A brief overview of what is currently trending on X in news, culture, and/or trending hashtags and formats.
WNBA: X users are talking about a rough foul committed by Chicago Sky’s Chennedy Carter against Caitlin Clark.
The Baldwins: X is buzzing with news around Alec & Hilaria Baldwin's new reality show set to air on TLC in 2025, especially as Alec is set to stand trial for manslaughter over a deadly film set shooting.
#WorldEnvironmentDay: June 5th is World Environment Day and X users are pledging to protect mother nature & sharing their dedication.
A deeper dive into a subject that is impacting culture on a macro level, beyond just the social space.
Nicole The Intern of Mixoloshe
What it is: If you haven't heard of “@thebestmarketingstrategyever”, we're looping you into the social media account that gained 511K followers in 2 months. It all started with a post by “Nicole The Intern” smashing a can with a baseball bat claiming she had “60 days" to hit 500k followers or else she'd be fired. The post has since led to some of the biggest sales days in company Mixoloshe's history. The non-alcoholic canned cocktail brand has seen a 600% increase in web traffic & now has an active community known as the #smasharmy that collectively hates Nicole's boss, Mike. The website even has a pop-up asking consumers if they found the brand from Nicole.
What brands can learn: This is an example of how a social media manager's POV can be a powerful marketing approach. Nicole's internship fame is part of a growing trend that gives consumers a look behind the curtain. Humanizing the person running a brand's social account adds authenticity and realness to a space otherwise known as superficial and sales-centric. What's additionally interesting about Nicole's fame, is the high-stakes nature of her original post encouraging people to engage. Other examples of this have been seen with students attempting to prove their teachers wrong (this student got a piece of bread’s account more followers than Panera by graduation). We’ve also seen the mobilization of online communities in other ways: posts have encouraged consumers to provide likes to get someone a Prada bag from their spouse or share videos to virality for other "underqualified" employees so they don't get fired. The unifying element of this larger trend has audiences united around a relatable cause or mission. They want to see an underdog narrative with a clear protagonist. If your brand wants to lean into this approach, embrace storytelling & lore for the sake of a campaign. Even if the characters aren’t real, the interns, talent, bosses, and high stakes are playing a role (no matter how dramatized or fake) that galvanizes your followers and keeps them invested.
Examples: 1, 2, 3
Four must-click links that crossed our feeds today.
Banks and financial services firms are launching financial media networks (FMNs), online platforms that use customers’ first-party data to advertise in place of third-party cookies.
Simon Cowell is holding open-call auditions in the UK in search of the next One Direction
Trump’s on TikTok… and he already has over five million followers
In an attempt to reach Gen Z, Facebook is leaning into TikTok-like discovery, and away from friends and family.
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