Bay Area Social Media Management

As a social media manager, my passion is to create online communities for a unified cause.  That cause can be financial, informational, supportive, or social.  Because I’ve worked with organizations like Stanford University, the Junior League of San Jose, and Menlo College, I have a special affinity for using social media to develop and promote the causes of non-profit organizations and the businesses that support those causes.

If you’ve seen the movie “The Blind Side” you know that the phrase ‘blind side’ refers to the area around a quarterback which he can’t see that needs to be protected by someone else.  Michael Oher plays left tackle and protects the quarterback’s blind side.  But Michael Oher’s blind side is protected by Leigh Anne Tuohy and her family.  For me, ‘blind side’ is a metaphor for becoming aware of a need and taking the opportunity to make a difference.  Once you see the need, you can’t ignore it.

I have been an avid Facebook user for several years.  It enables me to keep in touch with over 450 family, friends, colleagues, and organizations.  Whenever I have a need that goes beyond my immediate family and friends, I reach out to my online community on Facebook for everything from recipes to job opportunities.  Usually in less than an hour I have many responses even from distant connections like a high school acquaintance I haven’t spoken to since graduation.  I never cease to be amazed and touched by how much compassion, expertise, and assistance gets exchanged through social media.  I’m not kidding when I tell you that I get out of bed in the morning thinking about how I can harness the power of social media to create networks of people paying it forward.

Social media has the power to illuminate ‘blind spots’ which provides us with the opportunity to be a part of the solution.  As a social media manager, I like to focus on ways to build and promote support networks for non-profits and small businesses.  I see them existing synergistically.  Small businesses need to promote their products and services but often don’t have the capital to invest in large scale advertising or mailings.  Non-profits can exchange Facebook posts and tweets for products, services, and other donations they need.  And when you pair community organizations with local businesses, you get online advertising for a cause.  Factor in all the individuals networked with businesses and non-profit organizations, and you can begin to get an idea of why I wake up in the morning eager to get to work.

I’ll give you an example.  I am a member of the Junior League of San Jose (JLSJ), a fabulous organization based in Santa Clara County which prepares children to enter kindergarten ready to learn and thrive.  Businesses who donate to JLSJ are interested in supporting our cause and connecting with our community.  JLSJ has almost one thousand members. I am one member and I have 475 friends on Facebook.  If all JLSJ members promoted our sponsors to our networks, just IMAGINE how many people we could reach.  And if people in our networks joined in, you could start a movement to support the cause of JLSJ and the businesses who support it.

For me, this is the beauty of social media.  It connects billions of people together.  It allows one person to start a movement to make a difference.  It allows small scale participation to add up to large scale results for businesses, individuals, and causes.  If you ask me, I will tell you I have the best job in the world.