We were lucky to catch up with Vanessa Contreras recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Vanessa, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

My mission is to help small businesses reach their community better through the use of social media and other digital marketing strategies. I realized this was what I was meant to do when a small business owner in my city reached out to me early in my career seeking advice on social media. He wasn’t familiar with the platforms and had no idea what the best way to promote his business was, he just knew that he had to be online in order to be seen.

It was then that I realized that small businesses don’t have the budget for entire marketing departments the way other companies do. A lot of small business owners are their own Marketing Director, and they’re starting from zero when it comes to knowledge about the digital marketing space. That is where I step in to help.

Vanessa, 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 was born and raised in Hialeah, FL. My parents are both Ecuadorian, so being raised in a city that’s 96% Hispanic helped me develop an appreciation and understanding of my culture without any barrier. I fell into the marketing world by chance, having started my career and educational journey first as an event coordinator.

I fell in love with learning how social media worked from a business standpoint. I then became the Social Media Manager for my local municipality, and alongside my graphic designer, began creating content and interacting with residents online, work that I found inspiring. Using these channels to highlight the amazing progress being made in my city was important to me on a personal level and propelled me further into the marketing world. This work led me to expand the goal I had of inspiring “hometown pride” from just Hialeah to South Florida as a whole, which took me to the doors of HistoryMiami Museum, South Florida’s oldest museum. HistoryMiami gave me the resources to share my love of Miami with the world. History isn’t always black and white photography. Miami is an ever-changing city, and our Museum looks to hold on to some of those relics for people to cherish for years to come. Something as simple as posting a photo of that famous Burdine’s “B” sparked a conversation on Instagram, and people were quick to share their memories or memories of loved ones in the comments. To me, that’s what makes my job worth it. They’re more than comments and likes, you’re bringing people together through an image, a memory, a moment. That is the true power of social media. Today, I own my own Digital Marketing Agency and continue to help small businesses grow everyday.

Small businesses and local nonprofits are the backbone of Miami, and I take great pride in helping them achieve their highest potential in marketing and event operations.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

COVID really brought on a shift in the way the world thought on creators and social media professionals. The online space was now at the forefront, since everyone was at home most of the time, which meant we had to find new, creative ways to connect with our communities. This also meant, however, that our online doors opened up to broader audiences, even international.

At HistoryMiami, we created an online series of lectures with our Resident Historian, which were broadcast weekly on Facebook Live. We had our local audience, which was grateful to have this avenue with which to connect with the museum, but we also welcomed in a new, international audience that was learning both about us as an institution, and our local history.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

I am privileged to be able to do what I love as a full-time job. However, in 2018, I was able to begin my journey in the freelance world. I started small with some consultation work and helping small businesses better understand the digital space. This has grown into an official LLC (VMC Agency) that has helped 4 long-term clients expand their audience, grow their reach, and better their overall marketing strategy, even after my contracts with them were over.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @vmc.agency / @vanessamcon
• Twitter: @VMC_Agency / @VanessaMCon

Image Credits
Ixamar Palumbo Photography