How Social Graces Came To Be
Ever since I could remember I was fascinated by social media. Back in the day of Myspace (woah I am old!) I would make my profile as snazzy as I could. I would make sure it was the best looking profile out there. I would work daily on it, perfecting my pictures and HTML code to get it looking just right. I remember the first day I joined Facebook, I was only a freshman in high school, this was a time when Facebook was supposedly just for college students still, but one of my friends was on it and they somehow invited me to join. I was definitely underwhelmed but the lack of photos and visuals. But of course quickly adapted to the new platform and eventually stopped logging in to my Myspace and instead became obsessed over my Facebook. In college I joined Instagram, it was the latest app to Iphone users to be a part of, I loved the idea of sharing just photos. If you could see my first IG photos I posted, it would be pretty comical though. Needless to say, I have always had a passion for social media and it’s ever emerging and forming new ways.
When it came time to applying for college and picking a major it was a toss up between journalism and business communications. I went with the business communications, keeping in mind that it could possibly lead me to do something with social media. I ended up minoring in media analysis just so I could get more exposure and a step closure to the social media world. After graduating college, the social media world didn’t seem like a feasible place to work, most companies weren’t hiring social media jobs. So I joined the corporate world, but always had side projects for my job roles doing social media related things, like running the companies Instagram account. About little over a year ago, a role presented itself, a social media advocate at the company I currently work for. I quickly applied and was lucky enough to be offered the role. This consisted of replying to customers on social media, I knew it was the beginning start to my ideal role. Fast forward to presently and I have created the job into what I have always wanted to be a part of. I get to create fun content, work on content calendars, engage with customers, analyze our successes and opportunities. It literally makes my day when I create something and it gets posted on our feed and then watch the reactions and comments come in. Just like people have their ever vices that keep them motivated to get up in the morning, mine is social media.
Now that I have had some real hands on experience with helping a brand triumph on social media, I want more! I want to do more. I want to grow more. One day I was having a casual conversation with my mother. I was telling her I had this itch and idea to create a company and literally blurted out, “I want to help companies get in the social graces of the social media world”. Then it all clicked. SOCIAL GRACES, SOCIAL MEDIA! That could be the name of my company! I ran home and started thinking about it some more and my heart started racing and my face lit up. I feel like that is when you know you are on to something good.
After doing some research and planning out how I could make this all possible. I then had doubts creep up into my brain. WOAH, who do I think I am starting my own business? I don’t know how to do that. What if I don’t get any clients? How do I know how much to charge? What upfront costs do I need to pay to do this? What if I fail? BUT WHAT IF I SUCCEED? And that statement to me is much for powerful than any of my insecurities combined.
I have always strongly believed in the value of social media. Since day ONE! There is always a lot of talk in the industry on how to measure ROI (return on investment). My thoughts are that of course the numbers and percentage is the bread and butter. Successful numbers, like impressions, reach, engagements, etc. all helps with sales and growth for any company. But, I also believe that ROI lies where something magical happens. It is empowering others to do good, feel good, take action, it is thought provoking, it causes laughter or maybe evokes emotions of sadness, all because of your content you are posting. To me it is more than just numbers and spreadsheets. It is that thing that makes a person want to open there phone and go directly to your page to see what you posted about today. They just have to see your social media account because it brings a smile to their face. THAT is where my passion lives and that is what Social Graces is all about!
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