This is Contagious

The new rules of social media marketing

Episode Summary

Five million followers but only 500 likes? The algorithm has (again) changed the rules and brands can’t rely on fans seeing their posts. Rachel Karten, creator of the Link in Bio newsletter, joins This Is Contagious to unpack why Instagram is increasingly about the meme you send a friend in your DMs, why brands need to tell stories only they can tell, and why the smart move is to focus on tension over attention. We also get into the murky waters of why the people paid to keep us online are increasingly questioning whether that’s good for us and whether they want to be part of it.

Episode Notes

Five million followers but only 500 likes? The algorithm has (again) changed the rules and brands can’t rely on fans seeing their posts.

Rachel Karten, creator of the Link in Bio newsletter, joins This Is Contagious to unpack why Instagram is increasingly about the meme you send a friend in your DMs, why brands need to tell stories only they can tell, and why the smart move is to focus on tension over attention. We also get into the murky waters of why the people paid to keep us online are increasingly questioning whether that’s good for us and whether they want to be part of it.

We’ll explore:

• Why five million followers no longer guarantee five million views
• Why 44% of social marketers feel their boss doesn't understand their job
• The risks of relying on AI-generated creative and rage bait for attention
• The reason treating Instagram like a mood board no longer cuts it
• What libraries know about social media that brands don’t
• Why Mr Rogers should be an avuncular role model for brands 
• The perfume brand turning wild roadside apples into cinematic social films