Some Social Talk With South Jersey’s Social Media Experts
The Women’s Empowerment Series is back
By Mary Lou Sheffield
SJ Magazine’s popular Women’s Empowerment Series is set to begin on Tuesday, Oct. 11 with an in-depth talk about social media – what it takes to get lots and lots of followers, how you handle haters, what it can do for your business (and you), and plenty of other topics. Each of our panelists has built accounts for different reasons, but all with great levels of success. Join us as they share their personal experiences in this ever-growing field.
Dr. Jen Caudle
@drjencaudle Family Physician, Rowan Medicine Facebook: 407,000 followers YouTube: 55,700 subscribers
Dr. Jen Caudle’s social media presence became super important during Covid, when she routinely posted videos explaining everything from how to properly wear a mask in the early days of 2020 to what steps to take if you test positive. She’s got plenty of experience talking to a large audience, having appeared as a medical expert on the “Rachael Ray Show,” “NBC Nightly News,” CNN, FOX News and NBC’s “Today.” While she actively runs her vibrant – and informative – social media channels, she also maintains a family medicine practice, where she sees patients in her Sewell office.
Questions we’ll ask Dr. Caudle:
How often do you post?
How do you come up with video topics?
Do you respond to people who comment on your appearance (instead of your medical advice)?
A little over 2 years ago, Kayleigh Summers gave birth to a baby boy. Only, her heart stopped beating 6 minutes before he was delivered, and she ended up on life support for 2 days. Once she was home with her husband and newborn son, she realized the unexpected trauma she had experienced would affect her forever – and she knew there were other parents who had experienced the same trauma. That sparked @thebirthtrauma_mama, Kayleigh’s social media account where she offers guidance and support to other new moms. In just 2 short years, she’s grown her accounts to spread a unique message of support to parents who are all too familiar with birth trauma.
Questions we’ll ask Kayleigh:
Did you set out to grow your social media accounts?
What was your original purpose?
What’s your advice to a nonprofit – or anyone – who has a positive message they’d like to spread?
What have you learned about algorithms?
Jen Kavanagh
Senior Vice President, Media & Marketing The Philadelphia Eagles Eagles followers on: Twitter – 3.5M, Instagram – 2.2M, Facebook – 3M
There are a lot of people who’d like to have Jen Kavanagh’s job. But aside from great seats at Eagles games and personally knowing celeb players, Jen is responsible for the team’s overall messaging. That’s a tough job for any NFL team, but add in fans who are very, very vocal when it comes to their team, and your work just got a whole lot more challenging.
Questions we’ll ask Jen:
How many people work on the Eagles’ social media accounts?
How do you make sure the messaging is consistent across channels?
Do you have any oversight for players’ social media content?
What role does social media play in the team’s larger marketing plan?
Emmalyn Love may be one of the few influencers who has deals with Nordstrom and Walmart. (She also has partnerships with Ann Taylor, Target and Express.) For years, Emmalyn had an online clothing store, but it wasn’t until the pandemic – when she left her job as a nurse to stay home to help her son with remote learning – that she started posting on Instagram. Her goal was always to go back to nursing, but when her audience on Instagram blew up, she made the move to become a fulltime content creator. She now has a staff of assistants who help with editing and writing her posts, plus her blog. Her newest venture is a physical location in Delaware that she has decorated to look like a very chic living area. The space will soon be available for content creators to rent for their social media recording.
Questions we’ll ask Emmalyn:
How do you get brands to sponsor you?
What’s one thing someone can do to grow their Instagram audience?
What equipment did you have to buy for your posting?
Which is better for audience growth: posting to stories or your feed?