In the Boston office, the Social Media team is seated in a rectangular, pod-like configuration. With your coworkers in such close quarters, you think you’d get sick of them, right? Well, not our Social team. As the Boston employees notice every day, these colleagues are more than just coworkers; they’re good friends.
Making up the Social Team is a talented group of marketing professionals. One of the most prominent figures, and one who just celebrated her one-year Brafton anniversary, is Samantha Dame, whose work on Brafton’s influencer outreach program increased her clients’ domain authority. But Samantha’s ambition and talent didn’t start the moment she walked into our Boston office.
Let’s get to know more about one of our star Social Media and Promotions Strategists, Samantha Dame.
A change in lingo: From Px to PPC
It’s not typical protocol to talk about someone’s past medical history at work. However, in this case, it seems fitting. Believe it or not, Samantha didn’t always plan on pursuing a career in marketing. Throughout high school and early adulthood, she actually planned on establishing a career in the health care industry. She originally went to school for medical assisting and spent four years working in a family practice and outpatient behavioral health clinic.
But, while gaining experience in the health care sector, she realized that something was missing. “I had this burning desire to try something new,” she said. In 2017, Samantha started her own blog, which sparked the passion she had been searching for. Since then, she knew she wanted to pursue a career that allowed her to express her creativity. The following year, she earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing from Southern New Hampshire University. In the summer of 2018, Samantha joined Brafton’s Social Media team, and the rest is history.
It’s called the Social team for a reason
Without hesitation, Samantha considers her team to be her favorite part about working at Brafton. I think everyone can agree that having a good relationship with your coworkers makes it a whole lot more enjoyable to come into the office every day. Samantha agrees with this notion, even adding, “Actually, sometimes I prefer to come into the office instead of working from home!”
To Samantha, the Social Media team is more than just a group of colleagues. “When one of us is having a bad day or dealing with a difficult project, we all step up to help out, offer support, collaborate and make sure that person is laughing by the end of the day.” She loves that her team members work as a collective team, support group and cheerleading squad all wrapped up into one. “We all celebrate each other’s successes, whether it’s feedback from a client or a high conversion rate.”
Working in social media: Not just about likes and follows
What does a typical work day look like for her? When Samantha gets to her desk, she starts her day by checking her emails and calendar to plan for the day, while chatting with her team about the latest episode of “The Bachelorette” or “Big Little Lies.” Next, she looks at her Google Ad campaigns, makes adjustments to budgets and reviews search terms. Then she looks into Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn campaigns to see how they’re performing in A/B testing.
The rest of her day is dedicated to organic posting, influencer outreach, creating social images and working through other components that go into social promotions. “I find myself asking why and challenging myself to find the answer. Why did this campaign perform better? Did we change the copy or creative? What can I do to build an even better audience next time?”
What advice can Samantha pass along to others considering a career in marketing and social media? “Get as much hands-on experience as you can.”
Before she started at Brafton, Samantha taught herself as much as she could about the marketing and media sphere by creating and building her blog. She took the time to understand every step of the progress of operating a website, from the creative elements — like design and social strategy — to the analytics.
In developing and maintaining her blog, Samantha gained the basic skills and knowledge needed to make it in the position she has today. In her Brafton interview, she could show that she could walk the walk. “It’s one thing to tell a potential employer why you deserve the job, but it’s another thing when you can show them why you deserve the job.”
Balancing act
Despite the fact that she’s immersed in the marketing world for more than eight hours a day, five days a week, Samantha consistently keeps up with her blog, fittingly named Samantha Marie Blog. She covers a diverse selection of topics along the likes of fashion, food and travel. At its core, Samantha’s site is a lifestyle blog about surviving life in your 20s.
Samantha’s life in and outside of Brafton is truly a balancing act between the creative and analytical, monitoring clients’ campaigns while keeping track of her own blog’s performance. We can say, with confidence, that she’s surviving (and thriving) life in her 20s.
