Debbie Miller is the President of Social Hospitality, a marketing firm focusing on social media and content marketing. Debbie works with businesses and individuals on a large range of subjects related to digital marketing and communications. Debbie is also the Digital Communications Manager for HyperDisk Marketing and has spoken on social media at universities as well as business events and industry conferences. She's written for a variety of Internet Marketing online publications including Search Engine Journal, Maximize Social Business, SEMrush, and Forbes. When she's not online, Debbie enjoys spending time with her spoiled dog children; watching movies; reading; and drinking copious amounts of coffee or wine.
Show Notes
Miller's Career Was a Happy Accident
During the summer of her junior year in college, she was placed at an internship program in a destination marketing organization. It marketed cities and and their attractions as great tourist spots so all the hotels, restaurants, and attractions could benefit from the influx in visitors and business. Miller was really lucky, timing-wise, since this was when social media was first emerging for businesses and it became integrated into her Website Online Manager role when she was hired full-time.
In 2010, when she realized there wasn't a dedicated resource for travel and hospitality in social media, a marketing friend suggested she create a blog from the business point of view. A year after its advent, a restaurant reached out to Miller to seek her help in managing its blog. Many clients soon followed. This would be the beginning of Social Hospitality, a business that grew from a blog.
Blogs and Their Importance
From her own experience, she feels like they're important. Her first client was the one who reached out to her because of the resonating content on her blog. With a background as an English major, writing came easy to Miller. For others, blogs are a great outlet - through writing, you can show qualities about yourself and how you react to things.
Working with Business vs. Individuals in Social
The advice Miller would give both business and individuals is similar. "It's social media so make sure to be social," she says. "It's not purely just about outgoing messages, but interacting with the community: engaging with the audience and following the right people that include a narrow focus on related accounts."
The Biggest Social Challenge
Because Social Media is always changing, it's difficult to stay updated. It's also hard to stay organized and Miller relies on Hootsuite for all her scheduling. It allows her to see her personal, professional, and business accounts all in one place. A system of organization in place is her key to staying on top of everything.
Enjoy, and check back here for more episodes of the All the Social Ladies podcast on Social Media Today.