What Can We Learn From the Story of Axios Local Newsletters Going Social?
It turns out that original, local content beats viral trends.
This issue of Social Signals was written to Macha’s 1999 album See It Another Way, which was remastered and just now shared on streaming channels this week.
I have one subscriber who absolutely HATES when I send anything out that’s not on a Friday morning. And while I don’t want to piss her off, there are thousands of you who are probably telling yourself you’re not going to be checking email later this week. And some of you even follow through with that apsiration!
So here’s a special Tuesday issue of Social Signals engineered to hit your inbox before the holiday hangovers hit (and sorry to Jen R.! I’ll make it up to you!).
This week I’m including detailed notes from the Axios Local event last week, a must-watch video about the power of thinking BY writing, and all of those good Social Signals you can count on each week. Let’s get into it! -Greg
What Can We Learn From the Story of Axios Local Newsletters Going Social?
Last week’s Social Media Breakfast MSP session featured Audrey Kennedy, Social Media Manager at Axios Twin Cities, who gave a behind-the-scenes look at building one of the most engaging local news Instagram accounts in the country and offered some best practices that matter for Axios Local across all markets.
Axios Local has grown to 30 cities and 1.6 million subscribers. There’s probably a local newsletter from Axios in your market, and it’s probably full of awesomeness about your community each week.
What makes Audrey’s story unique: Axios Local didn’t originally prioritize social media in their markets. Most local markets were newsletter-only. The Twin Cities Instagram was the first real social experiment — and it worked so well, it’s now the model being followed in other cities like Chicago, Pittsburgh, Dallas, and San Fran, with more to come.
Here’s what Audrey shared about how she went from a 3-month contract to setting the standard for social at Axios Local:
Starting from Zero
Originally brought on to co-write the newsletter and launch Instagram with a goal of 10K followers in 3 months and no ad spend.
Grew the account organically with smart content choices and high posting volume (2x daily early on).
The social-first role became full-time after year one, and today the account has grown to 100K+ followers.
What Works on Instagram
Hyperlocal content with strong visuals is key. Development stories only work if paired with interesting photos.
Video drives reach and engagement. Think: giant pencil sharpenings, quirky local food challenges, cat tours, etc.
Timeliness > trendiness. She aims to post what people will be talking about today, not what trended yesterday.
Community Engagement
Audrey prioritized responding to nearly every DM early on treating Instagram like a conversation, not a broadcast channel.
That direct engagement built trust in the brand, especially valuable for a news org navigating today’s media climate.
Personality-Driven Storytelling
From the start, Audrey was given creative freedom, and leaned into being “a real person behind the account.”
Axios now encourages all its local IG managers to show personality and tie in their own voice with the brand’s tone.
Strategic Thinking
Not all content goes in the feed. She reserves Stories for smaller moments and saves the grid for high-impact posts.
Event coverage is tiered: popular events get previews; smaller niche ones get recaps (or exclusivity).
She uses reader reactions and feedback to guide what gets more promotion next year.
Growth and Experimentation
Audrey focused on creative growth alongside metrics. She didn’t start with deep social experience, just a love for photos, storytelling, and trying new ideas. Her background as a journalist at an understaffed newspaper set her up for success.
Her ability to test, iterate, and stay curious was key to growth and sustainability.
Community and UGC
UGC plays a role, especially when she can’t attend an event — but she vets everything and gets written permission.
A great example: The Cat Tour post (built from user submissions) ended up being one of the top performers, even though she wasn’t there.
Key Takeaways for Marcomm Pros:
Original, local content beats viral trends. Axios Local wants the offbeat stuff no one else is covering. New and novel is key. There’s lots of competition.
Think community-first. Replies, DMs, and interactions are how they are building long-term loyalty and trust.
Personality and consistency > polish. The account grew because it felt human, not because it followed a perfect template. Axios Local social profiles now have the handles of the social media managers behind them. Build relationships with them before pitching!
Seriously inspiring work, and a great blueprint for your teams as they look for opportunities to kickstart social, earn coverage in Axios Local, or just want to learn more about how modern journalism is evolving from a social-first perspective.
Flashback:
I was featured in the inaugural issue of Axios Twin Cities in January 2021, discussing my $5 Mystery Safe.
Here’s the full thread for those curious. YES, there was money inside!
🎧 Greg on The Shorty Awards Podcast
This week I had the pleasure of joining Jeff Barrett on the It’s No Fluke podcast from The Shorty Awards. We talked about a LOT, including how to keep the human stuff at the center of marketing, the way AI agents are already changing how people make decisions, and why lazy AI ideas keep showing up in the wild.
We dug into the new rules of attention, why brands need to make their own news, and how B2B is starting to borrow from consumer culture. We also talked about blogs and employee content coming back, cyborg audiences influencing every choice we make, and the value of staying curious instead of scared.
Plus a little fax machine talk. Naturally.
📺 YouTube of the Week
Larry McEnerney (now-retired former Director of the University of Chicago’s Writing Program) shares how the smartest people in the world use their writing process to help themselves to think. And writing itself can be a powerful tool to change the way people think! I LOVE THIS, and it’s very similar to my process here at Social Signals. (h/t Brian Solis).
⚡️ Social Signals
Roblox introduced AI-based facial age estimation to gate chat features by age, signaling a shift toward stricter safety protocols amid growing legal pressure. CEO Dave Baszucki’s Hard Fork interview signals the company’s intent to balance platform growth with responsibility, positioning safety innovation as a competitive differentiator… even if he showed up expecting a softball interview (from the NYT???).
FoloToy pulled its AI-powered teddy bear after it was caught giving kids wildly inappropriate advice, from lighting matches to explaining sexual kinks. While the incident signals real risks in unregulated AI toys, it shouldn’t overshadow the broader potential for responsible, well-designed AI features to enhance interactivity and learning in the toy industry.
From the Social Signals Archives: Barbie, Gabbo & the AI Toys Coming for Christmas (July 2025)
Jeep drivers are seeing pop-up ads for loyalty discounts on their in-car screens, with Stellantis confirming it’s using infotainment systems to deliver marketing messages. This signals a growing tension in connected car experiences as automakers experiment with turning vehicle dashboards into ad space, testing how far they can push without alienating loyal customers.
From the Social Signals Archives: Paying a Premium for Ads on Your Fridge (September 2025)
Rolling Stone reports on a fast-growing “spiralism” subculture (religion??) where AI chatbots and users reinforce mystical, recursive language until it starts to look and feel like a decentralized digital cult. The signal here is less about AI becoming sentient and more about humans projecting meaning onto pattern-heavy LLM outputs, revealing how quickly online communities can turn chatbot vibes into full-blown belief systems.
TikTok Shop has reached the scale of eBay with $19 billion in quarterly global sales, including over $4 billion from the U.S., just two years after launch. The signal is that TikTok is reshaping ecommerce through content-first discovery, even as livestream shopping continues to lag behind its explosive success in Asia.
Art Reel of the Week: Lace graffiti via multidisciplinary artist NeSpoon.
LinkedIn of the Week: Oren John asks When it’s really easy to get hot, does it still have status?
Insta of the Week: Zip Jacket Music Man
TikTok of the Week: How AI reacts to me being swallowed by a whale
Thread of the Week: One day without even realizing it, you printed out your last Mapquest
What Do You See? It’s chromostereopsis! Many people see red in front of blue, whereas some people perceive blue in front of red. Leave a comment or reply to me and tell me which you see!
See you on the internet! Keep going! ✨
Greg