Here is a transcript generated by otter.ai of The Content Mix podcast interview with Keshia Solomons, founder and social media manager, on creating conversations that matter:

Carlota Pico 0:13
Hi everyone, I’m Carlota Pico from The Content Mix, and I’m excited to be here today with Keshia Solomons, who is Social media manager at Treeger Group and Founder of Madi Mei Communications, which just tell us more about soon, but first Keshia, welcome to The Content Mix and thank you so much for joining us today.

Keshia Solomons 0:33
Thank you so much for having me.

Carlota Pico 0:35
The pleasure is ours, Keshaa. So could you tell me a little bit about your background and how you got to where you are today?

Keshia Solomons 0:42
So my background actually started in studying public relations in Cape Town, where I’m originally from but I’m now based in Johannesburg. I’ve been fortunate enough to have worked on global brands since the start of my career. So one of them being Sunglasses Hut to name a few. I mean, I’m currently working on a brand Nomination. So I started out in public relations then ventured out into marketing, and through all my experiences, eventually started out into digital marketing and content creation. So my background is very broad in the public relations, social media and content creation space.

Carlota Pico 1:21
Okay, excellent. And what’s this about Madi Mei Communications? You’re the founder of that! Is that an agency, or could you give us a thirty second elevator pitch about the company?

Keshia Solomons 1:30
Great. Well, so obviously, the pandemic hit and COVID and I was placed on short pay, so I kind of had to make things come together. So I decided, because of my background and my social media experiences, to actually start helping companies, smaller businesses, so it’s like, your wives at home that like started baking or whatever they were doing, just to help them and teach them how to actually use social media effectively. So that’s how Madi Mei Communications came.

Carlota Pico 2:01
Okay, excellent. So that actually leads me to my next question, Keisha. What makes you passionate about social media and marketing in general?

Keshia Solomons 2:10
The passion lies in especially the engagement that I see that we get from the audience when you’re posting content, and specifically authentic content. I think there are so many stories to be told, especially in the South African market we I currently live. And once you get to know someone, and once you get to know the business, and you’re able to tell the story, and you see the positive feedback that is being given by the audience engaging, I think that is my greatest reward. That is like…that makes me happy that the content landed, and the content was relevant.

Carlota Pico 2:43
Okay, well, I do have to give a shout out to South Africa. I left my heart in South Africa back in 2010. Best experience–I was doing PR campaigns for South Africa that were later published in USA Today, in the US newspaper. And it was a fantastic experience. I was there for a year. The people were incredible. Spain won the World Cup, so of course, I loved South Africa even more for bringing us our first World Cup trophy back to Spain. But anyways, I want to focus on a little bit more marketing topics, obviously more than my background in South Africa and my passion for South Africa. So as someone who breathes and lives social media every day, which social media campaigns have you admired lately during the pandemic, and why?

Keshia Solomons 3:32
So for me, I don’t think it’s more admiration, but the fact that brands started tackling the social economic issues that we’re facing. I think, back in the day, brands were too scared to actually take a stand or to voice their concerns. And they would rather just push take a product or the content and just like keep this mutual grounds in the fear of offending anyone. And I think what I’ve seen during this pandemic period is that they’ve been bold enough to take a stand. They’ve been bold enough to vocalize what they have to say. There’s a brand, a medical brand in South Africa Called discovery. They actually took a stand against the Black Lives Matter. So even though it wasn’t happening in South Africa–it was happening in the US–they said something. And I was so proud of that moment, because I was like, finally a brand has something to say. And they’ve said it boldly and they haven’t been scared to offend anyone. They’ve taken the stand because these issues are not just something that affects one or two people–it effects an entire population. And being too scared to say anything makes me feel like “Should I still support this brand?” Because they’re not relevant to me anymore. How am I facing these issues? Especially as a woman, there’s so much things we have to face, especially in this country, where there’s so much gender inequality, I mean, not just here, but everywhere, there is a lot of countries in the world that are still facing that woman still get paid less than men do. I mean, it’s like 2020, and we’re still having the same conversations. But say something, even if you are a male-led company or predominantly male, say something, because it could it be your daughter, it could be your wife. So that on social media really stood out to me over this period.

Carlota Pico 5:23
Yeah, I completely agree. The only thing that I would add is that, although it’s important to say something, it’s equally as important to take action, and that just saying something sometimes isn’t enough. And it’s important to talk the talk, of course, but it’s equally as important to walk the walk.

Keshia Solomons 5:40
I totally agree with you.

Carlota Pico 5:44
Okay, so I want to talk about social media marketing tips for increased engagement. So according to your expert opinion, what are the top three social media marketing tips, when it comes to engagement? What would you do?

Keshia Solomons 5:59
My top three tips start with: make sure the content that you’re serving is relevant. I know everyone always say “Content is key.” But without relevancy, it’s not going to land. It’s literally just paper that your show–it’s just words or pictures or videos that you’re showing, but it’s not going to land. The second thing that I would say is read–like I find that–read what your audience is saying. So engage with them, it shouldn’t just be a one way conversation where you putting out content every day, but you’re not giving feedback, you don’t give feedback. Well, you know, this whole conversation, I think, when an audience member or your target audience sees that you’re actually engaging with them, I think they will continue. Because what I find is, although companies are spending so much money on these big names and these big influencers, I think they’ve missed the point, like, you actually have your customers, your loyal customers, and if you actually spend time and get to know them, they can become your influencers for half the price that you’re spending on these big influencers. And they are the ones that is able to tell their family members and tell the truth about your product, or your service, which makes and brings them into your space to actually purchase and engage with your brand. So for me, that is also like a two-way conversation, not just feeding out content every day and hoping for the best. And then the third advice that I would give is literally to take the time and work on your content. Because I find that if you work on your content, and you put out good content to your audience, as in to what they want to see. And it’s newness, certain newness–not taking old things, and in trying to evaluate it or put, you know, putting makeup on the whole thing. Serve newness. So those are my tips to increase engagement.

Carlota Pico 7:57
Those are fantastic tips. I’m already so engaged with what you’re saying. So I can only imagine you putting those words or putting that effort into your social media campaigns what type of ROI you must be getting. I do want to add that in terms of content. I love what you said, but I would add that content is king only when people want to read you.

Keshia Solomons 8:16
Yes.

Carlota Pico 8:17
If people don’t want to read you, then your content is irrelevant, your message is not going to get across your audience. And the second thing that I would also add is that I think it’s extremely important to relate to your audience because at the end of the day, you’re building humans to human relationships. You’re having a conversation with your audience. And in the same way that I’m focusing on our conversation right now and you’re focusing on my questions, and we’re giving each other our undivided attention, I think it’s equally important to do that across our social media channels as well. You’re creating and you’re building a relationship and every relationship must be nurtured, the person must feel like they’re being heard, like they’re being taken care of, and that they’re receiving very special treatment, especially if you want to sell something to them right?

Keshia Solomons 9:02
I just find like with brands, like they keep serving, you know, it’s always the serving back, like when I’m working on a specific campaign. Like, I take the time and I give feed back and I answer them. You know, so it’s a conversation, and that is what digital allows you to do. It allows you to have a conversation.

Carlota Pico 9:20
Yeah. And it’s also respect. I mean, if you and I were right now having coffee, I wouldn’t be on my phone like typing away with somebody else. I would be listening to you. I’d be focusing on our conversation. I’d been engaging with you. And I think social media is just like having coffee with somebody at a table, right? Like you’re having multiple, multiple conversations. But does that mean you can only have coffee with one person? No, you can have coffee with loads of people at the same time. Right? And still give them your utmost respect and also value their time.

Keshia Solomons 9:50
I agree.

Carlota Pico 9:52
Okay, well, moving into my next question, companies are collectively expected to spend 120 billion dollars in digital marketing alone by 2021 and a big chunk of this, Keshia, will obviously be spent on social media marketing campaigns. With the global health pandemic in mind, what major lessons have you learned about people and business during these very unstable times?

Keshia Solomons 10:20
So a thing that I’ve learned the most about people and business is that they crave good content. Because recently I spent much more time online, during this pandemic because we were in complete lockdown. And I found what I related to most or what my audience related to most was that we acknowledged the pandemic and the changes that everyone was going through. You couldn’t just be serving your product or your service anymore, you actually had to tap in to the human aspect of what people are going through. So we started on my campaigns, even though it wasn’t relevant to the brand, we started sharing content on how to keep yourself busy during these periods, what to do with your child during these periods, you know, top 10 books to read over this period. And through that, engagement increased because people weren’t looking to buy product anymore. And I saw that across multiple brands, they started serving content that I hadn’t seen them serve before. They actually started tapping down and became human. That the brands actually became human. And through that people became hungry to read more. That’s something I did as well, I read more. Because you’re in such a fast paced world, right now, everything is digital, you’re always on your phone, you’re moving from the next thing to the next. But during these times, I read. You were able to actually quiet down and stop to just re-evaluate everything. And then categorize and list what matters, what is important. And I think with brands and people we’re at the point now where we’ve established what is important, and we couldn’t do what we used to do 10 years ago anymore–it’s not relevant, absolutely not relevant anymore. In these times now you have to really look at your marketing strategy, people have to really look at their wallets. So whereas a brand might have been number one for spending, now they probably bottom on the list of people spending because the pockets are so tight. So I’ve seen that people have adjusted their lives to what matters to them, which is family, and brands have learned to adapt to that.

Carlota Pico 12:39
Definitely, I think it’s so important. The brands that have been able to walk in the shoes of their customers, or to think like their customers are thinking right now are the brands that have succeeded the most during quarantine, and also probably the brands that have sold the most during quarantine. Because when a customer can resonate with your brand, and they feel like they’re loved by the brand, I feel like they’re more likely to buy something from you versus buying something from your competitors. Because you’re resonating with them. You’re resonating with their everyday challenges and their problems and you’re thinking according to their challenges, and you’re acting according to their challenges. It kind of goes back to what we were saying at the beginning of our social media campaigns, how important it is for social media campaigns, to all talk obviously, to have a voice online about very difficult problems, but also to act, right to put their foot where their mouth is.

Keshia Solomons 13:40
And show up because during this period what I think I’ve learned the most is brands are part of the family. It’s a legacy. So a way that I’ve been through my career found a brand or it has been passed on from our parents is the journey. And you want to have brands with you on the journey, but have it resonate with you, like you said, there is an edge with you. And they are at the core of your values. They don’t go against your belief or your values. And I think during this pandemic having brands in that space just makes you more loyal to them.

Carlota Pico 14:19
Definitely. I also loved brands that were willing to give part of their profits to socio-economic communities that were really going through a troubling time during quarantine. I mean, we can especially see this in South Africa. South Africa is full of different townships. And their reality is completely different reality, our reality, right? I mean, thankfully, I’m able to distance myself because I live in a building that is separated by different components, right, by different apartments. And therefore I can just stay in my apartment and I still make a salary because I’m still able to work from home, because I still have Wi-Fi, I still have a job. I still have so many things and my life is still more or less stable. But there are plenty of people out there in this world that they don’t have a nine to five job. They literally live day by day. And they’re not able to social distance themselves from one another because they literally live within meters from each other. And therefore, it’s impossible. And I think it’s awesome the brands that were that have spoken and are saying, Well, you know what, although I’m not making as much as I was making last year, I am still making mone and part of that money will go to communities that are going through a horrible time right now, because I understand that their lives matter as much as everybody else’s life do as well.

Keshia Solomons 15:38
I totally agree with you. And I think a lot of brands in South Africa had done that. Because, I mean, the poverty in South Africa is like literally like it’s a route away. I’m faced with it every day. And as soon as I learned that a work had started doing that, a resonated with me–I could only imagine how much is resonated with the actual consumer, because we are doing something. These people have been purchasing from us for years, they have been paying what we say it’s accounts for years. Now they are in need, they need our help. So we can’t just take the back seat. You know? You actually have to help and you need to. You don’t always have to demonstrate but say something, like you say, and walk the walk with them. Because once this pandemic is over, you still gonna need the money again. So you still wanting them to come back to you. And if your competitors helped them, 100% they’re probably gonna go buy from your competitors come the day when they are able to.

Carlota Pico 16:40
Yeah.

Keshia Solomons 16:40
It’s called a community.

Carlota Pico 16:42
Yeah, community. I think it comes down to that, that one word–community. We’re all a community and all of our lives matter. We’re all people. And as people, we should always help each other. And brands sell to people and they don’t sell one individual, they sell to people, they sell to communities. And so it’s not about if that person can afford it or not. It’s more about resonating with that community and showing them that you have their back regardless of their purchasing power.

Keshia Solomons 17:06
I agree.

Carlota Pico 17:08
Okay, well, Keshia, we are moving into a different part of our interview because I was a former entrepreneur myself, I am a person who has worn many different hats just like you have as well. And I know that as an entrepreneur, startup life can be extremely lonely. It can lead to anxiety, it can lead to mental health issues. It can lead to just burnout or just different very difficult problems. So what are you doing right now as an entrepreneur, as founder of Madi Mei Communications to combat burnout, isolation, or anxiety? And I think these lessons are equally as valuable for those of us who are on lockdown, and more unable to socialize.

Keshia Solomons 17:50
So for me, personally, what I’ve done, because when lockdown was started, we couldn’t go anywhere, right? So you actually have to sit at home, and work. So I found that once you start working from home, we actually work more hours, whereas9 in the office, you actually do take your break. Whereas when you get home, you you just keep pushing before you know it is like 8pm and you’re like wow. Wheres the day? Where has the day gone? So what I’ve done is now that the restaurants are open, every second day, I try to at least change my working environment. Because if you don’t, you start not feeling like you don’t want to be at home because you associate work in home as they same. So it doesn’t become your resting place anymore. So at least step out and go work in a different space. I go into the office once a week, just so I can meet with my team and we can actually sit down and brainstorm and just like recap on what’s going on and where we are at. Because I find that sometimes doing through emails and things, things get lost in translation. So it’s just like it’s better to just have a connecting period. For me as well clearly enough I’ve added to my plate. I signed on to do my BA in psychology over this period, as well. Yes! I know, just to like activate a different side of my brain and as well for me to start reading again. Because like I said, I’ve been on my phone and I have read little blogs along the way but to actually read a book–even now that it’s a textbook–it’s just helped me to start grouping things and prioritizing things of what is important. And the goals that I’ve set for myself like five years ago, there’s been time to do now. Because I think if anything the pandemic was like because people are passing away and that’s the reality that you’re facing and in life you’re like “Oh, I didn’t have time. I wanted to do this but I didn’t have time.” Now have actually have to. So I think for me how I’ve journied through this process was changing up my space, making sure I’m in a different space as often as I can, having little connects with my team and then just going back to my goal list, and seeing where I left off and what I have time to do now.

Carlota Pico 20:09
Keshia, I have to meet you one day in person. I mean, I would just love to have coffee or wine or whatever floats your boat, in person and just pick your brain on so many different subjects. You are someone who just I feel like you really push the envelope all the time. And you’re really challenging yourself always. And I think that’s incredible, because the only way to evolve is by learning new skills and by embracing life one day at a time and just running with it, right? And I think that’s something that we’ve all had to learn the hard way during quarantine. We’ve all had to adapt our marketing strategies overnight, we’ve all had to make changes to our personal life every night, every night and every day. And we’re kind of just figuring it out on the go. And it’s great to listen to, or engage with somebody who has really thought about her next steps and how you’re going to make the most out of the time that you have right now. Because I’ve seen a lot of comments on Instagram, especially being like 2020 doesn’t matter, they should give me my money back, like a refund. But 2020 is right now. Life is right now. And we only live once. So if we don’t embrace 2020 with all these ups and downs, that’s one year less of our life. And one year less of our life is what a lot of people would pray for, right? I mean, one year more of life is what a lot of people would pray for right now. And we have to keep that in mind.

Keshia Solomons 21:36
Yes, I was on my Instagram the other day, I saved–because there’s a lot of memes saying like “I can’t believe I cheered for this year!” like “We were on that day the 31st of December 2019, and we cheered for this!” and I commented and I said “I said that 2020 is my year. That’s what I said. And it’s still my year.” I have to live by that. Because next year I’m older, next year we don’t even know what’s gonna happen, what’s coming next year! So we just say “Oh, we’ll do it next year, we’ll do it next year!” But you actually don’t know if you still have…you don’t know when your time is up. I mean we didn’t know when the pandemic was gonna hit with Coronavirus, and here we are sitting in our house all day. You still have to, you still have to push onward. We still have to. That’s why I said, like your goals are so important. Like, have your goals and make adjustments–don’t stop. Now, I think people are so quick to start or end or leave–but just make the adjustment and make it happen.

Carlota Pico 22:40
Yeah, and that’s… I also, I would define that as marketing as it is. Like, marketing–the definition for me of marketing is A/B testing, pushing the envelope all the time, figuring out what resonates with your audience, what resonates with you as well, where you want to take your brand to next, never stop challenging yourself, never stop challenging where your brand could go to. And I think like you are the perfect definition of what a marketer should always be on the lookout for.

Keshia Solomons 23:09
Thank you so much!

Carlota Pico 23:10
Well thank you, thank you for inspiring me, and for inspiring our audience. I’m sure they’re very inspired as well. Okay, Keshia, unfortunately, we are at the end of our interview, but I have so many other questions to ask you. Just to wrap up our interview, I guess my last question is going to be what’s your source of inspiration? Who do you… who are you influenced by? Who do you admire?

Keshia Solomons 23:29
So I’m fortunate to live in South Africa, which you know, has so many cultures. There’s like 11 official languages, and for me on the daily that really inspires me. But the most recent person that inspires me Zozibini Tunzi, the candidiate crowned Miss Universe. And something that she said in a speech she said: “Take your space. Take your place in this world.” And that really resonated with me because I find that in the space that we are in–especially as females–we sometimes struggle to take up space. We we might play ourselves down, we might you know not be actually yourself, just so we can fit in. So me I’ve drawn so much inspiration from her. She’s radiating, Miss Universe, but she she looks like I do, you know? I’ve never seen someone out there that looks that I do and speaks like I speak. So for me, I draw so much inspiration from her at this current time.

Carlota Pico 24:31
Yeah, I think that’s a really important message from what you said about fitting in. We’re always looking for the approval everybody else. But I think the most important approval is within ourselves. And we have to approve of who we are, who we’re becoming and how we’re changing and how we’re molding ourselves into the women that we want to be. And I think there’s no right or wrong way of being a woman. I think that’s up to us. And nobody can tell us who we should be or what we should do. I think it’s up to us to decide what we want to do in life and how we want to tackle different obstacles. If we want to be mothers or if we don’t, or if we want to do this, or if we want to do that. Why should anybody else have a voice in that, in our decisions?

Keshia Solomons 25:09
I agree and I think we need to learn, we need to learn as women that we need to celebrate ourselves.

Carlota Pico 25:14
Yes. Yes. I mean, I can’t wait to celebrate ourselves over a glass of Pinotage;’ wine, which is my favorite line in South Africa. Hopefully in the near future when possibly my travels, take me back to Joburg. And we’ll have the opportunity to meet again in person!

Keshia Solomons 25:31
Yes, can’t wait! Looking forward to it!

Carlota Pico 25:33
Yes! Keshia, thank you so much for joining us on The Content Mix. Once again, it was a pleasure to meet you and to talk about so many different subjects.

Keshia Solomons 25:41
Thank you.

Carlota Pico 25:43
And to everybody listening in today, thank you for joining us on The Content Mix. For more inspiring interviews just like this one, check out The Content Mix. We’ll be releasing interviews about content marketing subjects and stories from leaders from around Europe and from around the world every day on our Content Mix website and across our social channels, so keep on tuning in! Thanks again, have a fabulous day, and see you next time. Bye!

Transcribed by https://otter.ai