Today we’d like to introduce you to Garin Michelson

Hi Garin, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?

I used to be a teacher. I taught high school history in New York City. I loved it and imagined myself being a teacher for life. But then I had my first child in 2016 and decided to stay home with him. When my second child was born in 2018, I envisioned myself going back to work when she got a little older.

But as time went on, I no longer felt compelled to go back into the classroom. I wanted to find some way to use my skills and knowledge with a more flexible schedule. I always tell people that my goal was to be there when my kids got off the bus. And they get off the bus at 2:20, so that is no easy feat! Yet somehow, I have managed to be there almost every single day.

In early 2022, through scrolling on Instagram, I came across an account that preaches ways to work from home. The woman who runs the account speaks to moms who need to earn an income, but also want to be home with their children. I felt that she was speaking directly to me (which, in hindsight, is truly brilliant marketing). So I invested in her course and learned all about the world of online service providers.

It didn’t take me long from there to determine that social media management was the right direction for me. I love the creativity and strategy, and love engaging with others. Micala, the woman who ran the course I took, told me that if I could get high schoolers engaged in a discussion about whatever historical topic, then I too could get people talking on social media. I could become a facilitator, which was something I was trained to do. I believed her and dove right in.

My first job as an online service provider actually had nothing to do with social media. I was hired to edit and rewrite historical texts for students. As writing has always been one of my strengths, my first client was very pleased with my work and I knew that I could take my writing skills with me into social media management.

I then communicated my new business with my personal network and was hired by a couple of friends and acquaintances to manage their social media accounts. I am forever grateful to them for trusting me when I barely trusted myself, and for allowing me to learn on the job, mistakes and all!

I have now been doing this for almost 2.5 years. I have honed my skills through additional courses, mentorships, community memberships and on-the-job training. I continue to learn and grow over time, and I have developed systems and client experience tools that have elevated my business. I have strategically partnered with others in my space to learn from them, and work for them. I am proud of where I started and where I am now, and I am excited to continue to learn, grow and evolve as a social media strategist.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?

I don’t believe that any road is truly smooth. It has been bumpy for sure. But bumps in the road are to be expected and they help us grow. I have made many mistakes and learned from them. Each time I do, I become even better at my job.

One of the greatest struggles I have faced is client acquisition. And if you talk to anyone in my field, they would likely say that they too have struggled with this. It is hard to convince someone that it’s worth investing in my services because there is often no clear ROI (Return on Investment). ROI for social media management can be in the form of building an email list, or becoming an authority in your industry, but it is not always quantifiable.

I have learned to focus my client acquisition on relationship-building. I have built a robust network of friends, acquaintances, business partners & clients through social media. And I have learned that these things take time. For example, one of my recent clients took months of communication and connection before they reached out to inquire about my services. This is the way it works on social media. You have to put in the time, do the work and be patient. Clients will come.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?

My business is based on data and strategy. I believe that people come to me for exactly this reason: because they want to see where their money is going. I provide monthly analytics reports for all of my clients, which shows them exactly what our goals are, which metrics we are tracking to achieve their goals, and how successful our efforts have been.

Let’s look at a concrete example of this. One of my client’s goals is to increase email newsletter sign-ups. We do this through offering freebies in exchange for someone’s email. It is my job to figure out how to market the freebies to them so people feel like they want to download them. Then once we capture their email, it is up to the clients to manage their email list to bring people down the marketing funnel.

So how do we track this? We look at link clicks both in their bio and in stories. We track how many people are clicking on the links to download their freebies. We aim to grow this number month after month and we constantly tweak, revise and edit the strategy to try to increase the number of newsletter signups we get monthly.

I want my clients to know that we have specific goals in mind and that we are doing everything we can to reach them and hopefully exceed them. It takes creativity and strategy to achieve this.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?

Success is defined by client satisfaction. I am in a service-based industry, and I want my clients to feel happy and satisfied with my work. It’s often a large investment for a small business and I want my clients to know that I am treating their business as my own when they put it in my hands.

I recently had a strategy call with one of my clients and she thanked me profusely for my hard work and flexibility. She made it clear that she views me as a partner, and appreciates that I am willing to adjust our strategy as needed over time. She feels like I listen to what she wants, and that I am always willing to try new things.

To me, there is no greater measure of success than this. I want all of my clients to feel like they are being seen and heard, and like I am a true partner in marketing their business.

Pricing:

• One-time social media strategy: $1,500
• Monthly Done For You social media management: Investment begins at $1,500/month
• Additional services available on my website.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://getsocialwithgarin.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getsocialwithgarin/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GarinMichelson

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