How I Created a Social Media Campaign Around Food Culture

Ali here again – welcome back to the blog!

For this project, I created a podcast episode and social media campaign focused on how social media has changed modern food culture. I wanted the campaign to reflect the type of content audiences already engage with daily across TikTok and Instagram. Since the podcast discussed aesthetics, trends, influencer culture and viral food moments, I aimed to make the visuals feel modern, relatable and reflective of current online culture.

The first post I created was a teaser countdown post announcing that “something new” was coming. I intentionally kept the design minimal to create curiosity and anticipation before revealing the podcast itself. Because social media audiences scroll quickly, I wanted the post to feel visually clean while still standing out. I used light pink and beige tones alongside handwritten typography to create a modern, feminine aesthetic that also reflected my personal style.

Across all posts, I consistently used the same colours, fonts and graphic style so the campaign felt cohesive and recognisable. I think this helped the campaign appear more polished and professional overall. Sutherland (2020) explains that effective media-making requires an understanding of audience behaviour and platform conventions, which strongly influenced my creative decisions throughout this project.

When creating the podcast itself, I wanted it to feel conversational and authentic rather than overly scripted or formal. I think audiences connect more with content when it sounds genuine and relatable, especially in podcast culture, where listeners often feel like they are part of a casual conversation. Although I planned the structure carefully, I intentionally kept my wording natural and included personal opinions and examples throughout the episode.

The podcast focused on how social media has transformed food culture into something highly visual and trend-driven. I discussed the Dubai chocolate trend, which became viral because they looked visually satisfying online. I used this example because it clearly showed how audiences now often experience food online before experiencing it in real life. Cafes, restaurants and brands now create food experiences designed to be photographed and shared online, almost acting as free advertising through social media users themselves.

I also discussed influencer culture and how creators now heavily impact consumer behaviour. Research by Misra, Dinh and Ewe (2024) found that food influencers can significantly influence online purchasing decisions, which I think is highly relevant today. Personally, if I see a creator I trust recommend a cafe or food trend, I am more likely to try it than if I simply saw a traditional advertisement.

The carousel post was designed to communicate the main themes of the podcast in a visually engaging way. I chose this format because it allowed audiences to swipe through information gradually rather than being overwhelmed with too much text at once. One of my favourite slides was the behind-the-scenes image showing my recording and editing setup. I think including this made the campaign feel more personal and authentic while also demonstrating practical media-making skills such as recording, editing and content production.

Throughout the process, I developed skills in podcast scripting, audio production, Canva design, branding and audience engagement strategy. One challenge I faced was balancing aesthetics with readability, as Instagram content is consumed very quickly. I spent time adjusting layouts, spacing and typography to ensure the designs remained visually appealing while still easy to understand.

The final standalone promotional post acted as a summary advertisement for the episode and overall campaign. I used concise wording, simple layouts and recognisable branding to reinforce the themes discussed throughout the podcast while still making the post visually engaging.

Overall, this project helped me better understand how successful social media campaigns require strategic thinking about branding, audience behaviour, platform culture and authenticity. I can definitely see myself continuing to use these skills in future digital marketing, communications and content creation roles.

References

Baker, S., & Martinson, D. L. (2001). The TARES test: Five principles for ethical persuasion. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 16(2–3), 148–175. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327728JMME1602&3_7

Misra, D., Dinh, H., & Ewe, S. Y. (2024). The influence of food influencers on consumer behaviour and purchasing decisions. British Food Journal.

Sutherland, T. (2020). Making media: Foundations of sound and image production. Palgrave Macmillan.

Taylor & Francis. (2023). Influencer authenticity and audience trust in social media environments.

Media Credits

Podcast audio recorded and edited by Alexandra Malone.

Images used in posts 2 and 3 were taken and edited by me, Alexandra Malone.

Background music within podcast episode: kontraa. (2025). Water | Afro-pop Music [Audio track]. Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/music/afrobeat-water-afro-pop-music-256636/

All podcast graphics, social media posts and podcast production media were created by Alexandra Malone using Canva and its free resources and graphics.

Thanks so much for reading my second blog post! I’m excited to share more soon.

Ali x