PHOTOS TAKEN FROM LinkedIn & TikTok
Hello everyone and welcome back to yet another insightful content strategy blog! This week we listened to the manager of social media communications at American Express (AMEX), Brooke Ihnat. Brooke has over 6 years of experience in the strategic communications industry. She attended Western University for media information and technic culture, thinking that would she go into PR; blaming Samantha from Sex In The City for making it look like such a glamorous job, which I think a lot of people including myself can relate to. Not so much Samantha from Sex In The City, but thinking we would go into certain jobs because we saw it on TV or a movie and the characters made the job seem really fun. After she graduated, she made the choice that she wasn’t ready to be done with school yet, therefore, she went to Ryerson University; now known as Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), for professional communications. Her reasoning for picking this program was because of the internship factor being a part of it and she really wanted to experience hands on learning and get the real world experience while also getting the academic side as well. During this time, she competed an internship at a PR firm and after she graduated that’s when she landed at AMEX. While there, she did some internal communications for about eight months and then moved on to the branding and advertising team. During her time at Ryerson, she took a course on brand management which really sold her on the amazing world of branding and advertising. Brooke made some very important points that I found to be very insightful and potentially useful in the future. the value of closely coordinating with platform and agency partners, such as TikTok and Pinterest, since each social media platform is utilized differently to match the voice and messaging of the business. Second, the significance of having a refined social strategy that is largely backed by a content calendar was stressed. This keeps the social media platforms from turning into what she referred to as a “dumping ground” for all of the company’s content. The third, in my opinion, was the most helpful since she urged new hires to discover their voice and not be scared to speak with confidence. She encourages them to contribute and push back when needed rather than being passive observers as doing so builds respect and strengthens one’s personal brand. Thanks for reading, be back next week! 🙂
– Taahirah Baksh – 10/31/24 –