"One Intro Away From Changing Your Life"

Hey hey hey - welcome to Social Managers where we interview digital marketers about their stories and lessons.

Todays guest is Ella Miller, a Stanford grad working as the head of content at Ostradis.

Ella has a fascinating story of going from watching her dad build a hedge fund to helping build a startup herself.

Without further ado, let’s get into it!

Q: Tell us a little about how and why you got into content and marketing?

Ever since I was a little girl I dreamed of working in media and content. My childhood was spent watching movies then trying to re-create them with my brother.

My father had this old sony camera he’d let us use, we would film short videos and movies with that all the fricking time. It was honestly a blast.

Eventually, as all kids do, I grew up and had to decide what I wanted to do with my life.

I was stuck between going into the movie world and trying to work in Hollywood vs going into marketing.

At the time I was really close with my business teacher Mrs.Smith who suggested marketing would be the better career option.

So thats what I ended up pursuing :)

Q: How did you end up working at Ostradis?

Oh thats quite the story, basically I was traveling to Korea for my study abroad program when I decided to attend a tech event over there.

Long story short I ended up meeting one of the founders and we hit it off. I loved their vision and enthusiasm.

I was also at the time working on my own little side project where I was trying to build this makeup brand.

I resonated so much with the problem they were trying to solve which is improving social media for brands with data backed content.

I was trying to grow an Instagram page for this makeup brand and it was so much harder than I imagined.

Plus they were looking for something to help them with their marketing, so basically a match made in heaven hahaha.

Q: What are some of the most important lessons you’ve learned so far?

Wow, thats one I really got to think about.

I’d say focus is probably the most important lesson. Something I see brands do all the time is try to grow on multiple social platforms.

And the truth is unless you can afford to have someone or a team dedicated to each, don’t do it. Pick one or two at max and master it.

Learn the format, learn the culture, and do it really well.

Most brands don’t have unlimited resources and there is only so much time you have to create content and learn.

So you end up getting more out of specific channels when you narrow focus and put maximum effort.

Q: What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve had at your job?

Probably coming up with content that is interesting, engaging, and relevant on a consistent basis.

It’s just so difficult trying to come up with new ideas all the time - especially ideas for content that is going to grab peoples attentions.

Thats one of the reasons I love working at Ostradis so much - because we get to work on solving that very problem everyday.

Q: If you could give one piece of advice to aspiring marketers, what would that be?

Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there wether it’s on social media or in real life via events.

I landed my first ever job by not being afraid to talk about myself and promote myself.

You would be surprised the kind of opportunities putting yourself out there could attract - always remember you’re one intro away from changing your life.