The Social Media Manager to the Stars — And How He Makes Them the Talk of the Town
An interview with Greg Baroth
If you use the internet, you’ve almost certainly seen Greg Baroth’s work. You probably just didn’t realize it.
Over the past eight years, Greg has orchestrated some of the most popular and provocative online spectacles for brands and celebrities alike. He turned Verne Troyer into a social media superstar, sent butt wipes to an MMA fighter who pooped herself mid-fight, and has landed stories everywhere from TMZ to The New York Times. All told, he’s responsible for upwards of a billion media impressions (38 million of which came from Verne’s Tesla video).
While Greg’s clients are the ones making headlines, he has a fascinating story in his own right. He dropped out of Cal State-Northridge after realizing it was more lucrative to manage celebrities’ social media accounts than to sit in a lecture hall (one of his first major clients was American Idol’s Randy Jackson). Since then, he’s helped creators of all stripes grow their online presence, like Brian Barczyk’s YouTube channel, which has soared to 2.6 million subscribers.
Most recently, Greg has been making noise online for DUDE Wipes, a brand I also have the pleasure of working with. Greg’s stunts have ignited conversations in ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and The Washington Post — all with a budget dwarfed by their competitors in the men’s grooming aisle.
Ironically, Greg is a little press-shy, but he was generous enough to do an interview while he’s hunkered down at home in Los Angeles. We talked about Khloe Kardashian parodies, exotic panther chameleons, CashApp’s Twitter strategy, and more.
What’s the craziest thing that you’ve personally done for a client project?
I’ve been very lucky to have worked with all sorts of interesting people over the eight years I’ve been doing this. I’ve had my car crushed by a tank, flown to the Philippines for the weekend, swam with sharks, put a tarantula on Howie Mandel’s head, slept on a tour bus, and probably a lot more that I can’t think of right now.
In today’s media landscape, what is the value of a publicity stunt compared to an easily measurable tactic like a Facebook ad or a pre-roll ad?
The phrase “PR stunt” tends to have a negative connotation to it compared to the idea of what might get you or your brand some “earned media,” and I’d say that’s more of what I like to think of. It’s tough to stand out these days, so if you can think of an angle or a way to be topical to what’s going on around you at the time, you or your brand can attract some new attention by doing so.
Of course, I don’t think it’s a “one or the other” type of situation. For DUDE Wipes, we try to be constantly aware of conversations and newsworthy events that we can enter into, with our funny spin. Most recently, we saw Khloe Kardashian’s Febreeze post was getting talked about, and we thought it would make sense to have the comedian Ethan Klein parody that as an ad for us.
We certainly do regular Facebook ads as well, but whenever possible, we try to think outside the box. When done right, it’s the idea of creating something that starts on social media, but can live elsewhere — whether that’s on Reddit, digital media publications, or even traditional media such as magazines and TV.
What do most people do wrong when trying to get earned press (aside from doing stuff that isn’t newsworthy)?
They either seem too forced, or it’s too late and the story has already come and gone. The inherently good and bad thing about social media is that it’s fast as hell, and stories live for a day or two and then can go away.
For instance, with Twitter, I’d say it’s arguably the “easiest” but also the cheapest platform to go viral on. Going viral on Twitter can certainly be a life-changing experience for some (both good and bad). But normally, a viral tweet doesn’t generate too many followers. If you compare that to a YouTube video getting a million views, that video succeeding can get you 300,000 subscribers and suddenly you can quit your day job and do YouTube full time.
Getting back to earned media, though — the way that I try to think of something is by envisioning what the PR headline would be first. If you don’t know how someone can potentially write about this, how will someone else?
Many of the public figures and brands you work with are inherently controversial. What advice do you have for so-called “boring” businesses?
Just once, I’d like to work with a brand that I don’t feel weird opening up at a Starbucks… it doesn’t matter what the business is, there’s a way to find an angle for that business to break through the noise online. It’s just a matter of figuring out what that is, and how you craft that story. Look at what CashApp is doing on Twitter. At the end of the day it comes down to: What do people really want? MONEY. So they give it away and it works wonders for their social media presence. I don’t have a clue what the legal restrictions are there, but it seems to be working.
There’s a niche for literally everything online and if you figure out a way to make content for that niche in an interesting and consumable way, you can grow a following either for a business or yourself.
Would you implement your strategies to promote something of your own instead of a client?
I have tried to come up with what my angle would be, and I just can’t figure it out. The thing I tell clients first and foremost is that we need a niche and an angle, and for me personally I’m just so all over the place. I’ve never been able to find a clear path I’d want to take for my own content. I’ve thought about food shows, interview series, building series, you name it, but just have never hit “go.” One day! I’m sure I’ll figure it out eventually.
What apps/software/gadgets are absolute musts for you?
For YouTube, Social Blade is tremendously helpful. For general social media, SocialRank is a great tool as well to figure out who your followers are. Apart from that, I just spend a lot of time on Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. I follow smart people like Taylor Lorenz and see what others are doing in the space.
I’m in a few groups related to PR, social media, etc. and try to surround myself with people who I think are smarter than me and doing a better job than myself. I use Buffer from time to time, but I try not to have to schedule too much content because you never know what’s going to happen between the time you schedule something and the time it goes out. And when I’m working with brands, that scares me to think about.
What’s up with your affinity for reptiles?
As a kid, I was never allowed to get a dog or a cat. Instead, there was this rule of “whatever could fit in my room and stay in my room” was allowed. So I think it started with a corn snake (which escaped and my mom found it in her shower one morning before work) and then eventually the reptile collection grew, and I ended up getting my first job working at an exotic fish and reptile store when I was 15. From there it sort of became an addiction/hobby for a bit. I was breeding exotic panther chameleons and had fish tanks all over my room, house, and garage.
I share book recommendations from interesting people in my newsletter each month. Any good reads we should know about?
The last two books I’ve bought were Jason Calacanis’s Angel, and after binge-watching Steven Rinella’s Meat Eater show on Netflix I bought The MeatEater even though I’ve never hunted in my life and one time I made elk burgers. I need to read more.
