Meet Shannon Hoff | Social Media & Content Strategy Consultant

We had the good fortune of connecting with Shannon Hoff and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Shannon, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
I think of myself as really lucky that when the pandemic lock downs happened, I had already been working from home for a while, so there was really no transition for me. I saw how much this impacted my clients and other people I knew, so I understood how fortunate I was. Social media in some ways has always been a form of remote communication, so I think I was well prepared to go fully remote. I continue to do so (almost!) today.

From when I started my consultancy in 2018 to now, I have always enjoyed working from a ‘home office’, such as it is. I personally love being able to complete small tasks around the house and I use this as a way to take a few moments at a time to step away from my computer. I think this approach positively contributes to both my physical and mental heath.

When I was stuck in an office environment for 40 hours + per week, I felt much more overwhelmed by what was going on at home as I had to wait until the weekend to take care of things. My weekends and time off are much more satisfying now that I can spread out all the little tasks that everyone has to do at home throughout my work week and not try to pack it all in after work.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My consultancy provides social media & brand communcations strategy specifically for clients, large and small, that contribute to the built environment. I am currently working with a range of clients from the landscape architecture, commercial construction and major infrastructure worlds.

I started this consultancy in 2018, not knowing if this was really going to work out, but I felt that architects were somehow falling behind in how they were communicating. Social media was really becoming a force across other creative disciplines, but architects seemed to be digging in and not embracing social as much as I thought they should. For me and the people I knew in the industry, it felt like every firm owner was getting older and not moving with the times, frustrating the younger employees. Architecture can be very hierarchical and there was a feeling in the air at that time that things were going to be changing. I thought I could make the case for embracing social media as a way to reach out beyond traditional client marketing and reach those who might be interested in knowing about a firm’s culture, people, and process in a more organic way.

I always make it clear that I see myself as a communicator not a marketer. Using social media to communicate who you are as a firm has become more normalized, but I never promise a definitive ROI. The approach today is holistic and your social media has to be a part of larger brand marketing strategies, including your talent attraction approach. You may not get clients sliding into your DMs, but I’ll bet that no one is going to come into an interview without first taking a look at your socials to get a feel for the culture. Communicating a culture of stability, openness and creativity can really attract both the clients and the talent that you need to keep it all afloat.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would definitely say to explore Downtown, the Arts District and the Historic Core. LA gets such a bad rap, and it is so weird to me as a native when LA is still considered by many to be dangerous and underpopulated, especially Downtown. I always say, ‘You should have seen this place in the ’90’s! if you think this is scary!’.

I would say as a good day in Downtown, I would start with brunch at Manuela at Houser and Wirth, then take a look at what they have on display. They can even take the subway which still blows people’s minds when they learn this exists. Jump over to Little Tokyo and see the Japanese American Museum or something at MOCA. Get a matcha and walk around. Starting around 4-5, you can get great tiki drinks at The Mermaid Bar and more snacks. For dinner, get some of the best sushi outside of Japan. Hama is great.

Transportation is not as easy as it is in other places, but it is doable. Subway/bus or Uber or something! I was born here and I almost never drive when in Downtown. Rookie move. Or worse, Venice/Santa Monica.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The main thing that makes my life possible is my clients. I work with a combination of very small to very large design firms and design adjacent consultancies, but the smaller studios are always close to my heart. I would like to offer my sincere thanks to landscape architects https://www.border-la.com, brand and marketing consultancies https://vbstrat.com and https://www.wtwagency.com.

Without their faith in me early on, I would not be living the life I am today!

Instagram: @seensocialagency

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-hoff/