We recently connected with Lauren Bosk and have shared our conversation below.

Lauren, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a time you helped a customer really get an amazing result through their work with you.

I’ve managed social media accounts for a variety of industries but one of the most successful accounts I’ve managed grew not only their following but also their engagement very quickly. Funny enough, this company found me through social media (that’s the power of optimizing your Instagram bio and using hashtags strategically) and sent me a DM. They had just launched their business and between managing inventory and events to being amazing Moms to seven children, they needed someone to help them with their social media management, content creation, and strategy. We did a full branded photo shoot to create content from the start and discussed their business goals. With social media, there’s a need for brand awareness along with the opportunity to gain leads and sales through a social media strategy. We focused on brand awareness and community above all else. Within a couple of months we not only grew their followers but they also were gaining so many customers and sales! One of the biggest lessons I learned from working with their account was to keep things authentic. While it is important to have an aesthetic on your social media feed, don’t get stuck on “perfection.” For example, we did a “Day in the Life” reel showing the “Mom Life” side of their lives along with the business woman side. While Instagram and social media as a whole can look like a “pretty picture” we found that people wanted to see the real side of running the business, real customers on their feed, and how they could relate.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I started running social media in my full time job back in 2018 and it was one of those things that I loved to do. I really just had fun coming up with new and creative ideas for our company’s branding, keeping things real, and relatable, and it really took off. Flash forward to 2020, and when the restaurant & bar I worked at was closed due to Covid, I reached out to a brand and offered to run their social media. This was my first step into the entrepreneur life and I loved it and found that the formula is also the same. With this company, I just came up with fun ideas to brand their product and we did a few photo shoots to create that FOMO effect on their feed. I then picked up another brand in the same industry and had two accounts I was managing on the side.

About a year ago, both of these accounts parted ways for various reasons related to their business. I honestly felt so depleted in that moment and didn’t know if this business would take off. When I was going to regroup, I had a few companies reach out to me and a few friends refer my social media services to other Baltimore businesses. It’s so important to network and I am so grateful to my Baltimore network who continues to support me and my business.

By October, I had brought on so many clients that I knew I couldn’t continue working my full time job and freelance. I also knew if I didn’t put 1000% into this business I would regret it. So while I loved my full time job and the people I worked with, I knew it was time to part ways and start working on my dreams. I’m so glad I took this leap. The one thing I’ve learned is that starting a business even with very little overhead is hard work. Nobody gets here overnight and I’ve learned to surround myself with other like-minded friends and business owners because you will need that support daily. You also have to give yourself grace because you will make mistakes but that is how you’ll also learn.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

It’s interesting – My goal with my social media account and my client’s accounts isn’t to have the highest number of followers ever. The goal is to have an engaged community. I build my audience on social media through real life – a lot of my followers I’ve met through networking, jobs, and the community. For any business owner or company looking to build their presence, I would advise them to hire a social media manager if they are serious about marketing and growing on these platforms. There is a strategy involved in having a strong social media presence. We’re no longer in the days of posting a “pretty picture with a caption” or assigning Instagram and Facebook to the Office Managers of the workplace. Every single photo, video, caption, and hashtag I use is strategic on a company’s social media account. The biggest piece of advice I can also give is that no one goes on Instagram or Facebook to be sold to. People forget, social media is about connecting, having conversations, and sharing our stories. Find ways for people to relate to your business, create that community, and I guarantee you’ll see growth in both your social media and your business.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

With most of my clients, we have weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly calls or meetings. While the majority of my job is remote, I set up shareable documents so they can communicate upcoming promotions, events, or anything I need to be in the know about. I utilize shared albums and google drive so clients can send photos and videos to me that I use to create their content. I ensure I send all clients their weekly content in advance for review so they know the exact post with their copy that will go on their social media accounts. This fosters brand loyalty so they know their account is taken care of. Social media requires the business’s involvement so the accounts that perform the best are involved with sending me their content requests, photos, videos, and ideas for their business and carving out time each week. While I do the heavy lifting there needs to be clear communication on both sides to be successful.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.boskbrandmanagement.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boskbrandmgmt/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenbosk/

Image Credits
Headshots: Alex Hedley @alexhedleyphotography Beach Photo & Sunglasses Cream Top Photo: Alex Ashman @alexashmanphotos