We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kristin Chambers. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kristin below.

Kristin, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start big picture – what are some of biggest trends you are seeing in your industry?

Some of the biggest trends we are seeing actually surround what we specialize in – social media. TikTok in particular has really taken off in the past year, especially within the businesses we serve. Both TikTok and Instagram are constantly coming out with new updates, so it is crucial for our team to stay on top of the latest features so that we can best advise our clients on strategies moving forward.

For example, we serve many food & beverage and restaurant clients. TikTok is now testing a “nearby” feature, which allows local businesses to get discovered by potential customers in their area. This is especially important for businesses that may attract tourists through social.

Additionally, Instagram has veered toward SEO within its platform, by allowing alt text on images and easier ways of becoming discovered by keywords, outside of the use of hashtags.

Trending music on videos (and video-first content) is also a crucial tactic that businesses must adapt to in 2022 and beyond, as well as authentic content that shows transparency behind the brand.

Kristin, 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 started my career as a print journalist and arts columnist for a small town newspaper. Writing has always been the backbone of my work and continues to be within marketing. After a couple of years of learning under a fantastic editor, I relocated to NYC to intern for two different agencies – one marketing in health and beauty, and one in music PR. I went back to writing, taking a position in Florida for a music magazine, and was offered a position in marketing under the parent company of the publication. I worked my way up the marketing ladder through the years, consistently growing and learning along the way. After working as a marketing director for an international company out of Jacksonville, Florida for several years, I began slowly taking on freelance social media marketing clients. Eventually, I had enough business that I decided it was time to launch Meerkat Media Group, which was born in early 2017. We have seen consistent growth year after year, and now have a small team based out of St. Augustine. We focus on helping brands in digital marketing, specializing in social media, email marketing, SEO, and content creation. We additionally offer full-scale production in-house, which my husband leads as an award-winning filmmaker.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

As I was working in a full-time, 50+ hour per week role as a marketing director for an international company, I began receiving inquiries about helping out small businesses in my hometown with their social media. I was happy to do so, and as time went on, gathered a handful of clients on the side of my day gig. I never thought about becoming a business owner – I never even took a business course in college. I am what they call an “accidental agency owner”. I finally left my job and hour-long commute following saving about $10,000. No loan, just some cash in savings to get me by. Through hard work, consistent results, and solid client communication, I continued to build Meerkat Media and was able to bring on two contractors to assist within the first year. Hiring my first full-time employee was a significant milestone for the company, which I was able to do by the end of year two. My second and third full-time employees came during year three. We are seeing growth year after year and will continue to scale the company with new clients as we continue to expand.

Any advice for managing a team?

Managing a team is one of the most challenging aspects of business ownership that I have faced so far. As a small company, having strong employees is crucial to success and survival. We have very little room for mistakes, and I oversee everything personally. It is important that the team is able to take ownership of their work and work independently, including making decisions and handling timely client communication. They must also stay up-to-date within the world of digital marketing because it is constantly changing. Because of this, we do weekly roundtables, where we discuss the latest trends within social media, and help answer questions or challenges that may arise with accounts. One of our core values is continued learning, therefore the team is also required to spend at least an hour each week in some sort of training that suits their skills or interests. This may be learning new Facebook Ads strategies, getting certified in a digital marketing course, or reviewing the latest SEO update. They may be asked to do a presentation on what they are learning during roundtables so that the rest of the team can get a high-level understanding across digital platforms.

Team building is also important. We do quarterly outings where we volunteer or do a team activity together. This helps strengthen relationships so that our work is even stronger in-house.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.meerkatmediagroup.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meerkatmediagroup/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meerkatmediagroup
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/meerkat-media-group-llc/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqHfw_uDFUOXdlp8zOBj1Jw

Image Credits
All image credits: Brady Skye