About Me
I’ve spent the last fifteen years helping brands, organizations, and individuals make an impact with their digital presence. I presently work as the Global Social Media Lead for a San Francisco-based tech company.
Outside of work, I love Broadway, brushing up on my cooking skills, travel, cycling, reading, and writing. I grew up in a small town in Central Illinois, called Chicago home for eleven years, and relocated to New York City in 2018, where I presently reside in Chelsea.
Below, you can learn more about my work, get my free social media advice, and see my subpar Instagram skills.
Experience
I’ve had an unconventional career path. My professional journey began managing marketing and communication for non-profits and megachurches. Yes, you read that right. Megachurches. We can discuss that over coffee sometime. I went on to be self-employed for nearly a decade. My work spanned industries and verticals, including best-selling authors, international brands, startup companies, publishing houses, non-profit organizations, recording artists, national conference organizers, small business owners, and everyday people who wanted to make an impact with their digital presence.
In September 2018, a client turned into my full-time employer and left my freelance life behind when I joined the team at Twilio as their Social Media Manager. In my time there, I’ve grown their social media audience by 40%, launched an internal employee social media sharing platform, and regularly advise C-suite leaders on their social media.
Highlights
Running strategy for social media accounts of major brands and influencers with over 20 million followers on social media.
Creating, implementing, and managing the digital marketing and social media strategy for over 15 New York Times best-selling book launches, and 5 Billboard and iTunes top 10 albums.
Overseeing marketing and communication for one of America's largest evangelical megachurches.
Managing day-to-day social media for clients who have seen their audience triple in size in one year without any paid advertising.
Leading social media teams for national conferences which trended nationally and internationally on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, reaching over 200 million impressions of content.
Helping a number of Silicon Valley startup companies get their social media presence jumpstarted, one of which was the largest crowd-funded products in its category.
Some of my clients include: HarperCollins Publishing, Penguin, WaterBrook/Multnomah, Baker Publishing, Zondervan, Thomas Nelson Publishers, VSC PR, Barna Group, Michael Hyatt & Co., The Global Leadership Network, Hillsong Music, SONY/EMI Records, Elevation Worship, Lakewood Church, Newsela, Mammoth Biosciences, and handful of failed startups (their fault, not mine).
I was also one of the co-founders of Church Clarity, a website that holds churches accountable for their policies on LGBTQ+ people and women in leadership.
My work has been featured on NBC, VICE, Publisher’s Weekly, and Al Jazeera America.
The worst typo I ever made on a social media post was misspelling the word “publicly.”
My Free Advice
I've been doing social media for over a decade, and I've learned a few things along the way. Namely, that you can never know everything there is to know about social media because it changes every day. So anytime someone introduces themselves as a social media expert, don't trust them.
Here are a few pieces of free advice, though, on some things that I think are true for any brand, organization, or individual that wants to make an impact with their social media.
1 - Social media success = consistency over time. Social media is a marathon, not a sprint. Yes, we'd all love to see our content go viral, but the truth is, the people who do best on social media are the ones who put in the work. Know who you're trying to talk to, understand why what you have to say matters to them, and consistently deliver content that's valuable to them.
2 - Social is the keyword in social media. Content is half the battle. What people value the most in social media is engagement: how social you or your brand is with them on social media. Always be listening, engaging, and doing what you can to let your audience know they are seen and heard. Social media isn’t a broadcast platform, it’s a place to build a relationship with your audience.
3 - There are riches in the niches. The thing that is most unique about you is the #1 asset you have to offer to the audience you're trying to build. The more far out, wild, and unique the better. Don't try to build your success being like everybody else, let your freak flag fly and the right people will find you and reward you with their engagement, interest, and $$.
4 - Don't buy followers. Ever. Just don't. Also, my personal belief is great content doesn't need to be boosted, promoted, or sponsored. You shouldn't have to pay to get people's attention. Great content should market itself. That’s not to say I don’t believe in paid social, but I am a fan of all things organic first, not just my produce.
5 - #hashtags are thirsty. I think hashtags are a cry for attention and should be used sparingly and strategically. #sorrynotsorry
Want more advice? Hire me to work with you.
Contact
If you want to get in touch, please fill out this form and I’ll do my best to reply within 24-48 hours.
As mentioned above, I have a day job I love, but I occassionally have time and margin to take on some side projects.
I am avaiable for social media and digital marketing strategy, website design, book proposal design, and short-term social media management.
If you’d like to explore working together, drop me a note.
Let’s Connect