SOCIAL MEDIA
STRATEGY
STRATEGY
SOCIAL MEDIA
STRATEGY
STRATEGY
BACKGROUND
Thriving In Engineering is a personal brand by Alex Ponomarev, built to share 25+ years of software engineering expertise. To scale visibility and authority, social media was chosen as a key channel for reach and as a funnel driving followers into the newsletter.
Thriving In Engineering is a personal brand by Alex Ponomarev, built to share 25+ years of software engineering expertise. To scale visibility and authority, social media was chosen as a key channel for reach and as a funnel driving followers into the newsletter.
CHALLENGE
The primary goal was to turn social media viewers into newsletter subscribers by building an effective conversion funnel. Key challenges included starting from scratch on social media in a highly competitive software engineering space. A secondary goal was to boost social proof through follower growth.
The primary goal was to turn social media viewers into newsletter subscribers by building an effective conversion funnel. Key challenges included starting from scratch on social media in a highly competitive software engineering space. A secondary goal was to boost social proof through follower growth.
BACKGROUND
Thriving In Engineering is a personal brand by Alex Ponomarev, built to share 25+ years of software engineering expertise. To scale visibility and authority, social media was chosen as a key channel for reach and as a funnel driving followers into the newsletter.
Thriving In Engineering is a personal brand by Alex Ponomarev, built to share 25+ years of software engineering expertise. To scale visibility and authority, social media was chosen as a key channel for reach and as a funnel driving followers into the newsletter.
CHALLENGE
The primary goal was to turn social media viewers into newsletter subscribers by building an effective conversion funnel. Key challenges included starting from scratch on social media in a highly competitive software engineering space. A secondary goal was to boost social proof through follower growth.
The primary goal was to turn social media viewers into newsletter subscribers by building an effective conversion funnel. Key challenges included starting from scratch on social media in a highly competitive software engineering space. A secondary goal was to boost social proof through follower growth.
We built a lean but scalable system on Instagram, combining:
-
Content repurposing: newsletter guides transformed into digestible posts, driving subscribers with a natural funnel - Consistency & efficiency: daily posting using reusable templates and clear messaging.
- Smart amplification: boosted posts and tested ad variations to accelerate reach and conversion.
-
To accelerate success, many posts were also boosted to increase reach. These were boosted within the time frame when Thriving In Engineering’s target audience was most active, at an amount tested for optimized results.
- We built a lean but scalable system on Instagram, combining:
- Content repurposing: newsletter guides transformed into digestible posts, driving subscribers with a natural funnel.
- Consistency & efficiency: daily posting using reusable templates and clear messaging.
- Smart amplification: boosted posts and tested ad variations to accelerate reach and conversion.
EXECUTION HIGHLIGHTS
-
Daily posting scheduleRepurposed newsletter content into simple, digestible Instagram posts to maintain consistency and engagement - Boosted posts & targeted adsTested multiple variations, then scaled the best-performing creatives to accelerate reach and conversions
- Content repurposing strategyTransformed long-form newsletter articles into short posts, ads, and visuals to build a seamless funnel to subscriptions
- Templates & streamlined workflowDesign templates and clear processes allowed for quick, repeatable, and sustainable execution
RESULTS
Within 1 year
- 1.55M+
Accounts reached
- +1,200
Followers (avg. 500+ per month at peak)
- +1400
Newsletter subscribers
- 40%+Open rate maintained
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Plan Smart, Execute FastUpfront research and preparation built a strong foundation for Thriving In Engineering’s social media campaign. From templates to testing, the process, once begun, was sustainable, repeatable, and efficient to implement.
- Ads that Scale with StrategyIn order for scaling to work, there first had to be proof that it would work. This required knowing the audience well and seeing what competitors had done. Doing so allowed for a stronger, deeper resonance with content messaging and positioning as well as the ability to test several variations.
- Strategic repurposing maximized outputInstead of coming up with entirely new material, part of Thriving In Engineering’s strategy was to reuse content already created for its newsletter in its social media posts. This allowed for a smoother funnel to the newsletter as well as minimal resources to run its social media arm.
