We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Malia Schreiber a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Malia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

In 2018, I was a single mom working myself into the ground at a fancy corporate position. I was making great money, but I was miserable. My son was taking taekwondo lessons at the time, and I would stay for every practice, taking photos and posting them on Facebook for my family and friends to see. After months of lessons, the owner of the gym approached me and asked if I wouldn’t mind taking a few photos of the whole class and posting them on their business Facebook page. He offered to pay me $150 per month to post twice per week on the days I was already there. I was floored. I could not believe it was that easy. At this time, I knew almost nothing about social media. I don’t have a marketing background and had no idea what to do, but after that class my son and I walked door to door to all of the businesses on Main Street in downtown Bel Air, MD asking if they needed help with their social media. Three weeks later I had dozens of new clients and decided to leap into the unknown and figure it out. 5 years later, we have an immaculate reputation in that community and communities throughout the country.

I use this when hiring new team members, as well. We very rarely do we hire team members with formal marketing education or experience. We prefer to hire the type of personality that doesn’t mind being wrong, doesn’t mind figuring things out the hard way, and is excited for change.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Our agency helps businesses with digital marketing efforts such as – website design and management
– search engine optimization-
– social media marketing
– content creation
– photography/videography
– email marketing
– blog writing
– paid advertising

COVID-19 was hugely impactful for our company because of how much business owners relied on digital marketing during that time.

We really approach business in a different way than many of our competitors do. We don’t take clients that we don’t want to be friends with. We don’t offer contracts- clients are able to change or stop services in any way that makes sense for their company. We start the business relationship as a friendship, and because of that, our clients stay with us much longer and have much greater success than many of our competitors. We have a very “no-bullshit” approach to the strategies we recommend and the content we create. We tell it like it is, because direct communication between our teams is the best way to see results from your marketing. Each client is presented with custom packages and strategies to choose from, so that we can always make sure we’re on the same page and doing what the data indicates is working best. Social media is supposed to be fun, and we try to make it that way for our clients, as well.

We love what we do, because everybody loves what they’re good at ;)

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social Media is our baby. It’s the service we provide that we get the most enjoyment out of. I started our @millennialmrktg Instagram account in 2018 when I started the business. The beginning was so embarrassing- I had no idea what to post or who was listening. But I was authentically me. No makeup, cursing like a sailor, but giving away really valuable information and resources to business owners for free. Our team has grown, branding has changed, and our accounts have blown up, but I’m doing everything I can to supply relatable content to our audience. I have an Instagram Guide set up that takes a look back at some of the most embarrassing content we ever posted. It’s a riot and helps keep us humble.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

When I started this business, I was competing almost exclusively against two large marketing companies in town that were run by old school teams using old school strategies. I think it was a breath of fresh air for many companies I approached to have someone young, eager, and willing to be creative.

I’m also covered in tattoos and have half of my head shaved 😂

People are desperate for human connection. We don’t want contracts. We want someone that will call and say, “Hey, this didn’t work as well as I thought it would. Let’s try something different.”. My clients know that they can’t hurt my feelings and that we both have the same goals.

I think if I had another business and I was hiring a marketing company, I would just want a friend who knew what they were talking about. I wouldn’t want some big company using words I didn’t know and sending me reports I didn’t understand.

So, to answer your question, I think being authentically me and staying true to my ethics helped build my reputation.

Also, we do a kickass job.

Contact Info:

• Website: millennialmrktg.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/millennialmrktg
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/millennialmrktg
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/millennial-marketing-md/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@millennialmrktg

Image Credits
One Three Artistry by Kirstin Breanna Kuhlmann Lifestyle Photography