Behind the Post

Let’s get real: Personal branding might sound like a buzzword, but for B2B social media managers, it can make or break your next opportunity. In this episode of Behind the Post, we’re joined by none other than B2B Social’s Rising 30 star Chloe Maguire, the powerhouse behind Leapsome’s explosive social and community growth, including a jaw-dropping 2700% increase in impressions in one month. (Yep, you read that right.)

Chloe shares how social pros can find (and reclaim) their voice outside of brand guidelines, get past the fear of being “cringe” online, and stop over-curating every LinkedIn post. She breaks down how to develop a tone that feels real, set realistic goals for content creation, and design a LinkedIn profile that actually works for you, even if you only have an hour to spare.

Whether you’re a social media manager just starting to think about your personal brand or you're ready to take it to the next level, this episode is full of real talk, relatable advice, and tactical steps you can take today to build a brand that opens doors, and still feels like you.

Hot Topics:

• Why social media managers need to build a personal brand (even if they don’t want to)

• How to find your unique tone when you’ve been writing in your company’s voice all day

• The best way to overcome the fear of judgment when posting on LinkedIn

• Quick wins to upgrade your LinkedIn profile in under an hour

Need to get your hands on more tips, lessons, and advice from our B2B Social’s Rising 30 cohort of 2025? Get inspired in one click.

Over the years, we’ve collected the real questions B2B social media marketers are asking, the kind that rarely get asked out loud. So we brought on someone who’s been in your shoes and has the receipts to prove it: B2B Social’s Rising 30 star and Talkdesk’s Head of Social, Jordan Tenenbaum.

In this episode, Jordan gets real about the biggest questions social media marketers are asking right now, from proving pipeline and getting buy-in, to setting boundaries and building your personal brand without burning out. He’s been in your shoes and he’s got stories, scripts, and answers that actually help. 

Whether you're advocating for your budget, building trust with sales, or trying to grow your career, you’ll walk away with tactics you can use this week.

Hit play for copy you can steal, slides you can pitch, and a pep talk you’ll replay before every 1:1.

Hot Topics:

• How to use AI across your workflow (and still sound human)

• Linking social to pipeline, budget, and exec buy-in

• Career growth tips: from getting promoted to building your LinkedIn presence

• How to ask for raises and promotions, and get a “yes”

• Avoiding burnout: setting boundaries that actually work

If you’ve ever wondered how memes fit into a serious B2B social strategy, or if they even should, this episode is your crash course. Joining us is Ilan Fisher, Digital Content & Global Media Manager at Team8 and one of B2B Social’s Rising 30 Stars for 2025. With a background that spans politics, tech, and startup growth, Ilan has a unique perspective on blending culture with content.

From spotting trends before they hit the mainstream to deciding if a meme aligns with your brand’s goals and risk tolerance, Ilan shares the exact tactics he uses to keep content fresh and relevant. He walks us through his four go-to sources for early meme discovery (spoiler: LinkedIn isn’t one of them), explains how to “wink” at trends without going all-in, and reveals the golden rule for knowing when you’ve missed the moment.

We also get into the art of securing leadership buy-in for edgier content, the nuances of tailoring humor across platforms, and why sometimes posting a meme three months late is actually genius. Whether you’re just dipping your toes into meme marketing or already have a folder full of saved templates, this episode will have you rethinking your content calendar, and maybe even your approval workflows.

Hot Topics:

• The four best places to spot trending memes early

• How to decide if a meme is worth the risk for your brand

• The “three-day rule” for posting memes (and when to break it)

• Tips for getting leadership on board with bold, cultural content

Social media managers, buckle up: this episode is packed with tactical takeaways, creative campaign inspo, and a healthy dose of real talk from someone who's been in the trenches.

Vania Degenhardt joins us Behind the Post to take us deep into her content creation process from audience-first thinking to platform-specific strategy.

She breaks down how to craft content that resonates with multiple personas, shares the anatomy of a high-performing campaign (like an employee-driven pet costume contest that crushed engagement), and explains how to tailor content to fit each platform’s unique user experience.

We also get into why your employees are your secret weapon on social, how to inspire advocacy without forcing it, and yes, we go there on the “links in comments” debate.

And if you’ve ever had someone question your expertise just because they have a Facebook account, this one’s for you. Vania closes with a powerful reminder of your value as a social pro.

Hot Topics:

• How to create content for different personas, without burning out

• Why understanding platform UX is key to performance

• A behind-the-scenes look at an employee-driven campaign that crushed engagement

• When to actually put the link in the comments (and when not to)

• How to empower employee advocates without forcing them

Hilary Engel has been there, posted that. In this episode of Behind the Post, she brings over a decade of digital marketing expertise to tackle the spiciest social media debates in B2B. From whether hashtags are dead (spoiler: mostly) to if timing your posts still matters (it does), Hilary drops fire takes with zero fluff.

Currently a solo social team of one at the global law firm, Faegre Drinker, Hilary shares how she handles it all, from writing posts to running social training across 1,200+ professionals. Her POV? Social isn’t just a marketing function, it’s a full-blown strategy that deserves the same respect as any other business unit.

You’ll also hear Hilary get candid about the mental load of community management, why follower count means nothing without engagement, and what she wishes every department understood about social media managers (hint: it's not just scrolling all day).

If you’re managing social solo, stuck in the “just for branding” mindset, or trying to win debates at your next team meeting, this episode is your cheat sheet.

Hot Topics:

• Hilary’s spicy (and smart) takes on hashtags, CTAs, and follower count

• The real reason timing still matters, even in 2025

• How to gracefully exit platforms that no longer fit your strategy

• What every non-social team needs to know about your job

Hit play to hear a social media manager who really gets it. Then go take that breather, you’ve earned it.

You’ve launched your employee advocacy program. Engagement is high, advocates are sharing, and the buzz is real. But then… comes the motivation dip.

In this episode of Behind the Post, we’re joined by Matt Churchill, the Social Media and Content Manager at AVEVA, to talk about what happens after the initial hype fades. Matt unpacks how his team recognized when their program was coasting and the smart moves they made to reset, re-engage, and reignite interest across the organization.

From stakeholder education and tone-of-voice testing to gamification and the magic of micro-communities, Matt shares exactly how they’re turning quiet participants into energized advocates. 

Whether you're mid-cycle in your own program or just planning ahead, this episode is full of ideas you’ll want to borrow.

Hot Topics:

• What the “motivation dip” is and how to overcome it

• The metrics Matt’s team uses to track success and spot red flags

• How they’re using gamification and regional champions to spark engagement

• Why building an internal community is their next big move

What do you get when you mix employee advocacy with the World Cup? 

A social media competition so engaging that even the self-proclaimed “I’m not a social media person” types are asking to join in.

In this episode, we go Behind the Post with Gustavo Mazzocchi, Global Social Media Manager at BioCatch, who takes us on a wild ride through the Social Media World Cup, an 11-month internal employee advocacy competition. 

From dramatic football-themed announcements (yes, an actual football was thrown during the CMO’s company kickoff presentation) to gamified incentives and tiers like “lucky strikers” and “team players,” Gus shares the structure and strategy that got over half the company involved.

Once your employee advocacy program is off the ground, competitions like this are the secret to keeping momentum high, participation strong, and your people genuinely excited to post. 

If you're looking for creative ways to ignite advocacy and keep your employees posting week after week, this one's for you.

Hot Topics:

• How to gamify employee advocacy (and keep it fair + inclusive!)

• Why themed competitions spark engagement (and how to plan them)

• Tips to turn that “I’m not a social media person” into your next top advocate

• How BioCatch tracks success with 200+ active advocates across regions

Social media is all about experimentation, but how do you know what actually works?

In this episode, Jasmine Deo, Senior Digital Marketing Manager at Grant Thornton Australia, joins us Behind the Post to share how her team uses A/B testing to improve social performance by 1% every week – small changes that lead to big results over time.

Jasmine walks us through how her team plans and executes A/B tests, from brainstorming sessions to analyzing the data. She shares real-life experiments they’ve conducted, including how a simple color change on a CTA button led to higher engagement.

She also dives into how algorithm shifts impact testing strategies, why testing small tweaks can be just as powerful as large-scale changes, and how brands can balance experimentation with maintaining a strong brand identity.

Hot Topics:

• How to structure A/B tests for better results
• Real examples of small changes that made a big difference
• What the 1% challenge is and how it builds long-term success
• How to adjust testing strategies as platform algorithms change

A new B2B marketing book is hitting the shelves, and we sat down with one of the co-authors for an exclusive sneak peek!

In this episode of Behind the Post, we’re joined by Colin Day, co-author of The Social B2B Organization and Managing Director EMEA of Oktopost.

Colin pulls back the curtain on what it really means to be a social-first B2B organization – from embedding social into your company culture to aligning teams and proving ROI. He shares insights straight from the book, including how B2B buyers have changed, why employee advocacy is a must-have and the key metrics that tie social engagement to revenue.

If you’re serious about using social media to build relationships, drive revenue, and future-proof your strategy, this episode, and book, is for you.

The Social B2B Organization hits shelves on March 25, 2025! Pre-order your copy and check out exclusive resources here. 

Hot Topics:

• • Why social media is a business strategy—not just a marketing tool
  • How to build a social-first culture that aligns marketing, sales, and customer success
  • The biggest mistake companies make with social, and how to fix it
  • Proving the impact of social on pipeline, revenue, and business growth

If you’re a social media manager, one skill you’ll always need is knowing how to measure success. Because if you’re not looking at the data, how do you know what’s actually working?

In this episode of Behind the Post, we sit down with Agnes Bakondi, the Social Media Manager at intelliflo, who’s all about proving social media's impact with analytics. She shares the key metrics she tracks, how often she checks in on performance, and how she turns raw data into smarter content decisions.

She explains how she’s made reporting effortless by setting up bite-sized, automated reports that keep her team in the loop without extra work. We also discuss how she spots trends, adapts to algorithm changes (without the panic), and why reviewing her analytics regularly sets her employee advocacy program up for success.

And if you’re thinking about running a pilot for advocacy? She squeezed in some quick, actionable tips to get you started. 

Hot Topics:

• Why she doesn’t like the term “vanity metrics”

• Her must-track metrics for monitoring their performance

• How often she checks analytics (and how she reports on them)

• Using data to tweak content and optimize campaigns