Growing up, Jess Caroll had two very different career goals in mind: reporter or teacher.

While she may not be contributing to a newscast or giving us the pep talk we need to go home and study, she’s met those two jobs somewhere in the middle as one of our shining Social Media and Promotions Strategists.

Social from the start

Jess’s childhood dreams may have laid the foundation for a social career, but her college experience fueled her career in content marketing. After graduating from Endicott College with a Marketing Communications degree and a Business Management minor in 2018, she began an internship with a digital marketing agency in Charlestown, Massachusetts, the place she now coincidentally calls home.

“I ran the company’s social channels and realized how passionate I was about sharing a company’s voice, especially a B2B brand voice on social media,” she said. “This is because a lot of B2B brands have untapped potential when it comes to designing a social strategy that will convert.”

Jess’s internship encouraged her to dive into a social media career and, thankfully for us, she headed straight to Brafton!

Getting into the social groove at Brafton

Jess didn’t necessarily picture herself at a content marketing agency from the start, but in hindsight, she recalls exactly where the drive to pursue a career in this industry came from.

“I always knew I wanted something to do with marketing or communications,” she said. “The writing was kind of on the wall because while growing up I always was passionate about storytelling. I loved commercials, movie previews, books and English class. The emotions I felt from the visuals and sounds was something I could not overlook.”

Now, Jess gets most excited about sitting down with clients to help them share all of their unique stories. Her role has enabled her to sharpen her skills in design, writing and editing work, all while boosting her social expertise by collaborating with coworkers.

When Jess gets to work, she loves diving into social for high tech and financial industry clients. She enjoys adding a fun and relatable twist to content that would otherwise seem more serious for the average person.

And did we mention her major Brafton win? Jess’s work with Total Safety, a global business that works to minimize workplace hazards and manage emergencies, led to this case study. Basically, her social media strategy made incredible Facebook and LinkedIn gains for the company, and they’ve been raving about her ever since.

“I love Jess,” Barbara Clifton, Marketing and Communication Manager at Total Safety shared. “She works diligently to meet our expectations, and the expectation is always changing because of COVID-19 and the market conditions around safety.”

Navigating industry changes and perfecting social skills

The world of content marketing, social media strategy and everything in between are changing at a rapid pace — especially during these strange times. Jess shared that being able to flip the switch when it’s necessary to accommodate clients is essential to succeed in social today.

“Something new is happening every week,” she said. “Sometimes it can directly affect the work you are doing in the moment and you have to shift gears. Over the last few months the social team has definitely had to put their PR hat on and help companies develop statements on various social issues happening.”

To meet these challenges and continue thriving as a social media strategist, Jess said she focuses most on perfecting her strategic, creative and analytical skills. These skills allow her to pull insights and provide recommendations on reports with an artistic and imaginative final project. She also said being able to pay close attention to detail and remain enthusiastic in all situations has helped her shine in her role.

Her advice for up-and-coming social media strategists? Buckle up, have fun and enjoy the ride!

“You are about to enter a fast-paced industry that is constantly changing,” she said. “It is both exciting and scary but incredibly rewarding when you see ROI on your campaigns. Maintaining client relationships is KEY!”

Where does Jess’s social creativity and influence come from?

Jess loves to go on walks, thrives on runs through the city and is always in the mood to travel. All of these activities inspire her and make it easy to capture her creativity.

What’s she doing when she’s not traveling by foot, plane, train or bus? She’s hanging out with her French bulldog, Finn.

Just look at that face!

And when she’s not loving on her furry friend, she’s raving about her coworkers.

“My favorite thing about Brafton is my team! I have a very supportive team that I know I can always go to whenever something comes up.”

Company culture, learning opportunities and socializing in a strangely socially distant world are some of the reasons Jess loves to call Brafton her place of work, and for that, we’re grateful.

Chelsey Church is a senior writer and editor at Brafton. When she's not turning her thoughts into copy, she's enjoying a craft beer, playing with her dogs or listening to her favorite metal tunes. A Cleveland native, she'll never let you forget that the Golden State Warriors blew a 3-1 lead.