We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Daniel Raaf a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Daniel thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry?

Corporate America often missteps in social media marketing. While there are notable exceptions like Microsoft and McDonald’s, most large brands miss the mark. They tend to create content for the boardroom and internal marketers, forgetting that social media is built for users and consumers. These brands frequently post just for the sake of it or in a self-righteous manner, believing they know what’s best for the audience. However, on social media, the end users determine what performs well.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My background is in sales; I started out selling photocopiers. At 30, I decided to join my brother-in-law, a social media expert, in starting an agency. Using my sales skills, I transitioned to selling social media services, despite having a lot to learn. After some initial struggles, I branched out on my own to truly understand marketing on social platforms. Over the past nine years, I’ve built a network and worked for myself and a prominent influencer marketing agency. I’ve faced failures and spent a lot of money learning the ropes. The ever-changing algorithms keep us on our toes, but the fundamentals of marketing, rooted in human psychology, remain constant. Understanding the consumer’s perspective gives us an edge.

For several years, I was the VP of Social Media and Strategy at an influencer marketing agency in Hollywood. Initially, my role involved analytics reports and creating pitch decks, but it evolved into running large-scale campaigns with six and seven-figure budgets. Over time, I realized that influencer marketing is just one tool in the marketing toolbox. I learned to leverage influencer content for direct marketing campaigns, which allowed for more accurate conversion measurements compared to the broad strategies I used at the agency.

Now my core focus is on performance marketing or “brandformance” marketing – using social platforms as marketing tools to get more accurate and measurable results. This is done with a combination of advertising, email marketing, SMS marketing, and influencer marketing.

Have you ever had to pivot?

The majority of my career focused on organic social and influencer marketing, areas known for their high perceived value but difficult-to-measure success. This often led to higher client churn, as many clients depend on a direct and measurable return on their marketing spend. To provide more accurate and measurable value, I pivoted towards advertising on platforms like Facebook and TikTok. My background in organic strategies proved invaluable, as successful campaigns are driven primarily by high-quality content rather than targeting alone. This shift allowed me to deliver more tangible results and retain clients more effectively.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

“Alchemy” by Rory Sutherland
“The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz (helpful in my personal life)
“Thinking, Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman
“This Is Marketing” by Seth Godin
“Hundred Million Offers” by Alex Hormozi
“Dotcom Secrets” by Russell Brunson

Contact Info:

• Website: https://raafmedia.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danraaf
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/draaf/