Hey crew, Rob here.

Earned social media has been on my mind. So much so, I wrote a thing for WARC about it (link below). Complement with the following thoughts, which are saltier but born out of 15 years of experience:

1. When we treat social as a channel, not an ecosystem, we give away our internal structures and politics, and call it strategy.
2. We've codified best practices for paid and owned but not for earned, maybe because until now there wasn't an incentive to do so (or maybe it's not possible, but trust me we will try).
3. Anyone who says they understand the future of marketing and doesn't know its foundations is probably full of shit and trying to trick you into something that will feel weird in 12 months.
4. If you say you want to do a community strategy but then aren't prepared to hire someone to actually do this as their main role (vs being another thing they do), your chances are quite slim.
5. People don't talk about brands, products or services, as much as they talk about interests, activities or gossip-y things. Our work as the voice of those audiences should always reflect this.
6. We still treat creators as glorified media channels instead of hyper-plugged creative and production partners, and this often means a lot of money and value is left on the table.
7. The point of all those weird product stunts (like Cash App making a magic wand) has less to do with making money, and more to do with manufacturing conversation. Once you see the world through this lens, the weirdest collabs make sense.
8. While the fundamentals of marketing are broadly unchanged, the grammar and mechanics of how you show up in market have changed forever, and there's no going back I'm afraid.
9. Few things actually 'go viral', things are more engineered than we think. The sooner we believe this, the better our work gets.
10. Your board doesn't give a shit about engagement rates. Sorry.

Here's the WARC piece, which they kindly let me republish. It has some principles, examples, and practical next steps. I hope it helps.

Keep swimming,

Rob

P.S. A lot of this piece came from conversations born out the Salmon Crew. You should consider joining us today to access our WhatsApp, Slack, swipe file, exclusive events, partner deals and excellent vibes.