In 2022 I launched Branching Out_ the monthly LinkedIn newsletter for GitHub. Within two months we had acquired over one million subscribers.
The difference between good and great social media is robust analytics. You can use the wealth of reporting available to inform future content, when it should go up, and what sort of calls to action you should be including. I believe one of my strongest capabilities is being able to translate the storm of analytics available to actionable guidance to executive stakeholders.
GitHub Universe is the flagship event for GitHub, typically held in San Francisco for the company’s most fervent fans. In 2020 the global pandemic kept everyone at home and pushed the event online. Social Media became the core of an omnichannel marketing strategy to generate virtual attendance. By leveraging a combination of paid, organic, and influencer content I exceeded viewership targets by more than 3X.
This event was so successful that even in a post-covid world the template has remained the same.
When an ROV powered by open source code hosted on GitHub landed on Mars we launched a social campaign to highlight open source going interplanetary. This campaign generated millions of engagements around the world.
Social Media doesn’t stop at the borders. With the ability to reach across land and sea, it’s possible to engage communities around the world. At Magic Leap I identified a large and vocal group of supporters in Japan and created content specifically for them. This attention converted them from supporters to evangelists, and opened an entirely new market to us.
Launching an entirely new platform is no easy task. Launching a platform as technologically advanced as the Magic Leap Augmented Reality (AR) System even more so. In order to attract developers and consumers I leveraged a strategy of identifying and engaging more technical online influencers. This resulted in Adam Savage listing the Magic Leap One as one of his favorite things of 2018.
Microsoft runs national training programs for their software. In Mission Mars programmers use Internet of Things and Cognitive Services utilities to save astronauts stranded on Mars. By offering unique targeting and optimized content I reduced the cost per registration from $150 to $35 and completed the project under budget.
Live content requires a special set of skills considering the agility required to react to unforeseen circumstances. I live-streamed the 3 day US Imagine Cup Finals in Seattle Washington while contending with the schedules of Microsoft execs, hardware malfunctions, and a shooting at a 7-11 a block away that resulted in a lockdown.
You're not just competing with your traditional competitors on social media. You're competing with anyone with a funny video of a cat playing the piano. Attention is a limited resource, to capture it I collaborate across teams to develop eye-catching content that converts attention to intent.
Design by Eric Warner
In 2015 I went to Kobe Japan, and the Fukuju Sake Brewery to shoot content for their social media, both Japanese and American. This brewery has been around since the 1700's, and translating that lengthy and foreign legacy to American audiences was a challenge to say the least. A 300% increase in tour requests year over year indicates we hit the nail on the head.
Cooking Craze was launched into a vacuum with no existing social media to support it. The social media strategy I built from the ground up helped propel this game to tremendous success, garnering awards and accolades from users and critics alike. The performance of this campaign informed the way Big Fish launched mobile game releases moving forward, and set the ground work for several more successful launches.
