How much does a social show cost?

A tactical guide to serialized content.

You can learn a lot about the state of social media by looking at job descriptions. Lately, I’ve noticed a new word popping up in marketing roles: showrunner.

A showrunner is a job you’d typically find on a television production. They lead both the creative and management of a series. They steer the show’s ship. So what are they doing at a brand?

In the past few years, we’ve seen companies like Bilt, Spotify, InStyle, Anti-Recidivism Coalition, Alexis Bittar, and more greenlight social shows. These are recurring series, sometimes on independent accounts, that stick to a specific plot or format. With this, comes showrunners. Both Jonathan Borge at InStyle and Cyrus Ferguson at Bilt include “showrunner” in their Instagram bios.

The platforms are incentivizing this style of content too. Instagram launched a new “Series” feature. TikTok built an ad product specifically for microdramas. YouTube announced a way for creators to organize their videos into seasons and episodes.

As brands and platforms build more infrastructure around social shows, I wanted to get a bit more tactical on the topic. How long does it take to film a season? What mistakes have brands made? How much does it cost?

Below you’ll find:

• The algorithmic benefits of a social show

• A conversation with the creative behind @Life100

• Five rules for creating a series

• How to budget for your brand’s social show

Plus four post formats to try this week, details from Away on their delightful collab with Amtrak, and more.