Mirco Gluch 🐽

Piggyback

- Building team structures, strategies, and workflows for successful marketing and social media management
- Optimization of content output, engagements, reach and follower numbers through tried and tested tactics
Selected clients: Zalando, Trade Republic, N26, foodspring, Getsafe and many smaller brands

Agency Founder - Social Media Advisor, Consultant, Workshop Host, and Interim Head of Social Media

Getsafe

- 15,000 new followers, grew organic reach by 10x , and content pieces per week by 5x
- Team, workflow and strategy development for the social media presence of Getsafe
- Launch of TikTok as a new channel
- Development of over 10 regular content formats
- Campaign development and execution of the #failmoments campaign
- Main responsible and initiator of cross-functional 360° content marketing project

Interim Head of Social Media

Trade Republic

- 120,000 new followers across the different social media platforms
- Recruiting and setup of the social media team
- Launch of 3 new markets and their respective channels (Spain, Italy and Netherlands)

Interim Social Media Lead

foodspring

- Responsible for 400,000 new Instagram followers and 85,000 new YouTube subscribers
- Leading, building and developing a team of 12 social media and community managers
- Won 3rd most engaging FMCG food brand Instagram account award in Germany by socialbakers
- Managing the social media team and the channels through global pandemic and rebranding
- Conception, creating and managing of social first campaigns such as #mynewnormal
- Improving the team's content creation output in terms of quantity and quality
- Establishing a follower first and test&learn mindset among the team

(Interim) Head of Social Media

Peek & Cloppenburg KG Düsseldorf

- Overseeing the organic social media channels, paid social advertising and display campaigns for Peek & Cloppenburg, Jake*s, Review and Ansons
- Content strategy updates for the individual brands and their channels, resulting in significantly better social metrics such as followers, reach, CPM and CPC
- Establishment of new marketing approaches such as influencer road trips and events, meet&greets, instore workouts, Instastories as a channel and Instastory-takeovers
- Budget allocation, budget controlling and budget planning for the year ahead
- Campaign analytics and media plan optimisation for future campaigns based on learnings

Head of Social Media

Zalando Media Solutions

- Executing successful launch, brand positioning and corporate design definition of Collabary - Zalando‘s influencer marketing platform, fast becoming Europe‘s number one workflow tool
- Social media and content marketing management of Collabary across various channels
- Leading the acquisition team towards signing up 2000 high quality social media influencers
- Driving influencer related tech-development, such as influencer categorisation, influencer-brand-fit definition, and influencer profile facelift

Sr. Influencer Marketing Strategist

imk, Institut für Marketing und Kommunikation

- Teaching brand strategy, brand positioning, brand management seminars
- Highly practical and hands on tutoring

Tutor for Brand Strategy

Multiple Clients

- Supervision of the corporate design relaunch of a footwear eCommerce
- Interim Head of Marketing for Mirapodo
- Art direction and photo production for campaigns across various online and offline media 
- Organisation of brand management, content and fashion inspiration workshops for various clients

Freelance Fashion Marketing Consultant

Zalando

-	Brand conceptualisation and brand positioning of Zalando Collection
-	Visual brand development – corporate design, corporate identity and 
	picture language
-	From strategy to market entry – launch event & pop up store in Berlin Mitte
-	Negotiation, planning and execution of marketing campaigns throughout online and offline Zalando channels
-	Marketing management of designer collaborations with Kaviar Gauche and Penkov
-	Creative lead and execution of seasonal campaign photo productions
-	Managerial responsibility for interns and some junior brand managers
-	Analysis of CRM data and market research results
-	Monthly representation of zLabels on Zalando‘s New Hire Day

Brand Manager - Zalando Collection

-	Collaborative effort in developing 20 private labels’ names, logos, corporate designs, and briefing of the individual product ranges
-	Negotiation, planning and execution of the entire marketing mix
-	Analysis of marketing relevant sales and customer data

Brand Performance Manager

-	Business development and calculation of cases for future potential private labels
-	Sales Controlling of the first private labels and the overall Zalando performance
-	Fashion trend forecasts for Zalando’s buying department
-	Website development for private labels

Project Manager Private Labels

envain

-	Created T-shirt brand whilst at university, including naming, creative, product, sourcing and trademarking

Founder of Fashion Label: Gamble for your t-shirt

💭 Imagine your brand's social media channels are growing with ease, your community is expanding and you’re even having fun doing it.
This is what collaborating with Piggyback looks like. 🐽

I’m Mirco, Founder of the Social Media Accelerator, Piggyback.

I’ve worked with some of the fastest growing companies and best marketing teams in the world including Zalando, Trade Republic, N26, foodspring, Wholey, vly, Getsafe, Nike, CLARK, and many startups.

At Piggyback, we help you ditch average, upskill with cutting-edge tactics and escape the competition through workshops, mentoring and our hands-on team accelerator program.

How can I help your company?
🚀 Grow your brand's social media channels with powerful strategies for high reach and high engagement content.
🚀 Upskill your team and help them get processes in place that take them from overwhelm to success with ease.
🚀 Keep learning, innovating and growing with fresh industry best-practice and tools.

Want to work with me? 🤝
1. Bespoke workshops to drive instant results
2. Bespoke social media strategy to get you to your goals
3. Mentoring to supercharge and support your team 
4. Accelerator program where we roll our sleeves up and get your socials thriving

I’m passionate about fitness, healthy food & beverages, A.I., clean energy and climate, mindfulness, wellness, innovation and longevity.

Ready to take your social media channels to the next level?
⚡️ DM me with the word "CALL" to set up a chat and take the first step towards transforming your social media marketing.

Still reading? Wow! 
Make sure you’ve got the 7 day crash course to supercharge your social media.
⚡️ Link in bio to get free growth hacks, proven workflows, community boosting, free tools and much more.

Mirco Gluch

Spotify crashed our Christmas event this year.
And so did someone else.

Last week, our team got together for our Pigsmas Christmas event, and this year was an extra special one.

That’s because we welcomed a brand new team member, Can Kalin, who actually had his very first day with us that day.

Naturally, we pulled out all the stops to celebrate his arrival and make our Christmas event a good one for the team.

We kicked the day off with a brunch in our office, prepared by Japanese chef Yumi. 

Later, we focused on some work stuff, where I gave the team a presentation on Piggyback’s three-year vision and some of our future goals.

After, we got into the fun part as the team ran their own workshops: one guessing which songs were trending on TikTok, and another all about astrology, where they we found out where each of us sits on the astrology spectrum.

Halfway through the day, we briefly had to step back into work-mode when Spotify Wrapped suddenly (and also sort of expectedly) dropped.

(But in true Piggyback fashion, we rallied and got one out for our clients in exactly 28 minutes... Impressive, I know.)

We then ended our busy day with a three course vegan dinner in a restaurant with a very fitting Piggy backdrop, which we, of course, chose because of it.

A big thank you to the entire Piggyback team and of course, for all your work this year. I’m so excited to start the new year with all of you, and with our new addition to our team!

Social Media Accelerator for Startups to Unicorns ⚡️ Ditch average content, upskill your team & supercharge your social channels | AI & Social Media Workshops, Speaker, Strategy & Team Extension 🐽

I had a very important conversation yesterday... Here's what it was all about:

Yesterday evening, I had the pleasure of joining Anna Suznjevic from Important Conversation (see what I did at the beginning there) on stage at Soho House Berlin, where we explored the power of relationships and co-creation.

(And this event ended up being the perfect example of exactly that!)

Over the evening, we talked about: 
– Why human consultants still matter in the age of AI, especially when advising the C-level 
– What makes a great briefing, and why the best ones solve one specific problem 
– How consultants differ from coaches 
– My own experience and journey, including the many pivots that led to the north star we now follow at Piggyback 

Massive thank you to Anna for having me and for being such a great host, and thanks to Soho House for the wonderful hospitality. I had such a great time!

One of the bravest things to do when the world is on fire is this:
Grow your business.

Why are we still doing it?

Because there are still genuinely hundreds of companies across Germany (and Europe) that genuinely need our help.

When I look at the social media presence of so many brands, there is a huge amount of opportunity just sitting there, untouched.

So many brands have great products, strong teams, and a lot of potential, but they are completely lost in the noise when it comes to social.

They don’t really understand their audience, their content lacks strategy, and their storytelling is flat.

And that’s exactly why we’re still growing, even when conditions around us aren’t perfect.

Growth for us is not about headcount for the sake of headcount (especially not in this climate).

It is about increasing our ability to solve real problems for real companies who need support, even if they don’t realise it yet.

Tough markets don’t mean all the opportunities are gone.

They just make it clearer who is willing to step up.

LinkedIn friends: I’m speaking at an event at Soho House tomorrow and have a few tickets to give away. Want to come?

At 6:30 PM tomorrow, I’ll be on stage at Soho House, talking about consulting for bigger businesses, with Anna Suznjevic from Important Conversation.

If you’re in Berlin and want to come along, comment “I’m interested”. 

I’ll then do a random draw and put a few lucky winners on the guest list.

Winners will get a DM on LinkedIn with all the details.

Hope to see you there!

We were in the top 0.1% of consultancies for checking our clients' views and engagement immediately after hitting post.

Check out that and more in the one you’ve all been waiting for… our Piggyback Wrapped! 🎁

Comment with your own proudest business or personal stat below.

The more ridiculous, the better.

Piggyback Wrapped 2025

AI browsers are quietly becoming one of the most useful tools for social media managers. 
And barely anyone is using them yet.

In this week's newsletter, I break down exactly what AI browsers are, what they can do, and the reasons why those in social media should start paying attention to them now.

Read the full newsletter here 👇

BROWSER, BROWSER ON THE SCREEN… If you’re a social media manager, chances are you have a million tabs open at once. Analytics in one place, content pl

Open article: How AI browsers will change how you manage social media by Mirco Gluch • 4 min read

How AI browsers will change how you manage social media

Social Media Managers: I’ve created an AI course just for you.
And for this weekend only, it’s just €199 plus VAT instead of €249.

Wrap up your year by diving into practical AI workflows built around real-life examples from our project partners, including Maniko, P&C, ImmoScout24, and RTL.

Created by social media experts for social media experts, this course puts your pain points, goals, and day-to-day challenges at the heart of every module.

By the end, you’ll have mastered AI for your everyday workflow, cut your weekly workload by up to five hours, and turned once-tedious tasks into effortless routines.

Ready to get started? 👋

Just head to the link in my profile, enter BLACKWEEK at checkout, and that's it! The code is valid until Monday evening.

P.S. The course is available in English and German, and all you need is ChatGPT Plus.

I need your help naming our flagship offer.
Piggyback’s “Accelerator Program” often gets mistaken for coaching... but we go in and do the actual work.

What the program really is: We "piggyback" on your marketing team for 6–18 months, produce content, post, run community management, handle reporting, set up workflows + tools, and (if you want) help hire and train the in-house team.

Who it’s for: B2C start-ups and scale-ups with somewhat untapped social (e.g. because growth came from other channels so far), and B2C Mittelstand under new marketing leadership who want to finally crack social.

This program does ~75% of our revenue, so the naming is kind of important :)

What should we call it? 
Vote below... and drop better ideas in the comments. 👇

Best name for our 6–18 months, hands-on social program?

Defne Gencler

Laurel Leaf

Laurel Leaf is a GTM-driven content agency for B2B SaaS and AI startups.

We close the gap between strategy and execution — delivering ICP research, messaging, and content strategy alongside full-funnel content that drives demand, enables sales, and builds your brand.

Senior-led, fast-moving, and embedded in your workflows, we're your strategic content marketing partner, without the overhead.

We’ve consistently 2-3x’d conversion rates for our clients, in addition to growing organic search traffic by 94% year-over-year for another client, with +31% time on site, +12% more interactions per session.

Founder & Managing Director

Google

- Advised marketing teams on engagement strategy for case studies, insights, and thought leadership articles on Think with Google Nordics/Benelux site
- Led the messaging strategy and production of various key Think with Google campaigns, including podcast episodes, Youtube video campaigns, social content, and thought leadership articles
- Created and oversaw execution of highest performing Think with Google social media assets to date during my tenure
- Scripted Think with Google YouTube ad with the lowest CPC for all Think with Google video ads
- Rallied and aligned stakeholders across teams on projects while managing expectations, timelines, and last-minute changes

Content and Engagement Lead

Fortune

- Produced and optimized editorial content for Fortune.com, managing publishing via WordPress and custom CMS tools
- Collaborated with in-house SEO team to align articles with search strategy and improve discoverability
- Identified UX and content gaps, driving recommendations to improve site experience and editorial workflows
- Audited digital assets and implemented CMS/HTML edits to ensure technical and visual consistency
- Reported on content performance and surfaced actionable insights to stakeholders to refine strategy and increase ROI

Digital Producer

Viacom

- Managed digital video content strategy and execution for VH1 and CMT websites and apps, across full episodes, highlights, bonus clips, and exclusives
- Delivered performance insights using key engagement metrics, helping shape editorial direction and platform prioritization
- Collaborated cross-functionally with Editorial, Video, and Engineering teams to manage production timelines and QA across platforms
- Owned project workflows in JIRA, tracking content requests, scheduling releases, and ensuring timely delivery across channels

Associate Producer

RR Donnelley

- Led content development and CMS management on key client account, ensuring consistency, quality, and on-brand execution
- Served as brand and messaging steward, maintaining editorial standards and optimizing content performance across platforms
- Partnered with distributed comms and marketing teams to align content strategy with broader GTM objectives and publishing cadence
- Oversaw social strategy and copywriting for RR Donnelley, driving engagement through consistent brand voice and strategic storytelling

Web Content Manager

Can't sell your product or service? My words turn copy into cash | Ex-Google

Most marketing teams face the same problem — and it’s killing their results.

I call it Message Misfire.

Your teams speak different languages. 
Your assets don't reflect your full value.
But you can't figure out quite how to bring your message to life.

Agencies and freelancers can help you either strategize or execute.

But they can't do both. 

At Laurel Leaf, we bring strategists and senior writers to the table from day one.

We can help you figure out what your message needs to be...
And bring it to life on different channels tied to your biggest GTM priorities...
While increasing traffic, interest, and conversions.

Previously, we've helped clients:

- 3x conversion rates
- Grow organic search traffic by 94% YoY
- Increase time on site (+31%) and engagement (+12%)

If you're tired of dealing with Message Misfire, let’s fix that: https://calendly.com/laurelleaf/projects

Founder

The Laurel Leaf team going home after 2 amazing days in London.

So great to meet clients, partners, and collaborators in person. 

Special shouts to:

The Dragonfly team for inviting us to their launch party. Exciting things ahead Sean King and Sven Sabas 🤩

Ben Hammond - so great to finally meet after a big collaboration this summer with more to come 🥳

And Elenor Hodgson - eventually all paths crossed on LinkedIn meet in person too 🫶🏼

And big thanks to Caitlin McCarthy for repping the Laurel Leaf team with me! 🌿

Defne Gencler 

Positioning, Messaging, and Content for B2B Tech Marketers

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Breaking news: AI expected to create millions of copywriting jobs by 2027. 

It's about to be a bloodbath.

Someone recently assumed I must be “really tech-y” because I work with so many B2B tech and AI companies.

I had to laugh because I’m actually not a that "tech-y." 
At least in the classical sense.

I didn’t study computer science.
I did try a code academy class (didn't get crazy far 😅) 
And I definitely don’t geek out over infrastructure diagrams.

My background is a weird mix of:

Philosophy, politics, anthropology, creative writing, TV writing, acting — anything that helped me understand people and how they make meaning.

And funny enough, that is exactly why my agency and I work so well with tech companies.

Because buyers don’t make decisions based on features or frameworks.

They make decisions based on a narrative that helps them make sense of their world... And where your product fits into it.

My real job isn’t being “technical.”

My job is to listen, learn fast, extract the signal, and turn complexity into a narrative that lands.

And in an industry that loves jargon and complexity, sometimes the most valuable person in the room…

is the one who can explain things so a human actually cares.

2010 to 2025 was the era of white bread content.

We flooded the internet with shallow articles, generic how to’s, and surface level listicles.

No POV or expertise. Basically a dictionary could have spat it out. 

And for a while t worked.

You could rank with commodity SEO.
You could win by publishing more than your competitors.
You could survive on content carbs alone.

2025 and beyond: that game is finished.

AI ate the top of the funnel.
Everyone can make something that “looks” good now.
So the bar's gone way up because the cost of creation has gone way down.

Top of funnel still matters.
But it is no longer enough.

Teams are shifting their energy into bottom of funnel content. The kind that helps buyers make confident decisions instead of filling the internet with more noise.

That means things like:

• Case studies that don’t read like press releases
• How it works explainers that connect your product to real needs
• Point of view pieces that prove you understand the problem better than anyone else

We just wrote a deep dive on this… why BOFU content is becoming the real growth engine and how to build it the right way.

Link in the comments.

If you’re a founder trying to land your next big customer, stop building your product.

I know it feels backwards.

But most founders don’t have a product problem. 
In fact, they've gotten to where they are because they have a great product. 

The main thing holding them back is actually the messaging. 

If buyers can’t instantly understand your value, your product is effectively incomplete.

Take it from me. 

Last year, I was struggling to help prospects understand the value of what we did. 

This year, I put my head down and got clear on our positioning & messaging strategy -- without changing our product THAT much. 

And managed to grow our revenue by nearly 60%. 

Messaging isn't something you fix after you land the next deal.
It's something you fix so you CAN land the next deal.

A marketing leader stopped me on a call last week and said: “Wait, you go this deep before you write anything?”

She was shocked at how much strategic GTM work happens before we work on website copy or ongoing content marketing campaigns.

And I loved her reaction. 

Because it hits at the exact issue in B2B marketing that I'm trying to resolve today. 
 
Bc here's the god's honest truth:

You can’t create effective content until you deeply understand the GTM engine it needs to support.

Here’s why we insist on doing this work up front:

🌿 Messaging isn’t a garnish  it’s the architecture.
Without a clear narrative, you end up with 27 disconnected “topics,” none of which actually move buyers.

🌿 Content is downstream of ICP clarity.
If you don’t know who you’re talking to (and who you aren’t), every asset becomes generic and forgettable.

🌿 Your entire funnel needs to have a cohesive story.
If they don’t, your buyer feels it immediately — and conversions suffer.

🌿 The story shapes the formats, not the other way around.
You don’t start by deciding to write a blog.
You start by understanding the narrative your market actually needs to hear (and where they listen.)

This is why our first weeks with a client aren’t about output.

They’re about alignment. Message mapping. ICP nuance. Objection patterns. Founder POV. Buyer context.

(And yes — sometimes that surprises people.)

But once that foundation is in place, the content engine turns on fast — and every asset hits harder because it connects back to a clear, defensible story.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned this year, it’s this:

High-performing content is really just high-fidelity strategy expressed through writing.

And until companies treat it that way, they’ll keep wondering why their content isn’t converting.

Customer research is the most crucial investment you can make to stop wasting budget on campaigns that are doomed to fail.

"Our global brand guidelines just aren't resonating in our region."

This was the challenge a prospective client brought to me recently. Their one-size-fits-all messaging was falling flat in a key local market.

And it's a problem I'm seeing more and more.

Companies are realizing they can't operate on assumptions anymore.

Another prospect, a major health tech company, faced a similar issue. They were losing a key segment. And to win them back, they knew they couldn't just show up. They needed a tailored messaging strategy fueled by actual insights.

The lesson is clear: Research isn't a cost center; it's the engine for growth.
You can't create demand if you don't understand what your audience truly values, in their own words, within their own market context.

Before you launch another campaign, ask yourself:

- Are we validating our ICPs before we assume who they are?
- Is our messaging based on customer interviews or internal workshops?
- Are we speaking their language, or just translating our thoughts?

Investing in this upfront saves you from wasting budget on campaigns that never had a chance.

If you're exhausted building a multi channel distribution strategy, you're not doing anything wrong. You just never had a system built for coherence.

Here's a cleaner way to build a multi channel presence 
(without burning out).

→ Align on a core messaging strategy
Get clear on the narrative you want to reinforce.
Tailor it for each ICP or region if you've scaled.

→ Create your hero piece
This is your source of truth.
Fill it with your unique insights, POV, and proof.
AI can’t invent your expertise. It can only extend it.

→ Build your repurposing workflows
Set up an agent or system that reshapes the hero piece into channel native posts, emails, scripts, or assets. Same message. Different shape. Right format.

When you do this, everything feels lighter.

Your channels finally stay aligned.
Your audience trusts you wherever they find you.
Your team moves faster because no one is reinventing the story every week.

PS: If you want help setting this up, this is exactly what we’re building at Laurel Leaf. We’re obsessed with helping teams stay coherent across every channel without adding more work to their plates.

taplio

The Battle

Mirco Gluch

Defne Gencler

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taplio

The Battle

Mirco Gluch

Defne Gencler

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Mirco Gluch's LinkedIn Performance

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