Australia is one of the first countries that has had likes removed from Instagram and Facebook. But, how has it changed their social media space? In this episode of Social Media Unlocked, I pick the brain and digital maven of Brisbane’s Lachlan Kirkwood. We dive into a like-less Instagram, personal branding, and practices that all employers should try on their employees about social media.

During the day, Christian 'CJ' Dear is Creative Producer for FOX innovating social media within their broadcast formats, and by night he's Co-Founder of PinkDear LLC. For the first time, we give people a look behind the curtain as to a conversation between 2 Co-Founders of a social media consulting agency, PinkDear LLC, which involves guidance, storytime, and the state of social media.

One of the biggest challenges that a brand must try to overcome is execution. On this episode, I interview my company's first client, Katie Wildhagen, Founder of The Bakeshop. Katie takes you through the journey to bringing her idea to life along with the mental and physical obstacles that she's faced along with the challenge of building a community that's based basically within social media.

Social media and sports have almost gone hand-in-hand since the beginning of Twitter. On this episode, I talked to a well-known Chicago sports personality who's seen it all when it comes to sports and media. Laurence Holmes is part radio host, part podcast creator/host, part professor, and other jobs I know I’m forgetting. I chat with Laurence on how his perspective of the evolution of social media in sports and he also provides interesting insights regarding how his students deal with social media.

It’s not everyday that a social media platform starts to be a main staple in popular, everyday culture. TikTok influencer and content creator Denver McQuaid joins Social Media Unlocked to share his thoughts on the popularity of TikTok, the power of the Generation Z on the platform, and how he creates his extremely creative content. If you haven’t heard of TikTok, all the more reason to learn about it because some of the successes can be applied across platforms.

Building a brand from the ground up these days is NOT easy. On this podcast, I chat with TMZ Senior Producer Nikki Hendry about not only how social media has affected TMZ..but also Nikki’s new food brand @ThatHangryGurl. We talk about what it takes to create a brand from scratch, the roadblocks, the fails, and even a few stories from Nikki and Heather’s past

Creating engaging communities can be tough, and it’s key for brand-influencer relationships. Amina Marie is a dominant influencer in the natural hair space, that’s truly been DIY with her social media career. In this episode, Amina navigates us through how she got her start to brand collaborations to building the type of community that brands are itching to have and more.

You can follow Amina on her natural hair journey on Instagram @aminamarina or YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/aminamarie. Also feel free to drop in and DM Heather on Instagram @heatherpink27 or @pinkdearllc.

It’s hard enough when you’re a brand selling 1 product. EA Sports has multiple games, different sports and all under the same social media umbrella. This episodes takes you behind the scenes of EA’s social media through the eyes of a Content Strategist, Matt Franciscovich. As more and more companies are producing content, Matt gives an inside perspective on the relationship between strategists and social media along with EA’s strategy on game promotion.

If you think everyone on Instagram over 100K followers is an influencer, think again. On this episode, Jordan Kahana talks about how rescuing 2 puppies has changed his life and social media landscape forever. Once helping to run social media for Pepsi and the NFL, he left his corporate job to head up the Adventure Squad and now Co-Founder of Staymo. We discuss the true differences between influencers and content creators, along with stories of his journey navigating through social media.

Follow Jordan & the Adventure Squad on IG: https://instagram.com/jordankahana/