Industry Voices: Taylor Loren

What’s something that every Marketer should know right now about social media?

Creators spend so much time growing their audience, but the algorithm can take away or decrease your reach at any time. 

Platforms have their own priorities, which may not fit with your content strategy, so it’s really important to create a space that you’re in control of, like an email list. Imagine if your social account got hacked—how else could you reach out to your audience if you had to start over?

Which social platform are you using the most right now and why?

This is kind of my dirty little secret, but I’m pretty addicted to Reddit right now. 

I didn’t really start being active on the platform until about a year ago, but it’s a nice break from constantly consuming videos and photos, and I love following all my various interests (namely pop culture and celebrity gossip).

What are the top three tools that you can’t live without as a Marketer?

• InShot: If I had to have only one content app on my phone, this would be it! 
• Notes App: I’m a big Notes fan—sometimes the simplest app is the most effective! I’m constantly doing brain dumps of ideas in my Notes app, writing blog posts in there, making to-do lists, taking notes from calls, etc. As an ADHD girlie, it’s honestly my lifeline. 
• Notion: To keep everything organized, from planning out campaign launches to coordinating with my team, and keeping my content calendar on track!

Which Creators are really nailing their content and social strategy right now?

• Jenna Palek: She is a great example of how to foster a niche audience instead of a content niche. She also does a really great job showing up consistently and cultivating a real community, which is half the battle of being a successful Creator.
• Skylar Marshai: Her video edits are so good and really help her fashion videos pop—you can’t stop watching them! She’s a great example of how your videos don’t need to be super long or complicated in order to be effective. Plus, she just has the coolest style. 
• Kirbie Johnson: She does such a great job storytelling through green-screen videos, and that’s one of the reasons she consistently goes viral. Being able to craft a compelling story through video doesn’t come naturally to a lot of people, but I think she’ss a great example of how Creators who may be more used to writing can transfer their storytelling skills into an engaging video format.

What’s one thing every Creator should know about brand campaigns?

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is the importance of your communication with a brand. It really makes a big difference, and influences whether a brand will want to work with you again. 

If you’re easy to work with, that goes a long way—so reply to emails promptly, get your content in on time, and follow up with your metrics. 

And if you need an extension on your content, 90% of the time it’s totally ok. But what’s not ok is to delay communication about it. A great quote to live by is, “bad news should travel faster than good news.” If your video went viral, you would be so excited to send it to the brand right away! So if you’re going to need extra time to get your content in, it should travel even faster than that.

How do you stay ahead of fast-moving social media trends without losing focus on your current goals and objectives?

I’m a big believer in yearly and quarterly planning! It’s a huge part of my content strategy, so I know what my big goals are for the year. Each quarter I can check in on the progress for my goals and come up with new ideas on how to achieve them by integrating the current trends into my year-long strategy. 

It helps me stay focused on the big picture while also allowing for the flexibility to be creative and change throughout the year. You can learn my exact process for yearly content planning in my Content Planning Workshop!

What keeps you creatively inspired?

I get the most inspiration when I’m actively not working, like taking a trip, or spending time away from my phone. 

In order to engineer creativity, you need to give your brain a lot of space to just wander, dream, and do nothing. 

I find that if I’m looking for inspiration by scrolling my feed, I’m not really getting new ideas that would make me stand out. I’m just getting ideas about what other people are already doing.

What does the word “authenticity” mean to you?

Authenticity to me just means being yourself. I like to think I’m pretty much the same person online as I am offline. 

It can be scary to be vulnerable on the internet and really show your true self online, but it’s also rewarding because of the support you can find through your community.

What’s your biggest social media/marketing prediction for this year?

A big social media shift happening on the brand side is the need for an in-house content Creator, which is different from a social media manager! 

Brands need to have a consistent “face” of their brand on Instagram and TikTok, and constantly creating and churning out videos for video platforms is a lot of work. 

A content Creator has a different skill set than a social media manager, so I think this also lends itself as a great career opportunity for people who want to be Creators, but need a steady paycheck while they work on growing their audience and brand partnerships.