Coffees & Content | Marketing, Social Media & Digital Strategy Podcast

Your competitors can copy your product, your pricing, your website and your content. There's one thing they'll never be able to copy, and most small businesses aren't using it.
This week I'm joined by Britt Austin, founder of State of Brand. Britt has spent 18 years building brands at Chobani, EA Sports, Apple, Rebel, Puma and Who Is Elijah. She's launched a yoghurt brand from the back of a fridge van, helped drive Puma's running comeback, and now helps founders build brands people obsess over.
In this episode we cover:
The one thing your competitors can't copy, and how to use it
Why your brand is what your customer thinks, not what you think
The one-sentence test every brand and founder needs to pass
The step most businesses skip, and why it leaves them guessing
Why one spray of perfume beats ten ads
Why reach from trends is rented, not earned
Why Britt would choose a creator with 500 followers over one with 500,000
Your homework for this week
If your brand feels like it blends in with everyone else's, this one's for you.
Find Britt:
Britt on IG: https://www.instagram.com/brittaustin/
State of Brand on IG: https://www.instagram.com/stateofbrand.co/
https://www.statesofbrand.com/
Have a question? Click here to send it to me!
Links:
Follow on Instagram: @loren.thesocialcollective
Find Loren on LinkedIn: Loren Tomlinson
Visit us at: www.thesocialcollective.co.nz
Loved this episode? Leave a review - it would mean the world!

Grab that morning cup of coffee, because this one's a little different, it's live from The Social Summit Sydney.
I got to host the final panel of the day, Viral by Design: Building Brands That Break Through, with three women who've each cracked vitality in completely different ways: Lia Georgiantis from Girls with Gems and Sneaky Link, Sarah Forrai from Contour Cube, and Isabella Lynden from VIVE Management.
We got into what actually happens after a piece of content goes viral, because getting the views was never the hard part. In this episode:
Sarah's "hook trifecta" and how she reverse-engineers vitality from content that's already working
What happened the morning Kendall Jenner posted about Contour Cube, and what they did in the 48 hours after to actually capitalise on it
Lia's $99 "boob job tank" and why she believes a great product without marketing is basically nothing
Why Lia filmed an entire fake trip to Europe before AI made that easy, and why it worked
How Isabella decides which creators have real staying power versus a single viral moment
The uncomfortable truth about Meta ads: "if you think other people are killing it on ads, they're probably petrified too"
Why copying a competitor's viral moment is the fastest way to kill your own brand's identity
The line every founder on this panel repeated: nail your founder story, then don't be afraid to repeat it
If you've ever had a piece of content take off and had no idea what to do next, or you're stuck trying to reverse-engineer someone else's success instead of building your own, this conversation is for you.
Have a question? Click here to send it to me!
Links:
Follow on Instagram: @loren.thesocialcollective
Find Loren on LinkedIn: Loren Tomlinson
Visit us at: www.thesocialcollective.co.nz
Loved this episode? Leave a review - it would mean the world!

Just back from Sydney, recording this two days out from The Social Summit while it's all still fresh. Audio only this week, and it's the honest download.
We flew over, took the signage, the cameras and the mics, hosted the networking drinks and closed out the day with the final panel. This episode is what I brought home with me.
What we're covering:
Why the rooms that scare you are the ones worth walking into, and what showing up at that first conference actually turned into
What three founders with repeat viral moments know that most brands don't
AI, strategy, and the line between the two
Paid or organic: which lever to pull, and when pulling the wrong one too early tanks the whole thing
The market research step nearly everyone skips
What's coming next on the podcast, including Britt Austin from State of Brand
Hit play, and follow the show so next week's episode lands in your feed.
Come say hi on Instagram @coffeesandcontentpod, tell us who you want to hear from next.
Have a question? Click here to send it to me!
Links:
Follow on Instagram: @loren.thesocialcollective
Find Loren on LinkedIn: Loren Tomlinson
Visit us at: www.thesocialcollective.co.nz
Loved this episode? Leave a review - it would mean the world!

Leads slow down. Proposals stall. And we start convincing ourselves that our whole strategy is broken. In the first ever episode recorded at TSC Studios, I'm unpacking what's really happening when business feels quiet, and why our instinct to scroll social media for answers usually makes it worse.
In this episode we'll chat through:
Why turning to social media in tough moments turns into comparison, not inspiration
The difference between an actual strategy problem and a confidence problem
Why the "highlight reel" we're comparing ourselves to is hiding a much messier reality
What to do instead when things feel tough
If you've ever panicked when the leads went quiet, this one's for you.
🎧 Listen now and follow along for more from inside our brand new studio.
Have a question? Click here to send it to me!
Links:
Follow on Instagram: @loren.thesocialcollective
Find Loren on LinkedIn: Loren Tomlinson
Visit us at: www.thesocialcollective.co.nz
Loved this episode? Leave a review - it would mean the world!

Every founder and marketing manager I talk to hits the same wall eventually. It's not budget. It's not trust. It's not even whether outsourcing is the right call. It's simply not knowing what's actually missing before they go and hire.
In this episode, I'm unpacking:
Why "should I get help" is the wrong question, and what the real one is
The difference between needing strategy and needing execution, and why most people can't tell which one they're short on
Why hiring one person to do it all almost never works, and what to look for instead
A real story from my own business, including the hire that taught me the hard way why senior and junior support need to be separated
A simple gut-check for figuring out what your business needs before you write the next job ad
If you've ever felt like you have too much on your plate but couldn't put your finger on exactly what to hand off, press play.
Follow @coffeesandcontentpod for more, and find me at @loren.thesocialcollective.
Have a question? Click here to send it to me!
Links:
Follow on Instagram: @loren.thesocialcollective
Find Loren on LinkedIn: Loren Tomlinson
Visit us at: www.thesocialcollective.co.nz
Loved this episode? Leave a review - it would mean the world!