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What is Social Media For?
Rethink social media as an asset.
Jaime Solis
06 Jun
Welcome to Red Threads
It’s Friday and welcome to Red Threads–your insider guide to strategies and tools at the intersection of music, podcasting, marketing, AI, and culture.
"Come for the tool, stay for the network."
— Chris Dixon
Today we’re exploring the basics of social media that every builder should understand, and how “social” doesn’t have to be a hamster wheel; it can be adjusted to add real value to your work and projects.
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⏰ 1-Second Summary
The Red Thread: Why social media isn’t a 1:1 representation of your audience or customers, and how to build on owned land.
The Unlock: 3 mental reframes to use social media like a builder, not a hostage.
Creative Edge: A simple audit to check if you're building real audience assets (or just borrowing reach.)
Prompt Playground: AI prompt to analyze your platform risk and build an audience growth plan you control.
Industry Pulse: WTF Podcast ends, YouTube’s streaming movies & TV play, podcast ads outperform, superfans drive music growth.
Trending Tools: AI for creators, marketers, students, investors—and even your cat 🙂
Open Opportunities: New roles at Pandora, ESPN, RedBull Records, and more!
⏳Estimated read time: ~5 minutes
The Red Thread This Week
Social Media promised us connection, audience, and growth.
But the platforms were never built for us. They were built for advertisers. And the currency isn’t the quality of your experience on the platform—it’s your attention.
Every scroll, like, comment, and view feeds a machine that’s designed to maximize one thing: time-on-platform.
Not meaningful relationships. Not durable audience building. And certainly not your business outcomes.
If you aren’t paying for the product — you are the product.
As a result, creators and entrepreneurs often feel stuck in a loop:
Post more.
Chase engagement.
Hope the algorithm smiles today.
But this is rented land. The rules change anytime the landlord wants. And when that happens, your reach, revenue, and relationships are suddenly at risk.
The real work? Building on owned land.
Your email list.
Your podcast.
Your products and services.
Your private communities.
Social media can amplify your message. But it should never be the foundation you’re building your business on.
The Red Thread this week is a reminder to all builders wrestling with social media in their work, that these platforms serve themselves.
You job is to serve your audience.
Let’s dive in!
~ Jaime
🔑 The Unlock
3 Mental Reframes for Using Social Media Like a Pro Builder
1️⃣ Social Media is not your audience — it’s one flavor of distribution.
Algorithms decide who sees your work. That’s not an audience; that’s rented attention. Use social media to attract attention back to channels you control.
2️⃣ Viral ≠ Valuable.
A post going viral might feel good. But true value is built on consistency, trust, and depth. A loyal tribe of 500 people who know you, trust you, and buy from you is more powerful than 50,000 followers who barely engage.
3️⃣ Bigger isn’t always better.
Dunbar’s Law suggests we can only maintain meaningful relationships with about 150 people! This reminds us that real relationships don’t scale infinitely. Build for real, human relevance over pure reach.
Focus on the dozens or hundreds who care deeply—not the thousands who might casually click.
📌 Ask this every time you post: Is this moving me toward a more durable connection with my audience or customers?
💡 Creative Edge
The Rented Land Test
As you assess your current social media strategy, run this simple filter:
✅ Can I reach my audience if this platform disappears tomorrow?
✅ Do I know who my top 100 engaged supporters are?
✅ Am I collecting email, direct contact, or meaningful touchpoints?
✅ Is my business model increasingly platform-proof?
If you're answering no to most of these, you’re not building an asset yet.
You’re borrowing.
🎲 Prompt Playground
Test drive AI Today with This Week’s Challenge
Audit your social media strategy and design a smarter growth plan that builds owned audience assets.
Copy + paste the prompt below into ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity, fill in the blanks, and see what happens!
"You are my world-class audience strategist and digital media advisor. I want to build long-term audience growth for my [type of business or creative work].
My primary social platform right now is [platform name] and here is a link to my public profile [insert link].
My audience consists of [brief audience description].
My biggest goal over the next 6 months is to [primary growth goal].
I want you to analyze my current approach and design a simple, actionable plan that includes:
The top 3 risks of depending too heavily on [platform name]
3 quick-win actions I can take to start building owned audience assets (email list, community, etc.)
1 “insurance policy” move to reduce platform dependency over the next 90 days
Make the plan practical, clear, and easy to execute — assume I’m a solo creator or small business owner."
🎯 Try it with:
Type of business: Online fitness coaching
Platform name: Instagram
Audience description: 20-35 year olds looking for strength training programs
Growth goal: Build a paid membership community
✅ Bonus challenge:
Ask AI to also generate:
A lead magnet idea to help grow your email list
A sample DM outreach script to nurture new followers into subscribers
Reply to this email and send me your favorite result! I’ll send you my free AI prompting guide to help you unlock even more productivity and fun.
📡 Industry Pulse
Marc Maron’s WTF Podcast Ends After 16 years
Marc Maron reflects on the longevity of WTF as podcasting’s original interview series crosses 16 years.
Read more ›Goldman Sachs: Superfans drive emerging market growth
New forecasts highlight how superfans, pricing power, and developing markets will fuel music industry growth through 2030.
Read more ›Two-thirds of U.S. Consumers see YouTube as “realistic destination” for Movies & TV
YouTube’s new destination hub aims to compete directly with streaming platforms, pulling in viewers for both professional and creator-led longform content.
Read more ›Podcasting’s Advertising Advantage is Bigger than we Thought
New research from Tom Webster and Sounds Profitable shows podcasting is a powerhouse for advertisers in terms of recall, trust, and effectiveness.
Read more ›VNYL acquires Vinyl Me, Please
Record subscription platform VNYL has acquired competitor Vinyl Me, Please, with plans to reboot the brand and stabilize the struggling vinyl subscription business.
Read more ›How to Actually Sell Podcasts to Decision-Makers
JAR Audio has published an article going over the process of pitching podcast production to decision-makers who still need convincing.
Read more ›
🛠️ Trending AI Tools
WhatBreedIsMyCat? – Upload a photo, and AI identifies your cat’s breed instantly.
Bestever – Analyze your ad performance and generate unlimited creative variations. Built for marketers who want to scale what works.
EasyFin AI – AI-powered stock analysis for smarter investing. Get insights, not just data.
FourGPA – Study faster, ace exams, and boost your GPA with AI-led prep. Your shortcut to top grades.
Job GPT by 6figr – Automate job applications and apply in your sleep. Let AI send your resume to top listings and land multiple offers fast.
💼 Open Opportunities
📌 Know someone looking? Forward this to them!
⚡ Final Note
Want more Red Threads in your life?
You’ve got an idea. A message. A story worth telling. The only thing standing between you and your own podcast? Getting started.
That’s why I put together The 7-Day Podcast Challenge—a simple, step-by-step guide to getting your podcast live in a week. No fluff, no wasted motion. Just a clear path from idea to launch.
And thank you for spending time with Red Threads this week. I’m glad you’re here.
~ Jaime
P.S. My weekly Red Threads newsletter goes out every Friday. Move my emails to your primary inbox so you see the next edition!
P.P.S. Could you use some help with a project you’re working on? Let’s talk!
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