Keeping It Currant: July 2024

Welcome to the July issue of Keeping It Currant, a newsletter by Social Currant & Girl and the Gov® focused on sharing insights on how to navigate the intersection of the creator economy and the political and social impact space. This issue includes:

• Details on Social Currant’s Mental Health Series for creators

• New paid campaign opportunities

• Upcoming creator brunches in Chicago

• The 411 on starting a newsletter [or not]

• Six share-able creator resources to drop in the GC and use

…and much more. Dive into it all below – and for more check out the Social Currant creator-dedicated Slack channel, here.

ADD TO THE CAL

Upcoming creator events to add to your cal

MENTAL HEALTH CREATOR PROGRAM SUMMER SERIES

​​This virtually-held summer series with Social Currant and Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health is focused on conversations surrounding content creators, mental health, and the challenges faced online. The briefings are as follows:

• JULY 31, 2024: Unpacking fat-phobia, weight discrimination, and their deadly repercussions

• AUGUST 7, 2024: Parenting and social media: how parents can take action and support teen mental health

• AUGUST 19, 2024: How racial discrimination decays mental health and what we can do about it

CREATOR BRUNCHES BY SOCIAL CURRANT

Attending Lollapalooza? Going to be in town for it? We’d love to see you at one of our two creator brunches happening on August 1st and August 2nd in Chicago. Come network with fellow creators and get excited for the work to come between now and election day. For more details, reply to this email and we’ll get in touch with the 411.

CREATOR BRIEFING: SUPREME COURT, DEMOCRACY, & MORE

​On Monday, July 29th, President Biden officially announced his support for a slate of Supreme Court reforms. From term limits to limiting broad presidential immunity, he underscored the need for meaningful change to take the Supreme Court back from the MAGA justices, political operatives, and corporate billionaires that control it. ​Join experts from the United For Democracy team to learn more about what this announcement means and the importance of Supreme Court reform. ​Come prepared with questions around the issues you care about and how the Supreme Court might impact them.

When & Where: Virtual on Zoom; August 5, 2024; 4:00-4:45pm EST

THE DNC

Will you be falling out of a coconut tree?

If you’re going to be attending the DNC as a creator or in another fashion, we’d love to chat. Let us know if we’ll see you there by filling out this quick form. Easy peasy!

ADD YOUR VOICE

Share your two cents on why you are Team Harris

We’re off to the races, literally with the campaign to make VP Kamala Harris, President Kamala Harris going full steam ahead. To keep the momentum moving and make November one to remember [in a good way], you – yes, you – can use your voice to share why you’re supporting Kamala Harris. You can do just that with MurMur, which is collecting video testimonials from supporters from coast to coast. You can record and add yours to the flow, here.

RESOURCE ROUND-UP

Something to save, something to use

• Navigator Research’s Guidance on Project 2025 Messaging → Project 2025 is a behemoth of a document and a plan via the Heritage Foundation, making it possibly cumbersome to properly inform and warn voters about. This guide helps streamline it and narrow down key talking points that you can use across social post types.

• Buffer’s Recommended Power Words → In the age of FYPs and Explore pages, attracting new followers is a part of the game. One piece of that layered and ever-evolving equation is using ‘power words’ or words that hook a viewer – new or old. This list of 150 Webster words can help you do that time and time again.

• Grants for Creators → Grants are out there, including for creators, to help great ideas go from concept to reality. This newsletter, aptly named Grants for Creators shares the latest on grants available across the creative space on a monthly basis. Subscribe here.

• Redact’s Delete All Capabilities → Whether you’re pulling a Taylor Swift before a new album release or you just aren’t feelin’ what you posted on Facebook circa middle school, Redact can help you say CTRL delete to it all from one centralized hub. Use it, save it.

• YouTube’s Creator Liaison → If growing on YouTube is on your 2024 bingo card, may we recommend subscribing to YouTube’s very own creator liaison, who shares insights, tips and tricks, and ideas on how to up your game [and following] on the platform. Subscribe to the channel here.

• Instagram’s Live Guide → Designed to share best practices on how to make sure your Instagram Live goes smoothly, but brings all the viewers to the yard, IG’s dedicated guide has the 1-2 step on how to make the most of the platform feature. Check out the guide here.

HEADLINES

News at a glance from ‘round the creator sphere

• Social Media Today: YouTube Adds Options To Save Music From Shorts

• Mashable: Instagram now lets you add multiple tracks to a Reel

• TechCrunch: There’s a lot more to the Kamala Harris memes than you think

• Pinterest: Introducing a new way to share Pinterest boards on social media

STRATEGIES FOR MAINTAINING POSITIVE CONNECTIONS WITH PAID VENDORS

Let’s get back to basics

We love a paid campaign. That goes without saying, right? So, how do you keep relationships with vendors/brands/clients in tip top shape? By using these basics to guide your approach before, during, and after.

→ RATES: Negotiating a price is a part of the process. You should be paid fairly and in a timely manner. You should also honor the rate agreed upon and signed to [as long as the deliverables/scope remain the same]. Signing a contract and then trying to change the price after the fact is a recipe for bad blood.

→ GHOSTINGS: Don’t be a Casper. If you’ve agreed to a deliverable or deliverables, make it happen per the agreement. If a deliverable can no longer be completed or an extension is needed, communicate that to the vendor/brand/client.

→ PROPER BRIEF READING: Ask for the briefing before you agree to a contract. Read it over and make sure that you would be able to provide exactly what they have in mind. If it’s not a fit or you don’t think that you could deliver on their vision, then say “pass, tysm.” The more back and forth originating from a lack of clarity at the start of the process will leave all parties frustrated.

→ DEADLINE MANAGEMENT: This goes hand-in-hand with ghosting – turn in deliverables on time. Don’t be the creator they have to chase or the creator whose talent manager has to go full court press.

NEWSLETTERS

Should you start one? Yes? No? Maybe, so?

With algorithms… well algorithm-ing for lack of a better word, expanding your brand outside of social media platforms is an option to consider. One of the mediums to consider is a newsletter, bringing your usual content focus to inboxes instead of FYPs. Newsletters, like the one you’re reading this in right now, have a number of ‘pros,’ which include:

• Content is reliant on algorithms.

• The content created is going to the intended audience.

• Newsletters can boost SEO.

• The format provides an opportunity to share content from other platforms in one place.

• Newsletters can boost merch launches and other link required opportunities. 

• Advertising opportunities can provide another stream of income.

Like with anything, there are possible ‘cons.’ Some of the most frequent cons or complaints to consider:

• Building out a new content format can be time consuming.

• Not all content styles translate to a newsletter format.

• Managing subscriber lists and growth can be intensive.

• Consistency matters, so if you don’t have the bandwidth, a newsletter is not the move.

Now after considering some of the most frequent pro/cons, if you’re thinking “hmm maybe I’ll start a newsletter,” these are a few questions to ask yourself:

• What would the content look like? 

• What would I want to write about or share in written form?

• What would make it appealing to my existing online audience? 

• What would the cadence be?

• What methods could you use to build your newsletter’s send list?

• Is there a platform for the newsletter that would work best?

• Would the newsletter be a value-add to a subscriber’s inbox?

If it’s a go, we recommend beehiiv for traditional newsletters and FloDesk for marketing-style emails.

CURRANT CONTENT TRENDS & STYLES

When content trends meet political topics – a look at the latest concepts to try

GLASSES TRANSITION TREND

About: Transition trends largely focus on showing a shift between locations, outfits, aesthetics, etc, and this one is no different. As seen in the Reel, the creator showcases a new location all the while being handed a new pair of sunglasses per location from a pal behind the camera. 

What this can be used for: In a political use case, this trend can be used to showcase a creator at various political events across the election season, from campaign rallies, door knocking, conferences, the DNC, and so on. Wearing relevant merch per event in each slide of the transition adds another visual and marketing moment.

YOU KNOW ME TREND

About: This TikTok carousel trend involving two slides has creators prompting potential new followers to swipe and learn about them or their account.

What this can be used for: Dubbed the “you know me" trend, this is a great way to share top-line details about yourself and/or your political beliefs/values/goals with potential new followers.

EVERY DAY TREND

About: This TikTok audio is being used to share policies or political goals that one thinks about everyday.

What this can be used for: Make it your own, and create a TikTok focused on a political goal or policy that you want people to know more about. Include a CTA or way to learn more in the caption.

CAMPAIGN CORNER

Upcoming and current paid campaigns, available now. See one that’s of interest? Fill out this form and we’ll get in touch with details. Please note, if you’re a talent agent we’ll be in touch with a talent agency specific form – just respond to this email!

Campaign Focus → Structural Racism & How It Leads to Health Inequities

Date Available: Now through September 2024

Campaign Goal: To work in partnership with a variety of creators to shift the public narrative around health equity and discuss how everyone deserves the opportunity to live their healthiest life.

Location Requirement: New Jersey

Campaign Focus → Voter Registration Focused on the Latino Community

Date Available: Now through September 2024

Campaign Goal: To work in partnership with Latino creators to share voter registration information and motivate people to show up to the polls in November. Transparency note: The NC and CO campaigns specifically will also discuss reproductive justice

Location Requirement: Arizona, Nevada, Texas, North Carolina, Colorado

Campaign Focus → Issue Based Campaign Local to State

Date Available: Now through September 2024

Campaign Goal: To work in partnership with a variety of creators to discuss issues specific to their state

Location Requirement: Wisconsin, Michigan, Montana 

LET’S GET SOCIAL

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