Rachel Karten, Link in Bio

💭 Thoughts on the best martini olives, inspiration vs comparison, and the importance of a voiceover focused social media approach.

Rachel Karten is a social media consultant and author of the social media industry newsletter Link in Bio. She has worked in social media for over 10 years and previously led the social media team at Bon Appétit and Epicurious. Since leaving Condé Nast in 2020, Karten has been consulting on social media strategies for brands like CAVA, west elm, and more. Her newsletter Link in Bio has over 60,000 subscribers and is a top 10 business newsletter on Substack. She basically lives on the internet so you don’t have to.

🎯 Current focus

One of my favorite series in my newsletter Link in Bio is "The Link in Bio Guide to _____". They are essentially huge guides on topics like freelance social and goal setting. The next one is all about getting a job in social media. It will break down how to build a portfolio, red flags to look for in job descriptions, negotiation tactics, and more. Really excited for it to come out.

📚 Kyle Chayka’s Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture

I’ve been reading the book Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture by Kyle Chayka. It’s all about the ways social media algorithm recommendations dictate our experiences and choices. It’s one of those books that takes a bunch of things you’ve thought about before but says them 10x smarter than you ever could. I can’t stop thinking about this quote: “In passively consuming what I was interested in, had I given up my agency to figure out what was truly meaningful to me?”

🐎 Inspiration vs comparison

I absolutely hate it when a corny quote comes across my timeline and actually resonates. This one from Jimmy Iovine is a good example of that: “You try to do the best with what you've got and ignore everything else. That's why horses get blinders in horse racing: You look at the horse next to you, and you lose a step.” It’s easy in the world of social to compare your work to other brands. I mean, the numbers and “results” are often so visible. I’ve been working to not do that and instead look at places of inspiration vs comparison.

🫒 The best martini olives

I am an olive freak. People bring them back for me from trips. I seek out grocery stores with epic olive bars. I order them online from specialty stores. I recently got these Jumbo Gordal Olives from La Tienda and declare them the BEST martini olive. Big, juicy, and just-salty-enough. Still waiting to find a Perelló olive plug in the U.S.

📺 Bravo’s Summer House

Summer House is a perfect reality television show. They actually seem like they are friends. The hidden cameras capture drama that feels real. I am personally invested in every cast member. Not only am I finishing up the most recent season, but I am also rewatching old seasons. Committed to the chaos. 

🥒 Grillo’s Pickles

The way Grillo’s Pickles announced their new packaging was so smart. What could have been a boring brand update, has turned into a viral celebration for their fans. From the initial announcement (2M views!) to the cold plunge to the perfume spray. I’ve been saying that brands have moved from self aware to self deprecating. I think acknowledging their original packaging was bad helps fans “feel seen”.

🗣️ A voiceover focused social media approach

Voiceover can really carry a social video. We are going from a footage-first approach to a VO-first approach. I think we’re going to see more social teams hire scriptwriters and comedians to help them build VO-first content. It’s why this video from Merit, this video from The Golden Bachelor, this video from Chi Ossé, and more overperformed.  

Follow Rachel on Instagram & Linkedin and learn more about her work here.

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