Social Media Spotlight - Chris Branch
Name: Chris Branch
Job Title: Founder & Chief Strategy Officer at Seed to Branch
Experience: I've spent 15 years in-house at agencies in Sydney, Dubai, London, Leeds & now Liverpool.
Now I run my own agency servicing clients.
How did you come up with the name Seed to Branch?: In discussions with a friend, to name Seed to Branch arose from the ashes like a Phoenix. We created a deck about agency names being generated from a random colour and an animal like purple donkey 😅 Content Seeding has a deeper meaning in the industry 'Content seeding is a strategic approach to scatter content across the Internet.' so it was nicely layered with growth and my surname and the industry!
What do you love most about social media:
I love to be inspired. When I see something in my feed that I'd never have encountered otherwise, it reminds me what a powerful marketing tool all Social Media potentially is.
Favourite social media platform: LinkedIn / Reddit
You've had great success on LinkedIn, how do you feel you've achieved this?: As simple as it sounds, really understanding the pitfalls in the algorithm (like re-shares and sharing 3rd party links) has been the biggest game-changer to my content-sharing reach.
How do you differentiate the content you put on your personal account and your business page?: Actually, I don't. I want my agency account to represent the same personal characteristics that I have in my personal profile so that followers feel as though it's just an extension of myself.
Top tip: As well as scheduling posts and creating a consistent brand presence across your social channels, it is also important to consider how to be reactive to the news in your industry and respond to your customers on social media in real-time where possible.
What does your day to day work consist of?: Digital marketing channel management for eCommerce retailers.
What challenges do you face within your role?: Budget restraints, constant algorithm changes.
Are there any social media tools you use to make your job easier?: Sometimes Buffer (but not much).
As there are so many changes to social media, how do you keep up to date with the latest information?: I'm always testing and studying algorithms.
For someone looking to get into a social media role, where would you advise them to start?: Agencies can teach you a lot in a short amount of time (on multiple accounts).
What's been your best social media success story to date (Can be your own or client) and why?: A LinkedIn post I made about a charity I support reached over 2million views, and I got to work with the Chief Marketing Officer of that same charity as a client, I have a lot of admiration for charity marketing and especially the WWF.
What has been your favourite social media campaign (Big or Small) this year so far and why?: Innocents, it's not BLUE campaign.
Finally, what would you like the future of social media to be?: The best thing that ever happened to communication (and not a dopamine trapping wild west).
Want to connect with Chris?
https://www.linkedin.com/company/19215401
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-branch-digital-marketing-tips/