Byron Stewart, Associate Director of Social Media at Team Epiphany, shares his insights on leveraging social-first content to connect with audience trends. He recounts a viral moment at Foot Locker involving Machine Gun Kelly, showcasing how brands can jump on organic trends. Byron stresses the importance of continuous learning and managing social media consumption to avoid burnout. He also discusses building authentic partnerships with creators and the role of employee advocacy in enhancing brand representation.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Viral MGK Post
Byron Stewart's viral Foot Locker post about Machine Gun Kelly's proposal photo went viral.
The post humorously suggested Kelly, wearing a striped shirt resembling the Foot Locker uniform, was an employee requesting time off.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Protect Your Brand
Master your brand guidelines and social strategy to filter appropriate trends.
Take calculated risks on social media while understanding your brand DNA.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Consumer Mindset
Adopt a consumer mindset and follow diverse accounts outside your industry.
Discuss followed content with your team for broader cultural insights.
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Leaning into social-first content can help you connect to the trends that your audience is already engaged with. The key to great social-first content? Being a content consumer yourself, says our guest this week, Byron Stewart, Associate Director of Social Media at Team Epiphany.
Full Episode Details
By tapping into the current online culture and trends, you’re in the perfect position to jump onto new opportunities to expand your brand’s reach. That’s what Bryon found when he worked at Foot Locker. As he was scrolling on Twitter at the gym, he spotted an opportunity to jump on a meme about Machine Gun Kelly being a Foot Locker employee. Not long after he posted, the Tweet went viral. This is a perfect example of how you can build social-first content (sometimes with minimal work) with a consumer mindset – a key theme running through this episode with Byron.
Byron shares his advice for social pros who want to leverage trends the right way, take risks, get leadership buy-in for campaigns, and how to work effectively with creators.
We also hear his thoughts on tackling burnout in the era of being “chronically online” and why his top tip for social pros is to commit to continuous learning. The episode leaves us with Byron's thoughts on the creator economy and his approach to identifying and leveraging emerging trends for different brands.
In This Episode:
2:48 - Byron explains his new role at Team Epiphany
3:38 - How Foot Locker went viral with a Machine Gun Kelly post
8:40 - Advice for social pros to do something similar while protecting their brand
10:36 - How Byron stays informed about current culture with a consumer mindset
12:46 - How Byron identifies important trends, tracks them, and applies them
14:51 - Byron’s take on brand relationships with creators
17:35 - The biggest changes in the platforms affecting the creator economy
20:02 - Ways he’d like to see Instagram and TikTok evolve
22:30 - Byron’s favorite types of content
23:59 - How to avoid burnout as a social pro
25:45 - How Byron kickstarted the employee advocacy program at Foot Locker
29:45 - Advice on getting buy-in to start making employee-generated content
31:20 - Why Byron loves being a social media advocate
Social Pros Podcast