Marketing Happy Hour - How to Stand Out on Social Media in 2024 | Maddie Hinderstein of TLC (Warner Bros. Discovery)

Episode Date: December 21, 2023

This week, Erica and Cassie sit down with Maddie Hinderstein, Social Media Specialist at TLC - an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Whether or not you're a fan of ...shows like 90 Day Fiancé, Sister Wives, or Dr. Pimple Popper, you'll love this conversation around diversifying your skillset, how networking can truly transform your career, and how Maddie and her team are continuously working to stay ahead of social media trends and stand out on each platform. Here's a peek at what we cover in this episode: [00:04:06] - Maddie shares a look into her background, from majoring in communications with the hope of becoming a journalist to working at a PR firm and getting a crash course on all things PR and marketing; going through a layoff and applying to over 400 jobs while networking with anyone she could and eventually landing her current role at TLC. She explains how diverse experiences have influenced her career in marketing and gives us some unconventional networking tips, including the inside scoop on how to structure your networking conversations. [00:19:50] - Maddie dives into her team's approach to social media in an ever-changing landscape and how they stay up to date on trends by looking to and being inspired by other industries. [00:26:11] - Maddie reveals key community building tips and her predictions for the social media space in 2024, including the resurgence of longer-form content, rise of educational content, and increased brand discernment when it comes to trending content. Grab a drink and listen in to this week's Marketing Happy Hour conversation! ____ Other episodes you'll enjoy if you enjoyed Maddie's episode: Utilizing Consumer Sentiment to Inform Social Media Strategy | Taylor Porter of Dutch Bros Coffee Building an Engaging Brand on Social Media | Jack Appleby of Future Social Your Guide to Personal Finance | Melissa Jean-Baptiste of Millennial in Debt How to Build Brand Loyalty | Kara Salazar of Southwest Airlines ____ Say hi! DM us on Instagram and share your favorite moments from this episode - we can't wait to hear from you! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join our MHH Insiders group to connect with Millennial and Gen Z marketing professionals around the world!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Get the latest from MHH, straight to your inbox: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join our email list!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect with Maddie: Instagram | LinkedIn Check out ⁠TLC's Instagram Connect with Co-Host Erica: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect with Co-Host Cassie: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow MHH on Social: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠ New to Marketing Happy Hour (or just want more)? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Download our Marketing Happy Hour Starter Kit⁠⁠ This podcast is an MHH Media production. ⁠⁠Learn more about MHH Media!⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Interested in starting your own podcast? Grab our Podcast Launch Strategy Guide here.⁠

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Starting point is 00:00:00 you're listening to the marketing happy hour podcast where we discuss career and industry insights with our peers in marketing we're here to talk about it all like the ups and downs of working in social media how to build authentic relationships in the influencer and pr space managing a nine-to-five and a side hustle at the same time, how to be productive in your life and career without losing your sanity, and more. Ultimately, we're here to build a community with you because we're all trying to navigate the world of marketing together. Are you ready? Grab your favorite drink and join your hosts, Cassie and Erica, for this week's episode.
Starting point is 00:00:56 Maddie Henderstein, Social Media Associate of Warner Brothers Discovery, specializing on TLC, joins us for a conversation on all things diversifying your skill set, how networking transforms your career, and staying ahead of social media trends. Plus, how she and her team are marketing a unique offering, aka a cable television network in the age of streaming. Whether or not you're a fan of shows like 90 Day Fiance or Dr. Pimple Popper, this is such a fun, value-packed conversation that I know you're going to love. You know the drill. grab a drink and let's get to it. Hey Maddie, we are so excited to chat with you today on Marketing Happy Hour. How are you doing? I'm doing great. It's a sunny day in New York. We're getting only a few of those recently, so I'll take what we can get. Oh my gosh, I love it.
Starting point is 00:01:44 When Cassie told me that you were going to be on the show, I was like, so stoked because one of my favorite shows ever is on TLC. It's 90 day fiance. I think everybody knows that that's a pretty hit show right now. Um, I especially love the pillow talk episodes where they bring on like past get or past show contestants and they talk about the episodes that are going live every week. It's my favorite thing to indulge in. It's like a guilty pleasure. I love it so much. But before we get into the episode and all the insights that you have to share with us, I would love to know what do you have in your glass this afternoon? It is marketing happy hour after all. So I have two things. One, I have my hydro
Starting point is 00:02:27 flask because I'm trying to protect my skin this winter. So I'm hydrating like crazy. And the second I have just a high noon on ice. I think it's a great way to drink it, especially in my house, not out of a can. It's like, I could have made this. This feels convincing enough. I love that. It's like elevating it just slightly. It's perfect. Absolutely. No one on my Instagram story even knows. It's fine. That's amazing. That's amazing. Um, I also have a great big thing of water and that is surprisingly all I have today. I we've recorded a couple of times so far today and that's all I've had. But I'm proud of myself because I'm not very good at drinking water recently. So it's good.
Starting point is 00:03:09 We're just trying to stay hydrated, like you said. What about you, Erica? I'm proud of you too. Always love a hydrated queen. I have actually a superfood latte that I'm sipping on. It's turmeric. I just bought these during like Black Friday, they had a sale. So it's the brand Bloom. And we actually have the founder coming on the show,
Starting point is 00:03:33 we scheduled an episode with her in early 2024. So I'm excited. Yeah, but these are actually pretty good. I love anything wellness. And this is such a great way to get in those super spices that are so good for you. We love that. We love that. Well, Maddie, as Erica said, we are very excited to chat with you today. Lots to dive into, but before we do, can you share with us a little bit about your background and how you got to the role you're in today. Yeah, absolutely. So I graduated from Syracuse University in 2019, and I majored in communications and rhetorical studies. And I think I, like many people who now work in social media, entered college saying, I'm going to be a journalist. And to those that made it to journalism, amazing. I think it's one of the
Starting point is 00:04:25 hardest jobs out there. I took a different path, which is great. And I was able to learn a lot about, you know, the studies of rhetoric and old school versus new school communication styles. So I think that's what kind of brought me in is super reflective of my career now, because I have kind of been all over the place. So I've had editorial internships and I wrote a lot throughout college on different publications. And following graduation, I started working at a PR firm, which was super small. And that was kind of like a, we're going to toss you into the pool and you're going to learn how to swim while you're in the deep end. It was the CEO and I, and it was really a crash course in learning everything about PR. So, you know, press releases, events, influencer marketing, and it was a great way to
Starting point is 00:05:18 start my career, I think, because I didn't have any room for imposter syndrome. And I kind of just did it. And when unfortunately the pandemic happened and I got laid off in 2020, I did take some time to look back and I was like, I can't believe I did that. And it just like flew by. And it was something that made me feel so confident in my own abilities.
Starting point is 00:05:44 So that was great. The layoff, not so much. But from that, I spent March of 2020 to October 2020 applying to any job under the sun, any industry, you name it, I applied to it. And I, at that time, applied to over 400 jobs, which was insanity. And you get to this place, I think it was something that millions of people were going through. And it's like, it has to be me. And it's like, no, it's not you. It's that
Starting point is 00:06:16 companies can't do this right now. They can't bring you on. But luckily I was able to gain some awesome freelance clients around October of 2020. And so that was, you know, in the space of food, beverage, and I was doing editorial, social work, shoot production for them. And that was an amazing opportunity to learn more small business practices that wasn't just a team of two people. And one of my freelance clients ended up becoming my next full-time gig. So that was at a video agency and that was
Starting point is 00:06:52 video and social strategy more on the B2B side. And now I've been at Warner Brothers Discovery since the top of this year. So first big venture at a larger company because my previous company was about 12 people and where I'm at now is nearing 40,000. It's a massive shift, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. It's awesome. Oh, that's so exciting. Well, congratulations on all of the recent excitement with work and everything. But, you know, as you mentioned, you've been around the block in terms of all of these different types of experiences and roles that you've held, but curious with that, how these diverse experiences have shaped your approach to marketing, especially in the
Starting point is 00:07:41 context of the changing media landscape. Cause I'm sure, you know, having this background in all these different areas, you think of things that someone who has been very streamlined in the industries that they're in may not think of. So how has that been like for you? Well, I'm still practicing it because I don't know if I'd consider myself an expert in it, but really looking at things from the bigger picture. I think, like you said, when, you know, you're very streamlined, it's kind of like nose to the grindstone. This is what I know, and this is what I'm doing. So being able to look at it from, you know, more of a bird's eye view, I feel like coming from different areas in the industry, I'm able to provide different perspectives
Starting point is 00:08:25 and whether that's, you know, perspectives in how things run, you know, in a streamline in an office to how we create social strategy to how we connect with consumers and viewers. I think that can be applied to almost anything. And it's a really, I think it's a really effective way to approach,
Starting point is 00:08:48 like you said, an ever changing environment, because it's so hard to, I find it hard to like, consider myself an expert in something like this, because it feels like things are changing. Gosh, like every two weeks. And it's like, how does anybody keep up with it and then become an expert in it? So it's a very interesting space to be in for sure. Oh, I completely agree. And we've had that conversation so often on the show of like, how do you keep up with all of the changes that are happening within the marketing realm in general, not even just social, not even just, you know, the different platforms and things like that. It's a constant thing. And you do have to kind of have that well-rounded approach, I would say, to like, look at things from an outside view or look at things from another perspective. And so you have
Starting point is 00:09:40 that with this vast background. And I love that so much. So you noted that networking played a crucial role in your career up to this point, especially during the time of the pandemic. Could you kind of share some insights into your networking strategies and how building those relationships has impacted your professional journey? That's something we love to talk about on the show. Yeah. So I have two things to start off with and they kind of sound contradictory, but I promise they make sense. The first thing I would say is check your ego at the door because nobody, there is nobody too qualified or too underqualified to talk to you when it comes to taking a coffee or having a Zoom. When I say
Starting point is 00:10:27 in the pandemic, I talk to everybody like a friend's dad's niece's friend. Like I'll talk to anybody and whether I learned from that 30 minute phone call, if it was, okay, this is how I'm going to conduct myself on a phone call because that person was super informative, answered all my questions and was willing to put their neck out for me. Or, wow, this person is really tapped into an industry that I want to be in. How can I stay contacted with them? And how can I learn more about what they're doing? So in that checking your ego at the door, it's really important to remember, like, this is about everybody and remaining connected with the whole industry and I guess kind of staying humble.
Starting point is 00:11:12 On the other side of that, shoot your shot, because the worst thing someone's going to say is no. And it's fine. If people don't want to connect with you, there's a lot of other people in this industry you can learn from, and shooting my shot is how I've gotten two of my jobs. I was working many years ago back in the end of my senior year into my first job, but prior to that summer of right before my senior year, I was writing for Spoon University, an online food publication that has a bunch of chapters at different universities. And I wrote an article ranking all the salad dressings at Chopped. I love Chopped. I'm a Chopped stan for days. And I just wrote in my voice. I wrote in satire. I said, this dressing, not it. Leave it at the door. And I'm a Mexican Caesar girly, never change. But Chopped actually reached out to me on Instagram when I published this article.
Starting point is 00:12:13 And they said, we love this. We want to send you dressing. And I honestly felt way too special. And then I kept in contact with them over the next six months. And when it rolled around to January of my senior year, and I thought about, well, what am I going to do in five months when I graduate when everyone I know is also looking for a job? So I reached out to them. I was like, hey, is there any chance, you know, you guys could be looking to bring somebody on in May? I'm graduating soon and would love to join your team. And they said, we're actually looking for someone right now. And I was like, heck yeah, I'll, I'll do anything for you guys
Starting point is 00:12:51 right now. So I was doing their social part-time. I was, you know, working with the rest of their team, whether it was writing copy, replying back to people in DMs or on comments and posting to their social, which was like an amazing experience. It was my first time working for a brand that I loved as a customer and was now on the other side. So I could share that passion with the people who I knew also shared that. So it was a really cool experience. And it was like, it came from a DM, like for me, if I can curse on here, shooting the shit, just writing an article about my opinions that like, not everyone was going to see it and look what it led to. So shoot your shot. Just do it. Oh my gosh. I love that so much. That's such a great story. And I think back to a lot of my friends, they have very similar stories where they've done something organically and then the brand has reached out. They've stayed in contact with that brand and then they get to work with that
Starting point is 00:13:53 brand in the future. I think that is like the best way to build relationship and the best way to grow your career. So I want to go back just a little bit though, to those conversations that you have with people when you're networking. One of the things or the hurdles that I've heard before and even I've experienced before is what should those conversations look like? What are the questions that you should be asking to someone that you're trying to network with? Is it just an informative interview where you're like, what is your role look like? You know, do you have any tips for someone who wants to grow into this role or is it
Starting point is 00:14:29 more specific? Like, do you have openings? You know, what is, what is the opportunity that you have, you know, at your organization? You know, what does that kind of look like? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Yeah, for sure. I think starting out, like if you're just messaging someone on LinkedIn, cold emailing them, in some cases when it fits the industry, just straight up DM and Z. I think I would be a great member to your team. I care about your values because of this.
Starting point is 00:15:10 And like I said, some people don't answer those emails. Some people don't look at their LinkedIn messages. It's not about you. It's not personal. And I think if I can harp on anything, like don't take that personally because there are people who will answer. And once you forge those relationships, this was like hammered into me. Do not be the person who only reaches out when you need something, because then this person is going to look at their email and it's like, wow, all they do is ask me for stuff and I don't really want to help them. So what I've done, and I stick to a pretty
Starting point is 00:15:52 decent schedule with this, but if I have a one-off email here and there, that's fine. But if I see this person on Instagram or on LinkedIn doing anything cool in their business, doing cool with anything in their personal life. Like I follow a ton of people who will post amazing stuff about their kids. Just email them. Just say like, congrats on your daughter's graduation. Such a happy milestone for your family. It takes you what a minute and a half to write that proofread it and send it off. And it's like, oh, wow, this person cares about what's going on in my life. That's great. And something you can also do is congratulating them on great things happening with their brand. They win an award,
Starting point is 00:16:38 shoot them a quick email. Yeah. You won't be the only person who does it, but they'll remember the next time that you email them and they're like, oh, they're checking up on our products. They know what we're about right now. And I think that it's the stuff in the interim where it's, that's where you're fostering the real relationship. This happened to me very recently. Like I said, I'm a Syracuse grad. I saw somebody in my network met Coach K from Duke basketball and I emailed her and I said
Starting point is 00:17:08 love the picture mixed feelings about the coach but it must have been so cool to meet a legend which I mean yeah go Q's go orange but that is like it's so easy and we were able to just like chat and now it's like okay we keep up with each other we know we both like basketball and that's just another thing that in the future we can talk about so I think it's it really is about creating those relationships that the last thing you guys are going to want to talk about is work because then the work is just going to flow naturally. Yeah, that's excellent. I love the way that you put that. Just a question to go beyond networking. What are some other skills that you found that set you apart in your career and how have you kind of honed in and cultivated those
Starting point is 00:18:00 skills? I think it does play into networking, but one of those skills is I, I think I have a really, it's part of like the biggest part of my personality. I'm really hungry to learn. And that is not an easy trait to come by as, as easy as it sounds. And you'd be surprised how many times I've heard either in interviews, or I talked to my friends, and they're like, yeah, someone reached out to me, and they don't sound interested in learning, they just want to fill XYZ. And it's challenging, I think, being a part of late millennials, early Gen Z, which I don't even know if I think being my age, I can consider myself Gen Z. But knowing that like, yes, you should be fighting for what you want. But at the end of the day, you are working for a company's brand and representing their values and what they want.
Starting point is 00:19:00 So being able to balance those two things, it's not easy to come by people who are hungry and want to be a sponge and just learn from the people around them and shutting yourself off to experiences like that, I think is going to bite you in the end. So good. So good. Well, Maddie shifting gears just slightly here. We want to talk about social strategy. So as we all know, social is changing all the time. There's so many things going on with the platforms every single day, it feels like. So how do you stay ahead of social media trends and just changes on the platforms? Are there specific tools or approaches that you're using to ensure that your strategies align with the ever evolving landscape or what are you guys doing there?
Starting point is 00:19:49 So we're working with our partners at, you know, specific platforms, knowing what they're prioritizing and seeing how that can fit into our strategy. And, you know, we have a super specific area of the industry that we're in being that it's cable TV. But I just like having the conversations with people, especially with others that aren't in my industry. Because if it's something that can work in my space, awesome. And if not, it's something that could inspire another idea. I also talk to my friends. I'm like, what's on your FYP?
Starting point is 00:20:26 What are trends that I'm not seeing? Because I have a super sometimes interestingly curated algorithm on my TikTok and my Instagram that like, I'll look at over at my friend's phone. I'm like, what is on your for you page? What is happening? Where is your algorithm taking you? And I think, like I said before, being able to take a step back and like, it's not just about your algorithm. It's not just about the trends that hit your phone. So knowing that it's going to look different across the board and what hits for one brand isn't going to work for another.
Starting point is 00:21:06 And that's the case for us. What hits for one show isn't always going to hit for another show and knowing how to roll with that, I think will save you a lot of headaches and it will save you a lot of procrastinating and figuring out why didn't this work? It's like, okay, it didn't work. Let's figure out for a small period of time and move on because chances are something will be different in the platform or with a trend within the week and no one will be thinking about it anyway. Yeah. Oh my gosh. I'm so glad you mentioned that though. Just like talking to people in different industries. I think that's so important because I feel like a lot of times us in marketing, we can get tunnel vision with ideas or concepts or whatever it is, even in different industries, like just being in that marketing space all the time. I feel like you
Starting point is 00:22:01 leave out a lot of interesting ideas and concepts. So having friends or mentors or network connections in different spaces than you just to see what they're doing in their brands or even in their day-to-day, I think is so incredibly important. So thank you for mentioning that. Yeah. And then also I will say like specific industries that I love looking at. I love looking at brands that, because working in TV, it's about connecting people, especially working in cable where a lot of our target audience doesn't have cable. So if we have five to eight seconds to grab your attention with a social post, we better make it intentional and we better grab your attention if that's the only place you're getting our content. So
Starting point is 00:22:52 I really like looking for inspiration in other industries that have that really close connection to their viewers and their customers. I love looking at, you know, personal or like healthcare brands or health brands and like the wellness space and also looking at sports because they have an awesome combination of original content, but hopping onto trends, but you know, their fans are the most important thing. So being able to, if someone writes in a comment, like, Hey, I want to see Tommy DeVito give a no, whatever one of these, I'm sure everyone listening can imagine what I'm doing. They're going to give it to you. So it's all about
Starting point is 00:23:38 knowing how to connect with the people who are receiving your content. Because at the end of the day, they're the ones who are controlling your success. Yeah, absolutely. Well, you've kind of alluded to this a little bit, you know, paying attention to your consumer, what they're looking for, etc. But how else are you guys working to stand out? There's a lot of content on the platforms right now. So much noise. I mean, you can scroll for days and days and never see all of it. Right. So what are you guys doing specifically to make sure that you're just making this unique approach per se, uh, to your content and your brand on social? So it's memorable. Yeah. I think TLC they're especially the reality tv space
Starting point is 00:24:26 there there really isn't a brand like TLC and you look at a lot of our other competitors whether that's you know in-house with other brands like food network um HGTV Magn Magnolia Network, like those are in our wheelhouse, but you can look at other networks outside. But I think what we're able to see is that people everywhere watch our content. You don't have to follow TLC or follow the 90 Day Fiance handles to get our content because when a moment hits, it hits everywhere. I'm sure when, you know, Sister Wives, everything came out last year about the big breakup. I had so many people telling me, and this was before I was even working for, for Warner Brothers Discovery. I, it was like, oh my gosh, are you seeing all this Sister Wives stuff? And it's like random people like, didn't know you were into that. Interesting. Let's talk more about it. So I think we are in a really unique position
Starting point is 00:25:31 knowing that not only with the algorithm, but with the content that we have, we're able to reach so many people. And so I think that causes us to be really intentional with the kind of content that we choose to put out there. Absolutely. And a big part of social beyond the content that you're sharing is that community building aspect. You know, you mentioned that it's about connection with people. How are you fostering and engaging communities effectively on the platforms or in other ways?
Starting point is 00:26:04 And how does that kind of fit into your broader social and marketing strategy as a whole? So we look a lot to different platforms to see just what the comment section is saying. If it's something that, okay, we love this person, we want to see them so much more. We take that into consideration with the kind of content that we'll post across our channels. And it's like, okay, you want crazy moments from, from certain shows with like amazing characters. We'll, we'll give it to you tenfold. So I think it's a really, it's a, it's a fun call and response because we're able to do that and have really great turnaround time with that. But, you know, I will say the cable industry is really hard and it's a super niche market.
Starting point is 00:26:53 So being able to stand out like we do is something we really prioritize and listen to what people are looking for. Because, you know, like you said, like there are loyal, loyal watchers of all of our shows, and we want to keep up that connection with them. So whether it's, you know, looking at who's ever tweeting during our live tweets of 90 Day Fiance on Sunday nights, and it's like, okay, these are the same people coming back, and they have, you know, hot takes, and people respond to them a lot how can we look at that and see what they're bringing to the table and the ideas that they have or the the kinds of conversations that they have with other fans in the comment section it's a really cool way to see things in real time with reactions and how that affects how
Starting point is 00:27:47 we do our jobs. So awesome. Thank you for sharing that. I want to ask you about predictions for 2024, because I'm sure you have a few and it's, it's been fun to kind of hear the different approaches or thoughts on this specific question. But yeah, what are you thinking for 2024? What do you feel like we as marketers can expect to hone into or consumers can see on the platforms next year?
Starting point is 00:28:17 Looking ahead to 2024, there are a couple of things, whether it's platform-based or trend-based. The first thing, I think TikTok is going to lean a little bit more into long-form content. Now that YouTube Shorts has become a pretty established part of their platform, I think TikTok is going to expand the type of content that they're producing, still leaning into short form content, but I think to kind of combat with that sense of competition and really try and stick out in that way. And then when it comes to trends, I think financial content is going to explode. It's made it to my For You page and same with a lot of people that I know, but especially for Gen Z, a lot of the financial advice, whether it's like super baseline,
Starting point is 00:29:16 we never got to learn. Like the amount of things where I see it's like, Gen Z and young millennials have never learned how to write a check. And I'm like, okay, I've been with my landlord. I'm good on rent. Thank you. But the real questions that, you know, young people want to know it's, it's almost like TikTok has become their version of Google where like, I'm sure you guys can relate. Like, I used to Google the most random things in the world. And it's like, okay, is it, I have a bump on my skin. Is it something? You'll find a almost qualified doctor.
Starting point is 00:29:57 You could find a myriad of, this is someone giving random advice or, hey, I'm a doctor. These are my credentials. No, you don't have anything to worry about. So I think the landscape of asking questions for Gen Z is really going to ramp up a lot in the next year. And then the last thing, I think it's starting to happen already, but I have a feeling brands aren't going to feel the need to hop onto every single trend that they see. I don't think it's a really realistic way to approach a content calendar.
Starting point is 00:30:42 And that's not to say that brands should stop doing it. It's not to say that brands that have been doing it are failing. I just think priorities are going to start shifting. And that can be because of, you know, external algorithmic changes that can do with internal priority shifts at a company. I just think it's going to be a lot more original content and taking things at a bit of a slower pace. Absolutely. And thoughtfulness plays a key role there. You want to be answering the questions that your audience has and not necessarily just trying to hop on any trend to get those eyes on your product or service that you're offering. So I love that you touched on that. And I also love that you touched on the
Starting point is 00:31:29 financial content, because I think educational content and TikTok and social media in general, being like Google, like the next Google is so huge. And we actually had someone on the show this year. Her name was Melissa, and she talked about personal finance advice. And it was a lot of stuff that, you know, people haven't been taught in a long time. So and that was a really great performing episode for us. And I think that that just speaks to, you know, the way that people are learning today. It's through social media, it's through podcasts, it's through these other types of content versus, you know, traditional school and versus traditional like Googling or whatever you want to do.
Starting point is 00:32:11 So I love that you touched on both of those. It's super cool. Particularly in finances, but this can apply a lot of places. There's a lack of judgment in like admitting that you don't know the answer to these questions. Like, I mean, dad, if you're listening to this, no, you're not. The amount of times, like I looked on TikTok, like health insurance help. I'm 26. Like, yeah, that took up my for you page for a couple of weeks because you know, the things that I wanted question, wanted answers to, I couldn't find them. And I knew that there was going to be someone on TikTok that could
Starting point is 00:32:54 answer my questions. And I've done that for investing, Roth IRA, 401k, like I've done it for everything and it's been really helpful. Yeah, absolutely. And I think maybe the next thing is, you know, filtering out who to actually listen to on these platforms. I think that'll be something to identify because I'm sure there's a ton of different advice and you probably get every perspective on the planet, but just knowing who to listen to is probably pretty key. And hopefully there's something that comes out where, you know, you can get verified advice or whatever, or something like that. We'll see what goes on there, but I love that. Okay. We love to ask this question on the
Starting point is 00:33:36 show and that is just, what do you know now that you wish you knew a little earlier on in your career? It's something I mentioned before, but it's something I learned not too late because I'm still early in my career and I think I've been able to make up for lost time. But if you don't ask, the answer is always no. And that can range from anything. That's, hey, I would love to learn more about this project. Can I sit in on a high level meeting and take notes for you? I've asked my bosses that before. And they're like, yeah,
Starting point is 00:34:12 that's fine. Can you just like make notes of X, Y, and Z and I'll do it. And I've been able to learn so much that way. And it wasn't even by asking any questions. It's how to conduct yourself in a high level meeting. It's how to give a progress report and give, you know, budgetary updates. It shows that you're eager because even especially in the years following the pandemic, when like office culture for some people still hasn't returned, But like, if I'm in the office and it's like asking somebody to go grab a cup of coffee who works on a different team, it's like, how can I learn about what you're doing? How can I help you? How can you help me? How can we work together here? That can apply to anything. It can apply to, can I get your advice on something can do you need help on
Starting point is 00:35:09 a project what's your opinion on this and I mean that can apply to anything in life that like applies to dating that's it's like if you don't ask it'll always be a no. So I think learning that earlier would have been really impactful in the, in the beginning stages of my career. So good. So good. This whole episode has been great, Maddie. Thank you. Uh, we'll definitely have to check back in with you in the future and to see what else you've been doing in your career and in your life as well. But before we close out for today's episode, do you mind sharing with us where we can follow along with your personal journeys, but also with everything TLC is up to as well? Yeah. So personal, uh, just at Maddie Hinderstein on Instagram, Um, Maddie Hinderstein on LinkedIn too. LinkedIn's my
Starting point is 00:36:06 LinkedIn's the best. I find the most random stuff on LinkedIn. And then, um, on Instagram, it's at 90 day fiance and, uh, for TLC, it's just at TLC. Love it. Love it. Thank you so much for coming on today and just sharing all of your insights with us I know I personally was just reminded of some really amazing things learn some new stuff so thank you for sharing everything with us today yeah thank you guys so much for having me this is a blast thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Marketing Happy Hour podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please remember to subscribe, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. If you want more of Marketing Happy Hour, but don't know where to
Starting point is 00:36:57 start, we invite you to download our free Marketing Happy Hour starter kit at marketing happy hr.com forward slash starter dash kit this interactive magazine style pdf walks through who we are includes helpful resources like a marketing term glossary and the printable daily planner sheet that we actually use ourselves and contains clickable links to our episode recommendations by subject area. Not to mention all the fun extras like a quiz, the link to our Marketing Happy Hour Insiders Facebook group, a word search, a playlist, a goal setting guide, content inspo by month, and more. It's our hope that you'll dive into this resource and walk away more confident in your career journey with a group of industry pals that you can lean on for advice
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