Portia Obeng, Social Media and Marketing Professional
Hey, Portia! I’m so glad you’re speaking with me. What do you do and how would you describe it to someone unfamiliar with the space?
I work in social media and communications at a consulting firm, working as an account lead. I develop social media content for the client and assist with various marketing initiatives within the firm.
Right now, my client is a federal government agency and focuses on initiatives to protect women against violence. It’s a pretty cool initiative. The position requires a security clearance; a very Washington, D.C. thing to talk about, but it basically gives you permission to access information that isn’t available to the public.
I’ve been in this role for just two months. Before that, I was doing social media strategy and managing video content at a professional membership organization.
Is there a moment when you realized that you wanted to be in social media?
No, I don’t think there is a specific moment. I studied business in undergrad and I focused on marketing. When I graduated, I worked at Target as an analyst. It was really structured and I wanted more room to be creative. I started looking for new jobs and the following role is when I got into social media. This was like ten years ago, before people were “pinning”, before Instagram. The social media landscape was basically just Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. So I don’t think there was a clear moment because social media was so new at the time. I just stumbled into it, and now it’s this huge thing.
What would you say are the positives and the negatives of the space you’re in?
Well, a positive is that social media is a field people are deeply interested in and still trying to fully understand. There are a lot of job opportunities. A negative is that a lot of companies don’t fully understand social media and the impact it has. Very few companies aside from apparel brands, cosmetics, grooming companies -- essentially the brands you see all over Instagram -- truly understand its value. So it can be hard to walk into meetings and ask a client, “OK, so what would you like to do? What’s your budget?” and they say “Oh, we haven’t thought about it.” You know, Nike knows their social media budget, and they’re very thoughtful about what they want to do and how they want to leverage social media platforms to enhance their brand.
I think the mistake a lot of brands and companies make is spending all this time making the product, thinking that if it’s a good product, people will just show up and use it. That’s not the case. You need to invest in channels that will motivate people to purchase your product or service.
In your experiences, what makes you uniquely suited to do what you do?
I come in with a perspective of a Black woman -- “the diversity perspective.” (laughs) I have saved my former employers a lot of heartache and pain by calling out the lack of people of color in major campaigns. Now, people feel a little more comfortable about speaking out when they perceive a lack of representation, but it wasn’t always like that.
But even still, there are plenty of times we don’t speak up when we see something because we’re women of color in predominantly male, predominantly white spaces. It’s important to speak up, though. I was working on a campaign for a previous employer, and pretty much all the photos showed white volunteers helping Black people. I had to raise my hand like, “This isn’t OK.” Just having a different voice in the room ensured that idea didn’t make it out to the public. We have shifting demographics that should change the way companies showcase their products and services. To make sure people see themselves represented.
Also, another way I’m well-suited for what I do is that I’m always willing to try things. I don’t want to be stagnant and use the same formula every time. I’m always willing to do research to inform a new approach, which isn’t always easy but I feel I have to try.
What is your support system like?
Oh man -- thank God for Black women and sisterhood! It’s baffling to me that I have friends who are in the nonprofit sector, academia, small firms, big firms, and we all have similar experiences. It’s crazy to think that we all still have to constantly speak up for ourselves, to prove ourselves. They’re questioning you and talking over you, not paying you what you deserve. The best resource I have is a group of Black women who can support each other, pray for each other, express our frustrations. No matter what industry, they can share insights and perspective that I can relate to. Of course, that includes my mom. I always like to talk with her and get her perspective. I don’t know where we would be if we didn’t have each other.
You also always need a work bestie! Your work bestie may not be your bestie in real life, but they’re who you can go to in the middle of the day and vent and express frustration, bounce ideas off of them, and know that you’re in a safe space. That’s so important. When you’re in a space where there isn’t another Black woman or a woman of color, it can really be a struggle.
I like that you’ve highlighted having a safe space because we can’t show up as Black women and state how we’re feeling, and definitely not in the way we want to say it.
No, you can’t! But I always tell my friends, go for those stretch jobs where you’re qualified but it’s just a bit beyond reach, and just walk in like a mediocre white man. (laughs) He’d have no problem speaking up and telling that employer what he’s done and why he’s so right for the job. You just have to realize that while they may question you, and they likely will, you have to keep showing up as yourself and pushing in.
I love it. Tell me what excites you about the future.
I get really excited when I think about how Black women are gaining more confidence to take up new spaces. We’ve seen through generations that we were working just to earn some money for ourselves and that was supposed to be enough. Just working for someone else, generating a profit for them. We’ve come so far in such a short amount of time, and I’m excited to see what we can do in this current generation and future generations. Black women are so hard working. We’re the most educated group in America, and we mentor and coach each other. I just love seeing the sisterhood grow where we’re creating opportunities to support each other and helping one another win.
I also think it will be interesting to see how technology intersects with marketing. There’s some really interesting stuff coming out with artificial intelligence and augmented reality. I’m definitely curious to see how marketing gets further integrated into our normal everyday lives.
For the world as a whole...time will tell. (laughs) It’s a little crazy right now. But as long as we’re investing in each other, spending our black money and our black time on each other, I think we’ll continue to thrive.
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