Time Ghosts

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And apologies for the one day delay on this edition. I had a branded piece go up yesterday for Canva (check it out !)

I have not been shy in my opinion that electing a convicted felon with a sentencing hearing this month is a bad idea, but it also shows how many strange, new 'big feelings' existed around this election.

One candidate with 110 days to mount a campaign.

The first major presidential candidate who is a woman of color.

Two candidates with a sub-50% approval rating.

One candidate who tried to overturn the results of the previous election.

Elon paying voters millions of dollars to like his guy.

Billions in campaign donations from shady billionaires and corporate overlords.

And with all of these huge emotional triggers, we are confronted with the biggest potential landmine or accelerator of social growth:

The Zeitgeist.

German for 'time ghost'.

And as a proud American and recovering comedian, I will stick to the English: 'time ghost'.

Time ghosts are the vibes of how everyone feels at this very moment.

And if you've developed a strong fanbase with a clear POV, moments of pronounced time ghosts are a moment to give your audience exactly what it wants and needs.

Sesame Street is currently nailing it.

Sesame Street's social media is most likely consumed by college-educated urban parents of young kids (Millennials) who deeply care about their kids' education and emotional growth.

If you look at how that demo voted, they're far more likely to be bummed right now than celebrating in the streets.

So what did Sesame Street do to address these time ghosts?

They focused their content on Elmo preaching kindness and presence.

The result? Over 100k reactions on a channel that usually averages around 10k.

They understood the time ghosts and gave them exactly what they needed, funneled through their brand.

And, because Sesame Street is a brand for everyone, they didn't mention specific distressing moments in the world. They just focused on the message: be kind.

They didn't alienate anyone, but knew what their core demo needed to hear.

My mission for you, especially this week, is to analyze your audience and think about what they may want to hear right now through the lens of your brand.

Is it a time for grace? Revolution? Celebration? Comedy?

Then, think about a post that can nail the time ghosts your audience may want to hear from.

That took 2 minutes. You have 8 minutes left. Wipe off that ectoplasm and grow 1% right now!

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About the Author

Phil Ranta, is the COO of Fixated , a content and gaming studio building IP around creators, a LinkedIn Top Voice in Innovation & Tech, and has been creating content for the internet and building internet businesses professionally for nearly 20 years, starting on MySpace and riding trends to the present. He was the Head of Gaming Creators, North America at Facebook, the first network lead at Fullscreen, the COO at Studio71, and spent 10 years as a working comedian (including 2 years on cruise ships). He's a husband, a dad of two littles, and an insufferable digital media wonk.

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