We’ve got a *bomb emoji* for you: Mediaura, your favorite digital marketing agency, has hired a new social media specialist.
Hot off a six-year career in journalism, Danielle Grady is now using her well-honed writing skills to curate our clients’ social media. And ours!
Danielle’s literary training started early with frequent trips to the library in her childhood. The only path forward that made sense was a J-School education at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, where she earned a dual degree in journalism and telecommunications.
We sat down with her for a game of not-quite 20 Questions (quality over quantity, OK), so you can see why you should entrust your Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn — what have you — to her.
How did your journalism career prepare you for this role?
Well, social media is a big part of journalism these days. In journalism, you start working as a fully-fledged reporter early, and I ran the Twitter and Facebook accounts for Ball State’s school paper, The Daily News, in college, in addition to serving as a Features editor and a writer. In my first non-internship job out of school at the hyperlocal News and Tribune in Southern Indiana’s Clark and Floyd counties, I proposed social media posts for all the articles I wrote. Most recently, I worked for LEO Weekly in Louisville as the paper’s Digital Content Editor, which involved running all their social media accounts including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. I even made a Tik Tok account and posted a few times on that — a skill set I hope to expand upon in my role at Mediaura.
But also, I would say that journalism in general is great preparation for working in social media for so many reasons. First off, you always must stay abreast of the latest “thing,” and social media changes so often. I also have written about many different subjects and have had to become a sort of mini expert in each thing, which means I’m well-trained to service a wide variety of clients. I know how to identify a good story, and stories sell on social. In journalism, you’re also writing a great volume of content on tight deadlines, which is useful training for almost any career.
What made you want to leave the news world and fully fling yourself into social media?
I like to describe myself as a digital native. I’ve been on social media since I was a pre-teen in 2007, when I made a secret Myspace page. (Sorry, mom!) So, social media has come naturally to me. And even now, I refuse to get left behind by different social media trends, which is why I am on Tik Tok as much as your Gen Z cousin.
I’ve always thought eventually I would leave journalism. It’s an especially important career, but it is also a very tough one. And social media was always a fun part of my job — and one that I was good at. I have a knack for short, pithy writing more than I ever have long-form investigations (although I’ve done that, too.)
So, social media was a natural fit, as was Mediaura. I’m from Southern Indiana; I know Southern Indiana. And, Mediaura has a wide swath of clients from various industries — many of which I’ve reported on before.
What is your social media philosophy?
I have two philosophies. Philosophi?
One, have fun. Social media is supposed to be a good time. You’ll catch more followers with humor than you will with whatever the posting equivalent of vinegar is.
Two, be authentic. The more it sounds like a real person on the other side of the screen, the more people are likely to form a relationship with you. Even if it’s a parasocial one.
Why is it important for businesses to have a social media presence?
It’s never too late to start a social media page. Or revamp the one you already have. Social media moves fast, so what was trendy a few years ago is as stale as the week-old donut I threw away this morning.
But I think *gestures widely* the world today has proven why social media is important. If you’re not on Facebook or Instagram, you don’t exist to a lot of people. You’ve got to meet them where they are.
What is your dream client (that Mediaura doesn’t already have)?
Mediaura has a lot of great clients, and I’m excited to work with each one of them. But, you know, if we could score a few more food and beverage clients, that industry was always my favorite to cover as a reporter.
What is your favorite meme?
Currently: I love a good Kardashian voiceover.
A classic:
