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What happens when you post a video every single day for 243 days and STILL can't break 1,000 views on TikTok?
Layton went from working as an electrician to building a successful personal brand, growing an audience of nearly 250,000 followers and securing brand partnerships with companies including Sony, DJI and Adobe.
But his success didn't happen overnight. He committed to posting content for 400 consecutive days, learning how to create better videos, build audience trust and turn social media attention into a profitable creator business.
Today, Layton helps entrepreneurs, founders and businesses master short-form video content, Instagram growth, storytelling and personal branding through online courses, workshops and brand collaborations.
In this episode of Building The Brand, Layton sits down with James Burtt to explain why most businesses get their content strategy wrong, why views don't necessarily equal sales, how to create engaging videos without expensive equipment and how he turned his content into multiple income streams.
He also shares the practical formula behind his viral videos, why brands should prioritise storytelling over selling, how to negotiate paid UGC and influencer brand deals, and why consistency is one of the most underrated tools in building a successful personal brand.
Connect with Layton:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/layton_video/
Want more from Building The Brand? Connect here:https://buildingthebrand.co.uk/newsletter
KEY MOMENTS:
0:00 — Posting 400 Days in a Row: The Reality of Building a Personal Brand
01:46 — Why Most Businesses Get Their Video Content Strategy Wrong
03:01 — Content Consistency vs Batching: How to Get Better at Making Videos
19:22 — Overcoming Camera Anxiety and the Fear of Posting Online
21:22 — 243 Days Without Going Viral: Why Persistence Builds Audience Trust
27:38 — How Businesses Can Create More Video Content In-House
30:13 — Monetising Your Personal Brand With Online Courses and Digital Products
35:15 — How to Get Brand Deals and Build Multiple Creator Income Streams
40:50 — How Consistent Content Builds Trust, Followers and Brand Awareness
45:11 — Brand Storytelling, Social Proof and UGC Marketing That Converts
51:45 — How to Negotiate Influencer Brand Deals, Fees and Usage Rights
54:26 — Do Talking Head Videos Still Work? Creating Authentic Content
01:04:30 — Finding Original Content Ideas and Avoiding Social Media Comparison
01:10:17 — How to Film Better Instagram Reels: The 15-Shot Video Formula
01:12:07 — Viral Videos vs Valuable Content: Building a Social Media Sales Funnel
01:22:35 — Instagram vs Email Marketing: What Actually Converts Into Sales?
01:30:43 — The One-Brick-a-Day Mindset for Building a Successful Business
Guy Phoenix builds £25M super homes for billionaires complete with shark tanks and helipads! The Channel 4 star reveals how he went from terraced houses to Monaco mansions.
How do you go from building standard terraced houses to building some of the most extravagant luxury homes in the world for billionaires? Guy Phoenix - luxury home builder, star of Building Britain's Superhomes on Channel 4, and founder of Guy Phoenix Luxury Developments - sits down with James Burtt for an unfiltered conversation on Building The Brand.
Guy doesn't call himself a builder. He calls himself an artist. In this episode he breaks down how the Guy Phoenix name became synonymous with luxury and extravagance over 20+ years, why he once built ONE super home on a plot where he could have built six houses, why a client paid him £50,000 just for a conversation, and why his future billionaire project will cost hundreds of millions.
You'll hear how his son Jack took the brand to another level with YouTube and TV in the last 3 years (90% of growth), his on-site design process with spray paint and string, 585 lighting circuits vs 23 in a normal house, six-figures-a-month interest bills, £300k planning fees, Monaco, Miami, Beverly Hills expansion, and his take on the UK property market, wealth exodus and tax.
If you want to understand luxury property development in the UK, how to build a personal brand in construction, and the mindset of the ultra-wealthy who buy Guy Phoenix homes - this is it.
KEY MOMENTS:
0:00 - How Guy Phoenix Accidentally Built a Luxury Brand
01:54 - I Am Not a Builder. I Am an Artist.
04:01 - Shark Tanks, Lagoons, Helipads & Football Pitches: Client Wish Lists
06:06 - How His Son Jack 10X'd The Business With YouTube & TV
0:40 - The Hundreds-Of-Millions Billionaire Super Home
12:23 - From Terraced Houses To £25M Mansions: The Stepping Stones
13:41 - Designing With Spray Paint & String: Guy's Process
27:02 - UK Wealth Exodus, Tax & Stamp Duty Truth 29:14 - Moving to Monaco: Why He's Relocating
30:50 - The £50,000 Chat & Hugh Grant Story: Fame & Clients
32:59 - Impenetrable Homes: Security For Billionaires
50:00 - 585 Lighting Circuits: His Lighting Superpower
51:00 - Hard Work, Resilience & Short Temper: Work Ethic
52:35 - Legacy: Homes That Live On After He's Gone
53:12 - Strip Billionaires Naked & They'd Get Rich Again: Wealth Mindset
Want more from Building The Brand? Connect here: https://buildingthebrand.co.uk/newsletter
Former Diary of a CEO Head of Trailers Ant Smith - one of the first 10 key hires who helped build the world's fastest growing podcast - reveals his short form content strategy for YouTube Shorts, TikTok and podcast trailers.
Ant goes full tactical on how to go viral short form. Ant made 450+ trailers for Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett, turning 90-second podcast trailer cuts into miniature movies.
In this episode of Building The Brand with James Burtt, he breaks down exactly how to grow a podcast with short-form: why disconnection kills retention, how to sell the guest in 10 seconds, the psychological effect behind cliff-hangers, eye-lines for retention, perfect imperfection cuts, and his ai video editing workflow that turned 4 hours into 20 minutes.
If you want podcast growth , a proven youtube shorts strategy and real storytelling psychology from inside DOAC, this is the playbook.
This is Ant Smith x Building The Brand Part 2 - more stories, all tactics. Perfect for podcasters, video editors, and founders using short-form to grow.👇
CHAPTERS - Diary of a CEO Short-Form Tactics:
0:00 — Hook: Why 90 seconds decides if they watch 2 hours
02:50 — Who is Ant Smith? Early DOAC hire to Head of Trailers
11:20 — He'd never heard of Steven Bartlett: joining Diary of a CEO
13:00 — Not a podcast, a show: the trailer philosophy that changed podcasting
29:40 — How Ant used AI in DOAC trailers (guest intros in 20 mins)
32:30 — Disconnection kills retention: the #1 retention rule
34:00 — Perfect imperfection: the authenticity cut that builds trust
38:00 — Quantity vs quality: AI for marketing teams
41:00 — Best AI tools for video creators (Artlist, Envato)
44:00 — Human-led ideas, AI for brutal feedback (Claude workflow)
46:00 — Psychology of cliff-hangers & the Zeigarnik effect
50:00 — Eye-lines for retention in YouTube Shorts
53:40 — Why story is king for brands and creator
Connect with Ant via https://www.linkedin.com/in/antedits/
Building The Brand hosted by James Burtt - new episodes weekly on business, podcasting & brand building. Subscribe for tactical breakdowns.
How do you help build one of the UK’s best-known challenger beer brands, walk away from the business you helped create and then start all over again in a completely different industry?
Hannah Williams helped build Tiny Rebel from a home-brewing experiment into a major independent brewery employing around 120 people, while acting as CFO and helping scale the company through rapid growth.
Today, she is CEO of the Alacrity Foundation, working with technology startups and entrepreneurs, while simultaneously building Lucky No.7 Coffee alongside her husband Mo.
And she’s doing it with many of the same principles that helped Tiny Rebel grow: move quickly, test the market, build a distinctive brand, surround yourself with great people and learn as you go.
In this live episode of Building The Brand from Ideas Fest, Hannah shares the entrepreneurial lessons behind building Tiny Rebel, launching a coffee brand, scaling a startup, building a team and creating a brand people actually remember.
Want more from Building The Brand?Connect here: https://buildingthebrand.co.uk/newsletter
In this episode, Hannah reveals:
How Tiny Rebel went from home brewing to employing around 120 people
Why they ignored advice that the business needed a traditional marketing budget and backed social media marketing instead
How Tiny Rebel hit its original three-year forecast within just nine months
Why Hannah believes naivety can sometimes be more powerful than confidence when starting a business
Why knowing when you are no longer adding value can be critical as a founder or senior leader
How simply asking successful entrepreneurs for help led to mentorship and advice from people behind businesses including Gymshark and Grenade
Why she hires for “will over skill” and believes attitude can be more valuable than experience
Why great businesses require partnerships, co-founders and complementary skill sets
How Hannah and Mo created the Lucky No.7 Coffee brand around their blended family of seven
Why Lucky No.7 used events to test its branding, products and customer response before expanding
Why moving into physical retail earlier than planned can sometimes create unexpected growth opportunities
How Hannah combines startup thinking, technology and ecommerce with a traditional physical product business
Hannah also explains the personal side of entrepreneurship: leaving Tiny Rebel after more than a decade, growing up around entrepreneurial parents, raising children around business and why financial success means less to her than creating experiences and making a difference to other people.
Lucky No.7 Coffee: https://www.instagram.com/lucky.no7coffee/
Alacrity Foundation: https://alacrityfoundation.co.uk/
Ideas Fest: https://ideasfest.uk/
Under The Canvas: https://underthecanvas.co.uk/
0:00 — From Tiny Rebel to Building Lucky No.7 Coffee
03:35 — How Tiny Rebel Started With Beer Brewed at Home
04:45 — Ignoring Traditional Marketing Advice & Betting on Social Media
05:25 — Hitting a Three-Year Business Forecast in Nine Months
06:30 — Why Naivety Can Be an Entrepreneurial Advantage
08:00 — Why Hannah Walked Away From Tiny Rebel
09:25 — How to Get Successful Entrepreneurs to Mentor You
11:00 — Knowing When You’re No Longer Adding Value to a Business
15:55 — “Will Over Skill”: Hannah’s Approach to Hiring Great People
22:00 — Why Entrepreneurs Need the Right Partner Around Them
26:45 — Building the Lucky No.7 Coffee Brand From Scratch
30:30 — Launching Into Retail Without a Traditional Business Plan
32:00 — Testing Your Brand Before Trying to Scale It
35:00 — Why Moving Too Early Can Sometimes Create Your Biggest Opportunity
36:25 — “Slow Down to Speed Up”: Balancing Momentum With Strategy
40:45 — Building a UK Coffee Brand Beyond Physical Stores
41:30 — AI Search, GEO & the Future of Ecommerce Discovery
43:25 — Why Hannah Never Feels Like She Has Done Enough
How do you build a £50 million business empire, operate more than 30 companies, employ 3,000 people and keep acquiring businesses without giving away equity to investors?
James 'Jimbo' Sinclair has spent his career buying businesses, building management teams, acquiring commercial property and turning struggling or overlooked companies into valuable assets.
Starting out as a teenage children’s entertainer and magician, James has built a portfolio spanning leisure attractions, childcare, food service, hospitality, commercial property and self-storage.
In this live episode of Building The Brand from Ideas Fest, James breaks down the business acquisition strategy, management systems and entrepreneurial mindset behind his £50m group.
Want more from Building The Brand?Connect here: https://buildingthebrand.co.uk/newsletter
Big thanks to our much-loved partners for this pod - go show them some love:
Ideas Fest https://ideasfest.uk/
Lucky No.7 Coffee https://luckyno7coffee.co.uk/
Under The Canvas https://underthecanvas.co.uk/
In this tactical breakdown, James reveals:
Why entrepreneurs should build a business to sell even if they never intend to sell it
His Entrepreneurship + Management = Success framework for scaling beyond the founder
The acquisition strategy he uses to understand a company before he even completes the purchase
Why he refuses to give away equity to investors but is comfortable using bank debt to grow
How content marketing has helped him recruit employees and find business acquisition opportunities
Why James believes a newsletter can generate more business value than a podcast or YouTube channel
How to identify businesses with protected leverage, strong margins and lower labour requirements
Why self-storage and commercial property have become increasingly attractive parts of his portfolio
Why grit can be more important than talent when building a successful business
The reality of cash-flow problems, losing millions and carrying responsibility for thousands of employees
James also opens up about the darker side of entrepreneurship: why success can become increasingly lonely, why his brain never switches off and why entrepreneurs often create new problems the moment everything starts going well.
This is a masterclass in how to buy a business, business acquisitions, scaling a company, entrepreneurship, business management, business growth strategy, content marketing and building wealth through business ownership.
James Sinclair: https://www.youtube.com/@jamessinclairspodcast
Ideas Fest: https://ideasfest.uk/
Lucky No.7 Coffee: https://www.instagram.com/lucky.no7coffee/
Under The Canvas: https://underthecanvas.co.uk/
Questions answered in this episode:
How does James Sinclair buy and grow businesses?
How do you scale a business without giving away equity?
Why should you build a business as if you are going to sell it?
How do entrepreneurs transition from operating a business to leading one?
KEY MOMENTS:
0:00 — Inside James Sinclair’s £50M Business Empire
03:40 — The Reality of Running a Business in the UK in 2026
06:00 — How James Chooses Businesses to Buy
08:25 — Why Your Business Needs Growth to Keep Great People
09:32 — Entrepreneurship + Management = Business Success
12:48 — The Businesses James Sinclair Has Bought This Year
13:12 — Build Your Business to Sell — Even If You Never Sell
17:03 — Why Entrepreneurship Gets Lonelier as You Scale
18:38 — Grit vs Talent: What Actually Creates Successful Entrepreneurs?
27:31 — James Sinclair’s Business Acquisition Hack Before Buying
29:08 — How Content Marketing Generates Deals and Recruitment
30:00 — Why James Refuses Investors but Uses Bank Debt
33:46 — Why Newsletters Can Beat Podcasts and YouTube for Business
38:47 — Why James Sinclair Is Investing in Self-Storage
43:56 — The Entrepreneur’s Curse: Why Happiness Can Feel Boring
45:55 — Losing Millions, Cash-Flow Problems and Building Resilience
47:16 — Does Building a £50M Business Actually Make You Happy?
How do you build a multi-million pound ecommerce brand without white-labelling, without forcing subscriptions, and without a big ad budget?
Tariq Kazemi, co-founder of BLD BRO, did it by building a community before he had a product. What started as an Instagram page to change the narrative around hair loss has become a 7-figure skincare brand for bald men, stocked in their own warehouse, funded by the community that asked for it.
Check our BLD BRO via https://bldbro.com/
This episode of Building The Brand goes beyond inspiration to break down how success is actually built.
Want more from Building The Brand? Connect here: https://buildingthebrand.co.uk/newsletter
In this tactical breakdown, Tariq reveals:
How to build a brand community that validates your product before you manufacture (the 90% matte vs shiny test)
Why BLD BRO refused to white-label and built a bespoke formula from scratch
How to launch a DTC brand building strategy on a 1,000-unit self-funded first order
The retention playbook: Why 50% repeat customers beats forced subscriptions
How a £1K budget Christmas ad ended up being a high-performing TV campaign that drove direct attribution
This is a masterclass in brand building strategy, how to build a community around an underserved niche, how to start a business uk the community-led way and business growth strategy for a physical product brand.
Questions answered in this episode:
How did Bald Bros build a community-led skincare brand?
How a to validate a product idea with your audience before launching?
How to build an ecommerce brand without paid advertising?
What is a community to commerce strategy for DTC brands?
Key Moments:
0:00 - Why This Bald Skincare Brand Became a 7-Figure Community
00:18 - How to Build a Brand From Community: The Bald Bros Origin Story
02:22 - From Hair Loss Anxiety to Brand Purpose: Tariq's 10-Year Journey
07:40 - Shaving His Head: The Moment That Built Bald Confidence
12:48 - The £8 Billion Hair Loss Industry Lie Every Founder Should Know
14:36 - Finding a Market Gap: Why No Skincare Existed for Bald Men
18:55 - App vs Physical Product: How to Choose Your First Business Idea
20:22 - How to Validate Your Product Idea With Your Community (The 90% Matte Test)
23:29 - Why We Didn't White Label: Building a Bespoke DTC Product
34:06 - Launch Day to Sold Out: How to Launch an Ecommerce Brand on 1,000 Units
47:31 - The Content Hire That Scaled Us: Hiring Jake Massey (Ex-LADbible)
53:01 - Bald Fest: How Community Events Build Brand Better Than Ads
57:36 - The £1K TV Advert That Drove Real Brand Awareness
How do you start an influencer marketing agency at 17 whilst battling stage three Hodgkin's lymphoma, scale it to 7-figures and sell it for millions by 24?
Suhit Amin did exactly that.
WATCH THE FULL PODCAST NOW ON YOUTUBE
In this episode, host James Burtt sits down with Suhit Amin, founder of Saulderson Media, to deconstruct the tactical playbook behind building an influencer marketing agency from scratch, winning clients with cold outreach on LinkedIn, doubling revenue with the right advisor, and navigating the full M&A process to a multi-million pound exit to Journey Further.
If you want to understand how to build an agency from scratch, how to sell your business in the UK, or how to turn cold outreach strategy into compounding revenue - this is your blueprint.
In This Episode You'll Learn:
How Suhit turned an MCN sub-network into a talent management business making £100k in 6 months at 16
The cold LinkedIn DM system he used when LinkedIn was quiet - and why manual reps beat automation early
Why talent management evolves into an influencer marketing agency for higher margins and scale
The exact M&A process: from teaser and information memorandum to 5 offers, due diligence, and the 24-hour wait for money to land
Why he chose a lower multiple from Journey Further over a higher US offer and what founders get wrong about business brokers and valuation
Connect with Suhit Aminhttps://www.suhitamin.com/
Want more from Building The Brand? Connect here:https://buildingthebrand.co.uk/newsletter
Key Moments:
0:00 - Introduction: How a 17-Year-Old Built a 7-Figure Influencer Marketing Agency
02:31 - Why Starting a Business Young Was Suhit Amin's Unfair Advantage
04:11 - From Gaming Videos to 37K Subscribers: Learning YouTube MCNs and Sub-Networks
07:04 - Why Talent Management Beat Being a Creator: Spotting the MCN Decline
09:40 - How to Start an Influencer Marketing Agency From Scratch With 5 Clients
15:35 - Cold Outreach Strategy That Worked: Turning LinkedIn DMs Into Revenue
19:25 - Consistency & Manual Reps: Why Volume Beats Automation When Starting Out
31:47 - Thinking Like a Founder: Why He Always Planned to Sell His First Business
37:18 - Doubling Revenue in 12 Months: How Advisor Simon Penson Restructured the Agency for Sale
44:15 - How to Sell Your Business: The Full M&A Process, Due Diligence & Keeping It Secret
53:54 - Choosing the Right Buyer: Why He Took a Lower Offer From Journey Further
01:04:03 - What Happens When the Money Lands: Telling the Team and Calling His Parents
01:26:14 - Battling Stage Three Hodgkin's Lymphoma at 16 While Starting a Business
01:36:26 - How Cancer Changed His View on Business, Risk and Resilience
In this show we answer:
What is this episode about? This episode of Building The Brand features Suhit Amin explaining how he built and sold a 7-figure influencer marketing agency (Saulderson Media) before age 25, detailing his cold outreach on LinkedIn, transition from talent management to influencer marketing, and the step-by-step process to sell a business including valuation, buyer outreach, and due diligence.
Who is Suhit Amin? Suhit Amin is a UK entrepreneur who founded influencer marketing agency Saulderson Media at 17, scaled it to over £100k revenue in six months, doubled revenue with consultancy Scaled, and achieved a multi-million pound exit to Journey Further - all after undergoing chemotherapy for Hodgkin's lymphoma at age 16.
How did Suhit Amin get clients for his influencer marketing agency? He used cold outreach on LinkedIn, identifying brands working with similar creators, connecting with marketing managers, and moving conversations from DMs to calls. He posted daily when LinkedIn was unsaturated and treated outreach like volume-based reps to learn what messaging converts.
How do you build a business from scratch with no assets, no backing and no safety net - twice?
In this episode of Building The Brand, Andrew Coulson shares his brutal, tactical business failure story and comeback. From packing sandwiches at 8 years old after his father’s breakdown, to walking out of school at 15 to become a commodity trader, to building a design agency to 45 staff by age 25 - and then losing it all when his bank pulled a £2.5m overdraft days before a £15M deal.
This is not a motivational story. It’s a playbook on how to rebuild after business failure, start again with nothing, and build a second business from his mum’s kitchen table.
Want more from Building The Brand? Connect here: https://buildingthebrand.co.uk/newsletter
Check out the very delicious Novo via https://novosnacks.com/
IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:
→ How to start a business with no money or qualifications - and why sales skill beats credentials
→ The scaling mistake that nearly killed a 45-person packaging design business
→ Why a £15M reverse takeover collapsed: the overdraft trap every UK founder must understand
→ What to do when you have no assets: how Andrew rebuilt from zero after losing everything
→ The gym floor strategy: how rescuing a failing gym rebuilt his momentum and network
→ How he became Head Judge for UK bodybuilding in 9 months - and spotted a gap in the market
→ How he built one of the first online coaching businesses (Body Coaches) - pre-Instagram, pre-OnlyFans - using video + subscription
Key Moments:
0:00 How do you build a business from scratch with no assets? Trailer
01:08 Who is Andrew Coulson? From packing sandwiches at 8 after his father's breakdown
02:45 How to start a business with no qualifications? Becoming a commodity trader at 15
05:30 How he scaled a packaging design business to 45 staff by 25 - then lost a £15M deal
07:40 Why did a £15M reverse takeover collapse a week before completion?
09:55 What happens when the bank pulls your overdraft?
12:30 How to rebuild after business failure with no money? Penny shares and the satellite dish edge
15:10 Sleeping on his mum's floor at 28: Starting again from the kitchen table
18:40 Why rescuing a failing gym was his best business move
23:15 How to become a UK authority fast: Becoming Head Judge for UK bodybuilding in 9 months
28:40 How to build an online coaching business from scratch? The first video subscription platform (Body Coaches)
33:00 How was the world's first protein crisp invented? The birth of Novo Nutrition
46:05 Novo vs Walkers: Can a challenger brand beat the UK's biggest crisp brands?
51:30 How to get into Tesco and Asda? The 72-hour packaging ultimatum that saved the product
59:01 Is work-life balance a myth for entrepreneurs? The
obsession behind building a brand
1:06:20 The true cost of success: Family, burnout and is the juice worth the squeeze?
1:19:50 Legacy over money: Why he's still chasing Tesco after 14 years
Can being £24,000 in debt become the foundation for building one of the UK’s fastest-growing personal finance brands?
Sammie Ellard-King is the founder of Up The Gains, a UK personal finance platform built around helping Britain get financially fit, and the founder of Gains App - a money management and fintech app designed to make budgeting, spending, cashback and everyday financial decisions simpler.
Connect with Sammie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sammieellardking/
Want more from Building The Brand? Connect here:https://buildingthebrand.co.uk/newsletter
In this episode of Building The Brand, Sammie explains how authenticity transformed his content strategy, why talking openly about his £24,000 debt sent social media views from thousands into the millions and how he built Up The Gains by making complicated financial education simple, relatable and entertaining.
He also breaks down the transition from content creator to fintech founder, including why the rise of AI made him question the long-term value of a founder-led media business and why he decided he needed to build a product that could exist without his personal brand.
KEY MOMENTS:
0:00 — From £24,000 debt to becoming a UK personal finance educator
03:00 — The psychology of overspending and trying to impress people
06:17 — The simple retirement calculation that changed his relationship with money
09:36 — Ronnie Scott’s, entrepreneurship and growing up around business uncertainty
16:17 — Becoming Head of Marketing at 24 while struggling with debt
22:06 — How GameStop and a WhatsApp group helped create Up The Gains
29:10 — Building a side hustle around a full-time job
35:20 — How personal storytelling turned thousands of views into millions
39:56 — Founder burnout: why eight productive hours can beat sixteen
43:40 — Why Sammie chose to build a fintech app instead of staying a content creator
47:55 — AI, personal brands and the risk of building a business around your own face
51:00 — How Gains App combines budgeting, bank accounts, cashback and AI
58:43 — Reaching 10,000 users in around two and a half months
1:00:04 — How a 13,000-person waitlist converted more than 7,500 users
1:05:04 — Freemium pricing, fintech economics and building towards profitability
1:09:24 — Choosing co-founders, organic growth and scaling customer acquisition
1:15:34 — The reality of launching a startup, delays, burnout and founder pressure
Can going viral actually grow your business… or are most brands chasing attention without knowing what to do with it?
Joel Macadar is the founder of 8original, a multi-award-winning social media agency that has generated more than half a billion organic views in the last 12 months.
In this episode of Building The Brand, Joel breaks down the social media strategy behind viral content, organic growth, TikTok marketing, Instagram content and turning online attention into real commercial results.
Connect with Joel Macadar:https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelmacadar/
Want more from Building The Brand? Connect here:https://buildingthebrand.co.uk/newsletter
He explains why brands destroy potentially successful content by over-controlling the creative process, how the “road to beige” turns social-first ideas into forgettable adverts and why 8original operates a post-first, feedback-afterwards model designed around speed rather than endless approval processes.
Joel also reveals why shares can be more valuable than likes or views, how his team connects TikTok virality with high-intent Google searches and why understanding the psychology behind a social media trend is far more powerful than simply copying whatever is currently going viral. Plus, the changing relationship between football, creators and traditional media - including Baller League, Cristiano Ronaldo, Erling Haaland and the rise of live, behind-the-scenes social content at major sporting events.
KEY MOMENTS:
0:00 — Social media strategy in 2026: what brands are getting wrong
02:17 — How to turn viral social media attention into revenue
07:23 — The “road to beige” that destroys great social content
09:23 — Why 8original posts first and gets client feedback afterwards
12:25 — Why shares can matter more than likes and views
16:28 — How TikTok virality can drive high-intent Google searches
23:26 — How to spot social media trends before competitors
40:02 — From football agent to building a social media agency
46:15 — Why live sports content is changing football media
54:38 — Baller League, content distribution and the power of speed
1:03:54 — Cristiano Ronaldo vs Erling Haaland: personal brand strategy
1:13:43 — How AI will change social media marketing
1:19:22 — Using ChatGPT and Claude for content creation and marketing
1:23:43 — How Push Play uses AI to automate content repurposing
1:27:16 — Scaling a founder-led agency by learning to step back
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