This afternoon we were treated to a super-charged session by Steve Bartlett, co-founder of Social Chain.
Social Chain is Europe’s largest influencer marketing agency behind some of the Internet’s biggest memes. Somewhat impressively, the average age of the team is just 21 years old. It has grown into a business that runs and influences social channels with a reach of over 70 million, delivering campaigns to people around the world in just one click.
One thing’s for sure: they know how to get content trending in record time.
To highlight this power, Steve told us about Rex Secco, a hoax implemented by Social Chain in the run up to the Soccerex Global Convention. The team orchestrated a rumour that Arsenal had signed the unheard-of 16-year-old Rex Secco for £34million. It started trending within 15 minutes.
The big reveal: @TheSocialChain tell #Soccerex they cooked up #Arsenal wonderkid – & social phenomenon – ‘Rex Secco’ https://t.co/f91cgluHXu
— Soccerex (@Soccerex) September 7, 2015
Steve’s key to success? Ultimately you need to tap into something people want to talk about. It’s all about finding the right engaging content to capture people’s attention and encourage discussion. Trends need an inherently obvious meaning that don’t require copious amounts of instructions. That’s how to create a real social trend.
