Today we’d like to introduce you to Keayanna Anderson.
Keayanna, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I have always had a passion for people, finding new ways to help them and making a difference in their lives somehow. It’s something that I honestly feel like I was born to do. I was born and raised in Austin, TX however, before attending high school at LBJ, I moved around quite a bit as a kid(in and out of state) and always felt like I had issues connecting with people and creating lasting bonds. A big part of that was because of the experiences I’ve had with bullying and self-esteem. For a good chunk of my childhood, I had kids ridicule me for the color of my skin, my hair, and how I presented myself; not just in one place, but in many of the places we moved to. This caused me to become super introverted and made me second guess myself constantly.
After my family settled back in Austin during my freshman year of high school, I felt like that was when I started to gain confidence in who I was, what I looked like, and what I wanted to be in this world. The city itself has influenced me so much as a person; the amount of creative energy and inspiration here is unmatched.
While still in high school, I found a love for creating content and graphic design. I used to be so embarrassed to tell this origin story but as I look back at it now, I am proud of the things I’ve experienced because of it. I actually started making content for a fan account that I made for Machine Gun Kelly back in 2014 until about 2017; at the time, I was really passionate about his music, his message, and the people I met at his concerts. At one point my account had just under 10k followers, I was in direct contact with MGK’s team, did contests, giveaways, and worked on projects that I would never imagine myself doing at 19 and 20 years old. I created a whole community through social media without even realizing it. A few years ago, when MGK posted one of the edits of his album art that I did, all of my followers started tagging me in the post….that’s when I knew that social media wasn’t just a hobby for me. Other people saw what I was doing and they appreciated it – after that, I didn’t doubt what my purpose was one bit.
Now I manage social media for small businesses and even musicians to help them connect with their audience and build community. But I don’t want to limit myself to just that, I have started dipping into doing merch for concerts/festivals and hope to expand on that and offer more services for local artists.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road at all. When having goals that aren’t within the “norm”, there tends to be a lot of push back from other people to be “realistic”, even in a city like Austin. For a while, I went the realistic route and chose to express my love for people with various customer service jobs that were completely unfulfilling at the end of the day. I didn’t just want to be a service to others, I wanted to do that while having my own business and being in control of my own future. The hardest part has and always will be taking the leap from a structured work environment, into the chaos that is entrepreneurship. There were so many fees and processes that came with starting and running a small business that I wasn’t prepared for and that most people don’t tell you about to make it look more glamourous. However, every part was absolutely worth it, I have learned valuable lessons and adapted to the circumstances that I found myself in. It’s a never-ending struggle, even when you start to become more experienced, you have to wake up every day and renew your confidence in your ability to do whatever it is you set out to do.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Social Energy – ATX?
Through my business, I offer social media services. This includes designing content, market research, audience targeting, and engagement, analyzing trends and insights, ads, and a lot more. I specialize in building community and brand awareness. A lot of the time, I find that people are obsessed with the algorithms and often come off too cold and calculated. I don’t like to just push out meaningless content for the sake of posting. I try to set myself apart by focusing on keeping consistent branding and building trust between a business and its audience. I have found that people trust brands that make them feel a part of something, brands that interact and relate with the people they are servicing. That can look like a lot of things content-wise, but the main point is to be relatable! You can get so much farther with anything that you do if you find something that connects you to others on a deeper level.
I want people to know that no matter what their brand is, my services are a resource that can be customized to fit any industry. I like to learn about you and your business thoroughly and I know your audience does as well! That is why I do my absolute best to highlight the amazing and inspiring things about a business and the value that they bring to the public.
What matters most to you? Why?
Representation matters to me the most. Growing up, I had so many outside expectations put on me as to what I should do with my life and what my potential was based on my gender, my race, and my upbringing. I didn’t see a lot of working-class Black women just up and leave their job to pursue a career in social media. In fact, the social media management industry wasn’t really even a thing until like ten years ago, period. I want to inspire those who may think that there isn’t a seat at whatever table they want to sit at and I want them to know that there ARE people at that table that look JUST LIKE THEM and are waiting for them to join.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://socialenergyatx.wixsite.com/website
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/socialenergy.atx/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/socialenergyatx
- Other: https://linktr.ee/keayanderson
Image Credits
Trey Karnes Photography
