today around virality and a lot of you wanting to know what happens post-virality and how do we continue to keep that scaling and how do we grow some amazing brands. So I'm gonna introduce today's speakers. First up, we have the wonderful Leah from Girls with Gems and Sneaky Links. We've got Leah down the end. Leah is, of course, the CEO of these two amazing brands. Girls with Gems is a multi-fashion, multi-brand boutique which has grown into a Sydney cult fashion destination for women's clothing and accessories. And she's launched her own in-house clothing label, Sneaky Link. She's known especially for her viral content approach and her viral product development. Then we have Sarah Foray. Sarah is the co-founder of Contour Cube, a content-led chilled skincare brand that has generously, that is sorry, generated over 1 billion views organically and has built a community of over 1 million followers. She's also appeared on Shark Tank Australia and has even earned an organic share from the one and only Kendall Jenner. Then we have Isabella Linden, who is a very familiar face to I think everybody at this point. She has done a wonderful job of MCing today. Isabella is the founder and director of Vive Management, one of Australia's leading influencer and social media agencies, representing some of the country's most influential creators. Isabella founded the company at 21, and Vive has since grown into a leading force in Australia's creator economy, spanning talent management, influencer partnerships, and social media strategy. So if you guys would please join me in giving a massive warm welcome to my panelists. So I want to start with asking Sarah. Contour Cube has obviously, as we know, racked up over a billion organic content views, which is insane. I want to know, is there an actual formula that you've had behind the virality, or have you had moments where things have just caught you completely off guard?
SPEAKER_00So yes, I actually think there is a formula, but it's never guaranteed. You know, when you post something and you think it's gonna crush it, and then you're just like, and it doesn't, and you only know when something's gonna go well after you've done the thing, and you're like, oh, that's so annoying. But basically, like very early on, I realized the algorithm is telling you what is already working for other brands. Like what's already out there is like data that you can use to your advantage. So there was a brand that I'm like actually really obsessed with, and I talk about him way too much. It's called Message Candle Guy, and he has a candle business, and he had this video that really stood out to me like really early on, and it was about how he started his business. And his hook was him like smashing this piece of wax with like a hammer, and it said how I started my business, and it kind of went into this like montage of like how he started, like he was making the candles, and then at the end, he kind of like burns the candle, and you see this like really cool message like written inside. And I was like, wow, that's a really cool piece of content. Like, I know everything about this person's business in the space of 30 seconds. No one knows anything about my brand or my business. I need to create something exactly like this. So basically, I looked at his piece of content and I was like, how can I use this as a framework or like a structure to create my version of that piece of content? So I basically was like, what's my crazy hook? How am I gonna show a montage? Which is essentially me coming up with the idea, using my 3D printer to design it, and then at the end, kind of demonstrating how I then use that product. And that video went really viral because it was like kind of taking something that has already worked, but then like making it my own, kind of like making it in my own way. Um, I feel like there is always like, you know, everyone talks about the hook, right? We all need a really great hook. Um, but there's like a hook trifector that I always think about, which is like the visual hook, the verbal hook, and like what you're actually wait, visual, verbal, and like what what or the sound, what you're saying. Verbal, but I already said that. Um, or what you're doing. Um, so there's always like the three things you have to think about. And then also like the story structure, we always think it's like beginning, middle, end. But really with short form content, it's like what is the craziest part of your story first, and then give context to that after. Um and then in terms of like the view count, it's about like how you distribute that content. So instead of just like posting on TikTok and leaving it at TikTok, like that might hit 20,000 views, we post the same content on TikTok, then we post it on trial reels, and then reels, and then YouTube Shorts. So instead of it just hitting 20,000 views, it's hitting 50,000 views then on Instagram and then 10 million on YouTube Shorts. So yeah, that in a nutshell.
SPEAKER_05Leah, what have you done in a similar sense? Like, have you had virality just kind of take you by by storm and unexpected, or have you done something intentionally to kind of grow the virality like Sarah has?
SPEAKER_02I mean, I think every single piece of content that you put out, you're trying to go viral, essentially. Um, especially now more than ever. I feel like you used to be able to put like cute filler content and like things that you didn't really mind if they didn't go viral, but now there's just way too much noise, and you need to cut through that noise and try to go viral every single time. I think for us, we just keep trying to think outside the box because like things are so quick, people are grabbing on to these viral moments quicker than ever. So, like, how can you take that viral moment and make it better? Or how can you do something that no one has ever seen before? Um, my best example, I think, where we really cut through the noise was we always did a Europe campaign for anyone going to Europe in summer, and no one was really doing that yet, but everyone got onto the trend. So we started seeing people like going to Europe and making all of their content, and then I was like, I'm just gonna go to Europe and like I'll make content. And my husband's like, nah, it's not a good time, you can't go to Europe. I was like so off him. I was like, I want to go to Europe so bad. He's like, You're not going. I'm like, okay, cool. Well, I want this is before AI. I was like, I want you, I'm gonna take a video of us pretending we're going to Europe and you're gonna put us like we're in Europe, so I want the background to be Europe, like put me in Numos in Mikanos, put me at the Eiffel Tower, and we did this whole entire campaign that was like AI, but it was really obviously fake, and it was meant to be like that. And we went so viral, and it was one million times better than going to Europe because we kind of like made fun of it and like really got people to like stop while they scrolled. Um I think now it's harder than ever because everyone's using AI, everyone's moving faster than ever. Content is so amazing. If anything, I feel like when you scroll, you almost feel like you're behind already before you've even started. It is hard. Um, but you have to just like keep pushing forward and keep like making new ideas to go viral.
SPEAKER_05I love that. And on the other side of the, I guess the side of the coin, rather than brand side, looking at creator side, Isabella, you've obviously built out an agency that represents over 50 amazing creators. When you're building a roster like that, obviously looking at things like on Instagram, like how they're gonna go viral and how they're gonna represent brands as well. Is there something in particular that you're looking for, for talent that really stands out that you do see has the potential for those viral moments?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think for us, it definitely comes down to a connection with their audience. Are they ambitious and are they adaptable? I think for us, we definitely look at can the creator really connect with their audience, their audience trusts them and they become really, really well known. They also have that ambition to drive for something bigger than just you know gifted products, and that's it. Can they actually create a long-term career and push beyond the limits? And then also really adaptable because it's you know, we talk about going viral and it's all incredible, but you have to be able to, you know, pivot and work from one platform to the other. The algorithm's always changing, knowing what's happening in the landscape. So for us, it's identifying who are those key creators who, yes, can go viral, but also build that long-term career and have that longevity.
SPEAKER_02Uh we've done a few collaborations. So we did two collaborations with Jazz Hand and one with Ell Esquire, and we're about to launch another collab, which is really amazing. But you can't just choose anyone just because they go viral. And we make a very conscious effort in choosing girls that feel very aligned to our brand. You you like sure you can just choose someone that's going really viral and everyone's obsessed with them, but do they align truly? Are people gonna see the content and feel that that person really wanted to be there, that they understand your message, that they connect with your audience? And it really shone through with Jazz Hand. Obviously, hers was first, and with Ella. But our first one with Jazz Hand, it didn't just feel like, oh, she just got paid and she came and did what she had to do and then she left. Like she had 12 deliverables. I'm pretty sure she delivered like over 60 uh pieces of content on socials in the end because she actually wanted to be there. She believed in the collection, she believed in the message. So I think it's really important to like align, like if you are someone who wants to do a collab and you want to pick an influencer, pick someone that actually represents what you are trying to communicate to your community.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, absolutely. I think it's really easy to see and really obvious as well when you look at a brand that's collaborated with someone that just is not the right fit. Have any of you ever seen that? You've seen a brand and they've collaborated with someone, you're like, this is just not, it's not it, it's the wrong person. Yeah, I'm seeing a lot of nods. Yeah. On that note too, Isabella, you've obviously worked with some amazing brands like Apple and L'Oreal, and on that note of finding the right alignment, is there anything in particular that you see brands do where they just make the wrong move in picking somebody to represent their brand?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, definitely. Um I think the biggest, I guess, example is where, say, you have a beauty brand and they've gone, yep, we have our cleanser, and this is our favorite influencer. Okay, we're gonna put this product on our favorite influencer. It's gonna look like an ad, but we expect it to perform like an organic piece of content. But in reality, it's just being forced on there, they've been given their key messages. Uh put say it in this, you know, room or with this wording, whatever it may be, but they're not actually tapping into how does that content creator make their audience feel? How do they really deeply connect with them? And that's coming back to that authenticity piece that you need to find, as you know, you were mentioning before, find those true uh content creators that really align with the brand, with their values, go on that deeper level, um, and then from there see where it can kind of evolve, and also also tapping into the creators' content and using their ideas. They're the ones who come up with the creative pieces and leaning into that as much as possible.
SPEAKER_05Absolutely. Sarah, do you have any non-negotiables when it comes to choosing collaborators or anything like that when it comes to representing your brand and how you want it to be perceived?
SPEAKER_00Um, we've been really lucky to be fair to have like our like our customers be our real influencers. So they've been just organically kind of posting about our products. So we love to kind of share that within our content, just to be like, cool, they're posting about us and sharing it with their community. And they always come up with different ideas that we didn't realize they were using the product for. So, like, for example, we've got some like customers who use it for menopause and they're sharing it with their audience because they find it useful for hot flashes, or they're sharing it um because they're pregnant and they are also kind of going through hormonal changes and they're using the product for that reason. So it kind of surprises me as well. Like they are sharing it with their audience because they found a product that really resonates that they want to share with their community. So we kind of just reshare kind of the content that they're putting up onto our kind of stories to kind of share that with our community as well.
SPEAKER_05It's a really nice, authentic, and organic way to be able to share the people that have represented your own product and they've used it. Speaking of people that have obviously used your product, I mentioned earlier that Kendall Jenner had given you guys an organic post, and that's obviously really exciting. Two questions. One, was it ever expected? And two, what did you do after that to intentionally capitalize on that virality? Because you could see that it gained some really great traction.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so no, we had no idea that was gonna happen. So backstory, uh woke up one morning, phone was going off, like had a load of sales, um, and my partner was like, What's going on? Like, you know, and I was like, Oh, maybe a TikTok has gone viral, maybe we got featured in like a PR article or something. Um, last thing on my mind was like the influencer of all influences just posted about us, like what the hell? Um, so I got all these screenshots from my friends being like, What the hell? Like, you should be like, How are you not awake right now? Like, look at your phone. So I saw like basically she had posted it on her stories. Um, and she was basically holding the product, and it said, Love this for my morning ice facials. Um, and yeah, obviously that blew my mind. But having it as a story, as we all know, is is a fleeting moment. And um, we luckily had like earned media from that. So we had like Hollywood Life write about it, Grazia magazine. I was like, that's really cool. But had we left it there, it probably just would have just been that. Um, but we basically just created more content around that. So I think when any milestone moment happens in your business, really want to you really want to double down on the content. So we basically created a piece of content that was like the craziest thing happened. Kendall Jenner just posted about us, but let's rewind and let me tell you how this all started and kind of went into our brand story again. And a piece of content that we know has worked in the past and like layered it on with that like social proof of Kendall. And that video hit like seven million views on TikTok, and we repurposed the exact same thing on Instagram and hit another seven million views. So just like getting all that extra brand awareness um was really cool. And then we also reached out to PR ourselves. So we we wrote a press release and we were able to get like just more um, yeah, just more articles and stuff written about it, which was cool. So like Daily Mail and like Beauty Crew. Um, so it's like kind of what you do with that content and how you like get it out into the world so more people see it, and then reaching out to media and just being like, you want to write about this cool story, and then they'll kind of you know write about it and reach their audience as well. So like it kind of just continues on that momentum.
SPEAKER_05I love that. And I want to ask a very similar question to to all of you and feel free to jump in. Going off of that and having a really strong story. Do you believe, the three of you, that having an ordinary product or something that is similar to maybe another brand has done, but having a strong story, can that take it from being something that's just ordinary to extraordinary?
SPEAKER_00Yes, yes, no, I definitely think so. Um, I mean, if we even like kind of look at my product, like if you take a step back, it's you know, it was very um to be honest, it looks simplistic and minimalist in its design, but it was quite complex to like bring it to life and get it to work, like without breaking the half and leaking and stuff. But that aside, it is an ice mold. Um, but I think because we gave it a brand story and context, and like the reason why we started the brand is because I saw my mom struggling with ice cubes and I saw people online dunking their face into ice balls, and I was like, surely there's an easier way. And like I suffer from Ray Nodes phenomenon or rainhood's disease, which means like I'm ultra sensitive to the cold and my fingers and my toes to the point where they go numb. So icing with my bare hands was just really painful, and I was like, okay, surely there's a tool out there to make this easier. Um, and then I kind of tell the brand story of like going into the design process of it all, like 3D printing it, coming up with the colors, like the features of the product, like why we design things in a certain way. Um, and I think that that is indirectly selling your product, but through your brand story and like an emotional story that people can resonate with. Um and that's the piece of content that really catapulted our brand into the mainstream. Um, so I I definitely think that yeah, um, if you have a really good brand story, you can make a pretty ordinary product, pretty extraordinary.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Do either of you two have anything you want to add, Leah? Yes, I think a product without marketing is basically nothing at this point because the media, um, sorry, social media is just like flooded with things to buy, especially in fashion. Um, we recently had one of our tank tops go extremely viral. We call it the $99 boob job tank. And that slogan alone, like that's what we posted, and we sold like 500 tanks in one day. And since then we've sold thousands because of this $99 boob job tank. I mean, it does really like give you a really nice lift. But that product without that marketing would have been nothing. It would have just sat on our website. Had we not made that video, uh, we would not have sold thousands of that product. We launch about 10 to 15 products every week. So those products would literally just live on our website, I believe, if there was not a viral social media attached, viral social media moment attached to some or all of those products. I think people don't just go and like scroll and buy anymore, they they see it so many times before they make the purchase.
SPEAKER_05When it comes to, I've got another question for you, Leah, when it comes to the product innovation side of things, because obviously you've now got your own in-house brand, how important do you feel like product innovation is for being able to make moments like that with the $99 like boob lift? How important do you think the product innovation side of things is to make those moments that people actually want to talk about?
SPEAKER_02It's like so important. If you are just making collections in the typical way that people were making fashion collections like 12 months ahead in these like story moments, like that's just not gonna work anymore. You need while you're designing, you need to think of your viral social media moments. And they're thought of like our social media team and our sneaky link team really work in tandem and we think about these viral moments as we're creating products and we're creating content while we're creating product. So I feel like it's really important, but in the same breath, there are pieces that you just can't like picture going viral, and they do. There was a piece in the Ellis Squire collection called the faux lace trim top, and we shot it in literally five minutes. A nine-hour day, we spent five minutes on it. I hated the product, I wanted it out of the collection, and it went so viral. We have sold thousands of the top. It was the best-selling collection, the best-selling piece in the whole collection, and I didn't really think it was gonna work. It went viral every time we posted it. It was like Instagram just favored this top, and so many people have duped the top, which is amazing. But like we couldn't have picked that. So there are moments that you can manufacture and you know this product's gonna go viral, it's trending, but then there are also moments you can't imagine will happen, and they're kind of like the diamonds I find.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, absolutely. Both, yeah, and I like what you said as well about like remembering to do the content while you're developing the product and while you're creating it, because I think that's for so many people, it ends up just being an afterthought, and it's like, oh well, I probably should have filmed this process. But it's there's nothing more exciting than also being able to watch that product be developed.
SPEAKER_02We also will like tease a lot, so we'll be in the sneaky link room, we get a sample, and we're like, let's just see if people like it. So we'll just post it, and then everyone's like, oh my god, I will like we know within like five minutes, Renee and I like how many DMs do you have? And then we're like so many, we're like go into production, or we're like, we don't have any DMs. I don't know about this one. So maybe not. So maybe not. So like getting that quick customer feedback. Obviously, it's hard, like you would you worry that people will see it and they might copy it before you get to market, but like sometimes you've got to take that risk because you're not you're not 100% sure on a product and why manufacture something if you're not sure. So that's something that we do quite a lot.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, which I love. And Isabella, obviously, we've heard from like the brand side of things and how you can take a viral moment and continue to make sure that you can keep generating them. I know that it was touched on in the very, very first panel this morning, but when it comes to content creators and like the kind of creators that you work with as well, when it comes to building something that goes beyond just a viral moment, like not just that kind of like one and done TikTok video that did really well and then somebody didn't know what to do with it, what is really important when it comes to building a long-lasting brand for a creator that would want to work with a brand like yours?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I would say that your viral moments are grabbing attention, but the brand equity comes down to longevity. Two of our creators that do this really well are Caitlin Amiko and Tali Edwards. I have seen them, their content is absolutely transformed. Um, but if I say the name to anyone, straight away they come back to me and say, Oh, yeah, the two girls who live in New York who share finances. They have created that brand equity, they have become memorable, they have, you know, really transformed their social. Into becoming a household name when it comes to social media. So I think that you need to again still have those viral moments that, you know, make you increase your brand awareness, but you need to come back to your audience, nurture them, really have that key messaging that you're always driving, again your values to see that long-term gain.
SPEAKER_05And what would you say is the difference between just having followers versus really nurturing and growing a committed and dedicated community?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think followers are definitely people can obsess over them, but no one really looks at them anymore. We as talent managers, we're getting approached all the time to manage creators, which we're so grateful for, but we always straight away go to the comments. Um, we go through, you know, how they're also engaging with their community. What are they doing outside of that? Are they going on community walks with their followers? Um, what are they doing to also kind of give back? Um for us again, it's playing that long-term game of where can you then take your audience in different journeys? Is it on Substack? Is it on another platform? Um, is it in real life? So, yeah, again, how can we look at that bigger picture?
SPEAKER_05And I know, Leah, you've done a similar thing with really building your community. You've been doing, you started off with doing styling sessions in Double Bay. What have you learned through really investing the time into making sure that you connect with your community? And how do you feel like that's impacted you in the long run with being able to grow both your brands?
SPEAKER_02So I worked in my boutique every single day for years. And when I started pulling back and moving to my desk, I still was working in the store, and every Saturday I would work in the store so that I could like hear what the customers had to say. I don't work in the store anymore at all, which I thought was never, ever, ever going to happen. So if that's something that you're worried about that you'll never be able to step back, you can. I used to say to my husband, I'm gonna be working here forever. Um, but I feel like all of those years being on the shop floor, I really understand women wanting to feel confident in their clothes. And I now take that into our social media. So I was like, I stand here saying the same thing over and over again. I'm selling to people, which I love. I loved connecting with people, I love styling people. I love when women walk away and have a new wardrobe and they're so excited to wear their clothes. But I can't stand here repeating myself again and again about the clothes. And that's when I started speaking to camera and like saying those things that I love, the features and benefits of an item that make me feel amazing. Um, and it resonated so much. I don't think I would have known that had I not done the styling sessions, what people actually want to hear about the clothes, about how they make you feel, because other people on social media with fashion are just showing these like crazy campaigns in like gorgeous countries overseas, but they don't speak to us here in Australia, me on the weekend wearing my items. So I feel like working with my clients made the social media part way easier because I knew what to say and do.
SPEAKER_05Absolutely. And I think it it really pays off in the long run being able to have that connection with your initial customers and the people that kind of even helped grow and scale your brand. And I think it's not just I think people forget sometimes too that it's not just social media, like life exists outside of just being online. And so starting that and learning and doing, I know it's been repeated so many times this morning as well, doing your market research as well, and then being able to take that and kind of scale it online. And then, Sarah, when it comes to creative risks, because obviously we now know our customers and we know how to connect with them. I know that um you have obviously had multiple viral moments and you've had moments where we've had Kendall Jenner and so many amazing people kind of promoting your products. When it comes to deciding when to and to not take a creative risk, when and if do you follow your own feelings and your gut instincts versus when do you rely on the data?
SPEAKER_00I feel like we've posted so much now that we know quite a lot about the kind of content that works. So, like we know what kind of hooks work, we know what kind of formats work, we kind of know the topics that are working for us, and we kind of like double down on that. Like, what works, we'll we'll keep doing that kind of content. Um, and we'll definitely start trying um experimenting with things that we'd never done before. Um, so like one thing that we did was like storytelling, for example, like the narrator style content was something that maybe rocked up like a year ago. And it's got that like wizard voice where it's like, this is Sarah. And like that style like really resonated with our audience and had like a lot of engagement. And it just goes to show how much storytelling can evolve over time as well. And you want to adapt with the platform, so you want to always try and experiment with things that might resonate with you and feel on-brand to you. Um, so yeah, we definitely tried that and that worked out for us. So now that's like a piece of content and a format that we come to all the time. And I actually looked back and like we posted three, three types of Derator style content during Black Friday, and they all hit over like 500,000 views, which was really cool, especially during a time where you know everyone's fighting for attention. Um so yeah, I definitely love to experiment. I think that's really important. Otherwise, you'll never find out what that next format is or um what that next like hook might be that you could use in like multiple videos. Um, the other thing we actually do is we have like a content library that we just come back to all the time. So like that we have a content library of hooks that work. I've got a content like folder of all the stuff that I do with like my mom or like demonstrating the product. So whenever there's like a trend that I might want to jump on, and I'm like, oh, maybe I could try this and see if it works, I can try it with the content I already have without having to film it from scratch. Um, so I think that helps with like consistency, but also kind of jumping on the trend really quickly as well.
SPEAKER_02I have something to say on this. I think that when like a lot of people in business, and especially when you're starting, you create a social media strategy and you decide what you're gonna post and you pre-plan because that's what you're meant to do. And a lot of a lot of people that I speak to get stuck with when things change. My biggest thing in our business is I want to post something, I want to post, I went you to post it right now. So I don't post anymore on social media, but I want the girls to do it now. I'm not waiting until next week. It's going viral right now. You need to be, like right now, especially, you need to be willing to pivot. You need to be willing to throw everything in the bin and start again. If it's not working, you don't just put it out because you spent time taking the content. Like if you are gonna ruin your brand image or it's just gonna fall on deaf ears, you're wasting your time. Don't post, don't waste real estate online. Post something that is actually relevant. And also, like, just because you decide that you want to be perceived one way, and you probably can speak to this as well, you can change that. You're allowed to change how you're perceived online. Um, I think at the start, especially, you need to throw everything at the wall and see what sticks because you might start out wanting to be this particular business that's viewed in a particular way, but you might try something else that ends up going viral and it might be more true to you. So I think don't get so stuck on wanting to be perceived in a certain way. Because if I had done that with girls with gems and wanted to be perceived how everyone else was in the fashion industry, which was really polished and high-end and all that stuff, I wouldn't have started doing the talking videos, and it literally changed our business and my life.
SPEAKER_05I think that's fantastic. And yeah, just really leaning into authentic being authentically you and just doing what you want your brand to be represented as and like. And I guess from both brand side and agency side, data-wise, and obviously we go with all of these like creative instincts because you've done you've done it so many times and you've done it time and time again, and you know what works. When you're looking for the things to figure out, aside from just the number of of reach that your posts or your videos or your reels get, what data are you each looking for from both brand side and agency side when it comes to long-term viral performing content?
SPEAKER_02I mean you want to make money. That's why we're in V Rad Answer. So, like, you want to see that you went viral, but you actually made money. Um, I mean, we had someone extremely famous wear something and we didn't get a single sale. So, like, I think you can make viral content and you can go viral, and it's easier than ever to go viral, but you you need it to convert if you want to make money. You can't just sit there making content that just like people engage with. So I think that's really important.
SPEAKER_05That's an interesting insight too, like saying that you worked with somebody who is really, really well known, but they didn't actually make you any money. And so it's just because people have, like you've all talked about, like a large following, doesn't necessarily mean that they have that engaged community that is like, yes, absolutely, I'm gonna buy something because you're talking about it, Isabella.
SPEAKER_01And we've also seen a shift where brands were so fixated on how many likes, how many saves, how many shares. Whereas now we're also getting asked, what are the DMs looking like? What are their what's their community saying to them? Um, what can we do to take this to the next level? What is people saying in the comments? Again, it's always coming back to comments and DMs. Um, but in terms of data, we're also then analyzing audience and who's actually interacting with that specific post and how we can then drive ROI for brands and also asking feedback from brands. Don't ever be afraid of asking for feedback because brands really love to tell you how something went, but then also take that on board to pivot and change for next time.
SPEAKER_00Sarah, anything you want to add? I think it comes down to the type of content as well. Like when we find things go viral, it could be like our founders story and that really resonates. And then, you know, we've got like our design kind of weaved into that, and that's kind of the content that converts. Whereas you can make viral content, like you said, and it could just go viral for the sake of being viral, but it doesn't actually do anything. Um, we had this piece of content that we did that was like me removing the lid of my cube, and it was like, guess the sound. And it was like the first sound was like meow, and it was like all these weird sounds, and people were like really into it because they were playing a game and they loved it and it was really entertaining, but like that was kicking off and it grew our followers like a lot, but then it like dropped as much as it grew because it wasn't like of value, it wasn't helpful, it wasn't like like a problem that was solved through the product that they could understand, it was more of like a piece of entertaining content. So I think it comes down to the content in it as well to help actually convert.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, absolutely. And then speaking of taking your content further and obviously having it convert into more, what role would each of you say that PR plays when it comes to turning a brand into more of a cultural moment rather than just a one-time viral hit?
SPEAKER_01I think when it comes to the culture moments, I think remind yourself that you don't actually have to play into every single culture moment or every single trend. And do that well, but don't just you know create a piece of content for the sake of it, take up the real estate, and then it's ruining your brand image. So be mindful of where you're playing, do it well, but you don't need to be playing into every space.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I would I would agree with that. Yeah. So like I feel like cultural moments always kind of translate into trends, like you said, on social media. And like a couple of years ago, I think Wicked was really going off on like socials and like every it was all over your feed and stuff. And at first I was like, this probably wouldn't be something that would relate to my brand. But then when you kind of take it like I don't know, three days later, I was like, actually, I think I could make this work. I've got a pink contour cube, I've got a green one, um, I could re-edit a piece of content that I already I already have to kind of make this make sense for my brand. Um, and that actually outperformed the first video that we kind of created with that kind of wicked sound in mind. And then other brands were kind of jumping on that, like OddMuse as a fashion brand was like they just launched like a green dress. So they were able to jump on that whole wicked, you know, cultural moment because it made sense. So I think when there's a natural connection to your brand, definitely jump on the trend, but don't do the trend just because everyone else is doing it. Um, there was another weird one that was like, I like my suitcase. Do you remember that trend? And people were like pushing like their like colleagues around in their suitcases, and I was like, this is really wild. Okay, I get it for like entertainment, but like if that was the first touch point of my brand to somebody, I don't think that that would be super valuable. So instead of taking that trend and doing exactly what everybody else was doing, I was like, okay, I could take that sound, but actually edit it to um a recipe video. I know like my audience loves to like try different ice facial recipes. So we did it, we edited to like a flaxseed facial recipe, and that went really viral, but also like made sense for the brand. So I think when you really stand out, it's when you take a trend, but like really make it your own and like make it make sense for your business.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, absolutely. I think it's a really nice way as well to get that brand having a conversation outside of your own audience, like outside of just the people that currently follow you. Is there anything that either of the two of you have seen, Leah, you've either done or Isabella, you've either like seen that helps take brands outside of their current following? Like if somebody here was thinking, how on earth do I get people to engage with my brand and see my brand outside of the people that currently follow me now? Is there any advice that you could give to them or anything you could share?
SPEAKER_02I mean, I don't think this is the right answer, but my mind just goes to like collaborating with people who are aligned to your brand. Like I said before with Jazz and Ella, we reached all of their audience. And then I guess, and probably no one wants to hear this, but like ads, meta ads, Google ads, you're reaching people there and you're gonna convert. I don't think that's the answer you want. But no, I think it's a great one. Yeah. I feel like my mind goes to trial reels. Yes, actually, trial reels. I love trial reels. Yes, they're great.
SPEAKER_05Yep. I think it's a nice way to tap into an audience that's yeah, not if you're not posting on trial reels, you need to start posting on trial reels. Just while we're on the topic of meta-ads, because I know that we were talking about it just before we got on stage. What is your take on meta-ads when it comes to working alongside a brand that has so much virality organically? How have ads now started to play a role in your business and like what does it look like for you?
SPEAKER_02I'm trying to think how to say this in a politically correct way. Like, I feel like right now meta-ads have us all in chokeholds. Like, you basically need to be doing ads, well, especially at our size. It would be impossible to keep growing without ads. There is no way we could, especially now we're expanding into the US. You can't do it without ads. We, yeah, you have to play the game, I guess. Um what would I say that they're changing every day? That um if you think that other people are killing it on ads, they're probably petrified and have no idea what they're doing because we all are as confused as each other. Um, I don't know if that's like that's not good advice, but we're still trying to work it out, even though we're spending so much money on ads every day.
SPEAKER_05I think this conversation too has been really nice and reassuring, and I'm gonna speak on behalf of all of us, but I think it's a really nice, reassuring conversation that you don't need ads to also be able to grow brands and scale as a creator or as a brand beyond like you don't need an ad spend because there's so many people that start off businesses and they're like, I don't have an ad spend, but that doesn't mean that.
SPEAKER_02To get to a certain size, you need the ad spend.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, absolutely. Just to kind of keep it.
SPEAKER_02But initially, yeah, you for a long time we didn't have ads, and I was like, we don't run ads until we now we run a lot of ads, and it's like kind of the only way that you can grow at a certain point when you've saturated the market.
SPEAKER_00We were the same. We we didn't need to have like paid ads for the first like six months, even maybe a year, like like just posting consistently organically. Um but yeah, I think I heard something online that was like, you know, it's a really great marketing when you're able to have that first touch point on organic first rather than being that first touch point being an ad. So like I love that you know, you can bring people, it's all part of the funnel. And if like you can like reach your audience through a piece of organic content first, and then they get to know you, they find you relatable, they find it funny, they share it with your friends, maybe they're following you, and then they get hit with an ad later. Um, and the pieces of content as well are so different. Like, what I thought I could do is take a piece of organ, like organic, super viral piece of content and chuck it up as an ad, and it just didn't work. Um, and that's because like maybe on organic, people care a little bit more about your brand story and like your founder story and my mom and like how she inspired the business. But like when you're hit with an ad, you're like, you're getting paid to like get this piece of content shown to someone and they're like, Don't waste my time, like tell me why I need this product. So that's why it's a little bit more hard sell when you're like doing a Facebook ad and organic's a little bit more fluffy. So that's kind of like why I had to like change my kind of strategy when it comes to like meta.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, especially because they're they're two different things and they speak to people in two different ways. I just want to say something.
SPEAKER_02I don't want to dishearten anyone with what I said about meta. It is amazing when you get an ad that does really well, you can sell like thousands of units. It's just really soul crushing when that piece of content fatigues and then you have like rebought the stock and you can't get it to like kick again. So meta ads can be the best thing that ever happened to your business, but it can be a little bit soul crushing. But we're all in it together, you're not alone if that happens.
SPEAKER_01Just with the um ads, it is so overwhelming. So I think before you even start, like go onto Meta ad library, see what your competitors are doing, see what other people are doing. I love going on there and just watching and feel like I'm stalking them. I love it. Um, but use that as a piece to play. Okay, this might be working for them. They've now been running. It tells you when they started running that ad. Look at when they're starting, it must be working for them. So maybe I'll do something similar to that. Um, or maybe I'll use that same concept to then tweak it in my own way. So get stalking for sure. Can I say something? Yeah, thank you.
SPEAKER_02This is your panel. You have to be careful doing that because you could be going into someone's ad library, looking at their content, thinking, oh well, I like that brand. I think they do well because I think they do well, and then you're copying or you're taking inspiration, but they might not be doing well. So be careful. And that goes for all of social media, you know. Like sometimes you get excited because you're like, oh, that that brand is doing so well. Like, I want to emulate their social media, but you won't get anywhere by emulating someone else's social media. You have to like come with your own approach. There is merit in what you said, and I'm with you. It's really fun to do that, but you just have to be careful not to be trying to do something that someone else is doing because you're not actually sure that it's working. So make sure you test it for your own brand. And if it doesn't work, like don't keep trying because someone else is doing it.
SPEAKER_00Do you guys use foreplay? I know that came out really wrong. That's what it's called. Um, it's like, do you guys actually use it? It's like an app where you can see, yeah, you can save the ads, and like you can kind of see as well, like um how many days an ad's been online for. So I think that's a really good indication of like, oh my god, this ad's been on for like 600 days. It's clearly crushing it. So, like, we kind of like to use that as a way to save our ads as well to get inspiration from.
SPEAKER_05Speaking of knowing your brand, obviously, before you go and stalk somebody on meta-ads library and start to potentially accidentally pull content that is just really not working, you've obviously built two brands in-house. What is something that people can do today or at least start thinking about to make their brand more distinctive and to really start standing out before they even try chasing the virality or before they put any money behind meta-ad spend?
SPEAKER_02I think it's to decide who you are. So, for like I I took over my mum's business and I just continued posting on social media like every other multi-brand boutique was, and it felt like really not true to who I was because I'm quite outspoken. Um, I've always been a size 12 plus, and I was posting like size six models, and it was just like all polished, and I'm not polished. And I was like, I need to break through this noise, and it it happened on purpose, but then it went viral kind of by accident. But I think it's like decide who you are, don't copy someone else because if you're copying someone, they're already on the front foot, they're moving on to the next thing. So, like, even now, people are like, oh, these people are doing like comparison videos. I'm like, I don't care, I've already thought about the next thing that I'm doing. Like, you just need to come up with your own personality on social media, get people to follow you because they want to follow you, not because you're emulating someone else's brand. Because then people go on your page and they're like, oh, it looks like that brand or it looks like that brand. You want people to see your content and know know that it's your content before they see a logo or before they, you know, watch any further. So I think it's like stop, break, who do I want to be? How do I want to come across on social media? Do I want an authentic voice? Do I want my face on the brand? And then like go full steam ahead with that. Stop trying to copy different people and put things together because it won't work. And when we did that, and when we stopped and we decided to start creating size six and size 12 videos, it was kind of people were kind of like looking at us like, not very good content. Brands were like, don't know if we want to be stocked with you, we'd rather be stocked with the other boutique who has really polished content. Every single one of those brands now has come back to us asking us to stock their brands. So we were actually selling with what we were doing. So and also I felt judged at the time, but I was like, no, this is true to me. Like, I'm just gonna keep going. If you feel cringe, it's always cringe until it's not. I was really cringe, and now maybe I still am, but I don't feel like I am. So yeah.
SPEAKER_05I love that. And on that note, to wrap up this panel before we head off to some delicious networking drinks, and I hand over to Amy to wrap up. I would also love to know on that same topic, what is something that everyone here can take away that would allow them to go and work on making their brand completely impossible for people to ignore.
SPEAKER_00I think just nail your brand story. I feel like a broken record, but your founder story is really unique to you and what makes you different from everyone else. I feel like anyone can sell a product, but the reason why your product exists or like the problem that you solved or the gap in the market that you saw is always gonna be a personal experience that's unique to you, and you want to really like nail that brand story and then don't be afraid to repeat it. I feel like we always get scared of like, oh no, it sounds really repetitive. It's like, no, find that piece of content that's gonna resonate with people and like cut it up in like a hundred different ways and like post it till the end of time, put it on trial reels and just keep bringing back your story.
SPEAKER_01I have a similar view in the sense that stay close to your customers, as close as possible that you can, because you're gonna be fed that feedback and just everything that they have to say, which is incredible, but then it feeds into then what you're creating for pieces of content. I mean, as you said around the comparison videos, that's how now I know your brand and how I fell in love with it in the first place. So staying true to what your customers know and love, and then building on that even further.
SPEAKER_02I need you to repeat your question because I forgot what you were answering what the question was.
SPEAKER_05What is something that people can take away today that they can do to make their brand impossible to ignore online?
SPEAKER_02I think just be as authentic as you can. You don't have to reveal your whole self on the internet, but if you are you, no one can copy that and it never falters just continuing to be you and taking people on your journey. No one can take that away from you. So just be as authentic as possible.
SPEAKER_05Amazing. Well, thank you, all three of you, so so much. Everyone, give them a massive round of applause. What a great panel to finish the day. And I'm gonna pass over to the hostess with the most us, Miss Amy Dickinson.
unknownHi, that's right.
SPEAKER_04Alright, guys, I know you're all as thirsty as I am, so I'm going to keep this. We've got the shot. Perfection. Alright, I'm gonna keep this short and sexy. Uh firstly, a huge thank you to Riser. You've made this event possible, and our partnership has truly been incredible. To all of our partners, Substack Merch Girls, Veneziano Coffee Roasters, The Social Collective, Napoleon Purdis, Camille Fleur, Sunday Body, and Alana Maria Jewelry, today has been a team effort, and together we've created something so special. To our incredible speakers, I'm Fangirling. Uh, your expertise, insights, and willingness to share your knowledge is what makes the event so valuable. We cannot thank you enough. To Elysium Manley. Wow, nice pad. We are so grateful for your incredible team, including the amazing AV, and we are very excited to announce the winner of the Elysium Manly giveaway. No. Yep. Congratulations, Christy Allen! Are you here? Come and collect your prize from the stage. You have won a bougie night's stay at Elysium Manley Jealous. Come and collect your prize from the stage. A special mention to those who have supported us since the start: Jordan Christensen, Lizzie Mulheron, Josh Henry Hicks, Zen Up Wilkinson, and Hannah Chipkin, just to name a few, our incredible MCs, Isabella and Alicia, our photographers Vivi and Rosie, volunteers Chloe and Sabine, and of course the Equity Events team. Des, Jill, Michaela, and Ben. We love you. Mum, Dad, I know you say you hate it when I bang on about you and my closing address, but if I recall correctly, you've both totally teared up every time I have. The truth is, I don't thank either of you enough for everything you do. So allow me to take this opportunity.
SPEAKER_03Mum, you are the best mum in the world. Full stop, period. You are nothing short of incredible. I love you so much. Little Dad. So I tear up to Um, little Dad, you are my mentor, inspiration, and genuinely the biggest legend ever. Thank you for your guidance and support. I hope I made you proud. To my sister and co-founder Hannah, who gets none of the credit but deserves a little bit. Building this event together is without doubt the biggest achievement of my life, made even more special by doing it with you. I love you.
SPEAKER_04Uh, and finally to everyone who's come here today. Thank you so much for being here. Not only did you show up, you brought the energy, warmth, and enthusiasm. I hope you had literally the best day ever. I'd now like to invite the founder and director of the social collective, Lauren Tomlinson, to the stage. To welcome you to our networking drinks.
SPEAKER_05Hi everybody. I'm not gonna ramble because I know I'm the thing at the end that is stopping you from going and getting that wine. So I just wanted to say a quick hello. Thank you all for staying and having a drink on us. We're really excited to be presenting the drinks. Um, as Amy mentioned, I'm Lauren. I'm the director and founder of the Social Collective. We are a boutique holistic digital marketing agency. We're based in New Zealand, hence why I don't sound like a lot of you. But thank you all for sticking with my accent and bearing with me while I ask all those questions. But we are basically just here to make a name for ourselves in Australia, and I've made an amazing relationship with Amy over the last couple of years. She has done an incredible job of creating the social summit and is something that we don't have at home, and so it is an absolute pleasure to be able to cross the ditch and bring Morgan, who is my amazing client lead, with me as well. So I'm gonna let you all get to the drinks, but what I wanted to say is we're gonna be filming a tiny bit of content in True TSC content creation fashion. We're gonna be filming a little bit of content outside our media wall, which I believe is just outside this door where all of the amazing makeup was going on earlier today. So if you want to be on camera and you want to share just a couple of things about who you are and what you have gathered from today and what you're taking away, come and see us and we'll pop you on camera. Otherwise, go go get some drinks, enjoy, and I'll see you back there.
