Who cares about an ad agency on social media? Apparently, a lot of people if you do it right.   

The agency I founded with my partner Maureen Maldari, The BAM Connection, collectively had a provocative theory on how to grow organic social media engagement massively with $0 media dollars.   

We absolutely needed to test it. No client was willing to be the subject, which we could not quite understand. So, screw it, we did it for ourselves.  

Honestly, the results surprised even us:  

Want more proof? Check out these social stats:  

• Almost 30 million views this year -- 28 million coming from May to date. 

• Nearly 2 million engagements (likes, comments, shares, saves). 

• Comments from major brands like Microsoft, Google, Adobe Acrobat, and Crumbl Cookies. 

• 12x our overall TikTok and Instagram following from 2023. 

• $0 media dollars spent.  

Here are five principles that skyrocketed our TikTok and Reels engagement. The principles apply to your business as well.  

Don’t chase every trend. That becomes overwhelming and counterproductive. Pick one or two a week and create content that joins, what we like to call, the digital line dance, then do your thing. This gets you the hardworking numbers, and regular presence because you immediately join an entire group of people already out there dancing and engaged. Note: Let people who spend an unhealthy amount of time on social media do these. They know the trends and when they’re on the rise, not the decline. 

Post insights and thought leadership in your field of expertise. 

When we post specifically about social media, there’s a focused but limited audience.  When we talk more generally about marketing and advertising, the audience grows 3x, 5x, maybe 10x.  When we telescope out and post about topics like Gen Z slang and office dynamics (both still very relevant for an ad agency) the audience balloons 100x, 500x, and even 1000x.  

The point is that tighter topics equal smaller audiences. Broader topics mean bigger audiences and bigger audiences equal bigger engagement if the content is good. This is what got us the huge numbers. These ideas tend to be more evergreen. Classic hooks that engage human beings. They attract large audiences and catapult awareness. It’s a brilliant bonus if you can also connect it to something topical in the zeitgeist. 

Do not start with what people find interesting about your brand, start with what people find interesting on this particular platform. Then, create content, not ads. Interesting TikTok or Reels content that makes perfect sense for your brand to be posting.  

Do the majority of your hard sell on paid media but throw a few organic ads in the mix as well. People are open to them, so long as they are not inundated with them. Transact some consumers hanging out lower in the funnel.   

We’re an ad agency, and we know most people do not want to engage with ads let alone the people who create them. Yet, somehow we have managed to rack up these numbers.   

It’s proof that our approach works. Now, imagine if we were doing it for a brand that already has market awareness and a sizable social media fan base.