Author Archives: Shoshana Lefkow

Podcasting is growing in popularity. According to analysis from eMarketer, this year, podcast advertising revenue will grow 10 percent to $782 million and jump 45 percent to $1.1 billion in 2021. Additionally, Podtrac said that podcast downloads from top podcast publishers in the U.S. have grown 20.6 percent year-to-date. Farm Progress and DTN/The Progressive Farmer both introduced their own podcasts this spring with episodes featuringContinue reading “Podcasting Surge”

Many platforms are recognizing creators by making creator funds. Recently, TikTok announced its first 19 recipients of their $200M fund, which is expected to grow to $1B in the next three years. Additionally, Facebook announced its commitment of $25M to Black creators. Lastly, YouTube announced its $100M creator fund to amplify black voices. Takeaway: There is growing demand from the public for businesses to supportContinue reading “Supporting Creators”

There’s been an increase in brands using the poll feature on Instagram story ads. This is a great way to engage your audience and make them feel like a part of the brand. Takeaway: Interactive elements on ads help brands build better connections.  

Recently, dairy advocates and social influencers participated in a virtual Dairy Food Advocacy Network conference about social media. Dairy farmers who double as social media gurus helped fellow farmers learn the skills to be successful on social. Consider this: Empower dairy advocates with tools to promote the dairy industry on social.

Twitter announced that soon you can slide into DMs without clicking away from your timeline. Users clapped back with hilarious replies, such as “that’s nice but when can we edit our tweets?,” “handle the hacking of billionaires first” and “you all still get DMs?” Read the full thread here. Takeaway: Social listening is crucial.

Many food brands are disassociating from their racist food branding. Recently, Trader Joe’s renewed its commitment to ending all-Americanized brand lines of international products such as Trader José and Trader Ming’s. Read the full article here. Takeaway: Consumers will call you out for performative activism.

Brands are finding innovative ways to connect with consumers at home. In the fast-food industry, restaurants created jigsaw puzzles. Check out the tweets from @Arbys and @HeinzKetchup to see their brandified puzzles. New gift idea: Send clients or sales representatives a customized jigsaw of their company.

To celebrate National Cookie Day, Nestlé created the Remix the Original challenge, inviting users to come up with the most original recipe using Nestlé Toll House morsels. Nestlé utilized Instagram stories to have users vote on the winners. Takeaway: Contests are a great way to engage followers and promote brand loyalty.

Tim Horton will launch their limited edition of Hero Cups later this summer. The cups will be covered in hundreds of names to recognize the sacrifice of frontline workers.

The media blames producers for beef prices. Let’s set the record straight. Producers have struggled as beef prices have increased by 25% in the past three months while cattle prices have decreased significantly. Unfortunately, the only ones benefiting from this are the beef packers, whose profit margins are historically high.