[006] Monday Scroll Starter: everything to save, watch and post this week
Don't panic, I've got you.
Happy Monday, Victims 👋
I’m trying something new: a weekly scroll-starter to fuel your creativity and ease you into the week.
Every Monday, I’ll round up the best brand content, cultural moments, and social media updates you might’ve missed over the previous week, plus a few things I’ve been watching or thinking about.
Consider this your marketing bible to beat the Monday scaries and stay inspired.
Inside today’s newsletter:
The brand content that inspired me last week
What I’ve been watching (and loving)
Social news you should know
Post ideas to get you off on the right foot
Let’s get into it.
The best content I saw from brands this week (a few ICYMI’s from last week, with some fresh ones thrown in!)
✅ AI in the feed that wasn’t terrible: Crown Affair’s post had people smiling! It’s unusual to see AI generated content that people don’t immediately hate, but this stood out and made sense for their brand.
✅ Aussie bank uBank made their message loud and clear, and what can I say…it worked! Sometimes you really don’t need to think that hard when it comes to TikTok.
✅ Google announced the latest Gemini updates in a simple yet effective carousel format that was highly engaging, and made the message clear: turn your big ideas into a reality.
✅ Yes, memes still work - and the Los Angeles Chargers proved you can still keep your community engaged even when you don’t have a lot of new things to offer them.
✅ Denver Zoo jumped on the Love Island “I’m a mommy” audio and showed off the birth of a new pancake tortoise (side note…the mother tortoise’s name is Waffles and I am sobbing).
✅ Scrub Daddy also got on board, showing off their Scrub Mommy product. As I said last week - I really only believe brands should hop on trends when the trend can be clearly linked to their product/offering. In this case, all boxes were ticked.
✅ e.l.f. x Joe Hegyes: this a unique take on the Labubu madness and sentiment in the comments was positive.
✅ Kerrygold’s influencer trip: Unlike the Tarte trip, which has become famous for the amount of controversy it manages to drum up every year, Kerrygold somehow created the world’s most wholesome brand trip that didn’t have users criticising influencers for being out of touch.
✅ Tooting their own horn: with a simple reshare, Figma proved that they helped create BRAT, last summer’s biggest cultural moment. And the caption was the cherry on top.
✅ A perfect creator collab by Bubble, the Gen Z focused skincare brand. This was a great example of finding a creator who makes perfect sense for your launch, stepping back and letting them do their thing.
✅ A simple but effective competition promo from Meshki - the premise of packing a suitcase is engaging to watch (and a tried and tested format), and a very “social first” way of getting eyeballs on a comp.
Social Creatives, don’t panic: here are some ideas to get the brain juices flowing.
References to the 2010’s
“Recession indicators” are running rampant right now and the vibes are low (peep last week’s newsletter) - now’s the time to tap into nostalgia and references to a simpler time.
Some thoughts to get you started:
Poke fun at what your brand posted in the 2010 era (if it existed then)
Reimagine products if they existed in the 2010’s and design a fake campaign around them\
Trends you could jump on…if they make sense (big emphasis on the IF):
Your version of the fridge cigarette - if it’s not a Diet Coke, what is it? This would work for a product based business (see my last newsletter about not hopping on trends that don’t make sense for you).
Social Media Manager cringe - unboxing fails, influencer cringe…people are loving these real, unfiltered moments. Dig through your photos app for videos of you fumbling in front of the camera.
The content I saw over the past week that had me taking notice.
This NBA “research” account I’ve watched the follower count increase by 1,000 in just under 24 hours…this one is gonna be big. This is social storytelling at it’s finest, and I hope these creators get the recognition they deserve (by recognition I mean cash money!)
This wedding trend is getting out of hand and I love it.
This beautiful video simply delightful in a week full of scary news (get this girl a brand deal with Home Depot already).
This is what makes TikTok great. We’re really all just there for a laugh :’)
This video about an early 2000’s haircut: My older sister had this haircut circa 2004 and honestly, she’s never been cooler than in that moment.
AI talking animal vlogs - first it was the Yeti Cartel, now we have "Skippy” chiming in. The comments (surprisingly) aren’t full of hate - I think people are becoming more open to this content as it becomes more realistic. How long until a brand collabs with Yeti Cartel or Skippy? I give it three weeks (and I really hope it’s the actual Yeti brand).
🗞️You can now rearrange your grid on Instagram
File under: the update I didn’t ask for but actually love!
Huge news for your creator friend, and yet another Edits update that brings it one step closer to being CapCut (while also being free). Edits also appears to be leaning even further into their ideation/creativity features, allowing you to now place sticky notes on audios you want to save for the future.
The conspiracy theories are true
If you still run a Facebook page, you should be putting links in the first comment on a post, not the body copy.
Hubspot is hiring a Senior Social Program Manager:
This person’s job will be to manage all of the parties and stakeholders involved in bringing the Social Media Strategy to life. This is a reflection of just how far the industry has come - I don’t think this job would have existed 5 years ago, but I can attest to the fact that if you’re working at a Global Brand, these roles are increasingly necessary in order to manage the sheer volume of content going out the door.
🗞️Microsoft says workers are trapped in an “infinite workday” (and social media managers said “yeah, and?”)
Microsoft’s latest “made for PR” report says the trend started with the rise of remote work in 2020, and never really stopped. For those of us working in Social Media, this is kinda old news.
Interestingly, Microsoft doesn’t acknowledge that they helped create some of the very tools keeping us trapped in said workday 💀
That’s it for now!
If you liked this newsletter, I’d love it if you let me know, or even shared it with a friend. If you hated it, let me know too! Hatred fuels me :)