Social Pros Podcast · Convince & Convert

Tech Trends, Toddlers, & Tribalism with Chris Hackney

July 25, 2025·36 min·2 clips

Hackney says AI is a toddler — 'you can see what it's going to grow into, but you can't let the toddler guide the direction' — and warns marketers who let AI lead today will regret it.

The core idea is simple. Social teams are doing the basic job when they react to incoming issues, reduce risk, and keep problems from spreading across fast-moving channels. The sharper work happens earlier. Chris Hackney talks about brands using data and resources to find opportunities before everyone else notices them. Knowing is not enough. If an insight sits in a report, the edge is gone, even if the team technically saw the signal first. The host keeps the conversation grounded. AI and monitoring are part of it, but the harder question is where brands should pay attention as audiences scatter across platforms. Fragmentation is the pressure point. New networks show up, existing ones change, and marketers still have to decide where the audience actually is. The Coca-Cola story gives that some bite. The host remembers launching an early Facebook page for the company, while Chris notes that fan-built pages had already pulled in serious followings. Sometimes ownership follows the crowd, not the org chart. Chipotle adds another quick example, with the host bringing up a buy-one-get-one burrito moment as a clean case of timing and response. The human loop stays important throughout. AI and tools can help watch the room, but people still have to make the call. Channel choice depends on the brand. Chris says consumer brands may care more about TikTok and Instagram, while B2B brands may lean toward LinkedIn and other networks, with Facebook still showing up across the board. LinkedIn also becomes the natural place to find Chris, which neatly fits the episode's point about matching platform behavior to audience context. The whole conversation is warm, practical, and focused on timing, risk, and relevance.

As heard by us

A clear look at turning social data into faster, sharper brand action.

Chris Hackney treats social listening as a practical discipline: act on data quickly, not after the fact. The point stays simple throughout. If the information is already there, the edge comes from spotting it sooner and using it before others do.

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Why you'd press play

If you're deciding what to monitor across fragmented platforms, this one gives you the lens.

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