Harry Hugo

Wimbledon 2025 was a masterclass in event social strategy: → +1M followers in two weeks Not from viral luck. From volume and relevance. Over 50 per day for two weeks. Here’s what really made it work: 1. They didn’t just post content. They created culture. → Hugh Grant fell asleep courtside. They turned it into meme gold. → Brooks Nader had her wardrobe moment. They leaned in, and normalized it. That one clip: 70+ media mentions worldwide. They used it to start real conversations. 2. They didn’t curate. They captured. → No overthinking. No 5-day approval flows. → They filmed, posted, iterated. On the go. Every clip, quote, meme, and photo was a new emotional hook. A reason to share. A moment to care. 3. They built relevance outside of sports. → Women’s tennis generated 22.4% share of voice. That's double the men’s. → Nader’s moment brought pop culture and social commentary into the arena. This moved way beyond tennis. The results: → 3.2B reach → 94M reactions → 3M shares → 1M new followers Here’s the real lesson: Volume doesn't have to be spam. It can be strategy. You don’t need one perfect post. You need 100 good ones, fast, and learn what hits. Most brands are stuck in over-analysis. Wimbledon shipped, tested, iterated. Then did it again. And again.

68

6 Comments

Is short-form video content always the best option for a business? There seems to be a real emphasis these days on getting videos to be as short as feasibly possible to get the best viewership, and whilst this is usually true for social media, it's not the case for every single type of video. When thinking about commissioning a video project, you need to carefully consider where you're going to publish the end result as this has such a big impact on how an edit is put together. If you're making a detailed piece for your website focussing on telling the story of who you are and what you do, then cramming that into 60-seconds is likely going to leave you in a scenario where several bits of key information are being sacrificed. With creating something that's generally going to be client or consumer facing, I find 3-5 minutes is usually a good sweet spot depending on how much information there is - this might sound lengthy, but if it's engaging and answers a lot of questions then those 3-5 minutes could save you from plenty of 10-15 minute phone calls. Then from that main video you will always have the opportunity to create multiple short-form assets for social media which will perform better on those platforms and can be used as a way of directing traffic to the longer film. It's important not to cram too much into such a short window of time unless you absolutely have to. Yes, it might be what Instagram is telling you it wants, but for the viewer it can be overwhelming and hard to keep up with. Tailor your content for where you plan on posting it.

38

10 Comments

Most agencies say they “also do LinkedIn Ads.” But every week, I audit accounts that look like a Meta specialist built them. This week I looked at one being run by a relatively big UK agency… And the audience size was 2 million. At first, I get excited thinking I’m about to help the marketing person on the call when I deliver this news. Then I realise, I’m actually delivering news that might get them fired. Because in some cases, there’s hundreds of thousands in wasted spend. LinkedIn Audience Network is another one. I audit accounts literally every week where this thing is switched on. It’s just one little checkbox. But it totally f$cks the account. Keep it off. Like 99% of the time. LinkedIn is not Meta. In many ways, it’s the opposite. Meta has super good machine learning and has a scary amount of info about us, which gives it intent signals on if we are in the market for a product. LinkedIn not so much. On LinkedIn, you need tight targeting. Spend your budget only on your ICP (not large audiences). Never trust LinkedIn's suggested bids or suggested anything for that matter. LinkedIn is built for sales-led businesses. + Long buying journeys. + High-ticket deals. + Complex funnels. To win here, you need: ✔ A real funnel strategy ✔ Middle-of-funnel nurture ✔ Ads that build trust, not just grab clicks ✔ A mix of thought leader, lead gen, and demand gen content If you’re an agency wanting to offer LinkedIn Ads to your clients, but you’re not 100% confident, we can run it for you. We’ve just opened our white label LinkedIn Ads service. We run the account under your brand. You stay the hero. We’re the engine behind the scenes. Send me a DM and I’ll show you how it works.

50

9 Comments

This is me at the lectern last week giving a talk on AI, SEO and Digital PR. It was a Figaro Digital event for marketers working within financial services, professional services and B2B. I've been asked quite a lot about this subject recently so here are a few of the main take-aways from my talk: 1. Don't panic. Yes things are changing and it's ok to feel overwhelmed by the avalanche of AI news, but things aren't changing quite as quickly as some would have you believe. AI search is tiny compared to organic Google searches and the intent behind those searches is quite different. You have plenty of time to consider your approach and adapt activity before Chat-GPT overtakes Google, if it ever does. 2. SEO isn't dead. If you are doing best practice SEO then you are already doing most of what the LLMs care about. Ignore the hype. Rather than being dead I think we'll see the opposite, a boom in demand for good SEOs who understand how to rank in both search engines and AI. 3. Brand mentions are vital. Having your brand spoken about and reviewed in the press and on social channels is one of the most important things if you want to get more AI traffic. That's why being great at Digital PR is a superpower. 4. Data is limited. We're at the start of things so the tools we are used to haven't been created yet or are far from where we need them to be. Those great keyword suggestion tools and the ranking software you're used to aren't really a thing yet. This is important if you are requesting or defending budget for this work as it's a lot harder to do projections and harder to prove value. I was hoping people would find the talk useful and thankfully the attendees did, with 94% of the room rating it "very good" or "excellent". With that in mind I'll be delivering it at other event in the coming months. Watch this space.

78

11 Comments

You learn a hell of a lot about a client on Day 1. The first email. The first call. The moment they turn up to a full-day shoot with nothing but vibes and a pack of Mini Cheddars. Some red flags are obvious. Others only show up after years of working with good people, and questionable ones. Here’s what we look out for 👇 🚩 Red flags 1. “What’s your day rate?” If price is the first thing they care about, it’s usually the only thing they care about. You’re not a partner, you’re a line item. A commodity. A camera with a heartbeat. 2. Lunch at 5pm. If you’re filming all day and haven’t eaten, it’s a sign the whole project’s been planned without real people in mind. No one’s doing their best work while hangry. 3. Late payments. Nothing kills momentum faster than waiting 90 days for work you turned around in 3. But let’s talk green flags because honestly, they’re more common than the red ones: ✅ Green flags 1. They look after the crew. Doesn’t have to be fancy, but water, snacks, a “you good?”. It matters more than people realise. 2. They pay when they say they will. Unsexy but essential. Good clients don’t make you chase. 3. They don’t micro-manage. They give input, of course - it's their baby. But then they let you do what you’re good at. That’s when the best stuff gets made. At the end of the day, the best projects aren’t just about the brand or the budget. They work because it’s give and take. The client looks after the crew, the crew goes all out for the client, and everyone walks away proud of what they made together.

57

7 Comments