I have been working with Erin Phillips since this past fall when I hired her company, Pinckney Palm, to help my business with social media consulting. Erin has an interesting story that she openly shares with her followers on her personal Instagram account. She has lived abroad with her family in London and traveled all over Europe, is open about her struggles with secondary infertility and now adoption journey, and just life juggling running a business and being a mom!
I’ve loved working with you for my business and I’m excited to dive in deeper to learn more about your family and your business! First off, can you tell us a little bit about your family?
I’ve loved working with you too and now getting to collaborate here, thank you for thinking of me! My little family includes myself, my husband, Ryan, our five-year-old, Sullivan (“Sully”), and our two adopted golden retrievers, Cotton and Mallie, who are 11 and nine. My husband and I met when we were juniors in college, he went to Wofford and I went to Clemson. We actually met at the Carolina Cup horse race when we literally bumped into each other. We were married after college and have since lived in Greenville, SC, Richmond, VA (where Sully was born), Washington DC, London, and now Mount Pleasant.
I’d love to learn more about your business Pinckney Palm. How did you get started and how did you know you wanted to do social media as your career?
When I graduated from Clemson, I was the young person at the advertising agency I worked for that knew what Facebook, Twitter, and blogging were. So I became the blogger and social media go-to from then on. I stayed in social media moving forward and even spent four years at Capital One working with our agency partners and in social media. When we moved to Charleston, I realized there were so many small businesses here that could benefit from the big-brand and many years of professional knowledge I had in social media. So in January 2017, Pinckney Palm officially launched. Now we work with brands across the US and even in places like Malaysia and London on their social media.
If someone is just starting out and intimidated by doing social media for their business (or as a beginner blogger) what are some tips you can give them to get things rolling?
Stay consistent and plan in advance! My biggest advice is to set up a cadence that works for you to pre-plan out your content. Don’t be the person at the dinner table who is freaking out about what to post that night on Instagram. Get ahead and you’ll save so much mental sanity and be more strategic. We love Planoly for planning out Instagram Feed and Stories posts.
If someone is doing social media for their business but has limited time, what would you say are the top things that are important to keep up with?
Know what platform matters most to your audience and go all-in. If you have limited time, don’t try to spread yourself thin on all the platforms. If your audience is primarily on Instagram, create content for the Instagram Feed and then think of how you can amplify and version it on Instagram Stories and on other channels. Don’t think you have to create unique content for all channels. Be smart with your content and time!
You’ve been very open on your personal social media page about your current journey with adoption. Would you mind sharing with us a bit about that?
Absolutely! We often see the end of people’s stories after they’ve gone through infertility and/or adoption on social media, but very rarely do people share how hard the middle is which can leave us going through these things feeling isolated. I wanted to shed light on those harder middle parts, so I share those on my personal page.
After two years of trying and so many doctors and tests, we discovered we have secondary infertility. The only possibility for us was IVF and even that was going to be slim. Adoption has always been something we talked about, so we decided to go directly into the domestic adoption process via an agency. We have now officially been a waiting family for a year and are hopeful to be matched with our son or daughter soon.
I’d love to connect with any parents who have gone through adoption or are considering walking this journey! My personal IG is @erinn.phillips.
I know you have also lived abroad with your husband and daughter in London. What a cool experience! What was it like living abroad with a child? Did she pick up any cute British phrases or pronunciations while living there?
We loved living in London for the 14 months that we did SO much! We often joke that Sully did the best with the move out of all of us – kids are so incredibly adaptable. She was two when we moved there, very shortly turned three, and was four when we moved home. I would do it again in a heartbeat. We lived in 500 square feet with only one bathroom and up six flights of stairs with no elevator, but the experience and travel make it so worth it! It was really hard being so far from family and having a five-hour time difference for calls, but again so worth it for the short time. We ended up traveling to 11 new countries and over 25 different European cities while there. Sully did end up picking up an accent because we had her in “nursery”, but she quickly lost it when we moved back to the US, unfortunately.
Back to business! With Pinckney Palm, what is your main focus and what do you love most about your business?
Social media is a must-have for businesses now and very often is one of the most stressful things for small to medium businesses to handle. We like to think of ourselves as the extension of your team that brings you over 10 years of experience in social, a view of what is constantly changing in this fast-paced world, and the creative juices that businesses need to thrive. We do everything from consulting to creating, posting, and fully managing your social media pages.
I love the ever-changing nature of social media and how every single day is different. I also love leading a team of women who are so passionate about the businesses we work for which also focuses on women as a demographic.
Who are some of your favorite local Charleston bloggers that you like to follow and why?
The Tiny Tassel: I’m blessed to call Mimi a friend and a part of a group of women business owners that I meet up with each month. She is always a bright light on social and makes the most adorable tassel earrings and accessories (I’m partial to her palm print headband!):
Holy City Chic: I have a very similar style in my home and in what I wear each day to Megan of Holy City Chic so I love following her for inspiration that I know I can implement easily into my own life:
Sweet Southern Prep: Ashley has been a blogger favorite for a long time. I love following her and her family of six. She is a runner and tennis player and her dedication to fitness inspires me!
Snoop Natty Nat: Natalie is the queen of amazing, healthy recipes that aren’t overwhelming to make. I also love her style and approach to transparency on social!
Megan Molten: Need fresh, coastal interior design inspiration? Megan (and team!) are a great follow.
Paula Rallis: Paula is always on the go and shares openly about her struggles with infertility and her beautiful daughter who came to her via surrogacy. She and I also were cheerleaders in high school together so it’s fun to keep up with her life now.
Where can we find you to follow along with your personal page as well as Pinckney Palm?
Pinckney Palm Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pinckneypalm/
Contact me: [email protected]
Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erinn.phillips/
Check out some of our other Moms to See in the 843!
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