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FYI: Your social strategy should move as your business moves. Winning brands follow this simple framework from Brandon Smithwrick 🧠: Business goals → Marketing goals → Social goals → Tactics and content Every post, format, and experiment should ladder back to your business objectives👌 Use our Expert Playbook as you dive into your 2026 planning: https://ow.ly/eUjm50Xza0v

My social post just got 14 copy edits and a “quick design tweak”… send help

What was working before on LinkedIn isn’t working any longer. Reach & Engagement is down. So I studied the analytics, looked at the dashboards, read what changes had been made to the algorithm and came up with a new posting strategy on Linkedin… and it worked in October. Brands and creators have to pivot to create the “curve” (something I often talk about in social content pivot strategies). You are not trying to get back to where you were because algorithms may not even let you. You’re trying to simply adjust your strategy and pivot your approach to create a curve. And this is where the right analytics and AI-powered insights can make the difference,what content resonates and what needs to pivot. Curious to know what algorithm changes have happened on LinkedIn? Check out my post over on Hootsuite’s page here: https://lnkd.in/eX29FeDW #hootsuitepartner

Algorithms change. But how often does your content strategy? Conversations around LinkedIn engagement are growing and for good reason. For senior marketers, this isn’t just noise. It affects reach, brand authority, audience understanding, and the ability to respond strategically in a changing landscape. That’s why Nathan Jun Poekert shares how marketing teams can pivot strategically. It’s not about chasing old numbers. It’s about testing, adjusting, and creating a curve that moves engagement and impact forward ☄️ You don’t figure that out by guessing. You figure it out by leaning on data. Analytics and social listening do more than show what content resonates. They reveal emerging conversations, anticipate trends before they go mainstream, and spotlight opportunities your competitors may be missing. By tracking both industry chatter and competitor performance, you can create the sweet spot for differentiated content that positions your brand as a leader and drives the conversation instead of following it. Use the framework to guide your next move on LinkedIn ↓

Google launched the Pixel 10. It exploded. That's not a launch. That's decision paralysis ↓ In this ad, I ask what happens when your best features can't overcome your biggest flaw? A foldable that literally exploded in front of 3.2m YouTube viewers, during JerryRigEverything's durability test. The data from Talkwalker tells a story most PMMs and PMs miss: • 42% of conversations were positive. • 42% were neutral. • 16% were negative. On the face of it, the numbers seem unremarkable. Yet, the real problem is the neutral sentiment. Because neutral doesn't convert. I’m sure the product teams are proud of the technical advances. But if you aren’t using social listening to dig deeper into the data. You’re only taking sentiment at face value. That's not a product failure.  That's a trust crisis disguised as balance. That sentimental ‘Meh’ didn't come from nowhere. It came from four specific failures that every PM and PMM misses about launches: 𝟭/ 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝘀 Google led with 100x zoom and the Tensor G5 chip. Impressive on paper. When your Pixel 10 Pro Fold explodes on camera? Every feature becomes irrelevant. Durability scored -51% net sentiment. The lesson? Solve the fundamentals before you chase the headlines. 𝟮/ 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 Multiple models. Different release dates. No clear hero product. Users didn't know which one to wait for. They couldn't tell which one was "the one." Confusion isn't anticipation. It's friction that kills momentum. 𝟯/ 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 Camera performance scored +86% net sentiment. Battery life hit +66%. But durability's -51% dragged everything down. One catastrophic failure erases a dozen winning features.  Build for trust first, specs second. 𝟰/ 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘀 When JerryRigEverything's bend test ends in an explosion, that's not content.  That's a brand crisis going viral in real-time. You can't launch your way out of a structural flaw. Here’s what the Talkwalker data teaches us: Advanced features mean nothing when people are too uncertain to buy. When 42% stay neutral despite loving your camera, you haven't failed at product. You've failed at earning the one thing that converts: 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. Curious about the full social listening breakdown? I pulled these findings from Talkwalker. You can see them here: https://ow.ly/lqNx50Xteyh Which lesson hits hardest? Drop your thoughts below ↓ --- ♻️ Repost this if you believe great features deserve unshakeable foundations. ➕ Follow ⚡️Harvey Lee ⚡️ for more real-world product launch breakdowns.

My Roman Empire? DM automation

Not every brand has a community nor can every brand have one. You can’t build community without grasping fandom first. It lives where utility, emotion, and identity collide. The work isn’t to “build community.” That’s far too vague. Rather, it’s to understand your gravity, what truly pulls people in and what keeps them there.  Social listening allows you to understand brand sentiment and act accordingly. This affinity diagram is the motivational terrain that explains why people gather around certain brands and not others. Marketing alone can’t create that pull. Affinity depends deeply on utility: a product that genuinely delivers…or at the very least feels like it does. Powerful online communities form when emotion, identity, and real utility line up, giving people a reason to stay involved. Duolingo’s social strategy proved it. Users bonded over the grind of learning, the pride of progress, and a shared meme culture - all without the brand intentionally trying to build a fandom. So where to start? Audience insight is the compass. It shows where you stand and what gravity you still need to earn. Steal my diagram from Hootsuite's LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/gAe4Y4V9 #HootsuitePartner

Every brand wants to build community but few actually earn it. In her Brand Affinity Map, Zaria Parvez pinpoints “fandom” as the moment utility, emotion, and identity intersect. It’s when people feel something, gain something, and see themselves reflected in what you offer. And you don’t get there by guessing. You get there by listening 👂 When you start with social listening you understand the sentiment behind the conversations that pertain to your brand. This isn’t just about product feedback, it’s where you uncover opportunities to strengthen audience relationships and shape your brand perception. It’s the groundwork of affinity that some brands are skipping out on. Grab the framework and use it as the foundation for your 2026 marketing plan 👇

What should you really be looking for in a social media manager? Most people focus on tools, platforms, or technical must-haves. And while those matter, storytelling and the ability to build trust matter just as much. In short, social marketing leaders get “people” 🤝 They know how to connect a brands voice to what their audiences actually care about. Elfried Samba breaks down his thinking in our 2025 Expert Playbook including what he learned from working with a 30-person content team at Gymshark. If you’re hiring, growing your career, or just curious of what “top-tier social” looks like, this one’s for you: https://ow.ly/sR4K50Xvbyu

If you’ve ever had to explain organic social to your CMO, our heart is with you.