Daily Inspiration: Meet Meg Reily

Today we’d like to introduce you to Meg Reily.

Hi Meg, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m a 26 years old born and raised content creator and marketing guru living in Austin, Texas. Ever since I was a little girl, I always wanted to do big things in my life and have always had that “go-getter” mindset. My dad gave me my first camera for Christmas when I was in 7th grade and I immediately started videoing literally anything and everything! I started my own YouTube channel in middle school where I would make random videos with my friends, ask random questions, and more! I was that little girl in the neighborhood that was always outside making videos, whether I was dancing in a pink tutu or recreating scenes from movies, I always made sure to have my camera on me at all times. Growing up my family always told me that one day I was going to either work in politics or in the entertainment industry, and looking back they most definitely were right!

I graduated with a degree in Mass Communications and Marketing from Stephen F. Austin State University in 2019, with the hopes of one day “making it big” and achieving any goal that comes my way. Growing up it was always my dream to become a News Reporter or Multimedia Journalist. In college, I worked part-time as a Multimedia Journalist covering stories across the East Texas community, as well as a Radio Talent for a local radio station in Nacogdoches, Texas called KSAU 90.1. However, once college graduation came around, I decided that the marketing route peaked my interest more and would be a great decision for me because I am one that loves being involved in the community and I enjoy helping others grow their brand and achieve their business goals.

My little sister, Jeannette first introduced me to the app TikTok at the beginning of 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic first began and I had no other decision but to start working remotely from home. As we all can remember, the year of 2020 and having to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic/stay-at-home mandate really took a huge toll on all of us. Working from home meant having to readjust to this new way of balancing your work and personal life all while social distancing.

During this time, I was working a full-time corporate position in digital marketing at a local NBC affiliate television station based in College Station, Texas. After 3 years working in College Station, I landed a senior-level position in digital marketing based in Austin, Texas for The FOX Corporation, where I was able to take my marketing experience to the next level!

However, by the time I started my new career in Austin, that’s when my social media presence took a wild turn for the good! In June 2021, I had reached 200K followers on TikTok, which seemed like a lot at the time, and by November 2021 I had successfully reached over 1M followers. You might be thinking “WHAT? How! That’s insane!”, and you’re not wrong. However, within a short MONTH I had grown even larger to over 1.5M followers by the end of December 2021. Today, I am officially at 1.8M followers on TikTok and 226K on Instagram.

Having to balance a 9-5 corporate job while being a content creator is very time-consuming and challenging, and I know what it takes to balance a 9-5 while trying to grow your personal brand into a profitable business. Although I had worked so hard to land my first “big girl” job the day before my college graduation, and eventually worked my way up to a senior-level marketing position for The FOX Corporation, I still just had this gut feeling that I was ready to take my social media career full-time. Every night when I would lay in bed, I’d get that feeling that “this isn’t it” and that I was made for something more! That’s when I knew I was ready to become a full-time content creator.

My greatest desire is to encourage my audience to focus on the good things in life and to provide aspiring creators and businesses with the right content creation and mindset resources to pursue their creative passions with confidence. Since beginning my career in social media, I’ve had the privilege to work with countless brands that align with my values, collaborate with other creators similar to my niche, and been guests on shows, such as The Kelly Clarkson Show and MTV’s Ridiculousness. I’ve even had the opportunity to meet some of my favorite comedians and guest star on multiple podcasts.

Thanks to social media and my experience working in digital marketing, I’ve learned the importance of growing your personal brand by creating authentic content, building a strong community, and providing consistently appealing content for my audience. I’m so grateful for my years of experience working full-time in digital marketing and helping my clients achieve their business goals and I truly believe it had a great impact on how I successfully grew my own personal brand.

I’m passionate about creating content, helping others grow, and doing meaningful work. Although it was a very difficult decision to leave my full-time job to pursue my career as a full-time creator, I am so grateful for the community I’ve grown, the goals I’ve accomplished, and for the opportunity to make an impact on so many lives. As I pursue a less “traditional” career route, I want to encourage others to follow their passions and be bold. Anything you want and any dream you have is attainable if you. All in all, the best advice I can give you is to take a risk and believe in yourself because you never know where you might end up.

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?
One of my biggest challenges was deciding whether or not I was ready to quit my 9-5 corporate job and become a full-time content creator. Before I made my final decision, I spent many months leading up to the day I quit preparing and making a game plan for when I do make that decision. I had to factor in so many important steps I would need to take in order for going full-time to even be possible. I had to consider my financial situation and if I were to be able to financially survive, but most importantly I had to envision what I would want my future to look like. I had to develop a marketing strategy and game plan for how I was going to become successful without having to rely on my 9-5 career.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I get asked quite often what it’s really like being a content creator, and people are amazed that there’s so much more that goes into it than just simply making content. Some of the tasks I do in my business throughout my day are to develop content calendars to organize/plan when my content will go live, create videos and photos for my multiple social accounts, repurpose content, connect with other creators and my community, collaborating and negotiating on brand collaborations, and so much more.

My content primarily focuses on providing a happy/safe place for my audience to laugh and be inspired to live their best life in the most positive way. I create content that is entertaining and brings laughter to my viewers, such as my viral comedy skits and other relatable/informing content.

On TikTok, I’m known as “The Miller Lite Girl” because not only do I LOVE Miller Lite but I also am officially sponsored by them, which was my ultimate brand deal! I’m super proud of how hard I worked to land this brand sponsorship. I also am known for my comedy skit videos that have caught the attention of record label companies, talk shows, and a ton of comedians. Lastly, I am known for my infamous “Meg Face”, which has become a signature component of my personal brand.

I think what sets me apart is that I don’t portray myself as someone different online. Whether you know me personally or not, I will always be who I am and show my true self. I don’t like when people put on a fake character just to get some light and “TikTok fame”, that’s why I think it’s important to always stay true to yourself.

Ultimately one of my proudest accomplishments throughout my social media career is the amount of praise and kind words I receive from my audience. Every single day I get hundreds of direct messages, emails, or comments from others simply thanking me for the content I publish. They appreciate that I have branded my platform as a place of positivity and thank me for helping them overcome difficult life challenges. It’s such a nice and heartwarming feeling knowing that my work has such a strong impact on others’ lives, which I think is something every content creator should consider.

Any big plans?
Looking back on my life a year ago today I never in a million years would have thought I’d be where I’m at today. If I learned anything over the past year, it’s that life can change in an instant so take risks and do what makes you happy in order to achieve your goals.

I have many projects and goals I want to achieve going forward. For starters, I’d really like to eventually start my own podcast where I would have different creators on as guests to talk about all things social media, such as how to monetize on social media, brand deals, building your personal brand, and more!

I also am in the process of releasing new merch and am planning my first ever meet and greet tour where I’ll travel to 4 different parts of Texas. I am going to have 4 meet and greets that people can purchase tickets to attend. (Houston, Livingston, Dallas/ForthWorth, and College Station)

I also really want to be a guest on Joe Rogan’s podcast in Austin, so fingers crossed! 🙂

Contact Info:

• Email: megreilymgmt@gmail.com
• Website: https://www.megreily.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/megreilyy
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meghreily
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5UrBIvMUnpTwXM05FB5uTg
• Other: https://tiktok.com/@therealmeg_stallion