Today it’s a pleasure to introduce you to Erica Fox, an entrepreneur and communications professional who is passionate about (as well as an expert on) social media. She founded Foxtrot Digital Communications in January of 2015 and has since helped organizations both small and large grow their business with her knowledge and expertise in digital marketing. I got to meet with Erica one morning for a chat over coffee, and had one of my favourite conversations while getting to know someone — it’s such a delight to speak with someone who is passionate about what they do for a living, and Erica’s face lit up with brightness and joy as she told me about the work she does and why she loves doing it.
Prior to starting Foxtrot Digital Communications, Erica spent a couple of years in Indonesia running an e-commerce store that she founded with a business partner. Already having a communications background, Erica became heavily invested in the digital side of the business, and found that she naturally settled into the marketing director/public relations role while her co-founder took on the technical responsibilities of the business. Upon returning to Canada, Erica decided to get some corporate experience, but having always felt strongly towards entrepreneurship (she was raised by two entrepreneurs), she knew she wanted to run her own business again, and found a gap in the marketplace where she saw a need for a more sophisticated approach to social media. She asked herself what the executive committee of a company might be seeking in a social media company, and took on the challenge of being able to offer on-the-go social media in a fun and conversational tone while also being able to uphold a brand’s standards at the luxury level. Foxtrot was thus conceived, and among Erica’s clients are George Brown College’s School of Hospitality, EPiQVision, My Design Studio, and Trump International (before their exit), just to name a few.
Erica’s favourite part of her job is live event social media. She gets a rush of excitement from being at the centre of an engaged audience, and takes enjoyment in her ability to amplify and create that community. For Erica, live event social media is about “translating an event that’s happening live and in real time into an online experience as well” — she recognizes that social media tends to be seen as something that replaces human connection, but with live social media it actually fosters human connection, and this is extremely important to Erica. In fact, she predicts that the next step in social media that we will see is a shift into digital literacy — that is, she believes we’re going to start seeing better practices at a high school level to help educate teens on how social tools should be used, as awareness increases that overuse of social media can lead to depression and anxiety. A great example of digital literacy that we’re already seeing is anti-bullying campaigns and awareness of cyber-bullying. Erica has a very healthy outlook towards social media — that it’s a part of everyday life, but it’s not life — and uses her expertise to build and nurture engaged communities.
So, what are some of Erica’s favourite social media tools? As far as platforms are concerned, she loves Instagram and YouTube. Her go-to apps for editing are A Color Story (for quick editing), Ripl (for creating gifs), and iMovie. Erica’s top tip for using social media is to focus your time posting and engaging in the mornings — this way, you’ll catch people when they’re fresh and awake and excited (8:30am being the ideal time to catch people when they are more alert and willing to pay attention…and are perhaps avoiding their emails!).
If you aren’t sure what to post and on which platform, Erica has a great tip that will help you compartmentalize the different facets of you that you want to put out there by viewing the following platforms accordingly: Think of Facebook as a diary of your life, Twitter as a place to express your opinion (to a knowledge-seeking audience), and Instagram as your perspective on the world (for a creative and artistic audience).
Chatting with the lovely Erica over coffee...
Want more? Here’s what #WeWantToKnow about Erica:
I can't start my morning without...Meditation, listening to the news, checking social media blogs, coffee, breakfast and a run.
I have a weakness for...(Does "tall men" count as an answer? joking!) Single Malt Scotch, creative and artistic content on my favourite social networks (Instagram and YouTube), and gorgeous luxury fashion and accessories.
Most people don't know that I...Am a former improv performer trained at Second City, that I started my career modeling at 13 and I have been an entrepreneur since I was 18.
Currently reading...I always have two books on the go: one business and one personal. This month's business book is Contagious: Why Things Catch On and this month's personal book is A Return to Love.
I want...More strong female role models of every ethnicity in this world for young women to look up to. I want to smash the archaic ideas of what "womanhood" looks like in every day society.
Thanks Erica, for participating in #WeWantToKnow! It was lovely speaking with you, and thank you for sharing your useful tips!
