[011] Monday Scroll Starter: everything to save, watch and post this week
Another day, another dollar.
Happy Monday, Victims 👋
Last week was a good one for brand social content.
I define “good” content as anything that:
Stops my scroll
Isn’t boring (this is the most important criteria, tbh)
Makes me think
It’s simple, but not easy - we are so inundated with content, and frankly, most of it is boring. But last week, I saw no less than 20 decent pieces of brand social content - and I’ve linked them all for you below <3
I hope this makes your Monday morning a little less stressful and a whole lot more entertaining.
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!)
Overheard at Wimbledon - this was the top content of the week and I won’t hear otherwise! An absolute masterclass in social content and original thinking.
Meshki spotlighting their IG Broadcast channel members - will there ever be a week where I don’t link a Meshki post? Who’s to say. This was sweet, heartfelt and most importantly: focused on community (we love when brands are outwardly focused). The big question: was the creative AI generated, or did they really go to the effort of printing a book, underlining key phrases and more? My guess is the former, but if anyone has an inside source, LMK.
The herdsman market - I’d never heard of this market before I saw this video, but now I want to know more. This brilliant edit will probably kick off a trend tbh - it was funny and highly original, and the comments are proof that it struck a chord.
Fayt the label addressed a troll calling their community group a “ploy” by showing the level of work that goes into a community event. This video showed the level of heart the brand puts into events to reward loyal customers, and as a result generated significant reach and engagement from people impressed by founder Brittney Saunders’ efforts. Fayt has an excellent social presence driven by Brittney, who lifts the veil on what it takes to grown and run a brand.
Dieux Skin calling out skincare myths/trolls with meme style content (that somehow still looks chic?)
Subway with a new take on a classic (and cringe) meme. I was amused!
Rare Beauty launches gloss with Spring Breakers style content. Very out of the ordinary for this brand, which is why it works! It’s interesting, it’s different and most importantly: I’m not bored.
Eddington movie setting up a fake account for Austin Butler’s character. I didn’t get it, but now I’m certainly interested in this movie.
McDonald’s with a classic joke about couples - again, it’s simple but amusing.
Bread hair oil encased in butter - this is the third butter related social video I’ve seen lately?? This might need it’s own newsletter.
Vacation leaning into the retro aesthetic to announce Erewhon smoothie return. The smoothie itself is “meh” in my opinion - everyone has an Erewhon smoothie these days. But the overall aesthetic stood out in a see of millennial DTC brands with their bubble fonts.
Jimmy johns referencing Love Island. A clever way of jumping on a huge trending moment without jumping on the “Mommy?” bandwagon.
Dudewipes touring Frat Houses - they literally met their audience exactly where they’re living…and it worked. This was entertaining and a great example of serialised content that doesn’t feel like overt product placement.
Aesop spoofing their rigorous standards for testing products in a way that feels ultra luxe. It was interesting to see very mixed sentiment in the comments, with some loving the entertainment value and others claiming the content was off brand. I might talk about this in a future newsletter - I see this as a smart (and inevitable pivot) towards a younger audience.
Refy beauty storytelling with a narrator about the process of getting ready. The girlies know that getting ready is half the fun, and this content was a nice break from the typical “influencer applying lipgloss” that you’d see on the page.
Microsoft 365 editing as if Clippy was a car. As an OG clippy fan, I felt this spoke to Microsoft’s target market: Millennials who have grown up with the product since the Windows 95 days.
KitKat world chocolate day. I had no idea KitKat was from York, UK? The unique sights helped this stand out in what is quickly becoming a saturated content format (the big sign IRL).
Meshki interactive volleyball. Twice in one week! What can I say, they really manage to make my feed feel interesting.
Cetaphil POV you have a sibling. As the youngest of three kids, I felt this.
Kosas baked blush creation. Fascinating to watch - and the 15k likes suggests I’m not the only one who felt that way.
Social Creatives, what are you posting this week? Before you panic, here are some ideas to get those creative juices flowing.
Overheard at Wimbledon spoof - I’d love to see a brand spoof this but “overheard in the office” style. Keep people mic’d up for long enough and they’ll say something entertaining.
“The perfect day” calendar - an easy one, but the key is making the calendar somewhat ridiculous. No one cares about Pilates at 9am, but people do care about contemplating the sense of impending doom that strikes at 11pm.
We’re hitting peak key chain - I’m seeing more brands jump on the keychain bandwagon, but my way in would be something that doesn’t make sense on a keychain. Think: a graphics calculator or a Yeti tumblr.
Basket mania - the beauty brands have this covered, but I’m interested in takes for:
Different generations of coworkers - think Gen Z vs Millennial vs Gen X baskets that roast each gen equally
Different types of workers - marketers, sales reps, HR
Social Media Managers - SMM’s love seeing themselves in content
The best (unbranded) content I saw over the past week.
This absolute queen - don’t let anyone dull your shine, diva.
Mood tbh! The cog life ain’t easy.
Be still my emo heart.
Anyone who says “people don’t watch long videos” needs to watch this detailed explanation on a disastrous spelunking adventure. P.S. I am opposed to spelunking and caves as a whole thanks to TikTok!
Trump has allegedly found a US buyer for TikTok, and the US will have it’s own TikTok app.
Emphasis on the “allegedly” part. The purchase would require TikTok to build a separate app to operate in the US, which could be very interesting for the existing brand accounts. My question is: would all US based brand accounts automatically migrate over? Or would they need to start from scratch (*sweats in SMM*).
This didn’t feel like a mutual parting of the ways, but wasn’t entirely unexpected. Linda was hustling to keep the remaining advertisers on the (now nazi-ridden) platform, so I expect to see even more of an exodus of advertisers. If you can’t guarantee your ad won’t appear next to a post from an anti-semitic AI chatbot, why would you bother spending your ad dollars there?
REFY beauty announces product recall via IG
Not huge social media news, per se, but big news announced via social media that caught my eye. REFY did a good job of approaching this with full transparency and offering refunds to customers, and were met with a very understanding (and grateful) response from their community.
Edits launches voice enhancements (which costs $29 p/m on CapCut)
Huge news for content creators who often need audio enhancing but might not want to spend $249 annually on CapCut.
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 :)