We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Marly Hanson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Marly thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Growing up both of my parents owned or worked at small businesses so I have always had a special place in my heart for the success of a small business. Especially as I got older and realized how much the success of those businesses was directly related to the income my parents brought home! Supporting small businesses goes way beyond just the service or product you receive as a buyer but directly relates to the kind of life the owners can provide for themselves and their families. When I partner with a wedding vendor to provide them with insight, encouragement, direction, service, and more – I feel so blessed because I get to be closely related to the success of their business. My mission is to come alongside wedding vendors and business owners to equip and inspire them through social media marketing, which in turn affects their revenue and directly affects their families and dreams. The goal is to create a structure with them that allows the owner to have a work/life balance that works for them, while also establishing a strong client base!

Marly, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My business, MarMediaMarketing, is founded in big encouragement, starting the day with intentions, and investing in life as much as a business! We believe in building our business around a purpose that allows you to GROW & THRIVE in the same season! As a social media consultant and consumer, It was getting more and more common to find a business that knew they needed a social media presence but felt overwhelmed or unsure about what to even share that would move the needle in their business or create a connection with the customers. This is why I started the company – I KNEW I had to figure out how to educate business owners on how to grow on social media and how to create solid, authentic, organic client bases that support businesses for years and years! I consult, encourage, inspire, write content copy, run socials, and so much more. I love what I do & I love chatting with people all day.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

The answer to this isn’t glamours or some quick tip to social media growth like you may think from a social media marketer. I truly grew into the clientele I have today but simply being consistent. Sharing authentic education, encouragement, and my life over months and months of time allowed me to have the solid client base I have now. In order for someone to invest in you or trust you with their business, they need to know, like, and trust you. That comes from continually showing up to serve my audience in whatever way I could. My advice to those starting out is to find a posting schedule that works for you and stick to it! Listen to your audience about what they like to see from you and run with it. The more you serve through your social media presence, the more and more the audience will share you with others, invest in you, and trust that when you offer a service or product it will be just what you say!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

This story is pretty recent as less than a year ago we went from being an active-duty military family to a veteran family. I married my high school sweetheart when I was 19 years old and moved to the south by a military base. Although we never talked about it, I think I assumed that my husband would be in the military for years and years of time – he loved his job and I loved where we lived. As the years went on we settled into a routine, one that meant many months apart and emotional ups and downs, but a routine nonetheless. We spent 6 and a half years of our relationship working through deployments, training trips, long hours, missed events, and a slew of other things that come with military life. As brutal as it was some weeks, we adjusted to that lifestyle and settled into a way that worked for our family. I developed friendships, launched a business, and put down roots. However, the longer it went on we realized that as much as we felt comfortable in this lifestyle we couldn’t stay here. It wasn’t what we wanted for our life long term. After much discussion, we made the hard decision for my husband to leave the 75th Ranger Regiment and start his college career. To say that was a life pivot would be a MASSIVE understatement. We went from living in the warm south to moving to Chicago, from long distances to seeing each other every day, to being near friends to knowing no one, from deployments to class schedules… it was one of the hardest things we have ever done to this day. Everything about our marriage structure, lifestyle structure, and location changed. Although we spent months crawling through emotions and struggles, I can safely say that we are glad we made this decision. Our life is closer and closer to what we dreamed about all those long deployment months. My business is thriving, our marriage is the best it has ever been, and we love our home and city life. While it still affects our lives on a daily basis, it allows us to be grateful for our special views on life. If you are a transitioning military family, I see you – you are not alone. You’ve got this friend!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://marlyhanson.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marlykhanson/

Image Credits
Michelle from Cirrus Gold Creative Company