Behind the Post

Hilary Engel has been there, posted that. In this episode of Behind the Post, she brings over a decade of digital marketing expertise to tackle the spiciest social media debates in B2B. From whether hashtags are dead (spoiler: mostly) to if timing your posts still matters (it does), Hilary drops fire takes with zero fluff.Currently a solo social team of one at the global law firm, Faegre Drinker, Hilary shares how she handles it all, from writing posts to running social training across 1,200+ professionals. Her POV? Social isn't just a marketing function, it's a full-blown strategy that deserves the same respect as any other business unit.You'll also hear Hilary get candid about the mental load of community management, why follower count means nothing without engagement, and what she wishes every department understood about social media managers (hint: it's not just scrolling all day).If you're managing social solo, stuck in the “just for branding” mindset, or trying to win debates at your next team meeting, this episode is your cheat sheet.Hot Topics:Hilary's spicy (and smart) takes on hashtags, CTAs, and follower countThe real reason timing still matters, even in 2025How to gracefully exit platforms that no longer fit your strategyWhat every non-social team needs to know about your jobHit play to hear a social media manager who really gets it. Then go take that breather, you've earned it.

You've launched your employee advocacy program. Engagement is high, advocates are sharing, and the buzz is real. But then… comes the motivation dip.In this episode of Behind the Post, we're joined by Matt Churchill, the Social Media and Content Manager at AVEVA, to talk about what happens after the initial hype fades. Matt unpacks how his team recognized when their program was coasting and the smart moves they made to reset, re-engage, and reignite interest across the organization.From stakeholder education and tone-of-voice testing to gamification and the magic of micro-communities, Matt shares exactly how they're turning quiet participants into energized advocates. Whether you're mid-cycle in your own program or just planning ahead, this episode is full of ideas you'll want to borrow.Hot Topics:What the “motivation dip” is and how to overcome itThe metrics Matt's team uses to track success and spot red flagsHow they're using gamification and regional champions to spark engagementWhy building an internal community is their next big move

What do you get when you mix employee advocacy with the World Cup? A social media competition so engaging that even the self-proclaimed “I'm not a social media person” types are asking to join in.In this episode, we go Behind the Post with Gustavo Mazzocchi, Global Social Media Manager at BioCatch, who takes us on a wild ride through the Social Media World Cup, an 11-month internal employee advocacy competition. From dramatic football-themed announcements (yes, an actual football was thrown during the CMO's company kickoff presentation) to gamified incentives and tiers like “lucky strikers” and “team players,” Gus shares the structure and strategy that got over half the company involved.Once your employee advocacy program is off the ground, competitions like this are the secret to keeping momentum high, participation strong, and your people genuinely excited to post. If you're looking for creative ways to ignite advocacy and keep your employees posting week after week, this one's for you.Hot Topics:How to gamify employee advocacy (and keep it fair + inclusive!)Why themed competitions spark engagement (and how to plan them)Tips to turn that “I'm not a social media person” into your next top advocateHow BioCatch tracks success with 200+ active advocates across regions

Social media is all about experimentation, but how do you know what actually works?In this episode, Jasmine Deo, Senior Digital Marketing Manager at Grant Thornton Australia, joins us Behind the Post to share how her team uses A/B testing to improve social performance by 1% every week – small changes that lead to big results over time.Jasmine walks us through how her team plans and executes A/B tests, from brainstorming sessions to analyzing the data. She shares real-life experiments they've conducted, including how a simple color change on a CTA button led to higher engagement.She also dives into how algorithm shifts impact testing strategies, why testing small tweaks can be just as powerful as large-scale changes, and how brands can balance experimentation with maintaining a strong brand identity.Hot Topics:How to structure A/B tests for better resultsReal examples of small changes that made a big differenceWhat the 1% challenge is and how it builds long-term successHow to adjust testing strategies as platform algorithms change

A new B2B marketing book is hitting the shelves, and we sat down with one of the co-authors for an exclusive sneak peek!In this episode of Behind the Post, we're joined by Colin Day, co-author of The Social B2B Organization and Managing Director EMEA of Oktopost.Colin pulls back the curtain on what it really means to be a social-first B2B organization – from embedding social into your company culture to aligning teams and proving ROI. He shares insights straight from the book, including how B2B buyers have changed, why employee advocacy is a must-have and the key metrics that tie social engagement to revenue.If you're serious about using social media to build relationships, drive revenue, and future-proof your strategy, this episode, and book, is for you.The Social B2B Organization hits shelves on March 25, 2025! Pre-order your copy and check out exclusive resources here. Hot Topics:Why social media is a business strategy—not just a marketing toolHow to build a social-first culture that aligns marketing, sales, and customer successThe biggest mistake companies make with social, and how to fix itProving the impact of social on pipeline, revenue, and business growth

If you're a social media manager, one skill you'll always need is knowing how to measure success. Because if you're not looking at the data, how do you know what's actually working?In this episode of Behind the Post, we sit down with Agnes Bakondi, the Social Media Manager at intelliflo, who's all about proving social media's impact with analytics. She shares the key metrics she tracks, how often she checks in on performance, and how she turns raw data into smarter content decisions.She explains how she's made reporting effortless by setting up bite-sized, automated reports that keep her team in the loop without extra work. We also discuss how she spots trends, adapts to algorithm changes (without the panic), and why reviewing her analytics regularly sets her employee advocacy program up for success.And if you're thinking about running a pilot for advocacy? She squeezed in some quick, actionable tips to get you started. Hot Topics: Why she doesn't like the term “vanity metrics” Her must-track metrics for monitoring their performance How often she checks analytics (and how she reports on them) Using data to tweak content and optimize campaigns

How did Avoma gain 7,500 new LinkedIn followers in just five months, without spending a single dollar on ads? Mohamed Azhar, the Marketing Manager at Avoma, went Behind the Post to share exactly how he made it happen and trust us, you'll want to take notes. Get ready to walk away with at least three actionable strategies for growing your brand's social presence. A loyal social media community starts with content that clicks. Mohamed transformed Avoma's strategy with fun, relatable content that made his audience laugh, spoke their language, and tackled real pain points. The result? An audience that kept coming back for more. He also shared the campaigns that helped them expand their reach - like spotlighting the Top 25 Sales Leaders to Follow and running a spooky Halloween campaign featuring sales horror stories. These strategies recognized thought leaders, sparked engagement, and introduced Avoma to entirely new audiences. But there's more - tune in to learn which content and campaigns performed best, the future strategies Mohamed is excited to try, and the best social media advice he's ever received. Hot Topics: The exact strategies Mohamed used to grow Avoma's following organically How he made “boring B2B” content fun and engaging The creative campaigns that got their audience talking—and sharing

HubSpot just gets Gen Z marketing—and their social media is proof. From trending memes to pop culture moments, their team knows how to capture attention, spark engagement, and leave a lasting impression. Gen Z grew up on social media, shaped by pop culture and fueled by authenticity. They're not just entering the workplace—they're breaking down doors, influencing decision-making, and even leading teams. If your marketing doesn't resonate with their values and interests, you risk getting left behind. So, we brought in one of their experts, Reece Callaway, to spill the tea on everything Gen Z and show B2B marketers how to connect with this generation. In this episode, Reece dives into HubSpot's playbook, sharing actionable tips to help you reach and engage this audience. From crafting relatable content to navigating trends and avoiding common pitfalls, he covers it all.  Plus, he offers his predictions for where social media marketing is headed in 2025. We told you he spilled the tea. Hot Topics: Who is Gen Z, and why should B2B marketers care? How to decide which trends to embrace—and which to skip Common mistakes brands make when marketing to Gen Z (and how to avoid them)

Launching an employee advocacy program might seem like a challenging task—but what if you could kick-start a pilot in just 10 days? We're back with a bonus episode of Behind the Post, and this time, host Alina Dallal is giving you a peek into the conversations that take place in the Oktopost marketing room! Jennifer Gutman, Oktopost's Director of Product and Customer Marketing, breaks down a proven 10-day roadmap to launching an employee advocacy pilot that will not only engage your team but also deliver results that grab your leadership's attention. From gaining employee buy-in to crafting an internal communications plan, training your advocates, and measuring success, Jennifer shares actionable insights and best practices every marketer needs to know. You'll also learn how to foster excitement among employees, leverage internal champions, and build FOMO around your program—ensuring it grows into a sustainable, organization-wide initiative. Plus, Jen dives into her tried-and-true strategies for empowering employees to confidently share content, build their personal brands, and amplify your company's voice on social media. If you're looking to prove the value of employee advocacy in your organization, this episode is your blueprint for a successful launch. Hot Topics: Why employee advocacy is essential for B2B brands How to select and onboard the right employees for your pilot program Creative ways to generate excitement and sustain engagement over time Measuring pilot success and securing leadership buy-in for a company-wide rollout

When executives are active on social media, it can work wonders for your brand's credibility and visibility. But with their packed schedules and many responsibilities, it's hard for most leaders to consistently create posts that showcase their expertise and humanize the brand.  Hint: This is where you come in! Through an executive takeover, a social media pro like you can ghostwrite thoughtful, engaging posts for your exec's personal profiles, helping them stay visible and credible online—without adding to their workload. And the impact is real: 56% of professionals are more likely to buy from a company if its executives are active on social, and 66% say they'd recommend a business if they follow one of its leaders. In this power-packed episode of Behind the Post, Marissa Rosen joins us to break down why executive takeovers are crucial for B2B brands, and how to collaborate effectively with your execs—all in just 15 minutes. Hot Topics: The power of executive voices on LinkedIn and why they matter for your brand How to keep your executive's expertise and authentic voice at the core of your ghostwriting How your executives' LinkedIn profile should look like

For most employee advocacy program leaders, you likely don't have the luxury of walking by each colleague's desk to train them on advocacy. So, how can we keep advocates engaged when part of a global or fully remote team? In this episode of Behind the Post, we sit down with Josh Silverman, the Social Media and Digital Coordinator at Pontoon Solutions, to uncover how he's built an employee advocacy program that truly resonates across continents and time zones.  With colleagues scattered around the world, Josh had to get creative to keep everyone engaged. From on-demand training videos (now trimmed to a super-efficient 7 minutes) to anonymous surveys that gather valuable feedback, he's developed strategies that make it easy for employees to confidently share company content—even without the benefit of face-to-face training and interaction. One standout story? One of Josh's advocates saw an incredible 600% growth in their LinkedIn network in just a year, simply by consistently sharing valuable content with their network. Tune in to hear Josh's top tips for training advocates, building their confidence on social media, curating engaging content, and sustaining excitement for the program over time. Hot Topics: Creative ways to engage a global, remote team of advocates Tips for sustaining engagement and excitement over time Solutions for training advocates across different time zones

Video marketing is one of the most effective ways to connect with your audience and influence decision-making.  The proof is in the statistics: 90% of B2B buyers prefer video content as their go-to content type for learning, and 85% of B2B marketers find it a highly effective method for capturing online attention. But how do you create an engaging video that brings in optimal results? In this episode of Behind the Post, we sit down with Niki Kostova, Head of Social Media at SUSE, as she reveals her best practices for crafting videos that stop the scroll on social media. From selecting the right video topics to finding the ideal video length, Niki shares how her team discovered the perfect formula for producing videos that drive results. Her secret? Putting people at the heart of their video strategy. Rather than relying solely on polished, professional content, Niki and her team focus on authentic, personal videos featuring SUSE employees sharing their expertise. After all, people trust people—and that's the principle driving SUSE's video success. Hot Topics: The role of video content in SUSE's social media strategy Why thought leaders are central to their video approach Best practices for creating standout social media videos How frequently video content appears in their content mix

LinkedIn is no longer just a professional network—it's a platform where employees can build powerful personal brands that benefit both their careers and the companies they represent. In this episode of Behind the Post, Aliza Hornstein, Head of Social Media at WalkMe, explains why personal branding is a must-have for employees at all levels, from entry-level to the C-suite, and how advocacy leaders can support them in this process. With an employee advocacy program at hand, which they coined ShareMe, Aliza uses gamification tactics and workshops to help employees turn company content into personalized, impactful posts. These workshops have been a key driver of success, teaching advocates how to create authentic, genuine content that resonates with their audience. For those looking to build their personal brand independently, Aliza offers actionable tips throughout the episode, covering everything from finding your unique voice to using AI for inspiration.  Hot Topics: Striking the perfect balance between personal and company content Tips for staying authentic when building your personal brand Training and engaging advocates through quarterly workshops Examples of personal branding posts Aliza has shared on LinkedIn 

In the financial services industry, building trust and establishing a credible brand image are essential for success.  One of the most effective ways to achieve this is through employee advocacy. While compliance and industry regulations present challenges, they do not make employee advocacy impossible. Financial institutions can still thrive by adopting the right approach. In this episode, Lesia goes Behind the Post to give an inside look at how she developed a compliant and successful employee advocacy program for her financial services company. She shares proven tactics for encouraging employee participation while ensuring strict adherence to industry regulations. This includes the use of internal weekly newsletters to keep advocates informed about the latest content, her structured content approval process, and an internal academy where advocates must pass a compliance test before onboarding. From establishing clear guidelines to navigating varying regulations across global teams, Lesia reveals everything you need to know to replicate her success in your own organization. Hot Topics: The internal academy course she designed to ensure advocates understand compliance regulations Strategies for navigating different legal requirements across global teams Her content approval process for maintaining compliance How she encourages advocates to humanize their online presence

Influencer marketing has taken the B2B world by storm, and it's easy to see why. As buyers increasingly trust recommendations from industry experts and peers over brand pages, influencer marketing has become a key strategy for B2B brands to build trust and boost brand awareness.  In this episode, Vahbiz Cooper, Digital Marketing Specialist at Demandbase, walks us through why brands are turning to influencers, how to choose the right people to represent your brand, and why content quality matters more than follower count. She also shares practical tips for running smooth campaigns, avoiding common pitfalls, and keeping things engaging and fun for both influencers and audiences. She dives into her favorite influencer campaign, which featured a creative unicorn piñata initiative that caught everyone's attention, as well as the most challenging campaign she's worked on—and the lessons she learned from it. Plus, she gives us a sneak peek at an exciting campaign she's currently working on! Whether you're new to influencer marketing or looking to refine your strategy, this episode offers actionable insights on creating successful, engaging campaigns. Hot Topics: Why B2B brands are turning to influencer marketing to build trust How to select the right influencers for your campaign The behind-the-scenes process of managing complex influencer campaigns Real-life examples of successful campaigns and lessons learned

“Trial and error is better than generic and safe. And if [a post] gets no engagement, it just means that nobody saw it. So as far as the world is concerned, nothing ever happened. No one even saw it flop.” PSA: In B2B, social media isn't just about business-to-business—it's about human-to-human connections! In this episode of Behind the Post, Bella Rose Mortel shares how she brings a human touch to B2B marketing at beehiiv. With an active presence on LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Threads, she explains how beehiiv tailors its strategy for each platform, balancing product promotion, education, and engaging memes. Humor plays a key role in beehiiv's social strategy, and Bella Rose reveals how she weaves this into their content to foster deeper connections with the audience. One standout example? She donned a bee costume and created office parody videos that quickly became fan favorites. In a conversation about humanizing B2B, the power of community management couldn't be missed. Bella Rose highlights how responding to comments and engaging with followers can boost brand perception and online community strength. But humanizing your brand goes beyond just social media posts. She also emphasizes the importance of employee advocacy, from the CEO's online presence to the social media onboarding process she leads for new team members. At beehiiv, an active presence on social has become an essential part of company culture. Tune in to hear how you can humanize your B2B brand and build a thriving online community through creative, authentic social strategies! Hot topics: Creative, out-of-the-box ideas that entertain their audience How to build authentic relationships with your audience on social Why your employees are your golden ticket to humanizing your strategy

Vanity metrics have become quite controversial in B2B social media marketing. One of the main metrics sparking debate is follower count. Is it a real indicator of a brand's online presence? Or does it lack meaningful engagement and conversion? To help us settle the debate, Bright Uduji joins us from LinkedIn on this episode of Behind the Post. Bright shares his expertise on organic followers, the power they bring to brands, and ultimately, whether follower count is just a vanity metric. Bright dives into the importance of followers, offering insights on how to grow your follower base and why followers aren't meaningless. Whether you're looking to enhance your social media strategy or understand the role of followers in your marketing efforts, this episode is packed with valuable insights and practical tips. Hot Topics: How to get the right people following your brand on LinkedIn The expectation of a follower to a brand, and vice versa The top LinkedIn features you can use to grow your following Subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletter, The B2B Social Compass, and catch our recent panel, “Unlocking the Power of Intent Data”, Bright referenced in this episode here. 

As social media managers, we are surrounded by whispers of social media best practices and strategies to get the best results.   But with everything you've heard so far, Kieran Brannan, a Social Media Specialist at N-able, went Behind the Post to shake up your view on your posting strategy and give you practical and essential tips to help you create valuable content at scale. Advocating that brands don't post enough on LinkedIn, Kieran aims to publish 3-5 posts a day on N-able's LinkedIn page.  So, if a brand posts so often on LinkedIn, how can we have a steady stream of fresh and engaging content ideas? The secret lies in content repurposing, and repurposing well.  They say everything is content, and in Kieran's eyes, there's no truer statement. In this episode, he shares how you can take one blog post, podcast episode, whitepaper, or presentation and turn it into multiple social media posts. This way, you'll never struggle with filling your social content calendar again. A bigger bonus is it will be full of valuable, educational content that your audience will love, bringing more attention to your brand. Tune in to hear Kieran's tips on working with the LinkedIn algorithm, the types of content that are performing well right now, and how he's organized his marketing team to bring new content ideas to him instead of constantly chasing them down.  Hot Topics Repurposing hacks that will fill your social calendar with content your audience will love How to play to LinkedIn's algorithm for real results What the best-performing content types are on LinkedIn right now

B2B social media managers understand the value of social media for lead generation and are eager to fuel sales through social selling. However, getting management buy-in for a first-time social selling program can be challenging. In this episode, Lena Weber-Reed goes Behind the Post to reveal her secret for securing her company's buy-in for a social selling program. Here's a spoiler: she successfully launched a pilot program with select team members at zero cost! Tune in to learn the step-by-step process and discover what you need to include to launch your own pilot program. She also discusses how to get your sales teams on board, the fundamental pillars every social selling program needs, and the value of social media data in pushing prospects further along the sales funnel.Hot Topics: What social selling is, and the essential components for a successful program  How to build a pilot program to secure management buy-in The value of social media data to initiate relevant conversations and fostering meaningful relationships Subscribe to our newsletter: The B2B Social Compass.

Now more than ever, B2B audiences are craving authentic and relatable content, and no one showcases this more than our next guest.  With a background in B2C marketing, Kaylin Balderrama brings a fresh perspective to her role as the Global Social Media Manager at Bazaarvoice.  She highlights that no matter if you're in B2C or B2B, you'll always be marketing to people. With that in mind, Kaylin shares the core principles that have helped her craft an engaging and successful social strategy that delivers results: authenticity and social-first content.  The results speak for themselves: in the last 12 months, Bazaarvoice gained an impressive 18,000 followers, with 16,000 of those followers gained since Kaylin started in December 2023 and introduced her new social strategy! To close out the episode, Kaylin also explores how B2B companies can leverage social media platforms traditionally seen as B2C, such as TikTok, to raise brand awareness.   Tune in to learn what it really means to create social-first content and hear about a recent example that landed her in the news and on a flight to Cannes! Hot Topics: What social-first content is, and how to create it The metrics she tracks to monitor their performance  How to leverage TikTok for B2B marketing Subscribe to our newsletter: The B2B Social Compass.

From the moment she noticed personal pages performed far better than brand pages on LinkedIn, Alesia became obsessed with the power of personal branding. In this episode, Alesia went Behind the Post to share her personal branding journey and the tips she's learned along the way to help you start yours. She dives into how to get started, overcome the initial posting fear, and craft your posting strategy. With so many thought leaders on LinkedIn, Alesia highlights the importance of authenticity to stand out online.  Personal branding can also take you further than you might think. She candidly shared the opportunities that have come her way since she started building her personal brand and positioning herself as a thought leader, including this podcast appearance! Hot Topics: Tips to get started with building your personal brand Her favorite thought leaders to follow on LinkedIn How she measures the success of her personal branding efforts Subscribe to our newsletter: The B2B Social Compass.

Social Media Managers wear many hats. From crafting strategic social content plans to growing online communities and keeping up with the latest trends trends, we're juggling multiple responsibilities. So how can we manage these diverse responsibilities efficiently and effectively? In this episode of Behind the Post, host Alina Dallal welcomes Sheldon Bruck, the Social Media and Community Manager at D-ID, to uncover his secrets to staying productive with all the different responsibilities he has. Even though no two days in social are the same, Sheldon takes us through a typical day in his role, sharing insights into the responsibilities he focuses on daily, weekly, and monthly that help him stay on track.  As the solo manager of D-ID's social media presence, he delves into how he balances stakeholder demands, navigates last-minute calendar changes, and the pivotal role of cross-department collaboration in delivering a top-notch customer service experience.  Diving into the value of social media analytics on any social strategy, Sheldon reveals how monitoring social analytics helps him remain productive when it comes to content creation.  Tune in for valuable tips and strategies for staying productive when working in social media from a seasoned professional. Hot Topics: The marketing tools that simplify his work processes  The daily, weekly, and monthly tasks that keep him on track. The importance of cross-department collaboration in helping him get his job done efficiently  Subscribe to our newsletter: The B2B Social Compass.

With no experience in design, Sam Tyrrell rose to the title of King of Canva at AlixPartners and went Behind the Post to tell you everything you need to know to master Canva yourself.  Sam walks us through the process they have in place when creating content on Canva, including how he trains his wider marketing team to create designs, what the approval process looks like, and how he ensures all designs stay on-brand. Being part of a company big on employee advocacy and personal branding, Sam is passionate about translating this company value through visuals as well. He walks us through how he encourages his colleagues to use design to help their employees showcase their personalities online.  Sam also entered fire-round questions to share his best practices, go-to features, design pet peeves, and the biggest lessons he's learned along the way to taking the throne. If you use Canva, you won't want to miss this episode.  Hot Topics: Go-to features on Canva that everyone should know about Design best practices that will take your final designs from mediocre to masterpiece Which design tools he uses besides Canva and what for How AlixPartners' designs differ for their corporate social media pages versus their employee advocacy program Subscribe to our newsletter: The B2B Social Compass.

In this episode, Joanna Braunold goes Behind the Post to share how social intent data helps both the sales and marketing departments at TytoCare achieve their goals. Tune in for a conversation about why sales and marketing teams need to be best friends, the structure in place to keep the teams on the same page at TytoCare, and how social media marketing brings the two departments together. Yes – you read that right.  Joanna dives into the marketing initiatives set to equip their sales teams with the tools they need to engage with more leads and turn prospects into customers. She explains how she implemented these strategies, from getting their sales teams actively involved in social selling to understanding how they can use social intent data to strike up relevant, meaningful conversations with prospects. Beyond empowering her sales team, Joanna shares how social intent data helps her create marketing content that resonates with their audience. With a B2C presence on social media as well as B2B, they discovered that many of their B2B leads were interacting with their B2C accounts. Learning from this, Joanna experimented with posting B2C content on their B2B channels, and the results did not disappoint! Hot Topics: The importance of aligning marketing and sales teams, and how they do it at TytoCare Using social intent data to create content that aligns with audience interests How to pass along social intent data to the sales team, and how sales use it to boost their closed-won rates

NXP Semiconductors has recently been experimenting and refining its LinkedIn Live strategy, with incredible results. In this episode of Behind the Post, Vanessa Lowe, the Head of Social Media at NXP, offers an in-depth look into the entire process – from beginning to end – of launching a LinkedIn Live strategy.  Vanessa shares her insights on the key elements of a successful LinkedIn Live strategy, covering the highs and lows, along with invaluable tips to guide you through your own launch. She discusses the promotion techniques they use to build anticipation for their LinkedIn Live sessions, shares a behind-the-scenes look at the recording process, and reveals the third-party streaming tool they rely on to broadcast to LinkedIn. While it may seem like a challenging undertaking, some parts of the process have turned out to be surprisingly straightforward. Vanessa was (rightfully) impressed by the level of success they achieved, indicating that the benefits of their LinkedIn Live strategy significantly outweighed the hurdles. In fact, their LinkedIn Live sessions generate an average of over 50,000 impressions, while their regular posts yield approximately 8,000—an astonishing difference.  This episode serves as a comprehensive roadmap for anyone looking to master LinkedIn Live, with Vanessa Lowe providing a glimpse into what makes their approach so successful. Hot Topics: What does recording day look like and how do they handle live real-time engagement The equipment needed and the third-party tool they use for streaming How LinkedIn Live helps them achieve their overall marketing goals

On this episode of Behind the Post, Alina sat down with not one, but two, brilliant marketing experts from Similarweb – Senior Social Media Manager, Itay Gross, and Content Marketing Manager, Faith Preminger. With double the guests, you bet you'll walk away with double the expertise.  They delved into how their content and social media teams work together for success and how marketing processes work at Similarweb. With a passion for B2B social in common, the trio discussed why social media is so valuable for B2B brands today and the importance of using B2C tactics to create an engaging, fun, and memorable B2B strategy.  Armed with unique insights their Similarweb product offers, Itay shares how he incorporates data-driven storytelling about trending topics into their strategy to harness the attention of B2B professionals scrolling through LinkedIn. *Spoiler alert* – their audience loved their data insights on Taylor Swift's impact on the Kansas City Chiefs' website traffic during the Super Bowl!  As big enthusiasts of the power of employee advocacy on their wider social media strategy, they unpacked everything a social media manager would want to know when implementing an advocacy program and keeping up its momentum. The duo got candid about the challenges they encountered along the way, and the tips and tricks they learned that resulted in a successful strategy.  Whether you're a marketer, a social media enthusiast, or simply curious about what goes on behind the post, there's much to learn from the experiences of these two experts.

Sarah Hankins takes the hot seat on this episode of Behind the Post with host Alina Dallal to talk all things employee advocacy at CBIZ. With an impressive cohort of 2,700 advocates, Sarah dives into how she runs their successful advocacy program and how she plans to keep their momentum going throughout 2024. From finding the right balance of content to the types she creates, Sarah dives all in with the best practices you should implement for any advocacy program. She also shares her top tips for keeping advocates engaged, including quarterly training and gamification ideas to hold their interest in the long-term – she even created her own spin on Spotify Wrapped to create an “Oktopost Wrapped” campaign at the end of 2023 to showcase their results to her team and shoutout there top performing advocates. Communication is the foreground of any successful employee advocacy program. Sarah candidly shares how she supports her team while also learning from her advocates on ways she can better her program and continue to create more relevant content. Running the employee advocacy program led Sarah to trade Zoom calls for an incredible tour of CBIZ's offices across the U.S., which they called the “Oktopost Roadshow”. With pitstops to 12 offices across the country, Sarah met her advocates in person to further encourage participation and provide them with the guidance they needed to become champion advocates. Even if we aren't all lucky enough to tour the States on a company budget, Sarah leaves a multitude of practical tips that we can still use to train, support, and coach our advocates for success.  Hot Topics: How to write for different personas in your organization Why communication and support is so integral for a successful program How you can learn from your advocates to improve your strategy Tips and tricks that help her keep her advocates engaged

In this episode of Behind the Post, host Alina welcomes Etien Yanev, the Senior Social Media Manager at Payhawk. As the author of the book “Digital Marketing Compass” (currently only available in Bulgarian), and with 12 years of marketing experience under his belt, Etien shares all the expertise he's picked up along the way.  From content creation to video creation, Etien dives into all the use cases AI can provide to help scale social media content as well as help us serve our audiences better. He reveals his favorite tools to use and best practices for using them effectively.  As well as showing his passion for AI, Etien also shines a light on the importance of leveraging your employees and executives as brand ambassadors to humanize your brand and maximize your impact.  Hot topics: Best practices for using AI to its full potential His top AI tools for content creation The significance of personal brands to build relationships with your audience

Your employees are your company's biggest asset, and learning how to utilize them as brand ambassadors can significantly enhance your social strategy and brand awareness. Take it from Adrian Solomone, who is directly involved in building Finastra's employee advocacy program, and it's so successful that their employees are asking to join.  In this episode, Adrian joined host Alina Dallal to reveal Finastra's secrets for success and share valuable tips for implementing an advocacy program at a large organization. He also dives into how they capitalize on Oktopost's AI tools to ensure their advocates are personalizing their content, quickly and efficiently.   But, when it comes to advocacy, it's not just the voices of your employees that you should be amplifying. Adrian walks us through how they encouraged their executives to get involved in thought leadership on LinkedIn, and the steps they're taking to guide them along the way. What results are they seeing? Their advocacy program brought in the highest number of signups for a recent webinar, compared to other marketing strategies. Hot Topics: The impact of implementing a successful advocacy program  The importance of building executive thought leadership on LinkedIn  How they're bringing the numbers to leadership to prove the value of social media on ROI and business outcomes

In this episode, host Alina Dallal sits down with Brittany Otting, the Director of Social Media at CBIZ. With Brittany's extensive background spanning eight years in various industries, she brings a unique perspective on social media to the table. Brittany walks us through CBIZ's successful social selling program, sharing valuable tips on their best practices for training their revenue teams and advocates, how they are measuring their success, and how they are proving that social media influences revenue.   As we know, no two days in social media are the same, and Brittany reveals how they approach their corporate strategy to navigate these changes. Given frequent algorithm updates, she shares how they experiment with different content types to stand out on social, and she doesn't hold back from revealing her tips for a successful strategy.  Hot Topics: How to implement a successful social selling strategy Proving the impact of social media on ROI How they leverage algorithm changes to experiment with their corporate strategy

Alina Dallal takes the mic in an exciting new season of Behind the Post. Alina is Oktopost's Content Marketing Manager, and is obsessed with all things B2B Social Media. In this episode, you'll meet Alina and discover everything in store for you this year!

"When you step away from thinking that every person is a potential customer and think about every person as a human being, you can start being more curious and think about 100% of the territory, not just the 5% that might be in market for your solution.” With over 30 years in B2B Sales and Marketing, Alex Abbott joins host Olivia Messina on Behind the Post to discuss one of the most prevalent topics in B2B sales today: social selling. Alex urges that the traditional prospecting approach is no longer working. Buyers have lost trust in salespeople, and with the nature of cold calling and emailing being predicated on waste– B2B revenue teams need to embrace social selling to help hit their targets. In this episode, Alex delves into the buyer/seller misalignment and sheds light on how social selling can bridge this gap and empower revenue teams to overcome their major challenges. He explains what social selling actually means and how you can stand out as a trusted advisor to not only initiate meaningful conversations but also create a presence that attracts inbound conversations. Getting to the heart of social selling, Alex explains how every like and comment is an opportunity to engage in a conversation and how to take that next action. He also discusses how to scale social selling, what to measure, where it should sit within the organization, how to get started, what content to create, and how to meaningfully engage with your network.

Tell me the facts and I'll learn. Tell me the truth and I'll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever.” Born storyteller Solveig Rundquist, Senior Content Manager at Mentimeter, joins host Olivia Messina to discuss how she incorporates storytelling into her content marketing and the data-driven strategies she's implementing across social to drive results. In this episode, Solveig breaks down what storytelling means to her, the science of crafting a compelling story, and how to bring it to life through your content and social media marketing. An expert in storytelling, she reveals how you can uncover stories within your organization or shift to "story doing" if the stories aren't explicitly clear. With an impressive social presence within just a few months of joining Mentimeter, Solveig walks through her data-driven process and the fundamental changes she put in place to uphold a high engagement rate. Delving into the importance of differentiating and tailoring content per channel, she explains how, with two very different target audiences– she gets the right content to land in front of the right people and how she uses data to make informed decisions. To close the show, Solveig shares how she encourages key stakeholders to engage on social and why it's critical to make those already building their persona brands your heroes. You won't want to miss Solveig's take on AI in content marketing today– stay until the very end for an insightful take. Hot Topics: How to craft compelling stories on social media even if they aren't explicitly clear Tactics to ensure your content lands in front of the right audience Solveig's approach to engaging key stakeholders on social media 

Jordan Tennenbaum, Social Media Manager at Celigo, joins host Olivia Messina to discuss his transition from a 7-year sales career to social media and the framework he used to triple nearly every metric at his organization. He emphasizes consistently publishing engaging, human-focused content to drive long-term growth. As an expert at crafting standout content, he reveals the power of being a little different and using relatable memes to connect with audiences. From consistency and employee advocacy to creative social challenges and employer branding initiatives that celebrate his colleagues, Jordan unpacks the pillars of building a powerful, human-centric social presence that people want to be a part of. He explores the ongoing debate around follower count–are they just vanity metrics or valuable indicators? Jordan provides a nuanced take, emphasizing an engaged following matters for social proof. Jordan concludes the show by sharing how he built his personal brand, his favorite tools for efficiency as a social media marketer, and his perspective on whether brands should maintain a presence on X as many reevaluate their strategy. Hot Topics:  Jordan's transition from sales to social media The strategy that tripped nearly every social metric at Celigo How to supercharge your LinkedIn following

“You can't cross your fingers and hope everyone will see your first post.”  In this episode, host Olivia Messina welcomes Elizabeth Hilfrank, Content Marketing Manager at Drift, to the show. Over the past 5 years, Elizabeth has overseen several sectors of content at Drift, from video production to podcast to now their blog, ebook, newsletter, and social media strategy–and now she's revealing what she's learned along the way. Elizabeth shares how to nail a social media video, emphasizing the importance of hooking the audience in the first couple of seconds and always including captions. With human-focused social campaigns, she reveals how her strategy and content are more in line with B2C. She even gives examples of current and past campaigns that have driven results for Drift. With a proven record of success, she dives deep into her LinkedIn strategy, discussing how often she posts and whether or not you should put the link directly in the post or in the comments. Even though Drift is in B2B, she highlights the importance of showcasing they are human by jumping on trends and regularly engaging with their community. To wrap up the show, Elizabeth reveals her social workflow process and how she determines what content makes it to the corporate feed. She shares the importance of her calendar and project management tool, her tips for managing content ownership outside of social, and the importance of early involvement of social media managers in content creation discussions. Hot Topics: How to create and promote successful social media videos  Proven LinkedIn tips and strategies for engagement  Elizabeth's workflow that allows her to manage their blog, ebook, newsletter, and social strategy

Employees are the lifeblood of every company, and for long-term success in attracting and retaining top talent, effective employer branding is crucial. But let's make one thing clear—it's not just a marketing tactic. Authenticity is the key to resonating with both employees and potential candidates. In this episode of Behind the Post, host Olivia Messina sits down with two remarkable experts: Kinga Kusak, the Senior Content Marketing Manager at PlayPlay, and Ale Schlesinger, the Social Media Manager at HiBob. Together, they take a deep dive into the world of employer branding, stressing the importance of an authentic strategy. Kinga and Ale reveal the best channels to implement your strategy and the optimal functions within your organization in which it should sit to make it shine. As employer branding experts, Kinga and Ale share valuable tips on genuinely portraying your employer brand. Plus, they provide insights into previous social campaigns and best practices for creating employer branding videos that leave a lasting impact! Olivia, Kinga, and Danyelle Felchner, Recruitment Marketing Manager–Social Media at CVS Health, are continuing the conversation in PlayPlay's upcoming webinar, “How to Harness The Power of Employer Branding & Improve ROI.” Register now and don't miss more tips and actionable insights!

Having an employee advocacy program increases the total social engagement for a brand by 25% to 40% at minimum. (2022 Employee Advocacy Benchmark Report) Employee advocacy programs bring a wealth of benefits–expanded reach, enhanced trust, and credibility, thought leadership, the list goes on! When it comes to employee participation, those who lead advocacy initiatives understand that engagement ebbs and flows. So what can be done if advocate shares slow down? In this episode of Behind the Post, host Olivia Messina sits down for a solo episode to discuss strategies you can implement if advocacy shares start to dip. She talks through how to get advocate feedback, how to encourage positive sharing behaviors, why it's so important to have a constant line of communication, how to gamify, and key insights on the best times to launch campaigns and initiatives.

Being a marketing professional in a regulated industry is already a challenging task. Add a long buyer cycle into the mix, and the need for a strong strategy becomes even more crucial! So how can social media marketers effectively maintain brand awareness and establish themselves as thought leaders in their field? Enter Clare Cavenagh, Communications and Social Media Executive at Singletrack. Clare joins the show to share how she leverages social media and employee advocacy to raise brand awareness, build trust, and position Singletrack as an industry thought leader. As a writing enthusiast herself, Clare shares her social content strategy that focuses on three main categories: internally generated thought leadership content, curated content from industry news, and more personal content that provides a glimpse into their company culture. Claire then dives into her winning advocacy strategy. It's an engaging yet strategic method that aligns with the company's goals and empowers advocates to share content. Her approach involves a monthly meeting and two new goals. The first goal is geared towards employee engagement, and the second is geared towards earning meaningful engagements from their target audience. Hot Topics: How Clare positions Singletrack as an industry thought leader on social The content strategy that upholds brand awareness in long buyer cycles An employee advocacy gamification strategy that will help you hit your goals and keep employee engagement high

People want to follow people on social media. As soon as we pivoted to showcasing the upside team and our commitments and values, we saw a massive spike in our engagement.” Today more than ever, audiences demand authenticity from brands on social media. With expertise in the finance and technology industries, no one understands this more than our next guest! In this episode of Behind the Post, host Olivia welcomes Chloe Stevens, the Senior Content and Social Media Manager at UpSlide. She delves into her approach to social, how she crafts engaging content, and her tips for creating a compelling social media strategy. Chloe even reveals her favorite tech tools to streamline the process. When it comes to strategy, Chloe emphasizes the importance of reflecting on past performance, setting clear objectives and KPIs, and aligning them with overall business goals. She gives her insights into measuring success beyond vanity metrics to track brand awareness and conversions. She highlights the significance of understanding your target audience and tailoring content accordingly. Her best tip–join sales calls and directly speak to your customers! To wrap the show, Chloe shares how she's approaching launching an employee advocacy program and the tactics she's using to get the wider organization's buy-in! Hot Topics: The key elements to include in a social strategy How to craft compelling content in the tech industry Tactics for launching an employee advocacy program and getting buy-in

“There's so much to be said about looking at content that performs very well, trying to reverse engineer why it works and trying to put your own unique spin on it. It won't always work, but you will end up with templates that you can use over and over again.” The next Behind the Post guest went from working in a call center to being an author and top content marketer with his work being featured in CNBC, The Times, and Fast Company, as well as leading marketing blogs, including Ahrefs, Search Engine Journal, and SEMrush.  Sam Thomas Davies, Growth Marketing Manager at Drip, joins host Olivia Messina to discuss his approach to content marketing and his tried and true methods that allow him to always have a repertoire of strong content.  He believes it's not just about what you write, it's how you frame it. Thinking like a writer, it's enough! You have to think like a publishing house and take into consideration SEO, your reader, etc. It's so much more than content, it's how you communicate.  Since posting on LinkedIn and Twitter daily, Sam delves into his recent learnings, especially about content ideation and his process of including links in posts, and his secret for keeping reach high! If you're someone who struggles with writer's block, Sam shares step-by-step how he reverse engineers top-performing content and templates it. He even shares how he utilizes the hub and spoke model to take 1 piece of content like a blog, podcast, or newsletter and transform it into 7-9 pieces.  Hot Topics: How to use the hub and spoke model to repurpose content like a pro Sam's best tips for personal branding and his secrets to achieving high reach  How Sam uses Tweet Deck and Notion to reverse engineer top-performing content on Twitter and create reusable templates 

It's not easy managing a global social media presence of over 7 million followers, but our next guest, Sam Samayoa, makes it looks easy. Sam is the Senior Social Media at Wipro, and she's going Behind the Post to reveal how she generates and maintains high engagement on LinkedIn, how she manages writing content on a global scale, and what key indicators she tracks for success. Especially today, social is often the first touch point with a brand, so Sam speaks on the importance of the 95, 5 rule and a few of the tactics she uses to stay top of mind. Olivia and Sam even discuss the pressures of working in social media, such as the responsibility of being the voice of the company and the public nature of their work. Sam even shares where she thinks B2B brands are missing the mark today and why as a social media professional, you have to be comfortable saying no. As a seasoned social media manager, tune in to hear her tricks for writing engaging content, like leading with the problem and always having an eye-catching graphic. Hot Topics: How to write content that appeals to different cultures and demographics Balancing content for an audience of over 7 million followers The unfiltered truth about working in social media

In this episode of Behind the Post, host Olivia Messina sits down with Kari Anderson, Social Media Manager at Körber Supply Chain. With a wealth of knowledge and expertise in B2B social media, Kari is passionate about the power of brand storytelling and the importance of relatability in connecting with audiences. Kari shares her experience rolling out a highly effective social selling program and how she strategically targets the right people with her content. She provides valuable insights on refining your social strategy to meet your audience's expectations and offers valuable advice on how to differentiate yourself from the competition. Kari delves into how much content is too much content and how she's turning the Körber social pages into more of a destination, and what content she's creating to do this. She even reveals how she creates a halo effect around their social presence to consistently earn high engagement and deepen the brand community and their advocates' networks as well! Finally, Kari reveals her successful tactics for training teams to build their personal brands and participate in their employee advocacy program. This episode is a must-listen for anyone seeking to enhance their B2B social media strategy and take their brand to the next level. Hot Topics: Why less is more when it comes to LinkedIn content Importance of brand storytelling and relatability in B2B social media Tactics for training teams to build personal brands and participate in employee advocacy programs

In this episode of Behind the Post, Olivia Messina sits down with Kristina Thomas, Head of Social Media at S&P Global. Kristina leads an award-winning global team and reveals the delicacies and challenges of managing a social strategy in the finance industry. She shares her secret to creating engaging content, which looks like sharing content that your audience is interested in while sparking conversations. For S&P Global, this is charts and graphs while focusing on the people. Kristina chats about how she educates the wider team on social selling and the importance of executives building their personal brands. Kristina talks about how she stays timely to ensure she's posting the right content at the right time and how she utilizes social listening to monitor conversations that could be at risk! They even dive into the many challenges that a merger can have on a social strategy, like combing social media pages, products sunsetting, and paying attention to the market while still hitting their goal of brand awareness. Stay until the end to learn why she measures year-over-year and month-over-month improvements and website traffic and why when reporting social media data to stakeholders, less is more! Hot Topics: Managing a global social strategy at a massive organization How to make the content in the financial industry more personal The impact a merger has on a social strategy and how to navigate it

The strongest strategies are those that are data-driven. But what does that look like in the B2B social media industry, and what role does social play in the B2B buyer journey? Here to break it down is Stephanie Melgoza, the Social Media Manager at Vena Solutions. An expert in B2B social, Stephanie's experience in social spans a variety of industries, including technology, research, and financial services, working on global brand and corporate social teams at IBM and Gartner. In this episode, she shares her philosophy around social strategy and what it really means to be data-driven. Host Olivia Messina and Stephanie discuss the content types that consistently earn high engagement and why posting more doesn't guarantee better conversion rates. When it comes to campaigns and launches, Stephanie believes it's so important to look at the moving pieces from a higher level and understand how social is contributing to the overall KPIs. When looking at social metrics, she emphasizes the importance of looking at quarterly as well as year-over-year. They wrap the show discussing one of the most pertinent topics–maintaining mental health in an industry that requires you to always be on. Stephanie reveals how she sets boundaries and the few tactics she uses to maintain her mental health. Hot Topics: What a data-driven social strategy looks like in action The types of content that consistently earn high engagement in B2B How to prioritize mental health and set boundaries

Social media teams aren't on social for the sake of being on social, they are helping to drive business growth! If you want to create a social presence that people want to be a part of and see results for your efforts, you'll need a strong social strategy. Nadine Synett, Director of Social Strategy at ZoecialMedia, knows this all too well, and she's joining host Olivia Messina to dive deep into the basics. She outlines every aspect to include in your strategy, including her 4 pillars of content: education, validation, company, and product/solution. The two dive into the importance of creating a presence that keeps your brand top of mind so when your audience is ready to make a purchasing decision, they think of you! Nadine shares countless engaging content ideas that you can implement right away! Working with countless clients on the daily, she shares the content types that continually earn high engagement. They finish out the show by discussing how to measure your social media activities. While success looks different for everyone, there are a handful of metrics that should be tracked across the board, including profile visits, impressions, engagements, and clicks. Her biggest tip? zoom out and focus on long-term growth! Hot Topics: What to include in your social media strategy How to demonstrate social media success Content ideas that consistently earn high engagement

How do you use social to support business growth? How can you get buy-in from internal stakeholders so social doesn't sit in a silo? Meet Alex Taylor Noble– The Head of Social Media at The Bank of London and the next Behind the Post guest. Alex believes that brands win when they make it about their community, not themselves. So when it comes to social, the content that's the most engaging is the content your audience wants to see! In this episode, Olivia and Alex discuss aligning your social strategy with business goals, the importance of getting buy-in from stakeholders from the inception of campaigns, and the secret to creating engaging content in regulated industries, such as banking. Hint–it's all about making your social channels a destination and giving more than you ask. Hot Topics: How to create a social strategy that supports business growth Tactics to earn buy-in from internal stakeholders The most important social media metrics to track

We all know B2B doesn't need to be boring, but most organizations still aren't getting it right. So for the first episode of Behind the Post in 2023, we're bringing in the expert! Catharina Sartori Mensak, Content Marketing Manager at Stahl is sharing her playbook on crafting humanlike, engaging content that is the opposite of boring. Cat unpacks tactical ways to make your content less boring and more authentic, even in highly regulated industries. She believes that the companies that win on social are the ones who dare to be different and think of social media as stories. Olivia and Cat talk about what it really means to put people at the forefront of your strategy and what that content looks like in action. Stay until the end to hear Cat's playbook for personal branding–P.S. the first step is being yourself! Hot Topics: Creating authentic and humanlike content for B2B Engaging content strategies for regulated industries How to create a personal brand from scratch

All of the topics Oktopost cares so much about: employee advocacy, the state of marketing, and developing a personal brand – they're in this episode! In this week's episode of Behind the Post, Adeline Peters is taking the seat as host to welcome Colin Day, live and in person. During this laid-back discussion, the two dive into what brought Day to Oktopost, where he thinks marketing is headed, and so much more! In the second half of the show, the two detail what a personal brand means and how it has evolved over the years. Colin explains it is all about being you, whether you're on stage presenting at a conference or on social media presenting a message. Together they explain why keeping it real and authentic is critical to developing a consistent personal brand. Hot Topics: The key to employee advocacy from an advocate's POV How and why you should add developing your personal brand to your to-do list Where marketing is headed in 2023

This episode of Behind the Post is not like the rest! You're in for a treat as your host, Olivia Messina, takes the other side of the mic. Addie Peters is asking everything you want to know about being a social media manager! Tune in to hear why Olivia made the jump from teaching to B2B marketing and the biggest challenges and surprises that came with it. If you've ever wondered what it's like to run social for a global brand, Olivia covers that too! She reveals her approach to social strategy, her secrets for planning content, and staying up to date on trends. This episode is fun, unfiltered, and peels back the biggest challenges behind working in social! Hot Topics: Social strategy for global brands from a B2B perspective Where B2B brands are missing the mark on social The greatest challenge for B2B social media managers

It's a time of economic uncertainty– budgets are being cut, teams are getting smaller, and the cost of living is increasing, yet we're still expected to see growth with fewer resources and spend. If you're currently facing this dilemma, you've come to the right place. In this episode, Olivia Messina and Addie Peters discuss why doing less can actually be more. The duo shares their experiment, which led to a 32% increase in engagements, all while scaling back on content. In the second half of the show, Olivia and Addie discuss how you can earn more meaningful engagements, more reach, and customer engagement through employee advocacy. Your brand can't go it alone–leveraging employee engagement can help you reach new heights your corporate channels could never achieve on their own! Tune in to learn why it's more authentic than paid social and how one of our customers decreased their cost per click from $5 to $1 within the first 45 days of their program! Hot Topics: How to decrease your cost per click with employee advocacy What content to create when leveraging your employees on social media Why cutting back on the volume of social posts can increase your engagement

Almost every marketer has been in the position of doing the role of multiple people. This is a reality the next Behind the Post guest knows all too well. For seven years, Sarah Noel Block, CEO of Tiny Marketing, was a marketing team of one for five companies simultaneously. She joins host Olivia Messina to reveal her tried and true systems that enabled her to expand her bandwidth without expanding budget. This includes streamlining and batching content, systemizing through project management tools, and automating everywhere possible. Sarah shares her journey to becoming CEO and why most small B2B marketers are falling short due to shiny object syndrome – and how you can see results if you're missing the mark! Stay until the end to learn her formula for A/B testing social copy and her best growth hacks for authentically growing a brand page on LinkedIn. Hot Topics: Where today's B2B marketers are missing the mark Creating marketing systems that increase bandwidth How to create thought-provoking social media copy