Feeding The Feed
Food is no longer considered ‘fuel’, it’s content, currency and culture. My recent solo podcast episode ‘Food Industry Powering Up With Digital Content’ unpacks this positioning by exploring how social media has transformed how we interact with food. From aesthetic ‘Girl Dinner’ trends to a chaotic, viral fast food trend like the Grimace Shake, social media has powered up the food industry. However, behind these fun trends is a strategic layer of design, social awareness and creative decision-making created by business and marketing geniuses!
Embedded Podcast:
Food Meets Feed: Concept and Tone
The inspiration to deep dive into food and social media came from my own personal online scrolling habits. I love protein meals, so it’s incredibly common for me to like, save or even screenshot stunning meal preps and recipe ideas. My goal was to document this relatable experience into a podcast that felt both casual and credible. The tone implemented is intentionally passionate, with a little cheeky twist to balance my personal voice with insights relevant to business and marketing professionals, the audience I hope to connect with in the future. Having a professional yet fun balance in tone also allowed the podcast to be more engaging by allowing a delivery that helps build character and develop a sense of ‘who is speaking’ (McHugh, 2022).
Neely, Walton and Stephens (2014) explored food practices among young people and how they are tied to social relationships and rituals. This resembles the ‘Girl Dinner’ trend, where meals were not about nutrition but rather personal identity and shared experience. I highlighted this trend with a wine glass clink sound effect to emphasise the point and the cheeky vibe, also influencing consumers to be more imaginative and immersed.
Strategic Use of Sound
To maintain engagement, I layered in a variety of sound effects. I included notification pings to highlight the concept of social media, transitional sounds to mark turning points in the podcast, and a darker soundtrack to represent the oddity of trends such as the Grimace shake. The Grimace Shake segment even included a comical cymbal crash when I said “crazy, right?”, which was used not for the gimmick’s sake, but to mirror the dynamic, non-linear way we consume content on platforms such as Tiktok and Instagram. The episode conclusion is presented with cheerful audio with both tone and sound to reinforce the message of connection and leave listeners with a sense of upbeat closure.
This aligns with Karen Sutherland’s (2022) argument that “quality storytelling is a powerful connector and truly the most effective way to build a relationship with target audiences through social media tactics and content.” (p.135-175). By strategically incorporating different sounds as part of my podcast, I created an experience that listeners could not only follow, but feel and immerse. The cheerful outro also reinforces what Sutherland refers to as the “after”, where the audiences are left in a positive emotional space and are more likely to foster trust, connection and brand recall.
Content Placement, Platform Logic
The podcast was uploaded to Soundcloud and included into this blog. Three promotional posts were created for Instagram, to create brand cohesion while enticing viewers to listen to the podcast. I incorporated my brand colours of maroon and gold, with each post communicating a different step towards the podcast. ‘Something New is Coming’ is a teaser post to excite viewers and spark curiosity, ‘Food Industry Powering Up’ highlights the release of the new podcast and what it’s about and ‘New Episode Now Available’ promotes viewers to give it a listen.
Reflection
Creating this podcast and posts made me recognise how intentional content marketing is, even for something as “casual” as a podcast. Every element, from transition sounds to colour palette is part of the message. I found myself applying kep marketing principles, especially consistency in branding and emotional engagement.
This podcast is a preview of the content style I aim to bring into the professional space, insightful, engaging and always rooted in culture.
References
McHugh, S. (2022). The power of podcasting : Telling stories through sound. NewSouth Publishing.
Sutherland, K.E. (2024). Stop Selling, Start Helping: Prescribing Tactics to Win Over Target Audiences. In: Strategic Social Media Management. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi-org.ezproxy-b.deakin.edu.au/10.1007/978-981-99-9496-0_6
Neely, E., Walton, M., & Stephens, C. (2014). Young people’s food practices and social relationships. A thematic synthesis. Appetite, 82, 50-60.
Mandagi, D. W., Indrajit, I., & Wulyatiningsih, T. (2024). Navigating digital horizons: A systematic review of social media’s role in destination branding. Journal of Enterprise and Development (JED), 6(2), 373-389.
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