Latest / Social Media Marketing with Fexingo: Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Platform Strategy / Why Brands Are Hiring Social Media Archivists
Transcript
- Lucas: So Luna, you know how we often talk about the front end of social media — the posting, the engaging, the trend-jacking. But there's a quiet job emerging on the back end that I find genuinely fascinating. Luna: Oh, do tell. Is this another 'brands are hiring' episode? Because those are usually my favorites. Lucas: It might be. But this one's different. I'm talking about the social media archivist. Someone whose entire job is to catalog, preserve, and manage a brand's historical content across platforms. Luna: So like a librarian for Instagram feeds? That's oddly specific. Who's actually hiring for this? Lucas: More brands than you'd think. I saw a job posting last month from a mid-sized fashion retailer looking for exactly that — a person to organize ten years of posts, stories, and even deleted content from backup drives. The salary was in the mid-sixties, which is respectable for that role. Luna: So brands are finally realizing that all those old posts are actually assets, not just digital clutter. Lucas: Exactly. And it's not just about nostalgia. There's a strategic angle. Take that fashion brand — they dug through their 2019 archive and revived a summer campaign that had performed well. They re-released it with a 'throwback' twist. Engagement jumped forty percent on those posts compared to their average. Luna: Forty percent? That's not nothing. So the archivist essentially became a trend forecaster, but using the brand's own history. Lucas: Right. And that's the core of the role — understanding what worked before, why it worked, and how to adapt it for today's audience. The archivist doesn't just store files; they tag, annotate, and contextualize. They add metadata about campaign goals, audience response, even the cultural moment. Luna: So it's part historian, part data analyst, part content strategist. That's a pretty interdisciplinary gig. Lucas: Absolutely. And as platforms evolve — like Instagram shifting to video, or TikTok changing its algorithm — that historical knowledge becomes even more valuable. Brands can see what formats worked in the past and double down on those, rather than just chasing whatever's new. Luna: That makes sense. But is this a real trend or just a few outliers? I mean, how many brands actually need a full-time archivist? Lucas: It's still niche, but I'm seeing it grow. A survey from earlier this year — I think it was from the Content Marketing Institute — found that about fifteen percent of large companies now have someone dedicated to content archiving. That's up from maybe five percent a few years ago. Luna: Fifteen percent is small but not negligible. And I bet the pandemic accelerated that — when everything went digital, brands realized their social feeds were their public face, and they needed to manage that history more carefully. Lucas: For sure. And there's also a legal and risk-management component. Brands have to decide what to do with posts that are controversial or outdated. An archivist can help create a policy for that — whether to delete, hide, or keep with a disclaimer. Luna: That's actually a big deal. We've seen brands get burned by old posts resurfacing. Having someone who knows where everything is and what it says could be a real shield. Lucas: Exactly. And it's not just about avoiding trouble. It's about building trust. When a brand can show its evolution over time — like how it handled a crisis or changed its sustainability practices — that transparency resonates with consumers. Luna: I'd love to see a concrete example of that. Like, a brand that used its archive to rebuild trust after a scandal. Lucas: Well, there's a well-known example from the outdoor apparel space. After a misstep a few years back, they used their social archive to highlight their long history of environmental advocacy, showing that the misstep was an outlier, not the norm. It was a powerful narrative tool. Luna: So you're basically saying that the archive is a strategic asset for storytelling. That makes the archivist role sound pretty essential for any brand with a long social history. Lucas: Right. And the tools are getting better too. AI can now help tag and categorize thousands of posts automatically. But there's still a human element — understanding nuance, context, cultural shifts. That's why you can't just outsource it to a software. Luna: I remember an episode we did on AI avatars, and there was a similar tension — the tech does the lifting, but you need a human to make it feel authentic. This feels like the same lesson. Lucas: Totally. And that's what makes this role so interesting. It's not just about filing; it's about interpretation. The archivist is the memory keeper, but also the storyteller. Luna: So for someone listening who might be thinking about a career pivot, what would they need to get into this? Is it just a matter of being organized? Lucas: Organized helps, but you also need platform fluency, basic data literacy, and maybe some knowledge of copyright and fair use. Mostly, though, it's about having a curiosity for how brands evolve. Luna: That's a nice mix. I could see a former community manager or social media analyst sliding into this role pretty naturally. Lucas: Definitely. And if you're a brand that doesn't have a dedicated archivist yet, you can start small. Even just setting up a spreadsheet to track key posts and their performance is a first step. Luna: I was about to ask that. Because not every brand listening today has the budget for a full-time hire. So what's the minimum viable approach? Lucas: Start with your top-performing content from each year. Export the data, note the campaign, the date, the platform, a few keywords. That's your foundation. Then you can expand from there as you see the value. Luna: And when you see your old content outperforming your new stuff, that might be the push you need to invest in a more formal archiving system. Lucas: Exactly. Look, there's a reason museums have curators. Brands are starting to treat their social history the same way. And honestly, it's a sign of maturity in the social media space. Luna: We've talked a lot about the 'why' — the strategic value. But what about the ethical side? Is there a darker element to this? Like, could an archivist use past content to manipulate audiences? Lucas: That's a fair question. The same tools that help brands tell an authentic story can also be used to cherry-pick facts. The archivist has a responsibility to preserve context, not just content. Ethics training should be part of the role. Luna: So the archivist is also an ethical gatekeeper. That adds another layer of responsibility. Lucas: It does. And I think that's why we're seeing more discussion about archiving standards and best practices in marketing associations. It's becoming a professional field, not just a task. Luna: Before we get too deep into the ethics, I want to step back. We've been talking about brands archiving their own content. What about archiving the whole platform? Like, who's preserving the internet's history? Lucas: That's a whole other level. There are organizations like the Internet Archive that are trying to do that, but it's a massive challenge. Platforms change, content gets deleted, and there's no guarantee that what's online today will be there tomorrow. Luna: So in a way, brands that archive their own content are contributing to a larger cultural preservation effort. Lucas: I like that framing. And it makes the role feel even more meaningful. You're not just helping a brand; you're helping document a slice of our digital culture. Luna: That's a nice way to think about it. And I know that we're listener-supported, so I'm curious — for all the people who enjoy these deep dives, how does that support actually work? Lucas: Yeah, good point. A handful of listeners already chip in monthly through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, and that literally funds making as many of these episodes as we do. No ads, no sponsors — it's just listeners who find value in what we do. Luna: And that's it. If you've ever gotten a useful tip from this show, that's the way to keep it going. No pressure, just something to consider. Lucas: Right. So, back to the archivist angle — I think one of the most interesting developments is how some brands are actually using their archives to launch retro campaigns. We saw that with the fashion brand, but there's also a beverage company that brought back a 1990s ad slogan and saw a huge boost in brand mentions. Luna: That's a perfect example of the archivist's work paying off. They're not just preserving the past; they're making it relevant again. Lucas: So if you're a marketer, maybe it's time to look at your own social history with fresh eyes. What did you post five years ago that still resonates? And what does that say about your brand's values? Luna: And if you don't have that history organized, maybe that's your next hire. Or your next project. Lucas: It's a role that's only going to become more common as we accumulate more digital baggage. And honestly, I think the best brands are going to be the ones that treat their past as a resource, not a burden. Luna: Well said. Until next time, keep those archives tidy.