From Content Creator to Compliance Queen: Sabrina Merritt’s Journey in Digital Media

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of GWBC’s Open for Business and this is going to be a good one. Today on the show we have Sabrina Merritt with October Social media. Welcome.

Sabrina Merritt: Thanks so much, Lee. I’m excited to be here.

Lee Kantor: Well, I’m excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about October Social Media. How are you serving folks?

Sabrina Merritt: Absolutely. October Social Media is a digital communications firm that specializes in regulated industries and government agencies. So when we think about digital communications, think about social media, digital advertising, email strategy, content production, public engagement. Everything that has to do with digital, from soup to nuts, is what we offer. And we really strive or shine, I should say. And not only producing stellar outputs for our clients, but also working with our clients to create workflows and processes internally that help make their digital communications strategic, comprehensive and easy to handle. Specifically, when you have those lean communications or marketing teams.

Lee Kantor: So what’s your back story? How did you get involved in this line of work?

Sabrina Merritt: So yeah, a funny story. I actually started out as a content creator, producing music, doing singing across the globe. I released a album in Japan, and doing that work really led me into exploring more about the digital space. From there, I decided, okay, I want to learn more about how corporations and businesses are leveraging Technology. And so I then ran or excuse me, was a part of a social media team at international NGO care, then ran a Ran social for a fortune 500 here in Atlanta. Pulte homes across their four brands. And then in 2016, decided I wanted to hang up my own shingle, as they say, and start October social media. And so we’ve been doing that for the last almost nine years, serving clients across the United States and abroad.

Lee Kantor: Now how having kind of experienced social media in a variety of ways and working for a variety of types of businesses, what makes kind of social media for government agencies and these kind of regulated industries different than maybe just a traditional business that is a not a government or a regulated industry?

Sabrina Merritt: That’s a great question. So, frankly, government agencies and regulated industries really have requirements and parameters around how they can engage with the public. So they have a duty to educate and inform. When we think about governments and regulated brands are looking mostly to again educate and inform consumers about their products and services. But they both have to think about compliance. So it requires that we’re creative and strategic, while also staying up to date on the latest compliance and regulations as it pertains to each industry. And that is an additional layer that a lot of other businesses don’t have to think about when they’re producing content for our clients. If we’re not following compliance, we’re breaking any federal rules and regulations around how they engage with the public. They can be fined and it can be pretty detrimental for the organization. So knowing both compliance and having that ability to be strategic and creative is really where we shine, and how we differentiate ourselves from other agencies who don’t focus on these particular areas.

Lee Kantor: So when an agency is trying to do this themselves, I would imagine since they don’t have the expertise and the skill that you have and the experience that you have, their information might not create the same level of engagement that yours does. Is that kind of a big differentiator for hiring or working with a firm like yours, as opposed to kind of just going at it alone?

Sabrina Merritt: Absolutely. So a few things happen specifically for government communicators. First, most government communicators have a background in communications or journalism, which are very admirable fields. But what’s missing from that component is the digital marketing component. So how do you use digital tools in order to again educate and Educate and inform convey your key messages, while also being able to understand what analytics you should be tracking and how you can communicate to leadership that ROI. Um, the other thing that government communicators often face is just having a lean team. So maybe they are well versed in digital marketing or digital communications, but they are spread very thin because they have multiple tasks outside of just, uh, for example, social media or email that they are responsible for. So where we really shine is that we come in and act as an extension of a team, specifically those lean teams. And yes, you’re absolutely right. Our content is able to increase engagement and get in and get in front of the right people on the right channels, because we have, again, have that understanding of strategy, creativity while and compliance. And that’s really the difference. We’re thinking about what needs to happen from an organizational level, or thinking about what language is inherent to that specific social media channel so that people, your audience on that channel feels like you understand that the the language and the sort of the vibe of the channel. Um, so it doesn’t feel forced and it feels like the content is in the right place. But then again, we’re also aware of that compliance aspect. So we’re not making recommendations. That is going to get your organization in trouble. And we’re not making recommendations that are hard to achieve or sustain practically when you have a lean team. And I think that makes all of the difference, the understanding of those three components, while also understanding that, uh, our point of contact or our client has so many things going on that they really need sustainable, practical solutions that produce results.

Lee Kantor: So when you’re working with an organization, what are kind of like how do you uncover those metrics that matter or the outcomes that they desire, because I’m sure they come in trying to solve problem X, but after talking to you, you kind of uncover other things, or maybe like things you know, that they don’t know. And then all of a sudden the scope changes a little bit and the metrics that matter maybe shift from what they initially thought to what really is achievable.

Sabrina Merritt: Lee, have you been sitting in on my meetings? That’s exactly what’s been happening. Uh, and it happens all the time. How we get there is really quite simple. We always start off by just listening and hearing what the challenges are. And then you’re absolutely right. Because we’ve been doing this for a while, we’re able to also understand what the undercurrents are, what are the core issues that are causing some of the challenges that clients come to us with. So we typically start with, uh, after that, listening, doing a social audit and putting together a social strategy. Once we understand what the goals are and we’re able to look at the data, we can make informed recommendations in our strategy to get to the acquired results or excuse me, the desired results. And then we’re able to also, from that point, understand what key performance indicators we should be tracking. So we always start with what are the organizational goals. What are the communication goals and how do those things intertwine. And then we create. We look at the data. We talk to internal stakeholders and we make recommendations that are again sustainable. But we also use that information to identify how we’re measuring success and tracking that ROI.

Lee Kantor: Now, when you’re working with these organizations, especially the government ones are usually one of their objectives is to I don’t want to say fire you after they hire you, but to kind of kind of transition to, hey, we want to we want you to jump start this. We want you to launch this. We want you to put systems in place, and we want to have some elegant handoff so that we can then have a team member kind of keep this going for a period of time, and maybe check in with you every so often to make sure we’re still on track. Or maybe things have changed and now you can kind of help us be better.

Sabrina Merritt: Absolutely. So a lot of our clients, especially our government clients, do come to us. Exactly. With that in mind, hey, we have an issue. We’d love for you to come in, assess what’s happening, put together a strategy and action plan and help get us up to speed. And then we would love to be able to take it from there. And that’s exactly what we want for our clients. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but, um, from a business standpoint and just from an ethical standpoint, we don’t want to make recommendations where everything has to be tied to us in order for it to be successful. If that is the only way you can be successful through every aspect of your digital communications, then we feel like we haven’t done a great job. So we definitely come in and address acute needs. And then usually we put together an SOP or a very detailed strategy in order for that department to continue the work that we’ve done together. However, we also specialize in social media training. So and we offer 1 to 1 consulting hours as well. So often what happens is that after we’ve done that and we’ve had that sign off, clients continue to engage us to make sure that their internal teams stay shored up on social media. All the technology, emerging technology platform changes as it relates to functionality. Rules and regulations around advertising, etc. and then they keep us on call, if you will, with 1 to 1 consulting hours where they’re sort of doctors hours where we spend time together answering questions, addressing acute needs and supporting them should they have any questions. Post engagement around strategies or workflows and processes, while if and when internal needs change.

Lee Kantor: Now, what are some of the things that maybe organizations aren’t aware that having a robust social media presence and systems in place to execute could help their organizations? Maybe like, what are some of the obvious things and maybe what are some of the not so obvious ways that organizations could be using social media?

Sabrina Merritt: Yeah. So some of the obvious things that having a robust social media just program can do for an organization is one it can make you the brand authority on that particular issue. One of the common challenges for government agencies, but just across the internet and specifically social media, is combating, uh, just misinformation. So making sure that when someone or a community member or citizen. A resident wants to know what’s going on locally or wants to understand what’s happening on a national level. Instead of going to other outlets that aren’t confirmed or may not have the latest information, they understand that your organization, your agency, your state authority is the authority on this information, and they come to you first for what they believe to be credible. Information that improves, enhances their quality of life or just educates them. The thing that might not be so obvious is the role that employees can play in having a robust social media program, especially those programs, um, where, um, only organic, uh, social media is being leveraged, having employees, uh, like your post, share your post, uh, engage with your posts can be one of one of the most, uh, pivotal strategic tactics for any organization because nothing serves best as employee word of mouth, um, and you leveraging employee networks to share and disseminate, uh, key messages.

Lee Kantor: Now, when, uh, one of your clients is, um, maybe about to hire or, uh, find the right talent internally, what are some of the characteristics that make for good digital talent?

Sabrina Merritt: That is an amazing question. I would say some of the characteristics that make for a great digital talent is someone who understands not just digital strategy, but again, really is keyed on who their client is and what’s happening internally in the organization in order to make recommendations that are practical and sustainable and can be executed by the organization. Um, a lot of times you may have a digital agency that has grand ideas as it relates to, uh, social media campaigns, uh, content creation, but they’re not keeping in mind the budget, the talent, the resources and the bandwidth of the organization. So the ideas may be great, but they’re not specific or customizable enough for the client. And as a result, often clients, uh, end the engagement feeling like they’ve been underserved or they’ve been given a bunch of ideas, but they just don’t have the time to execute them. And so it’s really important that when you’re working with, uh, a digital hire, whether you’re bringing them in, uh, internally or you’re hiring a digital vendor that they’re thinking about your digital communications and your social media, uh, holistically and not they’re not just focused on the outputs. They’re also interested in how your organization is being run, what your goals are and what your team’s time, resources, bandwidth, and also, uh, what the skill gaps are in order to really support you in something that you feel good about. And that’s moving the needle for your organization.

Lee Kantor: Now, in this space, it seems like things change so rapidly. And every day you hear of a new technology or app or something out there that I should be paying attention to, or else I’m missing out. Um, how do you help your clients manage some of the just, you know, separating kind of the stuff that’s maybe a fad, then something that’s really a trend, like, say, I like, how do you help them? Um, you know, kind of leverage that if possible, at the level they are or, um, or engage with your team to help them leverage it so they get the most out of it.

Sabrina Merritt: That’s a great question. So we do that in a few ways. Uh, all of our clients receive our monthly newsletter where we talk about social media, the changes to the industry, and we also often share tips and tricks that their teams can leverage. So that’s one way that we do it. Another thing that we do is that internally, our team goes through a monthly training to not only stay up on compliance updates, but also just talk about emerging technologies. Again, the changes in functionality, but also the industry changes. So right now in social media, there’s a lot going on. Um, currently TikTok is still on the table to be banned. So there’s a thought about that. Um, there’s also changes in ownership as it relates to, uh, different platforms. And so we like to stay educated and informed as well, so that when we’re meeting with our clients on a weekly or bi weekly or monthly basis, or when we’re making our recommendations or recommendations and having project meetings, we can inform them about these changes as well, and how it impacts their strategy and what they should be thinking about. The final way that we do this is that again, we offer social media training. So we also recommend to our clients on our ongoing basis that they participate in one of our trainings, either directly or for one of our teams. And if they’re not, if they have decided not to buy, um, a social media training workshop, uh, throughout the year on a quarterly basis, we offer a free social media training for our clients, uh, just to make sure that they’re informed. We have a strong belief in continuing education, and we believe that an informed client is a better client to work with because they’re more educated about the space. They ask better questions and they become better collaborators when we’re working from the same base of knowledge.

Lee Kantor: Now, why was it important for you to have your firm certified and become part of the GW BC community?

Sabrina Merritt: Well, I have to say that when I first started my business, I was looking for information everywhere. So I really wanted to first join a community of like minded individuals, um, specifically other women who were looking to take their business to the next level. Um, and I have found that this community has really been a bevy of knowledge. I have met not only other friends and business owners that I can commiserate with, but also mentors who are further ahead in, in, uh, their business who have already done some of the things that we’re aspiring to do. Um, and I have a resource where I can go to people firsthand and say, hey, this situation is happening, or, um, this new opportunity is coming up. What should I do? What did you do? What things should I keep in mind? The other thing, uh, reason I wanted to be certified is because I, like I just said I wanted to take my business to the next level. And when you are certified, uh, specifically, uh, when you’re working with corporations Relations and or government agencies. That really solidifies for those potential clients looking at you that you are serious, um, that you understand the value of community and certification and you understand how to use it as a business tool in order to get you in some of the spaces. You wouldn’t be, uh, ordinarily. The last thing I’ll say is, the other reason I joined is because I heard about, uh, the great matchmaking, uh, opportunities that happen throughout the year. Um, I have taken advantage of those. And through some of those opportunities that happen throughout the year, uh, have been able to connect and serve with, uh, as a subcontractor for larger organizations. So I am a fan. I will continue to recertify every year, um, because it really has worked for my business. And having that community, um, has just been really invaluable.

Lee Kantor: So what do you need more of? How can we help you?

Sabrina Merritt: Well, I’m gonna say what all I hope all of the businesses have been saying is that we want more clients. We want to be more connected with people, uh, that can use our services. So if you are a prime contractor with a government agency and you’re looking for a subcontractor who has our capabilities, we’d love to talk with you. If you are in need of a social media overhaul and you are a mid-market, uh, regulated industry, uh, business corporation enterprise, we’d love to talk with you. Uh, if you if your organization is in need of social media training and you just want to shore up your internal staff or, uh, small businesses or, uh, your employee advocacy programs, we’d love to partner with you and help you meet your organizational goals.

Lee Kantor: So if somebody wants to learn more, have a more substantive conversation with you or somebody on the team, can you share the points of contact, like what’s the best way to connect and website or socials?

Sabrina Merritt: Absolutely. So first and foremost you can learn more about us at October Social Media Comm. You can also follow us on Instagram at October social media. If you would like to reach out to us directly because you heard some amazing things in our chat today, please feel free to contact me directly at Sabrina Sabrina at October social media.com.

Lee Kantor: Well, Sabrina, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Sabrina Merritt: Thanks so much, Lee, for having me. This has been a blast.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on GW BBQ. Open for business.