Interview with Ebun Bello, Social Media Manager at Yellow Brick Road
'A large number of social media managers are overworked, undervalued, and underpaid'
This week’s interview is with Ebun Bello, Social Media Manager at Yellow Brick Road.
We are so excited to have Ebun here! And we think you’ll like her as much as we do!
Ebun is a versatile social media manager and content creator with 4+ years experience delivering amazing experience and dynamic works spanning different industries.
Helping brands find their personalities and voice through social media is what makes her feel the warm and fuzzies. Aside from being ‘the girl always on social media at work,’ she loves helping out with basic design and copywriting.
Ebun also does a bit of social media freelance, so if you're looking for some help there, feel free to send her a message!
Here, she tells Noticing about her career and about skin care, she drops advice she might have for small businesses and aspiring social media managers. She also tells us about her career progression, and a lot more.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity & length.
First ‘obligatory’ question: what do you do?
It’s hard to fit it all under one bio. So I'd just simply say I’m a Digital content creator, Social media manager and Skincare educator.
How did you start your career in social media, and how has it progressed since?
I’ve always loved social media and content writing. As far back as 2011, I was an avid social media junkie. I was curious about the digital space and literally created accounts on every trendy platform. Facebook, 2go, Twitter, Nairaland you name it. I was always writing and sharing my thoughts and experiences with strangers on my own little corner of Beyoncés internet.
Fast-forward to 2015, after I graduated from the University of Lagos, I created a Wordpress blog basically to document and sharpen my skills.
During NYSC, I took things a step further and combined my blogging efforts with social media. I would take pictures, make videos, and share them on my social media pages to drive traffic to my wordpress website.
Little did I know that all of this was going to be a full time career option. So after NYSC, I got my first paid gig as a content writer and social media manager.
This was how I started getting content and social jobs from friends of friends, classmates and family, sometimes really cheap gigs just to have that connection, and a little word of mouth. Then I went to work with Jaguda.com, Fabwoman.ng, worked on Diamond Woman (a Diamond Bank Project), Zoede.com, Next2NewBridal, Access Bank (The Retail arm)
And I currently work with one of the top Advertising Agencies in Nigeria, Yellow Brick Road. At Yellow Brick Road, I'm currently working on CanDo! Nigeria, Sterling’s (The Business Hub), William Lawsons and a USAID funded project.
What are the best things about what you do?
It gives me the opportunity to be myself and express my creativity. My job allows me to think way outside the box. It also helps me solve human problems/create solutions. I equally enjoy the flexibility and the opportunity to further improve my skills and broaden my knowledge.
What’s the worst?
You're expected to be creative 24/7. Everyone thinks you're one creative machine created by Elon Musk to cough out creative ideas and words anytime of the day. Also, the stakes of working in social media are very high. You can't make a mistake, you're expected to perform 100% all the time. People who work in social media don't get to have a single bad day. It's really difficult to name another role that's so underpaid and despised, and yet also requires you to be flawless public Lai Muhammed of a company online to millions or maybe thousands of followers who can react to your choices within seconds.
If you were to pick between a community or a mentor, which would you pick and why?
Community. I’ve never really been keen on the idea of having a mentor. I believe I can tap from a multitude of people rather than restrict myself to one person.
What do you see businesses getting wrong about social media marketing?
Many businesses focus more on followership and vanity metrics and less on actually connecting with the members of their community. Some businesses also focus all their marketing efforts on social media forgetting that it’s one part of marketing and not all encompassing.
What are the hardest parts of content creation?
The hardest part for me will be figuring out what exactly appeals to the audience and then the actual content creation. Having to write copy, design creatives and distribute to the right channels on a steady basis can be exhausting really. It’s worse when you spend so much time creating a piece of content and then it falls flat and doesn’t perform the way you had hoped it would.
Tell me one important thing you’ve learned in this industry that you’d like to pass to others.
Keep at it. Be consistent. Everyone we started out together is doing wonderfully well today. And that is the result of consistency. We've evolved. We wouldn't stop sharpening our skills. Just mind-blowing. So start now and start with what you've. And don't stop. You might feel like I need to have an iPhone, a laptop, the best certificates, but the truth is, you don't need all of this to start. Trust me, you'd grow.
Do you think you owe your career growth to anyone?
I owe my growth to myself and people who took chances on me when I was starting out. The first job I got after Nysc came from someone I've never met. We've been working closely together for about four years, and we've still not met physically. He knew I was just finishing Nysc, he knew I didn't have that experience he was looking for, but he decided to take a chance on me. And that small opportunity placed me on the right path.
So I'm proud of myself for always seeing every opportunity as a chance to improve and learn. I don't believe an opportunity is too small. I've always embraced opportunities. I've jumped on some opportunities that ended up burning me but I saw it as a learning phase and career hazard. So every opportunity has always been leading me to a bigger one.
What’s one hot take you have that can double as career advice?
If it doesn’t serve you, never be afraid to let go. In 2020, I left a job that was mentally not working. And I left without any backup job waiting for me somewhere. And it helped me a lot. I spent most of that time on learning and seeking more opportunities. I'm in a better place today. And no pressure.
Tell me what it's REALLY like being a social media manager.
It's exhausting. Because you’re always learning and executing, nonstop. Many people think your main and only job is just posting content and nothing else. This is wrong perception of what we do. I've seen a couple of social media manager job vacancies that had things like: must have email marketing skills, must have copywriting skills, graphic design skills, must have this and that. Yes, they mix everything together. But you actually need all of these skills to be able to work effectively with different people. But at the same time, the level of understanding, discernment and sophistication you need to move through this space is so undervalued. People still find it hard to pay people for just being social media managers.
What’s not changed the most about your job as a content creator over the course of your career?
The pay mostly. A large number of social media managers are overworked, overwhelmed, and overqualified and undervalued, under-supported, and underpaid.
This needs to change. Social media labor makes me feel angry. And I’m genuinely hoping that as the world keeps being digitized businesses understand the value of social media managers and how important they are.
Really sad. Now let's talk Skin care. What are some inexpensive ways to care for our skin, men and women?
Cleanse daily, moisturize as well and protect your skin with a sunscreen of SPF 30 and above.
How do you fill the gaps when you’re not doing the various day and night jobs?
There’s always something to do honestly. When I’m not working I’m spending time relaxing with friends and family or exploring somewhere exciting. But trust me there are barely any gaps.
Name two products you can’t do without and tell me why.
My phone and my power bank. I believe the reasons are pretty obvious.
Pick a random pic from your camera roll and tell me about it.
This is me wearing sunscreen before heading out. There's a huge misconception that black people don't use sunscreen because they're black and they're immune to skin burning.
The truth is, black, white and every other skin color can wear sunscreen. It just doesn't protect your skin, it reduces your risk of getting skin cancer or melanoma which is quite popular amongst white people. But Bob Marley and so many other black people have also died of skin cancer.
So just stay protected. Wear sunscreen. Try to reapply as often as you can. Yeah, black skin gives you some level of protection. But protecting yourself from the sun shouldn't be a chore. At least, it's better than trying to cure what you could prevent.
What question should I be asking you or do you feel is missing from this interview that you really feel obliged to answer?
My advice for folks looking to get into social media.
Be very open-minded and always be willing to learn. Social media involves a lot more than publishing and administrating posts on social media platforms.
It's not just social media platforms. It's all about understanding people, their motivations, what makes them happy, what makes them angry, what tickles their fancy and a lot more. So double down on understanding human beings.
Embrace small opportunities. Tell people around you what you can do for them. Someone within your network probably needs your service.
Do the work. But don't be basic. Do great work.
Before I remove the shackles, tell me where people can find you online.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ebun-bello
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WanShyGirl
And that's a wrap, Ebun. Thanks a lot for the interview. Enjoyed the discussion and hope that the readers did as well.
If you enjoy this interview, please tweet Ebun and let her know. To share this week's newsletter on the socials (please do).
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Interview by Lolade Abimbola