
Unpacking the Social Media Playbook of a $4B brand | Chris Cunningham (ClickUp)
Ahrefs Podcast
Influencer Marketing Lessons for SaaS
Chris advises vetting influencers, providing product training, seeking genuine use cases, and favoring scrappy partnerships.
Chris Cunningham, founding member of ClickUp, reveals the social media strategy that drives a staggering 150M monthly impressions. This is *the* exact strategy that's also attracted major clients like VaynerMedia (yes, GaryVee literally found them through social media).
Grab your notes. 📝 Chris shares his contrarian take on hooks and pattern interrupts, explains why hiring LA actors is a no-brainer for your social content, and walks us through his secret Trial Reels technique that consistently multiplies video performance.
In this episode:
(00:00) The Power of Humor in B2B Marketing
(00:57) Measuring ROI in Social Media Strategies
(05:10) How Much Does It Cost to Create This Type of Content?
(07:32) Finding and Hiring Talent for Content Creation
(12:57) Integrating Humor with Project Management Software
(17:25) The Creative Process: From Ideas to Execution
(18:40) Using Trial Reels to Test Impact(21:08) Brainstorming Creative Ideas(24:02) Balancing Fun and Product Promotion
(29:17) Breaking Marketing Norms
(33:30) The ABCD Framework for Content Creation
(38:33) Pattern Interrupt Techniques in Content
(43:18) Psychological Hacks for Converting Followers
(46:24) Building a Personal Brand Vs a Company Brand
(50:39) Types of Content for Brand Accounts
(53:44) Defining the ClickUp Brand
(57:10) The $15K ClickUp Album
(01:02:01) Influencer Marketing Strategies
(01:04:50) The Super Bowl Ad Experience
(01:07:35) AI in Marketing: A Critical Perspective
(01:11:54) Outro
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Ahrefs Podcast! As always, be sure to like and subscribe (and tell a friend).
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Where to find Chris:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisclickup/
X: @ChrisClickUp
Website: https://clickup.com/
Where to find Tim:
LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/)
X: @timsoulo
Website: https://www.timsoulo.com/
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Referenced in this episode:
👤 People
Gary Vaynerchuk (GaryVee): https://www.linkedin.com/in/garyvaynerchuk/
Kyle Coleman (ClickUp CMO): https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylecoleman/
Adam Robinson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamsrobinson/
Gaurav Agarwal (ClickUp COO): https://www.linkedin.com/in/gaurav-agarwal-8278271/
Zeb Evans (ClickUp Founder/CEO): https://www.linkedin.com/in/zeb-evans/
Seth Godin: https://www.sethgodin.com/
Mr. Beast: @MrBeast
Clever (Artist): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clever_(rapper)
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🏢 Companies & Brands
VaynerMedia: https://vaynerx.com/
Adweek (Adworld): https://www.adweek.com/
Groundlings: https://www.groundlings.com/
Copy AI: https://www.copy.ai/
Clari: https://www.clari.com/
BuzzFeed: https://www.buzzfeed.com/
Halligan Cinema: https://halligancinema.com/
HubSpot: https://www.hubspot.com/
Asana: https://asana.com/
Jira: https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira
Wendy’s: https://www.wendys.com/
Apple: https://www.apple.com/
Windows (Microsoft): https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows
Morning Brew: https://www.morningbrew.com/
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🛠️ Tools / Platforms
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/
Spotify: https://www.spotify.com/
Apple Music: https://www.apple.com/apple-music/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/
Claude (Anthropic AI): https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-3-family
ChatGPT (OpenAI): https://chat.openai.com/
Clay (Lead gen / enrichment): https://www.clay.com/


