Hey there, Petra is the CEO, founder, senior creative strategist, public speaker, and trainer behind Hashtag Junkies, a creative agency focused on branding and social media strategy. |
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Petra introducing her social media ecosystem: @hashtagpetra (her personal brand), @odietwee (a creative account she runs with her partner), and Hashtag Junkies, their branding and social media agency. |
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During the session, Petra spoke about something many small businesses struggle with: Turning ideas into an actual strategy. Because most people don’t lack ideas. They lack structure. When it comes to coworking, there are constantly new moments worth sharing. New members joining, events happening, improvements in the space, conversations around the coffee machine, or a spontaneous collaboration between members. Content ideas are rarely the problem. The challenge is turning those moments into a clear and consistent story about your space. Because having things to post is not the same as having a strategy behind those posts. To explain how strategy actually takes shape, Petra broke the process down into four simple steps: Ideas → Strategy → Structure → Impact There was a lot to unpack during the masterclass, so I won’t try to squeeze everything into one newsletter. This is part one, where we’ll focus on the foundations. |
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🎯 Why are you actually on social media? Before diving into tactics or content formats, Petra encouraged everyone to step back and ask themselves a few uncomfortable questions: - Do I want attention or clients?
- Do I want views or trust?
- Do I want quick wins or long-term customers?
To illustrate the point, she asked the room two simple questions: - Who here has more than 1,000 followers?
- Who regularly gets clients through social media?
Quite a few hands went up for the first question. Much fewer for the second. That gap is where many businesses get stuck. Because followers don’t automatically turn into clients. Petra reminded us that what actually drives business online isn’t reach or views, it’s trust and recognition. Social media can absolutely help you grow your business, but only when it’s used for what it’s really meant to be: A tool for building relationships and trust with your audience. The goal is not follower numbers, but connecting with people who may eventually become your clients or members. |
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🧩 Identity before content Another idea Petra returned to throughout the session was that a brand is not just a visual identity. It’s a personality. A brand talks. It listens. It develops opinions. It grows with its community. And that’s why people connect with it. If people don’t understand who you are and what you stand for, they won’t remember you. So before thinking about content, Petra encouraged everyone to get clear on a few basic things: - Who do you help?
- What do you help them with?
- What do you want to be known for?
The goal isn’t to sound impressive. The goal is to be clear. Clear brands are easier to remember. Of course, personality also needs to be expressed visually. We previously wrote a newsletter about the visual side of brand identity (logos, colors, typography, etc.) since these elements also contribute to shaping how people recognize and remember your space. If you want to check it out, you can read it here. |
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✍️ A helpful positioning exercise To make this more concrete, Petra shared a simple positioning framework: I help ____ with ____ so they can ____ I am known for ____ It sounds simple, but when you try to write it down in one sentence, it forces you to clarify what your work is really about. |
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An example of Petra defining her own work through a clear positioning statement: who she helps, how she helps them, and what she’s known for. |
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She also suggested doing a quick “five-second test.” If someone lands on your social media profile for five seconds, they should understand: - what you do
- who you help
- why you’re different
If that’s not clear yet, that’s usually the first thing to work on. Petra asked two questions that stuck with me: Am I actually living my core values every day? And can people feel that in every step of the experience? Because if those values aren’t visible in how you communicate, they remain just words on a website. |
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💠Final thoughts Before thinking about formats, algorithms, or growth tactics, it’s worth stepping back and asking a bigger question: What role should social media actually play for my brand? Once you have a clear idea of who you want to reach and what you want to be known for, it becomes much easier to shape your content, messaging, and online presence. Next week, I’ll move from identity and positioning to the next step: turning that clarity into content and community. |
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The topic for next week is: "Social Media Strategy with Petra Bijvoet: Masterclass Takeaways (Part 2)" 📚 |
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If you missed last week's newsletter, check it out here: |
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Reply to this email if you have any questions, disagree with something I said, or have a suggestion for a collaboration/future topic. I'm always happy to stay in touch. |
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See you next Wednesday and happy coworking! 🥳 |
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Harzer Str. 39 Berlin, 12059, Germany |
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Cobot Coworking Software, 2026 |
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