Hi everyone,
This week’s post features Maria (@maria.mongiardo) who is a research coordinator and owns her own social media business. Her aesthetic is impeccable and always had a passion for blogging, social media, and pop culture, as seen in her success! Read on to learn more about her journey as a content creator :)
Sections:
About Maria
Tips + Advice
Working with brands
About Maria
Tell us a little about your background. When did you start creating content? What got you to start?
I'm 26 years old and I'm a research coordinator and have my own social media business here in Boston. Growing up on the north shore I have always had a passion for blogging, social media, and pop culture. Back in high school, I created my own Tumblr blog that eventually reached 20,000 followers. Over time, my blog and the posts I made were getting noticed by celebrities. One celebrity in particular, Lady Gaga, reached out to me about a fan video I made for her. She tweeted about the video, followed me on twitter, and invited me to meet her backstage at the TD Garden back in 2014. I remember being so honored to meet someone I have looked up to for years. When I met her, I was working for a non-profit called “Lupus Chick” (and I continue to work for them to this day). This non-profit centered around helping those who have been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease known as Lupus. When I met her we both did the “L hand sign” in a photo for Lupus awareness. It was an honor and a privilege to be able to spread Lupus awareness to many people around the world. After meeting Lady Gaga, I became a channel kindness reporter for her Born This Way foundation. I reported on stories of kindness in my community and interviewed several different people and organizations. Fast forward to my senior year of college, I decided to pursue a master’s in public health. I loved epidemiology related research and knew my career goals were centered around this. Throughout college I had worked for several non-profits and even did social media work for them. Heading into my first year as a masters student I had five or six non-profits/ businesses I was consistently doing social media work for. Today, I have anywhere between 15 to 20 businesses and non-profits I do social media work for. My side hustle as a social media manager truly grew over the last year. I have a wide range of businesses I manage social media for including non-profits, skin clinics, chefs, hair salons, and even fitness trainers. Within the last few years, I have gotten into growing my own social media brand and becoming an online influencer. I started being asked to promote food, skin products, clothing, and technology. It has been an amazing journey so far as an influencer and I am so excited to see what the future holds.
Do you see creating content as your full-time job or more of a hobby that you do in your free time?
Creating content is a huge passion of mine that I hope to combine with my passion for public health in the future. My long term goal is to get my PhD in epidemio logy (epidemiology is the study and analysis of diseases). I also hope to continue to have my social media business while furthering my education.
Tips for other creators
What are some of your favorite editing tools? (If you use them)
My favorite editing tools are Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop and Canva! They are perfect for creating/editing photos on my own social media as well as my clients.
How do you balance your personal and work life?
Organization is key! I keep a very detailed google calendar of what my goals are for each week. I also try to save the weekend evenings for my friends and family. It is important to take a moment to yourself and focus on YOU!
What kind of advice do you have for creators who are not seeing any progress or success?
Communicating and reaching out to as many people you are interested in is incredibly important. You need your voice to be heard. Going through different job websites, career fairs, and networking classes at school is crucial.
I come from a long line of strong independent Italian women. My grandmother immigrated from Italy on her own with just a distant family relative to sponsor her. Women like her have been trailblazers in my life. My mother is my strongest supporter in my life. She has given me the ability to explore my passions and keep me grounded. Of course, Lady Gaga is also a woman that inspires me. She is a fearless confident woman that does not let the media or anyone tell her who she should be. Without these two leading ladies I would not be the woman I am today.
Working with brands
What have you found to be the biggest challenge in working with brands?
I feel as though there are a lot of spam/fake brands messaging me on IG at times. It can be difficult to sort through all the chaos in my inbox to find a legitimate brand.
What brands have you worked with in the past? What are some that you would like to work with?
I have worked with brands like Fitvine Wine, Catalina Crunch, Cookies By Design, and several local Boston Businesses! I would love to work with more local Massachusetts businesses in my area.
Takeaway:
Do what you love and know what you stand behind! Make connections with other people in your niche and try to do collaborations whenever and whereever you can.
Love,
Corcus Team
If you are interested in being part of this series, please email creator@corcus.io.