Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Anderson.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I am a Digital Marketing Consultant based out of Fort Lauderdale/Miami. I work with companies and brands helping improve their online presence with digital marketing efforts including but not limited to: Facebook/Instagram ads, Google ads, brand development, and social media consulting. I am also currently launching an Influencer review platform that I believe will improve the digital marketing world massively and bring in some real structure to the market. It’s something I’m really proud of and something I think will improve the industry for the better.
Digital marketing definitely wasn’t something I ever anticipated getting into. Growing up I wanted to be a teacher, but later on, got really into computers and found myself spending all my free time on them. I grew up in South Florida and out of high school went to Florida Gulf Coast University to become an elementary school teacher. I quickly realized, and by quickly I mean about in one semester’s time, I really did not like the college structure. I love learning and growing but the majority of my classes did nothing for me. I left and felt like I really needed to shake things up and go somewhere new. I ended up packing up my tiny Mini Cooper and driving across the country to Southern California at the age of 19.
I did a lot of the typical 19yr old jobs: retail, waitressing, bartending, even did some modeling. I also enrolled in community school and shifted gears towards computer science following more of my passion for computers and technology. I struggled with the same issues, I really wanted to learn to code yet I was taking classes that in no way helped me get there but was required to take them in order to achieve a degree. I started studying coding outside of school as well and learned so much more. I started doing some freelance web development with all the coding skills I learned.
Being in the web development space I took notice of a lot of people jumping on the dropshipping train and at the time from doing some modeling, I had achieved a decent social media following and knew my way around the social media game as well. I saw this as a great opportunity for me to try out. I built a store, created a brand around social media and like I did with coding, I self-taught myself the ins and outs of Facebook advertising as well as Google advertising to get sales for my online store. I had been at it for about two years before I started to see any real profit. After getting a handle on the digital advertising and social media my online store started to bring in 20k-30k monthly in profits. And with that type of revenue came A LOT of work. I then had a big decision to make, either take the plunge and private label and go all out or sell the store. Being that it was so much work and I didn’t think I was really ready for it, I sold it. And I’m glad I did.
Once other brands and companies saw what I could do they started reaching out to me to do the same for them. I got my clients some awesome results and really enjoyed helping them build and grow. I now primarily do consulting rather than the actual work, it’s a better fit for me and for the companies. I can come in and train the team they already have in place and help them with the execution. I have learned a lot in the last 8 years and it’s been an amazing ride. I am able to look at a company’s/brand’s online presence and online advertising, see their weak points and determine areas of improvement as well as develop strategic marketing plans to help them implement and execute resulting in immense success.
All of which leads me into my next venture. The digital marketing space is still relatively new and the newest addition to this industry is the Influencer marketing aspect. Brands/companies have been struggling to gauge return on investment when it comes to Influencers. Metrics such as likes and followers can all be purchased now and no longer equate to profitability. That’s why I created an Influencer review platform. Identify Influencers is a review platform where brands/companies can come and read reviews on Influencers to see if they produce desired results, eliminating a lot of risk on their end, while also providing the credibility that Influencers deserve.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Nothing great ever comes easy. There is a lot of hard work put in, a lot of time spent, and a lot of trial and error. There were plenty of things I could have done differently that would have done a lot better for me. But you live and you learn, and continuing on after mistakes or failures is where you grow.
The majority of the skill sets I have that are needed in digital marketing aren’t taught in school, so having real experience and real results lead me to be able to work for myself. All the hard work and discipline of teaching myself paid off. Also when I was younger and starting out I was making really good money and thought I was on top of the world, I should have reinvested more of that money instead of being fancy. But I was young and looking back it was an important lesson that I’m glad I learned early on. I have since learned to be driven and patient and understand great things take time and cannot be rushed, I put hard work into everything I do and I never half-ass it. Lazy work produces lazy results, and that’s the mindset I tend to live by.
Please tell us about Digital Laura Anderson – what should we know?
As far as my digital Marketing consulting work goes, I am hyper-focused on Facebook advertising (This includes Instagram advertising as well, they are two in the same). To me, it’s the most powerful digital marketing platform so I’ve really mastered it and know how to produce amazing results for companies. So when a company needs my services, I will come in, audit their current online presence and digital marketing, develop a custom strategic marketing plan, teach their team, and help them follow through with the implementation and execution. I think what sets me apart in this is I never sell a client on “fluff” metrics, I only focus on obtaining them whatever their ultimate goal is. Reach and impressions are fluff metrics that never necessarily result in revenue, and clients are often sold on those metrics more so than anything else. I focus on achieving a company’s main goal and producing them ROI.
So far, what I’m most proud of is my Identify Influencers review platform. Working with clients who use Influencers and even when I myself use Influencers it’s extremely hard to gauge a reliable Influencer let alone a profitable one. Likes, followers, and comments can all be purchased, so the amount an Influencer has isn’t very telling. Not to mention all the experience I’ve had where Influencers don’t deliver anything whatsoever and actually end up ghosting brands after they’ve received payments or products. And for the Influencers who actually have profitable influence that are reliable are facing a lot of competition from Influencers who simply purchased their audience. So not only will Influencer reviews eliminate a lot of the risk for brands seeking Influencers, but it will also provide the credibility that Influencers deserve. Identify Influencers is still in the start-up phase so I have a lot of kinks to work out as well as giving it the best user experience possible. Identify Influencers aims to have the same functionality as Yelp and is a totally free platform. I am proud of this project because I know it is absolutely needed in this unstructured Influencer market and will significantly improve and change the Industry for the better.
I think I am on the brink of something great here and I’m extremely excited to see how it all pans out.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://digitallauraanderson.com/
- Phone: +1-754-300-7235
- Email: digitallauraanderson@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/digitallauraanderson/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DigitalLauraAnderson/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/digitallauraa
- Other: https://www.identifyinfluencers.com/
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