Why Quinn Posts Photos as Reels
I talked to Brooke Wilczewski, Head of Community at Quinn, about the app's social strategy.
Today’s interview is with Quinn, the audio erotica app that is wildly popular among gen z. Business Insider recently reported that celebrity collabs and viral TikToks have fueled Quinn's whopping 440% year-over-year revenue growth.
As I’ve previously written about, social platforms often shadowban or put erotic content/accounts in low visibility mode. So it’s especially impressive to me that Quinn has found creative ways to break through. Reels of theirs will often hit over 1M views and their TikToks have a cumulative 27.7M likes.
My chat with Brooke Wilczewski, Head of Community at Quinn, covers:
How the brand creates content based on app data
The unexpected Reel format that regularly gets 50K+ likes…
Why they are all in on building excitement through teasers
Their creative use of pink headphones in content
What universal truths they tap into for creating shareable posts
It’s one of those interviews where I immediately wanted to implement all of the advice into my clients’ strategies. Especially that Reels format…
Some of the links within this interview are possibly not so safe for work. You are good to scroll this email but just wanted to warn about clicking any links. I know a lot of you read this at the office.
Rachel Karten: First, would love to learn a bit about you—can you tell me about your current role and any previous social roles (or not) you've had?
Brooke Wilczewski: I originally am from Omaha, Nebraska and went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Throughout college, I worked small creative marketing and social positions as internships, but my main focus was on psychological research and community activism.
I was fortunate to be recruited by Bumble for their “Honey” Ambassador Program when I was a sophomore, and as someone who was studying to be a doctor, I thought it was a great opportunity to use a different part of my brain. I ended up overseeing Honeys across the country with fifteen other students, ultimately getting flown out to Austin, Texas, and falling in love with marketing, community, and social strategy.
Pretty soon after that, I sold my MCAT textbooks, and got connected with Quinn via TikTok after they came up on my For You Page (when they had less than 100K followers!). After a few emails and a Zoom chat with our founder Caroline, the rest is history. My title and role have developed, but my position has always been about building community.
RK: How would you describe Quinn's social media strategy?
BW: First and foremost, we want our followers to know that Quinn was made by them and for them. We rely a lot on social listening (reading comments, tweets, DMs, watching fan content) and openly respond to feedback (a few examples here, here, here, and here).
We also try to remove barriers to entry—we know that audio erotica can feel intimidating or off-putting at first. By giving previews of audios, sharing playlists, and highlighting user comments/reviews, we normalize listening to audio erotica, and talking to your friends about it.
Finally, we try to have fun and bring some humor to the awkward (and very often cringey) world of sex and erotica!
RK: Which platforms do you prioritize?
BW: TikTok TikTok TikTok! We love TikTok. It has consistently been our best channel for both reach and engagement. There’s something more casual and spontaneous about TikTok, which feels in line with our vibe as a brand.
RK: Have you dealt with social platforms shadowbanning or putting your account in low visibility mode at all?
BW: We have absolutely dealt with social platforms shadowbanning our content. It’s infuriating and unfair—and unclear how the algorithm picks who to ban and how to apply guidelines. It’s really just been an on-and-off obstacle that we’ve faced as the world gets more and more comfortable with openly discussing sexuality and desire.
RK: I talk a lot about brands finding their universal truths. What human truths does Quinn speak to that go beyond talking about your product specifically?
BW: Quinn’s universal truth is that: sex is a healthy, happy part of life that should be brought out of the shadows. Exploring sexuality can be scary (especially online), and Quinn gives people a safe, approachable place to experiment and learn. On social, this shows up in our (hopefully) relatable and approachable content.
RK: Can you talk to me a little about this style of Instagram Reel where it's actually just a photo with music on it (more here and here)? They seem to all get amazing reach!
BW: Earlier this year on IG, we were getting great likes and engagement on still memes, but they would max out at around 10K likes, and would stop reaching new users.
We decided to try posting the still memes as Reels (literally just adding a sound on top of a still meme), and they’ve been blowing up to 50K+ likes.
(P.S. I love that you support and defend memes in this newsletter and wholeheartedly agree with you. The best for shareability/relatability/getting to the point.)
RK: Do you use your app data or insights at all to inform social content? For example, using the audio from a popular series, audios, or categories?
BW: Yes, absolutely! We can see what audios, categories, and playlists are performing well, and pull clips from those audios for TikTok/IG.
For example, we recently made some videos around the [Professor] tag while it was trending on the app.
RK: I love all of the comments like "Born to like, forced to save" and "can't be caught liking this (i liked it)"—how do you play into this type of lore as a brand?
BW: These comments are the best—and a great example of how memes (and relatable content generally) lower the barrier to entry for audio erotica.
As another example, after our first WLW celebrity series voiced by Victoria Pedretti, we had a lot of users saying “I’m having bi-panic.” Giving our followers a space, albeit a jokey, thirsty one, to express these sorts of feelings is really core to the Quinn mission.
RK: The pink headphones are such a smart touch to the social videos. (People clearly want you to sell them lol.) Can you talk to me a bit how using them as a prop in videos came about?
BW: When you’re marketing an app, it can be hard to communicate what exactly you’re selling to the audience. It’s also hard to create visually interesting content without a physical product.
Caroline made the headphones back in 2021, and we just naturally started using them in TikToks as a visual aid. Now we do giveaways and send the headphones to influencers so they can rep Quinn on their channels too.
RK: Your Andrew Scott campaign has been phenomenal. Can you talk a bit about the effectiveness of it? I love the way you teased it in particular.
BW: Thank you so much! About two weeks before we announce who the new celebrity voice is, we start showing BTS from the trailer shoot. As we get closer to announcing, we start incorporating clues—a shadow or the back of the celebrity’s head—to keep people guessing and engaged. So many people have .1 second attention spans now, and once they see the announcement, they move on and focus on the next exciting thing. Our teasing strategy gets them to stay invested.
RK: What do you love about working in social media?
BW: My motto is “learn to be a person that treats people like people”—learn being the keyword. I’ve always been curious and passionate about being a resource for those around me. Seeing messages from users who have connected with our content and platform means the world to me, and I get to combine my love of activism, communication, and community all in one place. I feel so fortunate to get to do this every day!
RK: Any final thoughts?
BW: All of us at Quinn are obsessed with this newsletter. I’m grateful to have been included—thank you! (And if anyone out there loved the Andrew Scott series… we have two new celebrity series coming out by the end of 2024… :)
You can support free interviews like this one with a paid Link in Bio subscription! It’s likely an educational expense at your company—here’s a template for you to use when asking your manager. The Discord, which is filled with lots of talented social pros, is worth the subscription alone IMO!
The Link in Bio Job Board is full of new roles. Also my friend Natalie Shine, host of The Big Silly Trivia Game, is looking for someone to run the show’s TikTok. Email team@bigsillylife.com for info on how to apply!
See you again on Tuesday 🫡
I'd recognize Brooke anywhere!! My worlds are colliding