Today we’d like to introduce you to Ava Beilke.
Ava, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’m a Minneapolis-based Social Media Coach and Consultant with a perpetual case of wanderlust. I always say that I didn’t choose a social media career, social media chose me. I studied communications in college and entertained a wide range of communications-based roles post-graduation, as I still wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do. I ended up accepting an exciting entry-level social media role at a global hospitality corporation, which is where my career story started and passion for travel flourished.
At the time, social media for business was still a new concept, and my role was considered experimental. I made the most of the experience, and continued to take on new roles as social media marketing became a permanent fixture to marketing teams. I ended climbing the corporate ladder for nearly a decade working my way up from Intern to Director, which really cemented my social media expertise. And now, here we are. Still going strong!
In 2020, I resigned from corporate and took the leap to start my own business where I help entrepreneurs learn how to build authentic personal brands on social media so they can gain visibility and grow their businesses through online courses, one-on-one coaching, and strategic consulting.
Starting my own business has also allowed me to pursue my dream of working remotely from anywhere in the world. It’s been a thrilling and rewarding ride.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Honestly, nothing about starting a business in 2020 was smooth. As a millennial who graduated at the peak of the great recession, I’m used to the feeling of pedaling uphill though (Siri, play The Climb by Miley Cyrus). I anticipated challenges in getting started, building my new offers, building my book of business, and so on, but the biggest struggle along the way was something I didn’t anticipate – a struggle with identity, who I was, and who I wanted to be. I wore my corporate ladder-climbing career like a suit of armor for ten years. It was who I was. Closing that chapter of my life as Ava the corporate marketer was so incredibly important, but it took a lot of self-healing, therapy and solitude to look inward and identify what I truly desired for my life and rebuild the vision from the ground up to ultimately find my stride as Ava the entrepreneur.
We’ve been impressed with Ava Beilke, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
In my business as a social media coach, I teach entrepreneurs how to build authentic personal brands on social media so that they can get seen and grow their businesses. What’s unique about my practice is that I fuse the energetics of self-love with the strategy and tactics of social media marketing. I believe that self-love is the foundation to all things in life, including marketing yourself. It’s the guiding principle of my work, and is what inspired my Heart-Centered Social Media Method™ of coaching.
So, my clients and coaching students hear a lot about mindset, wellness, and taking care of themselves before we even scratch the surface on social media topics like content types, posting cadences, or hashtag strategy. Building a personal brand on social media requires vulnerability, and building up a tool box of self-love practices to lean on when things feel hard helps to maintain consistency and deliver long-term success.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
The one constant in social media is change. So, when I think about where the industry is going, it’s hard to say for certain, but I know that it will continue to evolve at a dizzying pace, just as it always has. Exciting, right?
Some current industry trends that I expect to continue growing include the popularity of short-form video content (think TikToks and Instagram Reels), the domination of TikTok as social media users’ new platform of choice, continued integration of shop capabilities for shoppable social content, the rise of the creator economy and content creation as a full-time career, and of course, the future impact of Web3.
What I know for certain, is that social media will continue to play an important role in how individuals and companies gain visibility, build community, and grow their businesses. My best advice is to build or re-establish a healthy relationship with social media that allows you to take advantage of the positive aspects that these platforms have to offer.
Pricing:
- Heart-Centered Social Media Workshop on-demand
- I Am Social Course & Group Coaching
- Business Strategy Consulting
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.avabeilke.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avabeilke/
Image Credits
Hanna Voxland
