How Dude with Sign did it

Paige back with the B2B Growth Newsletter, where we break down what one of the internet’s favorite creators is doing right so you can use their strategies to build raving fans for your company. 

We add the golden drippy drip fireworks to your content strategy display — without us, you miss the pizzazz 🎆

We’ve all seen this guy, right? This is Seth Phillips, lovingly known as Dude with Sign... for pretty obvious reasons. 

What started out as a joke has exploded this guy’s following to 7.8 million and earned him countless brand deals. But what’s caused this success for the random dude with a sign? 

Simple: Brevity. Clarity. Relatability. Humor. 

His messages are short, to the point, and something that hits home for his followers — whether he’s calling out people to wash their hands, talking about the acceptability of hot coffee in the summer, or poking fun at a common struggle like $20 cocktails and vacation prices, he’s instantly catching attention, whether or not the viewer agrees. 

Often, marketers get caught up with the juxtaposition of being a solve-all, flashy solution. But this only results in lengthy white papers, rambling videos and text posts, and websites jam-packed with adjectives. 

How many times have you seen taglines along the lines of this?

“Supercharge your biz with lightning-fast, indispensable tech to unlock your true potential.”

That’s a big promise, right? And while it’s relatively short, it lacks clarity and relatability. Now let’s take a gander at our favorite professional social media channel: LinkedIn. 

Scroll for 2 or 3 minutes and you’ll see a few great posts. But most of them? Big walls of text. Lacking clear messaging. Usually, people get the hook and the CTA down pretty well — but that middle section? Long-winded. Disconnected. Jargon-stuffed. 

Here’s the cool part about Dude with Sign — his strategy works across all platforms. Looking back at LinkedIn, you’ll probably see a few people using this strategy: X-style status screenshot graphics that are a single sentence. Then, in the caption, the poster will go more into depth about the concept. 

This style can annoy some, but here’s the truth: it works. The algorithm doesn’t pick these up because they’re pretty or cool or the poster has some sort of paid-in. They work because people engage with them. Why? Let’s reiterate:

They’re clear, short, and resonate. Bonus points if there’s some humor involved. 

I’ll pick on our founder for an example: 

Months ago, James posted this on his LinkedIn

The idea is fantastic (that’s why we still stand behind it). He nails the hook and the CTA. Even the body of the post is well put together and thought out — no jargon to be found. 

But recently, he posted this:

The static image highlights the driving value behind the hook and body. This is the heart of his message. And in LinkedIn terms — he literally put it on a sign. 

Both posts touch on the same topic: Not throwing your videos into one big, messy library and how to leverage them for maximum distribution. But the latter puts the value on a billboard, breaking it down for the audience attracted in the caption. The result? 

6.8x the reactions, 9x the reposts, and 1.5x the comments. 

Any time you release content, it’s an opportunity to stand with a sign on a busy street. Whether or not you draw a crowd is up to you. 

An exercise for you to walk away with:

Take a step back from your current project. Odds are, it’s complex and likely already fits somewhere into your strategy. Write down, in one sentence, the driving purpose or message of the initiative. Cut the adjectives. What’s the single most important driving value? 

Lead with this. 

Once you loop in the right crowd, you’ll earn the opportunity to speak deeper on the matter. 

But no one is going to hear your message if it’s rambling, confusing or fails to resonate. 

The takeaway: Clarity and brevity are some of the most impactful tools in your marketing toolbox. Does the value of your messaging fit on a cardboard sign?

That’s it, ya’ll! Happy creating!

Paige Peterson
Newsletter Aficionado, Sweet Fish

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