I’m back from vacation and refreshed-ish (if you consider an Airbnb with six adults and five kids under the age of 6 ‘refreshing’).

And, of course, I missed my entire industry being labeled harmful on the level of smoking!

But as Bambi Haggins, one of my favorite television professors in college, once said (and I’m paraphrasing due to my lack of a photographic memory): “Media is only bad for you if you don’t watch actively.”

So, talent reps, let’s talk about how you and your clients can be on the right side of this issue while building a business in the social media market.

NEWS:

U.S. Surgeon General Wants An Algo-Dectomy

It’s official! Vivek Murthy is ready to take action on something study after study after study has told us for years: social media is bad for teens’ mental health.

And probably non-teens too.

His solution is to create a warning label about how social media has shown a correlation to mental health issues in teens.

If you’re like me and work in social media, you’ve struggled with this.

Are we cigarette peddlers in the 50’s insisting they don’t cause lung cancer, or are we simply video game developers who understand some users will be addicted, but many have their lives improved through more access to entertainment and information?

There’s no simple answer to this, as there are many different content creators and positions in the field.

But assuming you’re someone who wants to end up on the right side of history, is there a position to take that doesn’t involve dropping all of your clients and starting an organic farm in Colorado?

My point of view: absolutely, and it’s not that complex.

The problem isn’t the creators. The problem is, and always has been, the algorithms and the platforms.

I don’t think anyone would say Rhett & Link’s content is causing depression. Or Vsauce. Or Hank Green.

But when all of the content is combined and served within an algorithm designed to keep users from leaving the platform while often serving more disturbing content, we’ve got a problem.

So teach your clients about positive social media usage.

Don’t focus on vanity metrics. Focus on building a core, valuable fanbase.

Don’t play the algo game too much. It changes too often.

Build direct relationships with your fans.

And, for the love of everything holy, make sure your talent has some sort of positive message or point-of-view they’re putting out into the world!

NEW OPPORTUNITIES:

A Newsletter Promoting Using Newsletters

I’m not just writing a newsletter because I’m bored.

To be honest, my problem is that I’m not bored enough.

I write a newsletter because it gives me a more direct connection with my audience.

Likewise, I believe every creator should have a newsletter.

Yes. Every creator.

Even MrBeast with his 288m subscribers on his main YouTube is only getting just over 100m views per video.

And I’m sure more than half of those aren’t subscribers.

That means only one out of every six subscribers see his content.

With more ways to surface his content to his followers, they’re not at the mercy of the algorithms.

So start that beehiiv account, create a simple template, and once per week send out a newsletter with all of your clients’ new posts for the week.

SOCIAL OPTIMIZATION:

Still sleeping on YouTube Shorts?

Okay, this is getting ridiculous.

I just went to twenty random profiles of TikTok stars with over one million followers, and only eight were posting on YouTube.

Only twelve were posting on Instagram Reels.

Please don’t just read this, but actually let it sink in: content that is successful on one is likely to be successful on all.

Or, at the very least, you have more shots on goal to catch the algorithm in the right mood.

Don’t have the time?

Many platforms have ‘editor’ roles, where you can allow a virtual assistant to upload videos on your behalf including Meta, Snapchat, and YouTube.

Just make sure you’re saving the edit before the watermark. That can hurt your content in the algorithm.

Also, make sure you embed any copyrighted music using the native platforms’ tools to avoid any claims issues.

Justin Flom's YouTube Short just hit 1.5 billion views. If he had only posted on TikTok, that wouldn’t have happened.

So stop making excuses and start embracing a multi-platform strategy!

INDUSTRY HIRING:

Mavn Creators is looking for an Influencer Concierge for their luxury creator program. Only apply if you have a lead on Taylor Swift ‘Eras’ tickets.

The Lobby is looking for General Manager: Influencers to get more UGC out of the TikTok masses.

Elle Communications is looking for a Celebrity & Influencer Relations Account Executive to keep those celebrities from going off the rails…again…

MEME ZONE:

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this edition, give it a share and if you get someone to sign up, I’ll send you my ‘10 Rep-Friendly Ways to Monetize Today!’ deck!

Until next time, protect yo rep.