July 13, 2020 — Division of Labor, one of San Francisco’s top creative agencies, is pleased to announce Henry Denberg has joined its creative team as a part-time, social media strategist.
Henry, a recent graduate of San Rafael High School, which, according to GreatSchools.org is Marin County’s least desirable public secondary school, has no formal training in the field. However, after a few weeks of working at the agency, this bonafide member of Gen Z appears to have a better working knowledge of the field than just about anyone over the age of 25 that we have come across in our years of working.
For transparency, it should be noted that this hiring decision was most definitely influenced by nepotism. The young social media strategist also happens to be the son of Division of Labor’s founder and chief creative officer, Josh Denberg. “I didn’t hire my kid because he was the one most qualified,’” says Josh “I hired him because he’s useless when it comes to household chores, but still needs to earn his keep.”
The senior Denberg cited dishwashing as one of his son’s most egregious shortcomings. “It’s not that hard to rinse the food off your dish before sticking it in the dishwasher, but he just can’t seem to do it,” says Josh. “He’s even worse at cleaning the counters as he employs the brush-all-the-damn-crumbs-onto-the-floor-and-wait-for-the-dog-to-lick-them-up method.
This 2017 series of photos of Henry Denberg, taken at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, suggests his passion for staring at, scrolling thru, and liking photos is not just a passing fancy.
Ultimately, the DOL founder conceded that having Henry help with typical family chores just wasn’t worth the effort. What did make sense? Channeling his absent-minded son’s best qualities. “He’s always shown an aptitude for scrolling through his phone, liking photos and videos, and getting other people to like photos and videos,” says Denberg.
And playing to his strengths is paying off big time. “I asked him to increase our social media following with loyal users who will engage with our content. I asked him not to rely on bots or pity follows from his high school buddies. Find people who have a true interest in the day-to-day happenings of a boutique creative agency.”
And, well, the kid delivered. His approach has been insightful, strategic and it’s yielding results. Young Henry instinctively did what formally-trained social media strategists do without knowing he was doing it. He targeted a specific audience that would want to engage and demonstrated activity on IG Stories.
This instinct to go after only those active on Stories was key as it was his built-in filter ensuring engagement from people demonstrating fairly regular activity. After setting up different target groups based on their interests, he engaged with their posts and invited them to follow.
“I went to different design and ad schools and started following the accounts of people who were obviously students,” says Henry. “Of course, they liked us back right away, because, well, they think I might have a hand in helping them get hired. Obviously, I don’t. But they don’t know that.” (Ah, a born manipulator. Clearly, advertising is in the blood.)
Henry also employed the art of “back-the-hell-off.” Don’t be annoying with too much direct engagement or other “creepy shit.” His word, not ours. But the point is right: People want to engage on their terms. If they get some benefit from your content great. Don’t be a puppy, begging for more attention.
Henry has been on the job less than a week, and already the creative agencies’ social media presence has increased by 20 percent. “His mother and I are proud of the work he’s doing,” says Josh. “Of course, his bedroom is still a pigsty. But that’s a battle for another day.”
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The Small Agency Blog is produced by Division of Labor; a top San Francisco creative agency and digital marketing firm that’s been named Small Agency of the Year twice by Ad Age. The award-winning creative shop services clients on a retainer or project basis. They also offer brand consulting services and hourly engagements for startups and smaller brands. Click here for a free consultation.