Podcast Summary

Do This, NOT That: Marketing Tips with Jay Schwedelson

SPECIAL SERIES: The $5 Social Surge | BATHROOM Break #84 COLLAB: The Marketing Millennials + Do This, Not That

Release Date: December 1, 2025

Host: Jay Schwedelson (Do This, NOT That, subjectline.com)
Guest: Daniel Murray (The Marketing Millennials)

Episode Theme:

Maximizing Social Media Going Into 2026 — Actionable Insights and Strategies
In this fast-paced special “Bathroom Break” edition, Jay Schwedelson and Daniel Murray break down their top five takeaways from a year of experimenting with social media — and what strategies will matter most as we head into 2026. With practical anecdotes and a playful tone, they explore what's working, what to leave behind, and how to unlock the true potential of modest social media budgets.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power of LinkedIn Commenting

• Daniel’s Insight: Commenting on LinkedIn—particularly on company pages—has emerged as a high-impact growth lever since LinkedIn launched impression metrics for comments.
• Best Practices:
  • Don’t post generic comments (“good job” or “thanks” aren’t enough).
  • Comments should be thoughtful, funny, or provocative—“basically, testing for future posts.”
  • Engaged comments drive impressions and follower growth, especially for company accounts.
• Quote:

  "The power of commenting on LinkedIn... actually grew the Marketing Millennials LinkedIn page way more than if I just posted in-feed posts." — Daniel Murray [02:58]

2. Micro-Budget Boosting: The $5 Social Surge

• Jay’s Insight: Putting even tiny amounts of money behind your best-performing organic content can make it take off exponentially, thanks to social platforms incentivizing new advertisers.
• Platform Examples:
  • YouTube: $5 can amplify a video with some traction.
  • Instagram/LinkedIn: Boost-budget sweet spot is under $50.
• Actionable Tip: Only boost posts that already show clear organic momentum.
• Quote:

  "You can put the smallest amount of money... and you will see [content] take off exponentially. These platforms are trying to onboard as many ad clients as they can." — Jay Schwedelson [04:10]

3. The Growth of Short-Form Video (and How to Make It Work)

• Daniel’s Perspective: Short-form video is dominant and will only get bigger in 2026 (Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts). Content needs to be designed for shareability.
• Formula for Success:
  • First 3 seconds = critical hook.
  • Storytelling matters.
  • Include a call-to-action or a loop to keep audience engaged.
• Testing for Virality: Design posts for sharing in direct messages, group chats, or Slack channels.
• Quote:

  "When you're thinking about doing reels or YouTube Shorts, you have to think about — is this going to be shared in the DMs? Is this going to be shared in Slack channels?" — Daniel Murray [05:28]

4. Only Boost Winners, Never Losers

• Jay’s Takeaway (inspired by Gary Vaynerchuk):

  • Never spend budget trying to "fix" or amplify underperforming content—focus only on what’s already working.

• Counterintuitive Email/Social Crossover:

  • It's not just about getting social followers onto your email list; reverse works too.
  • Use newsletters and emails to drive traffic to social: e.g., embed a hero image that links to a special social post and prompt subscribers to interact there.

• Quote:

  “We would put paid dollars behind content that didn't do well... losers are losers for a reason, whether you like it or not. Amplifying winners is secret sauce.” — Jay Schwedelson [07:07]

  “It’s bringing people from our email databases to then follow us on social and it's getting those social posts to do really, really well.” — Jay Schwedelson [07:27]

5. Build "Owned" and "Rented" Audiences — and Bridge Platforms

• Daniel’s View:
  • Email is still your owned audience, but don’t neglect the importance of being present on multiple platforms.
  • If one platform goes away, you'll want to be omnipresent; some people won’t open your emails but might see your social.
• Quote:

  "I always say rented and owned audience... You as important are people getting off your list, it's as important to nurture the community on the platforms you have." — Daniel Murray [08:00]

6. Stories & DMs: Using Instagram Stories for Off-Platform Engagement

• Daniel’s Tactic:
  • Use Stories not just to click links but to spark DM conversations (e.g., “DM me a word and I’ll get back to you” for private events).
  • More responses to your Stories = algorithmic boost; they’ll get shown more in feeds.
  • Use automation tools (like ManyChat) to help field DM volume if needed.
• Quote:

  “The more people reply to your Instagram Story, the more people get fed your Instagram Story and more people see it.” — Daniel Murray [09:20]

Bonus: Lighthearted Holiday Banter

• The hosts exchange relatable, humorous anecdotes about holiday shopping, Black Friday chaos, and their personal quirks (e.g., hoarding baby clothes for cute photos, procrastinating on sock purchases).

• Memorable Exchange:

  "I don't think there's a worse investment than baby clothes because, terrible. You buy it and then within 60 days, your baby's too big for them." — Jay Schwedelson [01:35]
  "It's just for the pictures. It's not for anything else." — Daniel Murray [01:46]

• Jay’s tongue-in-cheek call to action:

  “If anybody wants to send me DMs [of Black Friday brawls], I think that is the downfall of humanity... I encourage people fighting over weird stuff... dive on it and curse at other people.” — Jay Schwedelson [10:43]

Key Timestamps for Core Segments

• [02:54] — Daniel on the LinkedIn commenting strategy
• [04:00] — Jay on micro-budget social boosting
• [05:16] — Daniel on short-form video shareability
• [06:21] — Jay on boosting winners, not losers, and driving email > social
• [07:47] — Daniel on building both “owned” and “rented” audiences
• [08:44] — Daniel on leveraging Stories and driving DMs for engagement
• [09:33-11:00] — Holiday shopping banter and audience engagement CTA

Takeaways for 2026 Social Media Success

• Lean into platform features (commenting, stories, video) that boost authentic engagement.
• Be fiercely selective: amplify only content that’s already winning organically.
• Think cross-channel: drive your email list to social and vice versa; maximize audience touchpoints.
• Use modest budgets to test and scale winning content.
• Double down on content designed for shareability and conversion, especially via video and Stories.
• Keep the tone human and relatable—audiences respond best to authenticity and community-building.