When Courtney Maki was ready to graduate college and start her career, it was as if the stars aligned when she landed a job in social media.
"I fell in love with social media," says the now business owner of a growing social media company in Lansing. "I've always been social, so to have the opportunity to connect with people world-wide is just an amazing feeling."
Maki has transformed a passion that started with Disney and an Atlanta-based TV network into a small business focused on social media strategy. She founded
Glow Social Media in Atlanta in 2012, then leveraged the virtual qualities of the business to move back to Lansing in November 2013. Since her homecoming, Maki has remained true to her nature, renewing old acquaintances and cultivating social media networks for a variety of businesses and organizations in mid-Michigan.
"Atlanta was a good place to start a company," says Maki. "But Lansing is a good place to grow one. There are not a lot of other firms here that offer exactly what we do."
Glow specializes in developing brand awareness, generating inbound traffic, and encouraging product and brand adoption through the use of social media. Maki's company also provides marketing and public relations services that support a company's mission, and ensure consistency in voice while building a social media network.
Maki says that Glow doesn't just post to blogs or websites or to social media platforms. Her staff, she says, essentially function as the social media leg of a company's marketing department, coming up with content and strategy that reflects the products, services, community work, and other key features of the business.
"We have a team of specialists with niche expertise," says Maki. "You might not get that if you hire a social media specialist right out of college."
Glow works within a variety of social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube and Google Plus. The company also specializes in LinkedIn, providing optimization services for clients.
"We're here to help the community," says Maki. "And one of the best ways to help as a social media specialist is to help individuals in the community find jobs and be successful."
Glow recently began inhabiting a brick-and-mortar residence on the second floor of the Co:Space in REO Town. The 15- by 15-foot office at 1146 S. Washington provides just enough seating for Maki and her three employees, plus access to shared conference and meeting spaces.
Source: Courtney Maki, Owner, Glow Social Media
Writer: Ann Kammerer, News Editor
Got a story idea for Innovation News? Email Ann Kammerer here.
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