Meet Chelsée Curé
If you like working with someone whoâs hands-on, practical, and a little obsessed with getting it right, then ChelsĂ©e is the person you want on your team. Sheâs a person who dives in fully, whether itâs a project at work or a home renovation at 7 p.m. on a Wednesday.
Personal Life
Outside the office, Chelsée lives and breathes interior design and DIY.
âI recently built a sink cabinet from scratch for my laundry room. Did the plumbing too. Iâm so proud it might make our family Christmas card this year.â
Her running list of projects is endless. A quick shelf declutter, a full room redesign, helping friends turn problem areas into functional spaces — sheâs there. If she can do the work herself, she will, but sheâs also not afraid to hire out when it makes sense. Self-care for ChelsĂ©e isnât just spa days or a quiet coffee; itâs the freedom to build or redesign something from start to finish, seeing it through with her own hands.
Parenting keeps life busy, of course, but sheâs found a rhythm that allows her to balance family, work, and her creative projects. The organizational skills sheâs honed while managing all of it spill over into her professional life, making her the type of person who can take a big, complicated project and turn it into something manageable and beautiful.
Work Life
ChelsĂ©e began in advertising and marketing, but quickly discovered her passion lies in brand identity and strategy. She loves helping clients put their best face forward. Many organizations do incredible work and have so much heart, yet struggle to translate that into their branding. Thatâs where she comes in.
Her creative process starts with treating a brand like a person.
Who are they?
What drives them?
How would their friends describe them?
From there, she begins to map out fonts, colours, and design choices that reflect the brandâs personality. Every touchpoint — whether itâs an Instagram post, instruction manual, or printed material — should feel like the same person is speaking. This level of consistency builds trust, shows attention to detail, and makes a brand instantly recognizable.
Authenticity is key for Chelsée.
âSome people get too focused on going viral or chasing followers. For me, a brand succeeds when it genuinely connects with people while staying true to its mission.â
Sheâs also pragmatic about tools and technology. AI can be helpful, but ChelsĂ©e treats it as a tool rather than a replacement for creativity and judgment. âItâs the hammer, not the carpenter,â she says. She uses AI when it makes sense, like streamlining photo edits, but sheâs always hands-on when it comes to strategy, design, and storytelling.
Why Branding Matters
A memorable brand isnât just about pretty visuals or a catchy logo. Itâs about aligning the mission and message, and how that translates visually and verbally. When done well, people feel a sense of consistency and reliability. Itâs the small details like a font choice, a colour palette, or the way language is used that signal credibility and care. And those details build loyalty over time.
ChelsĂ©e also believes in the power of collaboration. She loves working with clients to uncover the heart of their brand and find ways to communicate it clearly. Some clients need a lot of guidance, others just need someone to help refine ideas. Either way, she adapts to whatâs needed, making sure the process is smooth, creative, and productive.
If youâre looking for someone who will dive into your brand, think strategically, and help you shine while occasionally debating the best way to redesign a space, ChelsĂ©e is your person.
She brings creativity, heart, and a bit of pragmatism to every project, ensuring the work is both thoughtful and effective. If you are interested in working with Chelsée on a graphic design or branding project, contact us here.
7 Content Promotion Strategies That Work (with Examples)
One of the greatest lies that we have adopted from pop culture (in my humble opinion) is âif you build it, they will come.â Anyone who has started a business or worked in marketing knows this just isnât true. A more appropriate idiom when it comes to marketing is, "if a tree falls in the forest but nobody hears it, does it make a sound?"
Likewise, if you are creating great content, but you donât promote it, whoâs going to see it?
The internet is a loud and busy place where it can be tough to break through the noise and be seen and heard. But there are also plenty of strategies you can use to promote your content and get it in front of the audience you want. Letâs look at seven specific content promotion strategies that work, along with some examples to get you going.
1. Repurpose and repackage your content
One of the best strategies for getting eyes on your content is simply repackaging it for different channels.
Using your blog post, video, podcast, or whatever it is, think about what it could look like on Facebook, or YouTube. If your content is text, use it as a script to create a video, and cut down a few versions for different platforms. If your original content is a long-form video, trim it down for Instagram and TikTok.
With a bit of creativity and effort, most quality content can be repurposed into another format â and by covering as many formats and platforms as you can, youâll reach your audience where they are more likely to see it. Bonus points if you can keep each piece of repackaged content a little different, for those seeing it in multiple places!
2. Email marketing
If you have an email newsletter (and you probably should!), this is one of the best places to promote your content. The people subscribed to your newsletter are already interested in your work, and email remains one of the most effective free (or nearly free) marketing tools around.
At Starling Social, we use our newsletters to promote our blog posts (like this one!), as well as useful digital marketing news and tips from across the web. You may even be reading this because you followed a link in one of our emails. Woah.
Whether itâs a blog post, a video, podcast episode, or any other piece of content, let your most loyal audience know by including it in an email newsletter. The format also makes it very easy to share and save; donât be shy asking your readers to do just that within your email either.
3. Guest posts
One of the most difficult â but also most rewarding â ways to promote your content is by securing guest posts on other blogs and websites. This can be tricky to break into without help, but if you have relationships with other bloggers or websites within your industry, take advantage of them.
In a recent Starling Social newsletter, we shared an article on guest posting from Semrush, which gives a great overview of the benefits and how to do it well.
Ultimately, guest posting means getting your content published on someone elseâs website, which can lead to new audiences seeing your content, increased visibility and authority, and even bumps to your SEO (if the site allows a backlink to your website and original content).
4. Online communities
Another high-labour, high-reward strategy is participating in online communities related to your work. This can be time-consuming, because it really only works if your participation is genuine, and members of these communities are often very good at sniffing out spam.
But, if you have the time, it can be worth your while to find places like Facebook groups and Reddit communities related to your business, join them, and engage organically. Once you have a feel for the rules â spoken and unspoken â you can begin to look for opportunities to share your content.
Reddit in particular can be pretty hostile to brands and self-promotion, although many Facebook groups have rules against it too. However, in the right context, done in good faith, you can win new audiences and customers in these spaces. My rule of thumb is to treat these spaces like youâre overhearing a private conversation in a public space, and realize you have something valuable to share. Be respectful, explain that you may have something of credible value to share, and offer it freely. Itâs still a gamble, and you might get shut down, but you may also gain a new loyal customer or audience.
5. Internal links and evergreen content
On the lighter-lift end of the spectrum, utilizing internal links and a variety of evergreen content is a good strategy for promoting more of your content to people already visiting your website.
Anytime you are creating a new post, find opportunities to link back to previous posts and other places you share content in order to keep eyes and attention on your content for as long as possible. Also, where possible, it is great to maintain some evergreen content that you can link back to regularly, like this Starling Social blog post about evergreen content. (See what we did there?)
6. Partnerships with other brands or influencers
It can come in many different forms, but partnering with others â another company, a publication, an influencer â is a great way to get your content in front of a new audience.
A more traditional (and still very effective) way of doing this is to partner with another business â ideally one in your same field, but not a direct competitor â and conduct or commission some kind of study or survey. You get the initial benefit of sharing the cost and effort to gain (hopefully) valuable data, but you can also publish the results jointly, and benefit from each otherâs audience and marketing efforts.
With the advent of influencer marketing, another way to do this is to simply pay someone to create content about your business. Usually this is less of a partnership and more of a transaction, but depending on the size of your business (and the influencerâs following), you could find opportunities for true partnership that benefits both parties and raises your profiles in tandem.
7. Paid online advertising
Finally, as much as we all love to find a free way to promote our business and content, sometimes the most effective strategy is to simply pay for some ads.
That isnât to say that paid advertising is the easy way out â it still takes strategy and creativity, and many ads fall flat with little or no return on investment.
When paying to promote content, specifically, you can go from a simple boosted post on Facebook or Instagram (which can certainly be effective), all the way to coordinated social media and PPC campaigns that get people to sign up for your newsletter, or even pay money, in exchange for some piece of downloadable content.
The latter option here can be pricey, but if you are building up a newsletter email list from scratch, or have some truly valuable content that you want to sell, it can pay for itself quickly and easily â if you do it right.
Start promoting your content
These strategies can go a long way toward getting the attention you want for your content, but before you invest your time (or money) into promoting it, your content needs to be good!
High-quality, useful content that people want to read and come back to is the starting point of any good content strategy.
If you need help with creating or promoting your content, weâre here to help! From copywriting to social media management to paid social and PPC advertising, our team can create content that will make your business stand out, and help ensure it reaches your target audience every time. Get in touch today to book a discovery call!
5 Ways Newsletters Build Strong Client Relationships
Newsletters, when done right, are one of the easiest ways to keep your brand top of mind, build loyalty, and stay connected with your clients.
But itâs not just about hitting âsendâ every month. A strong newsletter strategy creates consistent, helpful, and personalized content that makes your readers feel like theyâre part of something, not just being sold to.
The OG Newsletter
Newsletters have been around since the 15th century, and for good reason.
By the 1600s, newsletters were thriving in England thanks to the postal system (and Lady Whistledown), which allowed writers to collect and share news from afar. Hand-copied by clerks, they delivered curated updates alongside early newspapers, offering readers more timely and detailed info than official sources.
In other words, the original newsletter was less âsalesy emailâ and more âinsider scoopâ — a tradition that still holds up today.
Letâs break down how newsletters help build lasting client relationships and how to make yours better.
1. They Deliver Value and Build Trust Over Time
If someone signs up for your newsletter, it means they want to hear from you. Your job is to make that message worth their time.
Hereâs how to do that:
Teach them something: Share expert tips, industry news, or step-by-step guides that genuinely help your audience.
Give them an exclusive: Offer early access to a product launch, a behind-the-scenes look, or a limited-time discount. Something that makes them feel like they are in a special club.
Keep it relevant: The more personalized the content, the better the engagement. Segment your list by location, interest, or purchase history so subscribers are only seeing what actually applies to them.
2. They Encourage Engagement
Relationships are built on interaction, not just pushing out information. A great newsletter feels like a conversation, not a broadcast.
Easy ways to encourage engagement:
Ask questions: Include short polls or simple âreply and tell usâ prompts.
Show customer stories: Highlight a recent success, a testimonial, or a client spotlight. People love seeing real-world examples.
Have fun: Try quizzes, contests, or links to interesting content. Your brand doesnât need to be boring to be trustworthy.
Every time someone clicks, replies, or forwards your email, thatâs a micro-conversion. Youâre creating an emotional connection and deepening the relationship.
3. They Keep You In Touch
When someone hears from you regularly (without being overwhelmed), you stay top of mind and relevant.
The trick is to be predictable and personal.
Send on a consistent schedule: Weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly — just keep it consistent!
Use your voice: People connect with people, not faceless brands. Add a ânote from the ownerâ or a quick story that shows whoâs behind the business.
Make space for feedback: Newsletters are also a direct line for clients to reach out with questions, feedback, or ideas. A simple âreply to this emailâ call to action goes a long way.
4. They Make Clients Feel Like Insiders
A good newsletter makes your audience feel included. Itâs a low-key way of saying: âYou matter to us.â
Think:
âHey Winnipeg clients: weâre launching something new just for you!â
âHereâs a sneak peek before we announce it anywhere else.â
âWeâd love your input on what we should do next.â
That kind of messaging builds loyalty and community.
5. They Donât Feel Like Junk Mail
This is a big one. Great newsletters donât read like ads. They read like the kind of content people would actually subscribe to, because they did.
If your emails are all about your business, your achievements, and your latest pitch, theyâre probably getting ignored.
When you focus on what the reader wants to know, instead of what you want to sell, youâre building trust, credibility, and long-term loyalty.
The Bottom Line
Newsletters are one of the best tools for building strong client relationships, but only if you approach them with the reader in mind.
That means:
â Prioritize value
â Keep it personal
â Stay consistent
â Focus on connection, not just conversion
Our copywriting team creates engaging, informative newsletters that keep your clients clicking, connecting, and coming back for more. Whether youâre starting from scratch or refining what youâve already got, we can help.
Ready to build better relationships through better writing? Get in touch with us here.
Our 4 SEO Insights to Optimize Your Content Strategy in 2025
The world of SEO is complex and always changing, but if you want new people to find your content in 2025, you canât afford to ignore it.
Whether you are writing blogs, product descriptions for an online store or any other web content, your content doesn't mean much if nobody finds it, so itâs important to consider how search engines â and now AI search tools â might find you. As you develop your next round of content, or get ready to revise your entire strategy, make sure to plan with SEO in mind.
Here are our top four SEO insights for optimizing content strategy in 2025.
1. Define your keywords and content pillars
This is SEO 101, but itâs still the place to start, and something to revisit regularly. Make sure your keywords are relevant and will drive the kind of traffic you want to your pages, and focus on a handful of âcontent pillarsâ or topics that support your overall goals and provide structure for all of your content.
It is generally helpful to start with one primary keyword for your website, and then branch out into secondary and related keywords (weâll get into that in the next section). If you are just starting out or wanting to revamp your SEO efforts, the keyword tool from Semrush can be helpful in identifying the keywords youâre already using, and providing some insights.
For content pillars, First Page Sage recommends choosing four to six topics and focusing your keyword research around those as a manageable yet thorough approach.
And of course, once youâve defined all that, make sure you actually use them!
2. Find related topics and keywords
While far from a new idea in SEO, including synonyms, related keywords and âlong-tail variationsâ (highly specific, multi-word terms) in your copy is becoming increasingly important. Major search engines have come a long way in how they process searches and âinterpretâ the words and phrases users input, having gotten a lot better at natural language processing and âunderstandingâ the context of a search.
Search engines have been growing in this direction for a while, but with AI tools taking over an increasing share of internet search, this strategy has become even more important. Research data shows that the sheer number of words users enter in an average search query using AI tools is multiple times higher than on conventional search engines, and the complexity of what they are asking is often higher as well.
This means that using a broader range of unique words related to your topic should help your content be found, indexed and ranked higher for relevant queries on both types of search platform. AI tools are looking for both breadth and depth on a subject.
So, make sure to identify your keywords as usual, but also make an exhaustive list of synonyms and possible alternate words and phrases to ensure your content reads as thorough and matches as many (relevant) searches as possible. Adding mention of topics related to your content, even if you donât discuss them in depth, can also help make your content more attractive to AI search tools.
3. Keep it fresh
Search engines tend to prioritize fresh content, but this doesnât necessarily have to mean new content all the time.
If you have the capacity to publish high-quality, original content several times per week â and sustain that pace long-term â Google will certainly reward you for it. Research shows that, everything else being equal, regular publishing that it views as high-quality will increase your domain authority and, by extension, search ranking and website traffic.
However, thatâs a high bar for most businesses to reach and sustain.
Another way to optimize for âfreshnessâ in your SEO is simply by updating your existing content. Do this periodically, add a fresh timestamp, and search engines will be more likely to keep sending people your way. Certain types of content work better for this than others, something we call âevergreenâ content â check out our very own evergreen post on this long-lasting content for tips on how to create and maintain these kinds of pieces.
4. Optimize for AI search while youâre at it
As weâve already mentioned, some SEO strategies overlap substantially with optimization for AI search due to the changing nature of search engines. But there are some aspects unique to AI search that require additional work if you want users to find you with these tools.
SEO consultant Aleyda Solis offers a thorough list of recommendations for AI search optimization in a recent post, including optimization for âchunk-level retrievalâ and âcitation-worthiness.â
Chunk-level retrieval means sticking to one idea per section, paragraph or âchunk,â and keeping those passages concise and easily understandable on their own, without users needing to read preceding sections.
Citation-worthiness, at least in this case, means using specific, fact-based claims, and listing citations, credentials and timestamps where relevant.
If possible and relevant to your industry, Solis also suggests optimizing for âcontent authoritativeness signals,â which is effectively a combination of managing your online presence well (consistent branding, working links, responding to reviews, etc) and publishing and promoting true original content. Consider conducting studies or surveys within your industry and publishing the results. Once youâve done that, try to get coverage from media and other websites and blogs to reinforce that leadership and authority.
Ultimately, these things are helpful for regular SEO too, but AI search disproportionately rewards content that prioritizes this stuff, because it makes it easy for them to lift and present as an âanswerâ to a question. And with more and more search being done on AI tools, the effort involved is more and more likely to pay off.
Need help with your SEO?
If youâve already got a good grasp of SEO principles, the above tips should help you continue to find success as the industry changes around us. But if you donât know where to start, or would like to see how working with a boutique agency like ours could help elevate your SEO and digital marketing, get in touch! We would be happy to work with you and transform your online presence into something custom-made for your industry in 2025.
Meet David Wass
One of these things is not like the other. Tucked in among this group of thirty-something women is David, our Google Ads expert. For a long time, David was the only man on the Starling Social team. Alyson had a knack for finding people who are the best at what they do, which is how David joined this gaggle of gals — and he fit right in!
If there's one thing David knows, it's how to make your ad budget work smarter. He's the kind of guy who looks at a Google Ads account and instantly sees what's working, what's wasting money, and what needs to change.
With 21 years of experience in paid search strategy, campaign optimization, and performance analytics, David has helped businesses of all sizes—from B2B enterprises to direct-to-consumer brands—get real results. He's about strategy, efficiency, and making sure every advertising dollar actually does something.
Work Life
If the thought of Google Ads is confusing to you, you aren't alone. It's one of the most common questions we get! Let's break it down.
Google Ads is a form of PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising, but not all PPC ads are Google Ads. PPC is a broad term that covers any online ad where advertisers pay when someone clicks, whether on Google, Facebook, or other platforms. Google Ads is Google's own PPC platform, allowing businesses to place ads on search results, YouTube, Gmail, and partner websites.
David uses Google Ads to reach people actively searching for specific products or services, grabbing high-intent customers when they're looking for solutions.
The next question people ask is usually, "Why are they so expensive?" and the answer is: because they work.
David says, "It's not who you show your ads to. It's who you don't show your ads to that matters when we're talking search campaigns." The goal isn't just visibility—it's precision. The best PPC campaigns make sure only the right audience sees the ads, increasing the likelihood of conversions.
David uses detailed audience targeting, keyword selection, and budget control to reach the right people at the right time. Ad success depends on things like ad quality, landing page relevance, and proper campaign optimization. When managed well, and with David — it's managed well — Google Ads can deliver a strong return on investment by driving traffic, leads, and sales.
This is a guy who loves figuring things out. He's always learning, refining his strategies, and looking for ways to stay ahead of industry trends.
His favourite projects? The ones that challenge him.
"I love digging into the data, finding opportunities others miss, and watching the numbers improve. When a campaign goes from 'meh' to 'wow,' that's the fun part."
Before diving into PPC, David worked in the travel industry, which gave him a deep appreciation for exploring the world. "The first things online were books and travel," he recalls. His job at the Great Canadian Travel Company in Winnipeg introduced him to digital marketing, and from there, his journey into PPC began.
One of his most memorable trips was to India. "I've been all over India. That was a lot of fun," he says. Travel experiences have broadened his perspective on culture, business, and marketing.
Why He Loves Starling
David enjoys working at Starling because of the people and the variety of industries he gets to learn about. "I like learning new stuff, being exposed to new industries, new companies, new people. That's the best part."
He jokes, "I'd do it for free if I didn't like nice things."
Personal Life
Outside of work, David is an avid golfer. "In the summertime, I golf three, four times a week," he shares. And in the winter? "I work to pay for the three or four times."
His love for the outdoors goes beyond the golf course. "I'm more at home in a canoe than I am in a car," he says. Fishing, in particular, is something he never gets tired of—if there's water, he'll find a way to cast a line. David's grandmother is Cree, which helped nurture his love of hunting and fishing while growing up.
When he's not on the course or working on ad campaigns, David spends time with his three dogs: Gus, Bailey, and Lucie. Gus is an 11-year-old Puggle, Bailey is a nine-year-old Bichon Poodle, and Lucie is a four-year-old Bichon Poodle. One of his past dogs was a foster fail—he and his partner Cheryl took in two senior rescue brothers who couldn't be separated and ended up keeping them.
David has a unique philosophy on life: "I try to be the person my dog thinks I am."
For the past five years, he has followed a low-carb lifestyle and doesn't eat bread, carbs or pasta. But there's one thing he won't cut out: tequila. Cheers to that!
David brings passion and dedication to everything he does. Whether optimizing an ad campaign or planning his next trip, he approaches life with curiosity, strategy, and a great sense of humour. If you're interested in starting a Google Ads campaign and have some questions, you can contact us here.
Public Relations: It's Easy To Not Be Sleazy
The very idea of Public Relations tends to get a bad rap.
For an industry based largely around reputation management, itâs ironic, isnât it? If you just google âpublic relations,â the search engine generates a definition and sample sentence which includes the phrase âpublic relations is often looked down upon by the media.â I guess PR needs a new PR person.
To the average person who isnât neck-deep in communications jargon, I believe public relations is mostly associated with celebrities and corporations who are defending themselves against some allegation or scandal. The media might quote a statement issued by a PR representative. You might hear a bad situation called a âPR nightmare.â You might see a company doing some act of charity or good will described as âa PR stunt.â
As a marketer with a background in public relations, I dislike this characterization. In my opinion, PR is just another part of marketing and advertising (as I wrote about on this blog earlier this year), and should always aim to serve some benefit in both directions.
Good advertising is effective because it helps match products, services, causes, etc. to people who are interested in them. It benefits the advertiser by bringing in new customers or donors, and â ideally â benefits the consumer by introducing them to something that meets a need or improves their lives in some way.
Public relations should aim to do the same thing, except the product is information and content. The media is hungry for stories, interviews and material that will be of interest to its viewers. The work of PR supplies those things for free, in exchange for coverage and exposure.
Itâs easy to not be sleazy
I believe that good PR is never sleazy.
Public relations often gets criticized as âspin,â and is accused of bending or obscuring the truth. Some companies and PR firms do engage in that, and like any other industry, there are bad actors. But I believe that, even in the face of tough questions and legitimate criticism, there is always a better way.
Of course, the best PR is positive and proactive â and weâll get to that shortly. But if something at your company has gone wrong and the media has come calling, my advice always starts with honesty.
If âmistakes were made,â admit to the mistakes. Take ownership, commit to making things right (or doing better in the future), and make a plan to honour that commitment. It is so rare for a corporation to do this well that honesty itself can help make the news. Plus, it builds trust with both journalists and your audience, and makes your brand (or client, etc) more human.
If you are facing controversy due to some misunderstanding of a situation, this can be an opportunity for education and elevating the narrative. The key is to remain honest and engage in good faith. Acknowledge the complexity of the situation and the aspects that have been reported correctly. Then, use your strongest and simplest evidence to show why the public may have misunderstood the issue. And finally, describe the situation as you see it, re-emphasizing the new facts that make your case.
Example: the complexity of homelessness
I gained a lot of firsthand experience with this while working in communications for a large nonprofit that served those experiencing homelessness. Most people would agree that itâs a complex issue, and that it would be better if it didnât exist. But thatâs about where public consensus ends.
Over many years of fielding questions from reporters, donors, and strangers on social media, it became clear that even a small amount of education could help make these conversations more productive, and help ensure that media coverage was actually benefitting the cause.
Rather than dumbing down the issue or answering tough questions defensively, I took the time to educate people in good faith. With a few data points (for instance, did you know that half of people experiencing homelessness also live with a brain injury?), we were able to bust some myths, introduce some nuance, and build empathy in these conversations. It also helped position us as go-to experts with the media, and increase the number of interview opportunities that came our way.
Proactive PR and earned media
While public relations is most known for the moments where it is reactive â responding to scandals and crises, defending the actions of people and businesses â the best PR is positive and proactive. I promised you weâd get here eventually.
Iâm a firm believer that most companies and nonprofits have great, newsworthy stories to tell, but are either too close to their own work to see them, or donât have the resources to tell them. The stories are there, though, waiting to be told. And every one of those stories not told is an opportunity wasted.
Going back to my article on the power of publicity, media relations can be an incredible tool for free advertising. It may cost you time and energy, but the key is that you donât pay for it â making an excellent return on your investment.
Finding those stories can be difficult, and telling them well can be even harder, but an outside perspective can make all the difference. Your company may be working on a project that is significant in ways you donât realize. You may be having a community impact through some aspect of your work that isnât obvious from the inside. There might be an opportunity for your company to do something charitable with its unique resources that helps a lot of people for little to no cost.
There are so many ways to find and frame a story that are true, ethical, and newsworthy. Sometimes all you need is a little help from someone who sees the opportunities you might have missed.
If you would like to learn more about how Starling Social can help you through public relations, get in touch today!
What Viral Dance Videos Can Teach You About Building a Signature Series That Sticks
There is no one-size-fits-all formula for creating scroll-stopping content. Anyone peddling you a playbook for success is just repackaging their own luck. We donât know what will go viral or become the next content zeitgeist, but there are a few patterns worth paying attention to, especially when it comes to the content that sticks.
Take, for example, viral dance videos. Some creators hit on something so good, so recognizable, that it becomes more than just a one-off post. It becomes a signature series.
A signature series is a go-to content format or theme you become known for. Itâs something your audience can count on seeing again and again. Think of it as your content identity within your larger brand. Itâs consistent, recognizable, and uniquely you. Whether itâs weekly dance videos, a recurring segment, or a signature edit style, a strong series builds connection, brand affinity, and staying power. Although finding content that resonates enough for a signature series can sometimes feel like a happy accident, it is usually a strategic piece of content designed to meet your goals.
Viral dance videos can teach us valuable lessons about creating a powerful signature series. They are lessons that apply whether youâre a creator, a business, or someone trying to figure out what to post next.
Letâs dig into the key takeaways:
1. Find What Works — Then Lean In
When Brian Jordan Alvarez set out to create his TV show English Teacher, he was already an internet personality made famous via comedy videos on TikTok. He had a following who knew his characters - the marketing for his new show was separate from that.
But one day, he made a dance video to a trending audio, and everything changed. The internet loved it. So he made more. Consistently, week over week, his audience came to expect his dance videos. Then, comments started appearing, users saying things like âI watched your new show because of these videos,â and âI didnât know about your show until I saw you on my feed, and I binged it all.â
He realized that his dance videos were marketing the show for him, and were doing better than any traditional campaign had done. He started adding captions that said âBinge the English Teacherâ and âStream the English Teacher on Hulu.â And it kept working. He was interviewed by the New York Times, his show took off, and no matter how many dance videos he made, his audience could not get enough.
Now, almost 9 months later, heâs filming season 2, and guess what? The dance videos are his primary marketing strategy, and his audience isnât tired of them.
Alvarez stumbled upon a viral marketing campaign, embraced it, and saw success. His videos are the perfect example of being open and agile to what your audience wants to see and running with it. He found what works for him and stuck with it, following his audience's lead.
The trend has died, but his success hasnât.
The lesson? Let your audience tell you what they want more of — then give it to them.
2. Commit to the Bit
The most memorable series are often the most committed. Take @lemurbrainâs affinity for âthrowing it backâ in his viral dance videos, which feature the same dance move in different places and different background characters. Or @babydaddysull, who amassed 150 million views in 90 days by doing his signature dance in a variety of increasingly unhinged places, including the countertop at lululemon, on top of a baggage claim carousel, and at countless Chipotles.
No matter how weird it gets, these creators have committed. Every video builds on the last, and the audience knows exactly what to expect, even if they have no idea whatâs coming. Thatâs the magic. Consistency builds trust, repetition builds recognition, and committing to the bit (even when itâs niche, silly, or offbeat) creates the kind of content people keep coming back for.
Itâs not about chasing every trend or constantly reinventing yourself. Itâs about finding your lane and absolutely flooring it.
3. Structure Breeds Creativity
Every great series has its own recognizable structure, whether thatâs a hook, a visual cue, or a naming convention. It makes the content feel cohesive and builds anticipation. Just as a dance has repeatable moves, your content should have a rhythm that people recognize.
Take @sydwingold, whose videos start with âoutfits I would wear based on our date.â It begins innocently enough, until she shows up in hilarious costumes for absurd date ideas. Followers see the hook and instantly know theyâre in for something good.
The structure you choose should be one that works for you (and doesnât have to involve cosplay). Start by identifying what your audience needs and how your business, expertise, or niche can deliver that value in a repeatable way. Are you a fitness coach? Try a myth-busting carousel series. A makeup artist? Put your own spin on the GRWM format. Find a structure that works, and let your creativity live inside that framework.
4. Authenticity Always Wins
We speak to the value of authenticity a lot on our blogs, because itâs true. People donât follow perfection — they follow honesty and personality. Signature series feel authentic when they reflect the creatorâs voice, sense of humour, or worldview. For generations that have grown up online, itâs so easy to see when content feels canned, inauthentic, or like it's pandering to the wrong audience. Authenticity matters, and in the age of AI-generated everything, a real human moment stands out more than ever.
Sometimes creators just get it, like @moandmarofficial, whose chaotic cocktail-making videos struck a chord immediately. Make-a-drink-with-me videos arenât new, but their style of including bloopers and unplanned moments in the finished product is fresh, feels authentic, and brings a ton of laughs. It feels like youâre hanging out with two besties, and the internet loves it.
A signature series isnât about being ultra slick or overly polished. Itâs about being you. If you do that, your people will find you.
So, how do you get started?
Creating a signature series doesnât have to be complicated, but it should be intentional. Start by defining your goal: are you trying to educate, entertain, or give your audience a peek behind the scenes? From there, identify your audienceâs needs. What questions do they ask most? What content already performs best for you?
From there, build a series that aligns with your brand, feels fun to create, and offers value to your audience. Ensure your series is branded with a recognizable hook or visual style and stick with it. Get creative, be authentic, and stay consistent.
Need help figuring out what that looks like for your brand?
Book a discovery call with Starling Social and letâs create a signature series thatâs unmistakably you.
Why You Need To Define Your Brand Voice In Your Copywriting
A strong and consistent brand voice is hard to achieve.
Go too generic and your copy will be forgettable, or easily confused with another brand. Use too much slang, cultural references or colloquial language and you risk not being understood. But strike that balance between clear writing, distinctive personality and consistent delivery, and your content will stick â because it is memorable, effective, and uniquely yours.
Many smaller brands and businesses, especially when starting out, think they donât have the time to develop their brand voice, or believe that their own personal voice and style is all they need. My hot take: You are hurting your brand and stunting its potential.
While a well-defined brand voice may feel like a ânice-to-haveâ for brands with limited resources, Iâm here to say that itâs worth the investment, and may pay off in ways you didnât expect.
Authenticity
We talk a lot about authenticity here at Starling Social, and thatâs for a reason. In a recent blog post, I wrote about how brand authenticity wins over marketing perfection every time â and that is inextricably linked to having a strong brand voice in your copywriting.
People respond to authenticity. A lot of research and surveys are bearing this out lately, showing that Millennials and Gen Z consumers are especially inclined to support brands they see as authentic and aligned with their values. (Check out that post for some of the data!)
I sometimes hear clients worry about alienating people â concerned that by focusing too narrowly on their target audience, they may lose potential customers who donât see themselves in that profile. But hereâs the thing: authenticity is attractive, even when it isnât in the mirror.
What I mean to say is that we arenât just attracted to what matches us perfectly. Sure, we like brands who show that they are like us in some way, that they understand us, but they can also be aspirational, or draw you in because of what's different. Which leads us to…
Connection to your audience
A well-defined brand voice helps foster connection to your target audience. That includes both existing and new customers. Your copywriting can (and should!) be doing a lot of things at once, and one of those things should be cultivating a personality that connects authentically with your audience.
Done well, your brand voice should be appealing to your audience, help earn their trust and loyalty, and ultimately be something they are proud to adopt as part of their own identity.
One of the best-case scenarios for any brand is a repeat customer who brags about supporting your brand to their family and friends. And, along with the quality of (or experience with) your product, your brand voice and story is often what will help make that happen.
To be clear, this isnât just for physical or retail brands. The exact same principles can be true and helpful for nonprofit organizations, health or professional services, restaurants and beyond. Some industries can be trickier when defining a brand voice, but getting that established will make all of your marketing and copywriting even easier.
Reinforcing your brand story, mission and values
For any brand, part of your connection to your audience is your brand story, your mission, and your values. These are increasingly important to consumers, especially younger ones seeking brands that reflect similar values.
While your brand voice is different from your mission statement, story or values, they should be compatible, and a natural extension of each other. Your copywriting is an opportunity to reinforce these things, and doing so in a well-defined brand voice should help that to feel authentic and natural.
Iâm not asking you to beat your customers over the head by repeating your mission statement in every post, or with cliche reminders of your brand story at every turn â but making casual reference to these things and incorporating the language you use in them can help strengthen all aspects of your copywriting, marketing and brand overall.
A place to start
Every copywriter and marketer has had the experience of staring at a blank screen, willing the content to come (not telling whether or not that was me when starting to write this blog… Shh.)
While hopefully you have some direction for every piece of copy you have to write, having a defined brand voice can actually help you here too. Part of that brand voice should include what your voice is and isnât, what it tries to do and what it doesnât â and all of that can provide helpful direction for getting the creative juices flowing.
Many creative types (myself very much included) agree that they work better with more constraints or within some kind of box. Let your brand voice be a set of guardrails and help push your copywriting forward.
Differentiation from A.I.
A new and emerging concern for marketers and writers is the juggernaut of A.I.-generated content. While A.I. can be genuinely helpful in our industry in a lot of ways, the content it produces is still often easy to spot.
Itâs not just A.I. âhallucinationsâ or false information you have to watch out for â itâs also personality and voice. Even the highest-quality A.I. copy will lack personality and fall short of what a great copywriter can do with a well-defined brand voice.
Not sure where to start?
If you need help developing your brand voice, or a great copywriter in your corner to help deliver it, we would love to chat. Get in touch and find out how Starling can take your copywriting to the next level.
Meet Alicia Kurz
If you value a direct communication style, Alicia would be a good match as your Account Manager. Sheâs a firstborn, enneagram 8, Aries — and if that means nothing to you, then just know she will always choose the fastest way to get a direct answer.
âI end up in friendships with a lot of my clients, so it seems to be working,â she laughs. âMy goal is to be as clear as possible, and I think setting expectations, on both sides, leads to strong working relationships.â
If youâre considering hiring an agency, keep reading to learn more about Alicia.
Personal Life
There is not a craft project Alicia wonât try. âTikTok is not good for that particular habit,â she says. âI have the supplies to do probably 20 different projects at the moment, but my three kids donât give me much time for personal hobbies.â
Between momming, step-momming, caring for a dog, scheduling activities for the kids, and making time for her partner and friends, sheâs really honed her organization skills — and it translates well into the digital marketing industry!
Alicia jokes that she used to be a lot more exciting: travelling used to look like seeking out high adrenaline activities like skydiving in the Swiss Alps, bungee jumping in New Zealand, or hiking mountains in Bali. Now her vacations look more like the buffet tables at all-inclusive hotels — but she says she still loves this season of her life and feels grateful she can occasionally take her kids to other parts of the world.
Despite her busy schedule, she always makes time for reading, because she says she really enjoys activities where you can sit. She even recently joined a book club with Starlingâs Andrea and Tineke!
Every year, Alicia and her partner Scott pick a meal and try to find the best one in the city, based on recommendations on social media. Previously, they have done pad thai, nachos, pizza, tacos, and this year is the year of the burger. So far, the Woodbineâs Smashburger is winning.
Work Life
Playing right into the Winnipeg communications stereotype, Alicia is a part of the âCreComm Mafia.â After graduation, she started at a local small business and became very familiar with the maker community.
âWorking with small marketing budgets forces you to get extra creative with ways to spread the word about your products. It was nice collaborating with other Winnipeg businesses. Generally, everyone is rooting for each other, and there is a willingness to give a hand up or helpful advice when you can,â says Alicia. There is a fine line to balance with your asks, though. She stresses that itâs important to compensate people fairly for their time and skills. Itâs okay to say no if a collaboration isnât working for you.
In 2019, Alicia joined the Starling team through a mutual friend, Joy, and is thankful every day that she was connected with Alyson.
âWe clicked right away. Immediately, I knew Alyson was intelligent, organized, fair, and gave off good vibes. She offered higher compensation than I was asking, set clear expectations, and allowed me the flexibility to work on my own schedule. There was no micromanaging — just earned trust through good work.â
With every career change, you learn a lot, but Alyson blew Alicia away with the level of care, detail, and documentation (!!!) Alyson dedicated to each client.
âI still look at everything before I send it over to a client and think, âwhat would Alyson think of this?â I am so grateful for everything she taught me, and I miss her every day,â says Alicia. âItâs important to me that her legacy is carried on the way she would have wanted.â
Whether itâs social media content, ads, or copywriting, Alicia takes a lot of pride in delivering content that clients are excited to share as their own.
Finding The Right Fit In A Marketing Agency
Thereâs no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to marketing support, and thatâs a good thing.
Some companies prefer a set schedule, dashboards, and hard and fast rules. Our team sets expectations, has documented processes and procedures, but has the flexibility to work with you in a way that fits seamlessly into your business.
Each client is different. While we would love if every client used Trello, didnât need approval reminders, and gave consistently clear feedback, we know thatâs not always going to be the case — youâre busy. We ask the right questions, give gentle pokes when needed, and are able to work with you in a way that works for your biz.
If youâre looking for strategy, execution, or just someone to take the âwhat should we post today?â stress off your plate, working with the right person (or team) makes all the difference.
Hiring a marketing agency doesnât mean handing over the keys to your business voice. It means finding a partner who gets it, asks the right questions, and helps you show up consistently and confidently.
If you want someone who cares deeply about your brand, nerds out over great copy, and will gently but firmly tell you that your idea might need a second draft — Alicia might just be your person.
And if youâre into organized spreadsheets, direct feedback, and the occasional burger debate, even better.
4 Things You Need To Know About TikTok Shop
Social media giant TikTok has innovated and changed a lot about how we use the internet, and increasingly, that includes shopping.
Given its simple, streamlined structure of feeding videos to users, TikTok may not seem like the most likely app to become a one-stop shop for everything on the internet, but â mostly thanks to a huge Gen Z userbase â thatâs exactly where it is heading. Research shows that younger people are increasingly using social media (especially TikTok) in place of search engines, and now, in place of âtraditionalâ online stores and e-commerce.
The app was already carving out a niche as a place for influencers to recommend products, with popular trends and hashtags like #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt driving sales even before businesses could sell anything directly on the app. Then in September of 2023, TikTok announced the worldwide rollout of TikTok Shop, its in-app shopping platform powered by Shopify.
Whether youâre a business looking for another sales avenue, or a TikTok user and customer curious about the platform, here are four things you need to know about TikTok Shop.
1. Itâs more popular than you might think
TikTok itself has been one of the fastest-growing social media platforms since its launch, but its sales platform has proven even more immediately popular. Less than two years in, one U.S. survey shows 37% of Americans under 60 have purchased something on TikTok Shop.
Other data suggests that only between a quarter and a third of marketers are using TikTok at all, with many of those not using TikTok Shop, so it seems businesses are lagging behind consumers in meeting them where they want to engage and shop. And while TikTok users arenât quite as likely to follow as many businesses and brands on the platform, a survey from Sprout Social showed that more than half of users interact with brands daily, and product discovery was the thing users wanted most from brands on TikTok.
2. Most products sold on TikTok are health and beauty
Since its launch, TikTok Shop has been dominated by a few specific product categories, especially things like cosmetics, wellness products and fast fashion. However, as more businesses join the platform, the market is diversifying, if slowly.
In its early days, nearly all products sold on TikTok were health and beauty, and while other product categories have started making their way onto the platform, health and beauty still makes up around 79% of sales.
So, if you are a cosmetic, hair or skincare brand, you will be in good company on TikTok Shop, but also face a lot of competition.
3. It really is the wild west out there
While younger, female users are the most likely to make a purchase on TikTok Shop, that may be more to do with a lack of products on offer for other audiences â meaning a lot of opportunity for new brands and product categories to get into the market.
More than half of active TikTok users are male, and older users (relatively speaking) are increasingly getting onto the platform â there just isnât much to interest them shopping-wise. There is a large untapped market here. But it is also a relatively unregulated and sometimes unreliable market.
Complaints about TikTok Shop abound. Reviews on TrustPilot average 1.4 stars (out of 5), and while those reviews largely reflect bad experiences with specific stores on the platform â rather than issues with the platform itself â TikTok does not seem overly interested in intervening or regulating the stores that operate there.
It could be that fear and risk of scams is keeping some users from buying on TikTok Shop, but there is also data showing that those who do make a purchase on the platform often return and become regular buyers. A large portion (more than 80%) of all TikTok Shop sales are made by existing customers.
4. It goes really well with influencer marketing
Influencer marketing long predates TikTok, and is still going strong on other social media platforms â but TikTok is where it really shines. And with TikTok Shop, it is now even easier to guide potential customers from an influencer video directly to making a purchase.
When an influencer posts a paid review or other video about your brand on TikTok, a new customer can be purchasing that product from your TikTok Shop within a couple of taps, and without leaving the app. Itâs a pretty ideal way to gain conversions online, and very easy to track ROI too.
A Sprout Social report shows that the average TikTok influencer charges about $10 (USD) per 1,000 followers for a post, which is on par with Instagram and Snapchat, and about half the cost of Facebook and YouTube. Combined with the ease of making a purchase on TikTok Shop, this makes for a fairly cost-effective bit of advertising.
Let us help!
If you're looking to create a social media or digital marketing strategy that includes TikTok Shop, or just need some good advice, drop us a line! Social media is our specialty, and we love working with companies to find their audiences and drive business online. Contact us today for a quote or to set up a meeting!
