Blurring the Lines with Sam Stryker

This week I spoke with Sam Stryker who previously was an Associate Creative Director at Dentsu Creative . Before joining the agency he was the Entertainment Social Lead at Twitter (now known as X ) and a Senior Editor at BuzzFeed .

Tell me about your career journey up until this point.

Like a lot of people in social, I have a very non-traditional path. I've really made it up as I went, but I think the common theme is every job I've had feels like it didn't exist five years ago.?

I have a background in editorial and I spent about five years at BuzzFeed in Los Angeles when it was coming into its own. The Dress happened during my first month full-time at the company. At that time, video was overtaking the editorial side of things in terms of prioritization, and it was just an incredible experience. I was fresh out of college getting to write about everything that I loved and creating quizzes, going to events I had dreamed of attending, collaborating with celebrities. I started at the same time as The Try Guys, and worked with Eugene Lee Yang on one of his first videos. Quinta Brunson was in the office. And so for a first job out of college, it was super exciting. I was thrown into the deep end.?

Then media layoffs hit, and I realized I was at a crossroads in my career. I pivoted, and hopped over to a social marketing role at Twitter . And that was a really exciting job. No two days were the same. My team was partnering with celebrities, creators, labels, and studios to drive healthy, exciting conversation on the platform. That was a really thrilling job because we weren't just at the forefront of culture, we were making culture.

Then I was laid off again. At this point, I’m a layoff veteran. After Twitter I went to Dentsu Creative with my old boss, where I experienced agency life for the first time. I just left, and I’m about to start a new role back in the entertainment space. And along the way, I've done some of my own partnerships and consulting work.?

You spent 5 years on the editorial side at BuzzFeed before moving over to Twitter, now known as X, to handle social media. We are seeing a lot more journalists pivot out of the industry and going into a sector of the communications marketing space. What advice do you have for writers looking to make a similar move?

When I was laid off from BuzzFeed I thought, “I just spent years making quizzes and covering the Kardashians — what hiring manager is going to want me?” What I realize now is that if you work in editorial, whether that’s hard hitting journalism or something softer, you have this skill set that translates so well to so many jobs, not just in the communications and marketing space. It’s not just communication skills or written skills, it’s invaluable talents like content creation and curation and intangibles like thinking critically and trend-spotting. It’s being able to interview people and ask the right questions. And all these tools in your toolbox are going to give you a leg up on people with a more traditional background. I realize now that what I thought was a weakness is actually a strength. And something I tell people who are looking to make the jump is that the people who ‘get’ your non-traditional experience and its value are the people you want to work for. They’re the ones who are going to nurture your career. Don't be scared. Ignore your imposter syndrome. You only need one person to take a chance on you.

Last year you joined Dentsu Creative. Can you share more about the creative role you previously held over the past year in a half?

I was brought on to work for an entertainment streaming client, focusing on films and awards. In the past few months, though, I pivoted a little bit more into the CPG and QSR space.?

What I found interesting is that I didn't know the ins and outs of an agency. And so that sort of juxtaposition created some tension in a good way where I was pitching ideas, either a big campaign or one-off post, and a lot of them felt unorthodox for both the agency and client.?

And then conversely, I think the challenge and push for me was to think a little bit more critically and think about how I pitched my ideas in a way that will get people on board and have cross-functional buy-in, which has been really valuable for me because at BuzzFeed and Twitter I had a really long leash and free reign. If I wanted to go write something, I wrote it. And a lot of the time it would do well, but I didn't have to go through that rigorous pitch process and feedback loop. So it was a really great experience for me.?

There are a lot of opportunities for brands on social media. We have Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snap, TikTok, Threads, Reddit, X, YouTube. How should brands figure out where to show up on social media, knowing that many don’t have the bandwidth or resources to be everywhere?

I'm chronically online and I even struggle to keep up. I was a late adapter to TikTok and I still don't really post there that much, but I consume a lot in that space. What I would say to brands is that you do not need to be everywhere, on every channel. And I actually don’t think you should be. You need to consider what stories you want to tell and who you want to tell those stories to. And certain platforms are going to be more effective in both telling those stories and reaching those specific audiences. That requires a bit of figuring out what that is for you as a brand. But something that I think really resonated with me recently was a post from Rachel Karten where she talks about how she feels the brands that are doing social best right now are known by users for doing one thing really effectively. She brings up Duolingo and SSENSE , for instance, where they’re really known for that one ‘thing’ with consumers. You don’t need to be hitting home runs on every social channel. If you can be really effective and resonate with a core audience on one or two, I think that's way more valuable than spreading yourself super thin.?

What’s exciting you about social media marketing in 2024? Where's the biggest opportunity for brands to tap into social?

The democratization of content. And it's not just what content you make, it's who you make content for. It's who you make content with. It's really exciting seeing these smaller brands being the most innovative channels on social. That Chevy dealer in upstate New York, you know, the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation on Twitter. They're innovative and creating the most exciting content. Or even Marc Jacobs partnering with Nara Smith. For a certain community, she matters a lot, but a lot of users might not know who she is, yet she's partnering with one of the biggest names in fashion. To me, that’s awesome.

It's so exciting to see who is creating the most engaging content on social from a brand perspective and how innovative the thinking is. I think it really shows that creativity is rising to the top. It’s not necessarily about how much budget you have or how big your social staff is. It's really about how big are the risks you're allowed to take and how much leeway your team is given. It really proves if you trust your social team and your creatives, they're going to build the greatest moments on social, regardless of how big of a brand you are, how much your budget is, or how big of a name you're partnering with.?

What advice would you give to someone that wants to work in social media?

Connect with as many people as possible. I know that's really cliche, but follow people on LinkedIn. Follow exciting brands on social. Also, you don't need to have a strong personal social in order to be good at brand social. But I do push back at the idea that you can't be good at both, or that experimenting on a personal account can’t benefit your professional social work. I think a lot of what I put out on my personal channels just for fun has informed my brand work. Feel free to experiment.?

And figure out what excites you, what you want to be doing. There are so many specific roles for different brands and ways in to partner, whether it's as a creator or a freelancer or being on their agency team. I’m over ninjas, rockstars, and gurus. I think it’s way more exciting when you develop a skill set that feels unique and ownable to you. Expose yourself to as much as you can, because there are so many different paths out there.?

Rapid Fire Questions:?

What’s your favorite song right now? Not a song but the soundtrack from Challengers?

What’s the last book you read? Ways and Means by Daniel Lefferts, and Farrell Covington and the Limits of Style by Paul Rudnick

Who’s one person that everyone should go follow? Emma Apple Chozick (@gr8collab on TikTok)

If you could meet one person for coffee, who would it be? Ina Garten

What brand do you love following on social media? Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation on X, and Vacation Inc. sunscreen on Instagram and TikTok

What is one word you would use to describe 2024? It’s still “brat”