Splash Social Marketing

08/28/2026

We've spent a lot of years talking to business owners about branding.

Logos matter. Colors matter. The way your website looks and whether everything feels consistent matters. All of those things help people recognize your business.

But recognition and understanding aren't the same thing.

Someone can recognize your logo every time they see it and still not really know what makes your business different. They may not know why you started, why you approach your work the way you do, what matters to you, or why your customers choose you instead of someone else who offers essentially the same thing.

That's the distinction we've been thinking about as we've started putting words around Branded Story Strategy.

Branding helps people recognize your business. Branded Story Strategy helps them understand it.

And we think that understanding matters more than ever because when people understand the people, experiences and thinking behind a business, they're not just seeing another company that provides a particular product or service.

They're getting to know who they're doing business with and that's where trust starts.

08/28/2026

Every business has a story.

We've been thinking about this a lot lately, especially as we've been looking more closely at the way we approach marketing at Splash.

When you've been running a business for years, it's easy to stop noticing the things that make it interesting. You know why you started. You know why you do certain things differently. You know the experiences that changed the way you work and the conversations with customers that have stuck with you.

To you, those things are just part of running your business.

But to someone on the outside, they may be the very things that help them understand who you are and why they want to work with you.

We've realized that this is something we have been doing with our clients for a long time, even though we didn't have a name for it. We listen. We ask questions. We notice the things that come up in conversation that make us think, "That's it. That's the part people need to know."

We're putting a name and a more intentional process around that now.

We're calling it Branded Story Strategy.

Because we don't need to create a story for your business. It's already there. Sometimes you just need someone outside of it to help you see it.

08/27/2026

This is a BIG day in the world of social media.

Meta has agreed to pay up to $18 BILLION to settle lawsuits over claims that Facebook and Instagram were designed in ways that could be addictive and harmful to young people.

As part of the agreement, Meta is making significant changes to how teens can use Facebook and Instagram in the U.S., including:

• A two-hour daily time limit
• Restrictions on use between midnight and 6 a.m.
• Muted notifications during school hours
• Additional breaks during extended use
• Stronger age verification
• More parental controls and protections

And Meta is publicly calling on TikTok and YouTube to adopt similar standards.

We've worked in social media marketing since 2010. We've watched these platforms evolve from places where people connected with friends into some of the most powerful communication, entertainment and advertising systems in the world.

We've also watched the conversation change. For years, the goal of the platforms was pretty simple: keep people scrolling. More time on the platform meant more opportunities to show ads.

This settlement forces a much bigger question: At what point does a platform have a responsibility to encourage people to put the phone down?

For those of us who work in social media, that's a conversation worth having.

Read the Reuters coverage of the Meta settlement:

Meta Platforms emerged from its biggest legal challenge in the U.S. with its core business intact.

08/26/2026

Getting ready for 1 Million Cups - Clermont! Sneak a peek in the corner… Tom’s here too!

08/21/2026

We were invited to tour the aquaponic farm at Oxford Family Farms FL this week. What an amazing facility! Tony and Tonya, the owners, are genuinely wonderful people who are committed to helping others.

Check out their website and socials to learn more and keep an eye on those spaces for incredibly exciting things to come!

08/21/2026

South Lake Chamber of Commerce (FL)
Contagious Companies
The Venue
For Jack and Allie

08/21/2026

We love seeing collaborations between our friends in the community! Recycled Rides is a wonderful program bringing local businesses together to provide reliable transportation to community members in need. Great job Community Collision Centers and Find Feed & Restore!

08/19/2026

Happy Jacquie today! I've been going to 1 Million Cups - Clermont, FL for over a year now and today is the first time our schedules allowed Tom to come with me!

08/18/2026

Where was Tom running into some of our favorite people today?

Stay tuned…