If you've spent any time on LinkedIn lately, you've probably come across tl;dv's content and thought one of two things:
"what IS this?"
"I need to work here"
Their social presence is unlike almost anything else in B2B. Rather than posting from a company page, the team behind tl;dv - Renée, Ian, and Tom - post as individuals, starring in comedy sketches, roasting founder culture, and generally making content that feels more like a cult TV show than a SaaS brand.
It's one of the brands I get asked about most. And the question I always get is: does it actually work?
(Spoiler: it does)
I spoke to Renée Shaw - the person behind some of tl;dv's most unhinged and brilliant content - about how it all came together, what the planning actually looks like, and why she thinks "professional" has never done anything for anyone.
Hi Renée! First things first, how did you end up in B2B social and at tl;dv?
Mostly out of spite! I'd been working in startups for years, mostly in operations roles, and I started posting shitposts and memes on my own account because I was annoyed that LinkedIn is so fake.
Being at tl;dv wasn't something I planned. I was friendly with Rapha (our CEO), and when I put up a "hiring a manager" post he DMed me.
Ian and Tom were found through their TikToks. I was found through LinkedIn. The choice to lead with comedy was all our boss's - he's hopelessly addicted to Reels and figured our ICP might be too.
What do your planning sessions actually look like? I imagine it's not a standard content calendar situation…
We have a weekly meeting with our CEO and weekly 1-1s, and there are rough buckets our content sits in. Within that we're very responsive to tech news. Lots of voice notes get sent each week.
A lot of B2B brands worry that leaning into humour will make them look “unprofessional”. What would you say to them?
I'd ask what "professional" has ever done for them. Nobody has ever sent a company post to a friend because it was professional.
Has anyone internally ever pushed back and said "this has gone too far"?
Not even once! I know that's a boring answer, but at tl;dv the trust is always there before the results. And I don't take that for granted.
The thing everyone probably wants to know: do the skits actually convert into paying customers?
They sure do! Multiple times a week people message us saying some version of "I signed up because of the videos."
What's a post or campaign you're really proud of?
The team trip videos, always. The three of us in one place with a camera is my favourite thing we do.
And the Sam Altman's Mom series. That character came from my disdain for founder worship.
What do you think is an underrated skill for B2B social marketers?
Having some "under a rock" time. It's okay to not keep up with everything, not to have a hot take. Good ideas will always surface and you don't have to lose sleep to keep up.
And finally - if there's someone reading this who wants to be braver with their social but doesn't know where to start, what's your advice?
Talk to yourself five years ago. Try out a format somewhere where there are no stakes. For me that's Threads - anything I post there gets ignored and I love it.
A huge thank you to Renée for sharing with us! 💜 Make sure to go and follow her here, and if you’re not already tuned into tl;dv’s content, fix that immediately.
Who do you want to hear from next?
Reply to this email telling me your favourite B2B brands and/or social peeps, and I’ll try to make it happen 👀
