Influencer Julia Jornsay-Silverberg On How To Build A Large, Loyal, & Engaged Social Media Community
An Interview with Karen Mangia
The second strategy/tip is consistency. posting consistently is absolutely critical to growing an engaged community. You have to show up day-after-day in order to gain trust — which is what leads to an engaged community. Take for example Alix Earle; her content has blown up because she’s extremely consistent in both how often she shows up AND the type of content she creates.
We often use the term “Influencers” to describe people with significant social media followings on platforms like Instagram, Twitter TikTok, Youtube, Linkedin and Facebook. Influencers have become today’s media titans, sought after for everything from product placements to timely trends. What’s the difference between influence and impact? Fans and followers? Sizzle versus staying power?
In this interview series, called, “How To Cultivate Community In A Click to Connect World” we are talking to influencers about how they define success and what we all need to discover about the true nature of influence. As a part of this series I had the pleasure of interviewing Julia Jornsay-Silverberg.
Julia Jornsay-Silverberg, based in Buffalo, NY, US, is currently a Founder at Bravery Beats. Julia Jornsay-Silverberg brings experience from previous roles at NOW Marketing Group, Telesco Creative Group, Cullari Communications Global and Buffalo Niagara Partnership. Julia Jornsay-Silverberg holds a 2008–2012 Master of Business Administration in Business Administration, Marketing @ University at Buffalo. With a robust skill set that includes Social Media Marketing, Social Media, Blogging, Marketing Communications, Marketing and more. Julia Jornsay-Silverberg has 3 emails on RocketReach.
Thank you for making time to visit with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. How did you discover your career path and what got you to where you are today?
I’ve always been drawn towards creative writing; it was my favorite subject in school as a kid. So when I went to college at the University at Buffalo, I decided to do their 3–2 program to get my Bachelor’s and Master’s in Business Administration in 5 years. I honestly thought I’d start my career out in HR at first. I had a dream that I’d use my creativity to create employee engagement programs for organizations, but I soon realized that I’d thrive a lot more focusing on marketing. So, I had some internships where, because I was the young and tech-savvy one, I was asked to start social media accounts for the organizations and it bred a love and desire for the industry. I started my LLC in 2015 after attending a workshop — Ruckusmakers — hosted by Seth Godin, that changed my life and truly put me on the course that I’m on today!
What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned along the way that influences how you operate now?
What a great and hard question to answer; I’ve got two answers really. In terms of lessons, my dad has always stressed the golden rule; treat others the way you’d like to be treated. That’s absolutely a principle that I live by. I’d also say that someone I’m proud to be able to call a friend, the brilliant Seth Godin, once said “would they miss you if you were gone?” That question has always stuck with me. I really try to leave an impression on the teams that I’m a part of in that I want to leave people feeling more energized and empowered after spending time with me. So, I’d say that’s sort of another lesson: try to leave a mark on people in a way that makes them smile more.
We’re all searching for some good news. How are you using your platform to make a positive social impact?
My brand is really centered around what I like to call the “anti-highlight-reel” approach to social media. There are enough studies out there that show that social media can have a really negative impact on people’s mental health because it tends to be a highlight reel that simply shows the perfect and pretty moments of one’s lives. As a result, we have a loneliness epidemic and people have never felt more disconnected; they’re looking for a sense of human connection when spending time online. The “anti-highlight-reel” is my personal way of showing *not just* those perfect moments. I’ve cried on stories, and I share my feelings and what I’m going through personally with my audience. As a result, I help empower and encourage them to bring more humanity and bravery into their online and daily lives.
Many of our readers are influencers as well. Others have tried and have yet to succeed. What words of advice would you offer to aspiring influencers, knowing what you know now?
Well, I definitely wouldn’t call myself an influencer. I’d say that I’m more of a creator — but my biggest advice would be to not give up. You really have to keep trying because for most creators, it takes a while before their content explodes enough to have a huge following. So often, people want to “go viral” and they expect to grow a community in an instant. It takes consistency, humanity, repetition, vulnerability… it’s not easy. It really takes time and you have to be willing to put the work in, and show up day after day, in order to get there. Don’t give up on yourself; keep putting in the work and you’ll start to see small wins along the way!
Success is often a matter of perspective. I’ve always resonated with Henry David Thoreaus quote, “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” How do you see success — or define success — for yourself now?
To me, success is being genuinely happy on the day to day while being able to support the lifestyle I’m living. Success as a solo business owner looks like not needing to worry that a client is late on an invoice because you’ve got enough money in the bank *and* built enough rapport that you know they’re good for it. I really felt “success” this summer; it was the ability to step away from my business for 10 days and know that everything was handled, and to be away on a dream vacation with my soon-to-be husband and genuinely look forward to getting home to talk to my clients.
What are your strategies to make room for who and what matters most?
I calendar-block my time in a pretty rigid way. I’ve found that’s the best way for me to ensure that I’m putting my time in the right places. I schedule time for myself to work out, to get time with friends and family, and ensure that nothing falls between the cracks for any of my clients even amidst busy seasons. I live by my calendar, hah!
How do you reduce or mitigate stress?
I exercise regularly which is essential for me as a stress outlet. I also have a daily meditation practice that I use for grounding. Plus, seeing a therapist is huge for having someone to talk to that provides support, validation and ideas for stress-management and I absolutely love the woman that I’ve been going to in Buffalo for years.
I’m going to try a few of your tips, and I’m hopeful our readers will, too. Now it’s time for the big reveal — the moment our readers have been anticipating. What are your “five strategies to cultivate a large & engaged social media community?’ Please share a story or example for each.
I’m going to share these more as tips vs. strategies. So, the first tip is all about being creative. Take time to get out of social media so that you can spark your own innate curiosity and creativity. I think that in order to create an engaged community as a creator, you have to be someone who genuinely craves creating content because otherwise, it’ll be a drag and pain to do. When you love creating, it really doesn’t “feel like work,” even though it very much is. Take for instance Alex Cooper of Call Her Daddy; her team has been creating these high-energy reels that SHOW how much fun she’s having. You can tell that she *and* her team genuinely enjoy creating content and it makes you want to watch it more.
The second strategy/tip is consistency. posting consistently is absolutely critical to growing an engaged community. You have to show up day-after-day in order to gain trust — which is what leads to an engaged community. Take for example Alix Earle; her content has blown up because she’s extremely consistent in both how often she shows up AND the type of content she creates.
The third thing is authenticity; it’s an overused word but it’s essential. You *have* to be yourself because that’s the only way that your audience starts to get to know you and then can develop a relationship with you online. The trust you develop with your audience is everything. So, don’t be afraid to show who you really are and let the goofy parts of your personality shine through your content. It’s a huge reason why I love following Jera Bean on Instagram; she really brings her personality into her content and shows that you can be both fun, energizing AND professional.
The fourth strategy is video, video, video! If you’re not using video, it’s going to be very hard to create an engaged community because you’re not talking to them! Talk-to-camera video content is the best medium for building online relationships, so lean into it. I promise, most creators don’t love the way they look and sound on camera. But they show up in that format because it’s effective and the more you show up, the more comfortable you’ll get seeing your talking head on camera! I promise.
The last strategy/tip is bravery. It’s going to be hard to put yourself out there day after day, especially when you don’t get the numbers that you’re looking for from a metrics point of view. The reality is, you can’t control the algorithm. You can only control the content you make. I tend to not overthink my content too much and know that done is better than perfect and that I’ve got a chance to do better with every single next piece of content that I create — whether it’s writing a caption, filming a talk-to-camera TikTok, or making a reel for a brand. You really can’t let others’ opinions of what you’re doing get in the way. Keep showing up and you’ll keep getting better and you’ll keep growing slowly but surely!
What do you do to create a greater sense of connection and community among your fans?
I spend time engaging with my audience. Because I *don’t* have a huge following, I do have the luxury of being able to respond to the large majority of DM’s that I get on a daily basis, and I respond to mostly every comment I get on my posts. By taking the time to show your audience that you appreciate them, and by investing in getting to know them, you really can create a small and mighty community. I might not have a very large audience, but I have a really strong conversion and engagement rate because I really do know who my followers are.
As an influencer, you are, by definition, a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
It would definitely be centered around the anti-highlight-reel. I want to inspire people to show up on camera without makeup or facial filters. I want to encourage people to share their story and not be afraid to show up online and post! I want to remind people that there is enough room for them online, and that they DO have a unique take that’s worth sharing. I want to see more people feel brave enough to share their truth and post the content they want to post!
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world with whom you’d like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He, she or they might just see this. 🙂
Absolutely, Seth Godin. He’s one of the most brilliant marketing minds out there and I’d take any chance I could to get more time to talk with him about anything and everything.
What is the best way for our readers to further follow your work online?
Follow me anywhere on social @jbethjs! I’m on Instagram every day, YouTube 2x a week, and TikTok daily too!
Thank you for these thought provoking insights. Here’s to your continued success!
About The Interviewer: Karen Mangia is one of the most sought-after keynote speakers in the world, sharing her thought leadership with over 10,000 organizations during the course of her career. As Vice President of Customer and Market Insights at Salesforce, she helps individuals and organizations define, design and deliver the future. Discover her proven strategies to access your own success in her fourth book Success from Anywhere and by connecting with her on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Influencer Julia Jornsay-Silverberg On How To Build A Large, Loyal, & Engaged Social Media… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.