Anna Sullivan
Anna Sullivan
Social Media Strategist & Co-Founder of The Creative Exchange
Brooklyn, NY
www.thecreativeexchange.co
NoRevisions.co
instagram.com @anna_sullivan10
linkedin
WHAT DO YOU DO?
“I help brands drive sales and engagement through creative content.”
WHAT STEPS DID YOU TAKE TO GET TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW?
When I started with a degree in consumer and retail studies in college, I was really intrigued by the marketing and consumer side, like why people buy what they buy, and how to encourage sales with placement of products and words. In college, I took a job at a local boutique and had the opportunity to start their social media accounts. This was a lot of trial and error but I loved learning the ins and out and testing what works. From there, I took on freelance social media clients for local clothing stores and retailers, started teaching my own social media and personal branding workshops to classmates. After college, I knew that is what I wanted to do full time. So, I took a couple of agency jobs to gain more experience and learn more about client relations, what an RFP was, and all that jazz. About a year and a half after college, I finally launched my company, The Creative Exchange. I love my job!
FOR OTHER PEOPLE IN YOUR FIELD, WHAT DO THEY USUALLY LACK?
I have found that you have to be super organized, a self starter, and super creative. In the social media world a lot is going on. Things are changing day in and day out and you have to stay on top of that. Not to mention making sure you are checking client accounts, scheduling content, taking advantage of trending topics, etc. It's seriously a lot and it's not for everyone. However, the strategy and more creative side of the job is the best and makes it all worth it!
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?
I am always looking to grow in our talent for The Creative Exchange, evolve our work and continually get better at what we do.
I am also working on a jewelry startup, Anna Elizabeth. It’s been a long-term dream of mine. It consists of 14k body jewelry and then I will expand into other pieces. Just a side hustle for now, but excited to see where that will go.
From the trends we have been seeing, we also saw a need to help smaller clients and startups - especially those in need of direct strategies and content, so we created NoRevisions.co
WE ARE ALL SLASHIES WITH MULTIPLE SKILLS, WHICH ONE DO YOU WISH YOU COULD DO MORE OFTEN?
Within the social media world, I normally work with medium sized brands and startups. However, I have really been focusing on consumer goods in food, beverage, and skincare.
WHAT IS FRUSTRATING YOU RIGHT NOW?
With running a business full time (and now another startup on the side), I have a hard time stopping and slowing down. It’s more of a personal fault, but I am working on gaining more efficiency in the business, getting more people in place to run things smoothly so I don’t walkways feel like I need to be around.
IF YOU COULD HIRE SOMEONE FOR $20/HR, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE THEM DO TO MAKE YOUR DAY EASIER?
I would love to have someone work on our other website SocialMediaToolkit.co and have someone to just help work on PR and other small social tasks for clients.
LET'S BRING OUT THE TIME MACHINE. WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU COULD HAVE TOLD YOURSELF, WHEN, AND WHY?
I am happy that I created great relationships with people in college. However, after college I didn't do as much networking and meeting people, or holding relationships with the people I did meet. Like I said, my business is mainly referrals and that comes from great relationships. I feel like I just realized this and am looking for more events and networking opportunities to take advantage of. I totally slowed down in that department after college.
IF YOU COULD TALK TO AN EXPERT TO GAIN MORE INSIGHT ON SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE ABOUT?
I’d like to talk to other agency CEOs and learn about scaling, building the right business and clients, and just learn about how they manage and handle their day to day.
WHAT KIND OF OPPORTUNITIES/PROJECTS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
I am looking to work with brands and businesses on their content creation and social media presence.
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL JOB/CLIENT/COLLABORATION.
It would be a startup brand, where we got to determine the strategy from the start, with a large budget to work with and really fund the dream collabs and content to kick things off with a bang.
HOW SHOULD SOMEONE APPROACH YOU ABOUT WORKING TOGETHER?
Shoot me an email: anna@thecreativeexchange.co
I also just started a consulting service, check it out at annasullivanconsulting.com.
HOW DO YOU STAY CREATIVE?
Reading, Writing, Shooting, Seeing, Being
This member profile was originally published in June 2017, Updated September 2021.