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

Madeline, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

Social con Cultura – Cultura Media & Consulting, LLC – was founded for Latinx & BIPOC creatives, business owners and entrepreneurs because most marketing tactics, hacks and strategies used by social media marketing “gurus” don’t apply to us. They often lack the cultural understanding needed to market to our communities in a respectable and relatable way that get our communities to engage.

When I began my career in social media in 2019, I saw first-hand how large brands were willing to pay top money to get Latinx & BIPOC communities to buy their products or services, yet they would spend little to no time learning about our cultures or even investing back into our communities.

In employing marketing campaigns, they would bypass Latinx & BIPOC creators and use creators who they deemed ‘marketable’. Most of which were not part of the very communities they were targeting. This left our communities feeling ignored, annoyed or even disrespected by how they were targeted without any real benefit or gain.

In 2020, I dived deep into how social media algorithms play a huge role on what is seen as successful online. Algorithms, while powered by AI, can be biased. Especially when those building these algorithms are white males. Most often these algorithms promote mediocre, unrelatable creators that don’t represent the global majority. Leaving Latinx & BIPOC business owners frustrated, unseen and unable to grow.

This fueled my desire to create a space, a service, and a thriving community that would help Latinx & BIPOC business owners & creators grow their business online, expand their community and increase revenue through resources and services offered through my social media agency, Social con Cultura.

Our purpose at Social con Cultura is to amplify culturally conscious creatives of color so that we can redirect economic power back to our communities through culturally conscious, respectable and relatable content marketing.

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?

Of course! I’m a results-driven TikTok content strategist, certified digital marketing specialist, mentor and speaker dedicated to guiding culturally conscious creatives of color in redirecting economic power back to their communities.

I’ve always been fascinated by the ever-changing algorithms, studying every aspect of your favorite platforms to develop strategies that work. No fluff, no b.s., no gimmicks – just tried and true strategies personalized for you.

In 2021, I launched Social con Cultura, a social media agency whose purpose is to counteract the ever-present stereotypical, white-washed marketing strategies, tactics and hacks brands and companies use to target underrepresented communities. I recognized most brands lacked the cultural understanding needed to develop culturally conscious & accurate marketing campaigns in a respectable and relatable way that evoked action from the target audience. Through my agency, I “transform how Latinx & BIPOC creators & business owners like you reach audiences using proven social media marketing strategies developed for us, by us.”

I’m a first-generation immigrant from El Salvador – and reside in a small suburb of Washington, DC or as locals call it: the DMV (DC, MD, VA). I spend my free time watching thrillers and the occasional book devouring while scouting new good eats in the DMV.

My work has been featured on LinkedIn, Hispanic Executive Magazine, Hello Alice and The Mujerista. Learn more about me and my agency at www.socialconcultura.com.

Have you ever had to pivot?

In 2021, I quit my job as an employment paralegal and took the risk of launching my social media agency, Social con Cultura. While I had worked in social media in various contracting roles since 2015, I never thought of it as my main career choice. Quitting my paralegal job wasn’t an easy decision. As a first-generation Latina, having a cushy, salaried role was one my parents could only dream of. It was a career I had worked so hard for, putting myself through college with the hopes of attending law school one day. However, I soon realized it wasn’t the career that brought me joy. When I resigned, I almost had a panic attack because the only thing I kept thinking of was how I was “throwing away” the sacrifices my parents and grandparents had made for me to have these opportunities. While social media was simply a side-hustle for me then, I took the risk to make it my full time career. Everyone told me I shouldn’t do this, its not worth the risk. To me, I took the feedback as I don’t want to see you fail. While entrepreneurship is glamorized, for most first-generation professionals working a 9-5 is a privilege and having the means to leave that behind to launch your business is an unimaginable opportunity. Especially when we don’t have trust funds to fall back on or even investors willing to look past their biases to invest in great ideas. My business has thrived on social media and word of mouth because I am determined to make it successful and help others be successful in their business, too. This work fulfills me in a way that could never be replicated sitting in a stuffy office.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I’ve bootstrapped my business since the launch in 2021. I’ve always considered myself financially savvy but the world of business ownership is totally different than personal finances. Although I’d worked as a solopreneur for a little while and filled up my pipeline, traditional funding seemed out of reach for me. As an online business owner, my overhead costs are lower than brick and mortar businesses. This worked in my favor as I’d taken a part of the revenue from the past year to up-level my business. This money was reinvested in professional development, software, equipment and service development to elevate the client experience. Yet, as a solopreneur I was left burnt out. I was still in the mindset of an employee – focusing on ways to keep profit margins low instead of reinvesting to expand the team to provide the quality service I was lacking due to time constraints and burnout. The first 6 months of the business were spent making alot of mistakes, closing out contracts and analyzing my business goals, feeling unmotivated. In 2022, I reassessed my goals, took a step back from my business and focused on unlearning the employee mindset and stepping into the role of a successful business owner. In late 2022, I was awarded a grant to assist with scaling, hiring team members and developing services for business owners from underrepresented communities. Thankfully, my business is cash-flow positive, removing the need to seek traditional funding. Instead, we’re focused on reinvesting a percentage of the revenue and grant funds to move us into the next stage of growth in 2023.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.socialconcultura.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/socialconcultura/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madeline-mcknight/
• Twitter: https://www.tiktok.com/@socialconcultura

Image Credits
Photo 1: @mdreephotography All other photos: myself.