We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful William Drumm. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with William below.
William, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start big picture – what are some of biggest trends you are seeing in your industry?
There has been more information created in the last 10 years than in the entire history of human kind up until then, a shocking thing to think about. Like so many other industries at the current moment in history, the underwater production and commercial photography industry is being turned on its head by technology and access. With the new GoPro shooting in 10 bit color, and with the ubiquity of incredible content on social media, it’s becoming more difficult than ever to create something original and unique in the underwater sphere. That combined with the advancements in chat bots, making it easier than ever for people to write social media posts and create captivating websites, and content, this is a challenging and exciting moment for our industry. What’s going to separate the different creators during this time is the ability to harness these new technological advancements in a creative and efficient capacity. I’m currently dealing with a situation like this as I just returned from an expedition to photograph humpback whales in Tonga. This is something that I wanted to do my whole life and the trip was truly extraordinary. However, there are more people than ever visiting this area, and aremed with GoPro’s and sport cameras, people are creating absolutely stunning contant of humpback whales, even people with very little experience in underwater photography and media making. What separates the more amateur creators from professionals is how they implement and utilize the content that they create, which is no easy task. Making something unique and interesting is harder than ever, as there is more competition than ever.
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.
My business sits at the intersection of content and marketing. We work with brands to tell their story, whether that be through still and moving imagery or by amplifying their message to mass audiences online. Some of the projects that we are involved with include creating new websites for clients, helping with content, marketing strategies, social media, paid ads, SEO, and all other facets of marketing. However, what differentiates Drumm Media LLC from competitors is that we live in an adventure space, where exploring the world is our norm. We’ve worked with Carhartt in Manitoba photographing polar bears, Citizen Watches in Tonga photographing humpback whales, Scuba Diving International creating a 40 episode training series on how to scuba dive, and so many more clients and projects around the world. We do this for clients at a fraction of the cost of if they would try to put these trips together in-house. This is because of our vast international network of adventurers and creators, and because we are able to combine multiple clients into one expedition to create content for all of them. This also gives us access to large audiences of people who love adventure, the ocean, animals, wildlife and travel. We help our clients connect with these individuals for their own business purposes.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Resilience is one of the most important aspects for longevity as a creator or a business owner. At one point I was handling the marketing for a suite of scuba diving manufacturing clients. At the time I thought this was my dream job. However, after doing this for a few years, I was tired and unmotivated and starting to realize that the changes that I wanted to make were not possible in my current situation. This position ended up going away, and I fell into a bit of a depression. However, shortly after this, I launched Drumm Media LLC with a new excitement and invigoration that I hadn’t felt in a long time. I was seeking new clients, building new relationships, branching outside of my traditional industries, and doing what I could to help other business owners find their audience and tell their story. Now three years later, I am making three times more money, working with clients that I truly care about, and I am inspired and feel like the sky is the limit for what I can create. It would have been very easy at the time for me to switch industries go back to laboratory science, which is where my education lies. But instead, I had the resilience to pick myself up, recommit to my love of media making and telling stories, and now I truly feel like I’m just getting started with Drumm Media LLC and making a difference for clients, and our planet.
Have you ever had to pivot?
Another key element of being successful in business is the ability to pivot. I learned this fairly recently in the type of clients and jobs that I was going after. For the first year of Drumm Media LLC, I was focusing on small businesses, mostly local businesses in Colorado of many different types. I worked with a welding company, an HVAC company, a motorcycle parts manufacturer, an entrepreneurship consultation company, a nonprofit consultant and many others. I built websites for them, helped with finding their audience, created content, and many other things. At one point I had seven clients at once, and around then I started to realize that this was unsustainable. I was staying up all hours of the night, perfecting websites, working on random projects and just doing way too much. I decided to focus on bigger clients and charge substantially more for what I was doing. Once I set this intention, things fell into place rather organically. Now I only have two main clients and pick up small clients here and there when I believe in the client’s mission and goals. In this way, I am far less stressed out and able to really focus on the projects that I care about and the business is that I want to see succeed.
Contact Info:
- Website: drummmedia.com
- Instagram: williamdrumm