1. What does your job entail?
“I organize the priorities of all our departments so that content goes live in a coherent way across our social media platforms and newsletters. What topic we want to talk about, when and in what format, all while keeping tone in mind… That translates into strategy, content creation and performance analysis.
“People don’t always realize that social media is a medium in its own right for a brand, and that requires skills across many areas. I can do photography, graphic design and video, as well as a bit of math because I analyze data. It’s pretty much a jack-of-all-trades job.”
2. What led you toward content creation?
“I’ve always really loved social media. My arrival on the Internet coincided with the creation of blogs. I’m from the early days of Facebook, so I grew up with it. I’ve always been interested in sharing information and communicating things, so I got a Bachelor’s degree in journalism. I didn’t necessarily fit the typical profile of someone coming out of journalism school to work in traditional media, but I take great joy in photography, video and writing articles.”
“During my Bachelor’s degree, I did a marketing internship at VICE, which brought together my passion for media with a more left-field, offbeat side, along with my passion for social media. I then worked at URBANIA, where I poured all my energy into content creation and social media. I then applied to RICARDO, because it was 100% content creation and social media, and I love food. And here I am!”
3. How would you define the editorial line at RICARDO?
“It’s always been human and close to people. Personally, I think I helped it evolve in the sense that it was always familiar and approachable, and meant to be enjoyed by everyone. But I believe I broadened it a bit by changing the tone and venturing into areas we hadn’t allowed ourselves before. This helped us to open the eyes and ears of a different audience, perhaps younger and more engaged with the brand.”
4. How do you maintain that tone?
“Ultimately, I didn’t invent anything. My frame of reference, when I write or when I want to have a little fun on social media, has always been Brigitte and Ricardo in their everyday life. I allow myself to lean into my silliness, but that is also a part of their reality. It’s their colour that I try to reflect, and it only makes sense to continue in that direction.”
5. How do you manage to interact effectively with the RICARDO community on our platforms?
“I try to interact with them as often as possible in a very responsive way. If someone makes a clever comment or asks a fun question, I take the opportunity to bounce back and start a conversation. Social media remains a social space where people talk to one another. There’s a lot to lose if a brand doesn’t respond to its audience. We’re lucky to have such a devoted community, so it would be a shame to not respect what the brand means to people by not replying to them.”
“Our community is engaged, active and passionate. This has served us well over the years, by bringing us a good dose of love and incredible momentum for the brand. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world; it’s all about respect and listening. It will continue to show up if you keep making the right moves.”
6. How do you ensure content is relevant and appealing to our audience?
“It’s a daily challenge to keep things interesting for our audience. Sometimes, there will be a reason why I’ll decide to prioritize a certain post over a promotion. It doesn’t translate into dollars, but rather an interaction between humans and this also has its place. Drawing from my background in journalism, I see myself as a watchdog for our audience. It’s a big title to give myself, but social media platforms are a two-way street. As a company, we have business, distribution and sales objectives that must be respected, but to achieve them, the audience needs to show up.”
“At RICARDO, I’m very fortunate to have a very large playing field where people truly trust us. Having that freedom is a luxury you don’t necessarily get everywhere. For example, one of the first posts I ever made was one of Ricardo and his chickens. Someone asked if we could replace his chickens with tofu. So that’s what I did using Photoshop. I don’t think many people would’ve accepted doing that. For me, it kind of marked the beginning of what we were able to do with the brand. We had nothing to lose!”
7. How do you see the future of social media for the brand? In your opinion, where are we headed in terms of content?
“There’s a return to consuming long-form content, like videos lasting several minutes, embodied by YouTube. Fewer and fewer people are watching traditional television and are subscribing to streaming services instead. But given that those are paid, it can become a financial burden. YouTube made the strategic decision to remain free and to offer an infinite supply of long-form content, to the point where many people now consume almost exclusively YouTube.
Many brands are starting to think about this, sometimes a bit late, and want to position themselves within this content offering. We’re lucky to have already thought about it and to be doing it in small doses. And we hope to continue feeding it, because there truly is something there.”
“We’re in an era where you can feel that people are looking for a way to connect that’s personal to them. There’s growing value placed on discussion channels that are more private, like the family chat group. We’re moving away from news feeds and more towards group conversations and private messages, because these are directly with the people we love. We’re recreating our news feeds, our shared moments with people like we used to. We want to bring back that sense of closeness.”
8. What’s the main challenge you face over time?
“I would say the ever-changing rules on social media platforms. They change so often and no one really understands them, because no one reveals how these algorithms are built. So overnight, a brand can suddenly become irrelevant to people because a post wasn’t distributed as much or prioritized by the algorithm. The only thing you truly have control over is how well you respect your editorial line and how authentic your content is. As long as we stay true to that, because we’re speaking to real people behind real screens, we’ll reach them one way or another.”
9. What advice would you give to content creators just starting out?
“I would tell them to not be afraid to get involved in social media. They have the chance to test things, share content and express themselves on platforms. I think the best way to succeed in this field is to fail a few times. You’ll make a mistake and then you’ll change the formula. These are social platforms, so you have to post something in order to get feedback from the people who consume your content. I’d also advise them to share what excites them with their friends and families. That’s when they can see what they enjoy creating in terms of content.”
Throughout his career, Alexandre has stood out for his knack for eye-catching content, his keen eye when it comes to trends and his commitment for spearheading social media strategies. Between creation, coordination and innovation, he’s at the heart of our campaigns and helps RICARDO Media shine.
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