Today we’re strolling on Grace Andrews's mind.

She’s the marketing genius behind the brand of Steve Bartlett and The Diary Of A CEO podcast.

Both brands have accumulated 8.7 million followers across all major social platforms.

And today, you’ll know all the nitty-gritty stuff about how Grace grew those names from zero to millions.

Understand Your WHY

I know, cliche right?

But she’s actually sharing some gold here.

Let me ask you this:

How many times are you dying to press the “skip” button or scroll past an ad on your feed?

Probably 99% of the time, right?

It’s because you don’t want the feeling of being sold.

As soon as you see a product online, your first reaction is to skip it.

And that’s the problem with most brands nowadays says Grace.

Now here’s the million-dollar question – how do you get them to care?

2 things: Emotion and Connection

You only get that by understanding your WHY.

Here’s an example:

Go to Redbull’s IG feed and you won’t see a single picture of just their product. There’s always some action going on.

They embody the saying “Don’t sell the plane ride, sell the vacation.”

Red Bull’s WHY is to create/give ENERGY to their fans.

One look at their feed and you’ll see that their posts are clearly aligned with their WHY.

Now why does this strategy work?

Because Red Bull isn’t outright selling you. They’re embedding something cool or a story in their posts.

Ok, so what’s the “why” for the Diary Of A CEO?

Can a podcast even have a WHY? 

Definitely.

“DOAC’s why is to inspire and motivate. And we place that why at the forefront of everything we put out.”

Triple Down On Video

Grace and the whole team have mastered the art of video content.

When you think about The Diary Of A CEO, you’re reminded of the captivating clips you’ve seen on your feed.

Luckily for us creators, Grace shared the different strategies they use to constantly engage their viewers.

A Juicy Hook

If you’re an avid reader of Brand Rising, you should know how important a hook is.

Grace said that the first 3 seconds of a clip are crucial. You need thumb-stopping content during those few seconds. 

The hook should be strong enough that it intrigues the mind of a viewer to pause on your clip and watch the whole thing.

Example 1:

• TikTok: 1.9M views

• Instagram: 1.00M views 

Hook: “At some point, you have to give up on people.”

A controversial statement. But it’s immediately countered by the guest. And now you’re hooked on the conversation.

Example 2:

• TikTok: 3.00M views

Hook: You’re presented with an image and it makes you guess.

You see a picture with Tupac in it and you’re asking who’s this Maxine?

You’re also intrigued about why Jada Smith is crying — does this picture mean something to her?

And your instinct is already pushing you to know the backstory behind that picture.

In a split second, you’re already asking all those questions in your head. 

The result? You’re hooked to watch the whole thing.

Example 3:

• TikTok: 4.5M views
  

Hook: (Oh cmon! You already know why this worked!)

The guest talked about how something almost killed her and another thing about men’s d*cks! 

Story Arc

Hooks are great but they ain’t all that.

Creators are so obsessed with hooks and wonder why their retention is so bad.

If you’re experiencing the same thing, Grace has the solution for you.

She suggests that you implement a story arc.

The story arc should contain three elements: 

• Beginning

• Middle

• End

Let’s dissect the story arc in these viral videos.

 Clip 1:

Clip 2:

ABT – ALWAYS BE TESTING

The chances of your content popping online are slim to none if you’re not willing to do some tests.

I’ve been telling people on X that growth is both an art and a science.

Whatever you’re posting on social media, you’re at the mercy of its algorithm. And the algorithm is always changing.

But it’s not just that – the people’s taste on that platform changes as well.

Some content doesn’t work on IG but does great on YouTube. There are clips that will pop off on TikTok but will only get ¼ of those views on IG.

If you’re always testing, you’ll eventually know what’s going to work.

And Grace found out that…

• Work-life balance, career, and entrepreneurship do great on LinkedIn.

• Health (mental and physical) content works well on Instagram.

• Well on TikTok…anything can happen there.

“Experimentation is key to growth.”

Their team is testing stuff all the time.

Every content they publish always has an element that they’re testing out.

It’s a joy to see their content because you know that behind the scenes, they’re testing some type of visual or audio element here.

They’re very well aware that what works now might not work in the next 6 months – because again, the algorithm and the viewers’ tastes often change.