We recently connected with Alexis Arion and have shared our conversation below.

Alexis , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?

My best friend and I opened up a business together during the pandemic. We had a 2500 sq ft studio that housed different creative services such as podcast and photoshoots, it was Cincinnatis first ever creative studio. Many business owners that we marketed to would us our studio to create their content however they still looked for direction on strategy and how they would reach their target audiences. As I realized this was a common theme I would offer suggestions to these customers. When we closed the studio in 2021 I still felt the need to serve business owners. This is what launched Girl Crush Media. To build on the knowledge and experience I already have in marketing and social media I enrolled in The Digital Marketing Institute and began to build my social media management business simultaneously. I spend a lot of time researching trends, conduction market research and creating portfolios. I knew this endeavor would pay off when I begin to conduct audits of local businesses. I found that so many of them had major opportunity to capture in their target markets through digital marketing. It was solidified when I got my second client under contract.

Alexis , 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?

I graduated from North Carolina A&T in 2017, while there I studied journalism and Mass Communications with a concentration in public relations. Aside from my course study I was always eager for real life experience hence working full time while interning for the Aggie Athletic Foundation as a marketing intern and the e-communications Intern at the YMCA of Greensboro. After I graduated undergrad I had the opportunity to intern for the 2017 All American Bowl, I was the sponsorship manager for big brands like Gatorade, Xenith, American Family Insurance and the U.S. Army to name a few. My job was to ensure every brand was presented with the upmost integrity based on their respected brand guidelines.

Back in the day I was the kid super into MySpace and coding, I used Microsoft 3D art like it was my business. I have always loved to create.

Fast forward to now I have found a way to combine my keen eye for detail and creativity to what is now Girl Crush Media! At Girl Crush Media we provide digital marketing solutions for businesses of all sizes. What sets us apart is our education piece, we want you to be just as involved as we are and understand the key components to a successful digital marketing campaign. We also offer content creations and social media management services.

One thing I am proud of is our ability to adapt to our client needs. We have a lot of tools and resources to ensure longevity. In first quarter of 2023 we will roll out our Canva training which is super exciting!

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Canva. Don’t get me wrong I have been using Canva since college however it has developed so much since it launched. They have added a social media scheduler, whiteboards and AI. Canva is so much more user-friendly than its competing softwares. Any system that will make my life easier I’d a system for me.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I didn’t use any new strategy to build my audience on social media. Yes, I engage and follow people every day but the bulk of my audience who really engage with me on a daily basis came from me being social in real life. Back in college I would speak to everyone to the point that, my bestfriend would ask how do you know them? Most of the time my response was “No”. People love a friendly and personable person which I was by nature. Snapchat was a big deal while I was in college. I played on a travel flag football and basketball team, yes I am a former athlete, but at every tournament there would be people from colleges all over. At these tournaments,I would exchange social medias with a ton of other college students. I didn’t realize it at the time but my personal social media accounts had grown like crazy. Here I am now almost 10 years later and familiar faces and new ones are still following me and I and still making those real life connections.

A big thing I think people forget is the social part of social media. You have to be social!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.girlcrushmedia.co/
• Instagram: @alexisarion
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexisarionw
• Other: Business page @girlcrushmedia (ig &facebook)

Image Credits
Dorese Jenae Images