Keeping It Currant: New Years Edition

Welcome back to the fourth issue of Keeping It Currant, a newsletter by Social Currant & Girl and the Gov®. To pull it in reverse if you’re new here, this newsletter drops the tea and the tips about how to navigate the intersection of the creator economy and the political and social impact space – an intersection that’s growing at a rapid clip. 

For a little proof in that pudding, at Social Currant, we reached over 35 million through strategic campaigns, paid out over $1M to creators, and engaged over 4K creators. As we barrel toward ‘24, we’re excited to take those numbers to the next level, together, starting here with this edition of Keeping It Currant, which features…

• Creator events you don’t to miss

• New creator campaigns to apply for

• A walk-through of the ‘big 4’ types of campaigns

• 3 platforms, 3 trends to jump on

• IG’s new spam filter - what it means for your content

• What your talent manager should be asking campaign organizers

• An interview with Eco Chic Podcast’s Laura Diez

ADD TO THE CAL

An upcoming creator event to add to your cal

SOCIAL CURRANT CREATOR BRIEFING #3

About: BRB deats are loading… but we’ll give you a hint – we’ll be answering your burning questions on an issue that impacts creators across all niches.

When: Thursday, January 11, 2024; 4:00-4:30pm EST

Where: Virtual; Zoom

DC CREATOR ROUNDTABLE

About:  Join the Social Currant team, clients & creator friends for a roundtable to talk all-things creators & impact. The goal of the event is to bring more folks from the creator space & the impact space together to talk about best practices, shared values, and ways to collaborate.

When: Tuesday, January 16, 2024; 5:30-6:30pm EST

Where: Western Market - 2000 Pennsylvania Avenue NW #3500, Washington, DC, 20006

CURRANT CONTENT TRENDS & STYLES

When content trends meet political topics – a look at the latest concepts to take for a test drive

IT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPID

About: In a recent interview, MI Governor Gretchen Whitmer shared that “if you don’t think abortion is about the economy, you probably don’t have a uterus,” and went on to explain the specifics. That line in particular provides a powerful way for creators to make this point known.

The Audio: Find it here.

What this can be used for: This can be used to showcase the interwoven nature of abortion and the economy. Creators can connect the dots between abortion and the state of other issues - paid leave, the wage gap, healthcare, childcare, and beyond.

Try it out: 

• Take a screenshot of an article that drives home the connection between abortion decision making and the economy.

• Face-to-camera film using a cut of the audio, with the screenshot shown via the Green Screen effect.

• Draw a conclusion in the caption.

I MISS…

About: This carousel pic x TikTok trend enables creators to highlight something they miss. As The Democrats demonstrated with their use of the trend, they share missing “the House getting things done.” Ah, don’t we all… 

The Audio: Find it here.

What this can be used for: This can be used to share a concept, a policy, a status quo, or a person that the creator misses.

Try it out:

• Select two images to use. The first should be generic but points to the possibility that it would be about politics in some form. The second should be specifically indicative or representative about what the creator misses - ex: portrait pic of Obama.

• Put the images to the audio.

• On slide one, start with text “I miss.” On slide two, add what’s ‘missed.’

IT’S DEM THREADS CALLING

About: Threads is taking on new dimensions with taggable topics. Using the # tool, creators can tag one topic in their Thread and tap into conversations on it. Dem Threads is one of those topics, which brings interested parties into chitchats about an array of topics, from ‘24 candidates to policy. Use the tag to jump into the convo and network with other people that touch the political space.

What this can be used for: This can be used for networking and personal brand awareness. It can also be used to bring attention to an issue area to a targeted audience.

Try it out:

• On Desktop Threads, type a # and begin typing Dem Threads. Click on it as it appears.

• Type the remainder of the Thread message and post it.

• To see what’s being chatted about first, search the tag.

TEMPERATURE CONTROL

Everyone has an opinion – here's advice on how to manage them

Instagram’s New Spam Filters: Look, we’ll be the first to say that we wish IG could just be proactively prevent spam/bot accounts from being made in the first place, but we’ve wished for this at 11:11 multiple times in a row, and no luck. To digress, what has come through are new spam management tools that are designed to separate the potential spam messages from the real ones – think like how when you get a call and your phone labels a rogue number as ‘potential spam.’ You’re still getting the call, but at least you know not to pick up…? A snapshot of the tools:

• IG will filter follow requests that could be spam into its own list for review thoughtfully labeled “Potential Spam.”

• IG will allow you to review all potential spam tags at once, #timesaver. It’ll also nix any ‘maybe shady’ tag requests after 30 days.

• This is in the possibility category - IG may hide Story views from accounts that are spam/bot vibes.

These tools will at the very least help reduce some of the noise and creepy crawlers placing hearts on your Story… or is that just an us-thing…? Anyways, happy updates!

CAMPAIGN TYPES 101

Everyone has a type, including political impact campaigns. So, what are the different types that you’ll engage with as a creator? Let’s get into the ‘big four’:

→ Petitions: This campaign type will typically have the goal of gathering signatures on behalf of an issue area at-large [ex: gun reform], a specific policy [ex: assault weapon ban], or a cause. The signatures en masse are used by orgs, electeds, think tanks, lobbyists, and other parties to prove that there’s support for ‘an action’ they want to see accomplished. It’s a tool for building a case.

→ Pledges: No, this isn’t about the process for getting into Greek life. Pledge campaigns have three potential goals. The first is to encourage self-accountability related to a specific civic action, which typically is voting. The second is to open the door of conversation around civic engagement through what would be “voting junior” or an action that gets a participant primed to want to vote. And thirdly, if an org is involved, for them, it’s also about collecting emails and contact info for civic outreach campaigns related to their specific goals [ex: encouraging voters to support pro-climate candidates].

→  Message Awareness: These campaigns are focused on sharing a specific message. The goal is essentially what would be ‘brand awareness’ in a consumer campaign. In this case it’s for an issue area, a policy, a status quo [ex: rates of homelessness in 2023], a set of accomplishments from a party of elected officials, and so on. The CTA for these campaigns is often further reading and the payment is often based on clicks or views.

→  Contact Campaigns: These campaigns have the most robust CTA, and are zeroed-in on getting people to contact an elected official, a government agency, an org, or other political player on behalf of a specific issue, policy, or action [ex: telling a governor to veto a bill]. 

HOW THEY CREATED IT

The BTS with creators & creatives that have knocked it out of the park

Meet Laura Diez: Laura Diez is the host of Eco Chic, an eco-conscious lifestyle podcast, primarily reaching young women on topics such as fashion, environmental justice, and conscious consumerism. She’s a renewable energy professional and content creator based in Denver, Colorado. 

Follow Laura on TikTok, Instagram, and Apple Podcasts.

What drew you to the niche that you’re in?

“I was in graduate school for Climate Science when I realized there were very few accessible sources of climate information for the general public. This was 2017, so thankfully a lot has changed since then. There was still a narrative in the academic spaces I found myself in that climate science was only for climate scientists. I wanted a space for women like myself: conversational, educational, feminist, and comfortable.”

What’s on your mind content-wise when thinking about 2024 and the new year?

“Election years are so exciting to create content around because just about every proposed measure or candidate promise can be tied in some way to climate. I’m looking forward to unpacking ballot initiatives and campaign promises, especially around energy and electrifying transportation.” 

What social media platform do you prefer, and why does it get the #1 spot?

“As of the last 6-9 months, TikTok is my preferred platform because it feels so comfortable and creators are truly rewarded for coming as they are. I’ve loved the aesthetics of an IG feed in the past, but with so much going on in the world right now, I love that TikTok is a space that allows for unpolished, unfiltered discussions.” 

As a creator yourself, what are you always excited to see other creators doing? Any trends or styles that come to mind?

“I think newsletters are wildly underutilized and undervalued in the content creator space - I love that my friends at Girl and The Gov have such well-formatted and pointed newsletters! We spend all day in our inboxes, so it’s the most valuable real estate to meet your audience. I have a biweekly newsletter that I hope to continue to add value with and share more frequently. I also love that the post-COVID world has encouraged creators to host more events.I’m hoping to begin creating more IRL spaces for my audience, in Colorado and beyond.”

How do you balance online versus offline time?

“Not to pat myself on the back too much, but I think I am pretty good at unplugging. I started forcing myself to take screen-free Saturdays and it has allowed me to have such better boundaries throughout the week. I think leaning into other hobbies also forces me to stay offline for longer periods - e.g., if I’m reading a book, I’m not scrolling on my phone, and if I’m skiing or hiking (perks of Colorado living), I probably don’t have cell signal anyway, so who cares what’s going on online?”

TALENT TIP

Tips n’ tricks for talent managers navigating political campaigns

Two questions to ask in the campaign vetting process:

The question to ask: What other creators will be participating in the campaign?

The reasons to ask it:

• Risk Analysis: The creator will be indirectly affiliated with the other participants via the campaign’s shared goal and branding. Those participants may be a conflict of interest.

• Collaboration Opportunities: Prior relationships could be leveraged to enhance the campaign or new ones created as a result of participating.

• Network Support: Once a campaign goes live, participants can enhance the relevance of the campaign by uplifting peer content.

• Comp Analysis: From follower counts to location to content type, being able to see the comps, provides an avenue for contract negotiation.

The question to ask: Will the campaign’s various partners post their content in-sync or will it be segmented over a designated time period?

The reasons to ask it:

• Campaign Authenticity: Pending the answer, the style may bring or detract value from participating.

• Expected Buzz Levels: Pending the answer, further PR opportunities may be available or not, and/or be relevant to pursue.

• Landscape Awareness: Should the sociopolitical landscape not be conducive to the posting time, having the schedule will be helpful for negotiating a new post date.

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 → Mental Health

Date Available: January-March ‘24

Platforms: TikTok & Instagram

Campaign Goal: Sharing creator mental health stories.

Campaign Focus → STEM Scholarship 

Date Available: January-March ‘24

Platforms: TikTok & Instagram

Campaign Goal: Highlighting STEM in one’s daily life and a relevant scholarship.

Campaign Focus → The Union Experience

Date Available: January-February ‘24

Platforms: TikTok & Instagram

Campaign Goal: Sharing positive union impacts on self, family, or friends.

NEW YEAR, NEW FEEDBACK → let us know what campaigns you’re interested in, what platforms you prefer, and what issues excite you. Drop us deats with the two minute survey below so that we can kickoff ‘24 together in a big way.

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