This month (specifically today!), we’re celebrating 10 years in business! We can’t believe how much has changed since we first started. From a one woman team to now over 11 employees! But I think it’s more than official – we’re an established social media agency. We’re not one of those fly by night people. We’re in it for the long haul, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Misty was managing social media before the word reel meant anything else besides bringing a fish in that was attached to a line. It also meant: a cylinder on which film, wire, thread or other flexible materials can be wound.
When we think of a film reel, it makes sense to us how social media ended up coming around to use this word in the context it is known for now. That’s why, when we think of Misty over 10 years ago – being known for helping brides find their dream wedding dress – to then being known as an entrepreneur, boss, innovator and marketing guru; these words to define her make complete sense to us too. The shoe fits!
We have evolved right along with social media. Can you imagine a world where Facebook was king, Instagram was just emerging and dare we say it: TikTok didn’t exist yet? Here at Misty Saves the Day we can, and being able to pivot and to learn has helped us dig deep roots in the coastal Virginia business space. And now, we feel like we have always been a part of helping the Hampton Roads community with their business social media.
Here’s a few things that we’ve learned about social media management – and all the things that come with it:
- Having an education manager to keep up with trends makes the rest of our jobs so much easier. The algorithm is always changing, and it’s literally a part-time job just to keep up with it.
- The most successful clients are the ones who stay in contact with us. While we’d love to say that we can do it all on our own – if we don’t know what’s going on in your business, if we don’t know your goals and where you’re wanting to head, we can’t be effective.
- It’s not easy. It’s not just a desk job. The amount of creativity and foresight into trends, what’s happening in the market for each of our clients, and staying on top of whatever is coming next? I promise we’re not just sitting around in our pajamas making posts. It’s so much more than that. It’s so easy to burn out being met with whatever argument is happening on the internet that day. Our team tries to live that work/life balance, and part of that is making our own schedules so we can do the things we love to do, so we can keep loving the job that we do.
So where are we going?
- We’re so excited to have new clients in the nonprofit space – and that’s always been a passion of Misty’s. She keeps our prices affordable so that we can help businesses that don’t have a giant marketing budget – but want the benefit of having a marketing team. The idea of having more nonprofit clients will be even better for us!
- Misty Saves the Day recently added a Director of Marketing and a Director of Brand Engagement to keep us more in tune and involved in the community. She’s just one person and admits that she can’t do it all on her own – so you guys will see way more of the team, and you should! They’re the backbone of what we do.
- We have space for a few more clients right now – and we’d love for that to be you – especially if you’re in the hospitality industry, a nonprofit, a restaurant, a tattoo shop, a retail space. We’ve got a team who’s ready and prepared to help.
We wanted to end on a personal note, specifically a note from Misty:
10 years is wild for small businesses, but it’s also wild for me. I bounced around a lot until I found what I loved to do (which was marketing and selling wedding gowns in the wedding industry). I did that for 8 years, until one day I decided I wanted to do something where I could make my own schedule, I could help other people market their businesses.
There weren’t a ton of social media management agencies back then, at least not In Coastal Virginia that I knew of. I love that so many small business owners see the value in getting things taken off of their hands – and am so thankful to the people who have propelled us forward.
Who would’ve thought back then that I’d go from being a solo-entity to having a team of 11? Who could’ve thought that we’d have 5-6 clients and end up with 40+ clients to run their social media accounts? Would could’ve known that we’d travel to see some of our favorite people, that I’d become a photographer in the midst of it, and that whatever version of success I THOUGHT I wanted when I started would turn into something so much more than I could’ve hoped for?
I know I couldn’t have dreamed this up. Or maybe I could have, but I don’t think I could’ve known what it really looked like or what it would mean.
I am so thankful to the clients who have been so supportive of us over the years, and had faith in us that we could help market their businesses. I’m so thankful to the team that we’ve built – both past and present, for believing in the vision and treating this business and our clients’ businesses like their own. I couldn’t be more thankful to my family and my friends for being so supportive on the days I’m over it, but also on the days that I win. There are cheerleaders all around me, and I couldn’t be more thankful for any of them.
I really thought I’d be doing this on my own, but the reality is – I wouldn’t be anywhere close to where I am now if I had tried to do this solo. Someone once told me that you can fail or you can fly. And man. We flew further than I thought.
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