The Social Impact Heroes of Social Media: Haley Findlay is using her platform to amplify the message of charities making the world a better place
One of the biggest movements I would love to continue to support and encourage others to support is helping everyone have access to clean water. Any charities or intimidates that support clean water or providing clean water to countries is a passion of mine. Anyone who is reading this now that is a part of a big movement, please reach out! 🙂
As a part of my series about social media stars who are using their platform to make a significant social impact, I had the pleasure of interviewing Haley Findlay. Haley is a successful social entrepreneur who is revolutionizing the social media industry by leveraging her savvy business smarts and fast-growing platforms to create a community dedicated to connecting the world so we can all thrive together. Along with Haley’s commitment to fostering the growth of female entrepreneurs and women focused brands, she has now expanded her attention to uplifting charities as well as corporations worldwide.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
My career path has never been set in stone. I went to college for Hospitality, specifically Event Planning because I loved coordinating, planning, connecting, creating, and most importantly executing. I like to get things done. Once I graduated, I was working a normal job and I realized how terribly bored I was because it lacked the creative stimulation I was used to. Being a recent graduate, my job opportunities were limited. However, through my job I made countless connections and met hundreds of people every month so I began giving advice and talking strategy with any CEOs, CMOs, or Founders that came across my path. I am a natural connector, and I can pick up a conversation with absolutely anyone. I became fascinated with helping people with their brands and giving them creative strategies on how to position themselves through social media and branding as a whole. After a few months of natural conversation, I had 10 offers on the table for digital strategy and marketing roles. I thought, ‘Woah, I must pretty good at something”, so I declined them all and countered with an outsourced social media marketing role in which I could handle all of these clients at the same time. With a focus on social media growth and content creation, not only did my clients grow but so did my platform. After a few years of working with several different companies to build up their social media presence I felt like I had lost sight of what was important to me. So I wiped my plate clean and started fresh. I began working on my platform full time because I wanted to have influence and use it for social change and amplify messages around the world. Within a month of starting over, I met my current business partner and we co-founded Exclusively Social: A Global Collective for Women of Influence. Exclusively Social is the top platform to educate, connect, and inspire women and brands of influence. We built this business off social media alone and $500 for a website. All of the brand partnerships, women in the community, events…etc have come from our favorite little app called Instagram. From here, I realized, social media could power ANYTHING and it validated my love for social change around the world. I am currently working on a social series that will connect and uplift charities and corporations around the world. So as you can see, my career path has been anything BUT traditional; however, learning and evolving along the way has led to me to where I am today.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this career?
Since I have insight into the influencer side as well as the brand side in this digital era, the most interesting thing that has happened since I began my career is that I realized there is a severe lack of knowledge on both sides of how to effectively use social media, measure the results, and engage in brand activations digitally. That is why I co-founded Exclusively Social because we wanted to bridge the learning gap and empower content creators and brands with the tools and knowledge to succeed in the social media realm.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I would consider myself a rather organized person; however, when my platform began to grow I had hindered of brands offering free products or gifting. In the beginning, I said yes to a lot because I couldn’t wait to share the products digitally and build up the brands. When they all arrived, it was like my birthday as there were packages everywhere. I opened them all up and made a mess and realized in doing so, I mixed up all the brands, the products, the instructions, you name it. It took me over 3 hours to sort everything back in its place. My lesson was to be organized and systematic with anything that you do.
Ok super. Let’s now jump to the core focus of our interview. Can you describe to our readers how you are using your platform to make a significant social impact?
I am using my social media platforms to share uplifting messages, support brands with world changing missions, and build communities. There are so many ways people are already impacting the world, they just need a platform. I personally LOVE to be engaged in a lot of different things, which is why I create communities with everything that I do. Communities listen, they support, and best of all they share. Through community, our social impact reach grows exponentially.
Currently I am doing the following:
Exclusively Social: We foster the growth the female entrepreneurs, women owned businesses, and female focused brands through a series of tools and resources and free workshops. We host events to allow the community to create genuine friendships and meaningful connections. We connect to women and brands all through Instagram.
New Social Series: Through a series of interviews, videos, and my experiences around the world I am working with charities and corporations to highlight their efforts to make the world a better place, while amplifying their message through my platform and connect them with the right infrastructure to advance.
The title and pilot will be available July of 2019.
My platform opens up a lot of doors for me so instead of simply advertising, I want to share my experiences and missions globally for the greatest world impact.
Wow! Can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted by this cause?
I like to make big waves in whatever I do. I can say happily there is not just one particular person impacted by my efforts but thousands. I hope to continue to connect and inspire individuals and communities around the world. I believe in the power of networking and while not everyone has that natural networking ability, I feel my talents lie in helping bring these connections to the right people in hopes that a mutually beneficial partnership is born.
Was there a tipping point the made you decide to focus on this particular area? Can you share a story about that?
The tipping point was September 2018 when I was going through a breakup as well as losing many of my clients. I had to re-evaluate (again) what made me happy. I had already done this a year before and it led me to meeting my business partner and launching Exclusively Social. Yet even though I had achieved many successes, I was still feeling unfulfilled. So, I dug deep and realized that my passion has always been right in front of me. I realized I love helping people. I have traveled the world all my life and everywhere I go I am involved in philanthropy income way, shape, or form. I am a natural connector.
Hence my direction and passion was re-energized. It was only natural that I took Exclusively Social to a global community.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
- Corporations, companies, and politicians can help by allowing an interview on their global efforts to help change the world.
- Charities can reach out for a story feature or interview so we can amplify their mission.
- Communities can suggest charities or corporations to interview and follow along and subscribe.
What specific strategies have you been using to promote and advance this cause? Can you recommend any good tips for people who want to follow your lead and use their social platform for a social good?
My biggest tips:
- Be authentic and excited about what you are doing. People can sense when a message is off or you aren’t behind it 100%.
- Stand by what you do. It may sound cheesy but it really helped me. I stood by my mission and I knew my worth.
- Diversify your platforms. The more platforms you have the bigger your reach, the bigger your impact.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.
I don’t have 5 things, but what I do wish is that I had started sooner. I wish I began investing in my platforms sooner to create my brand because it has brought me to where I am today.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
One of the biggest movements I would love to continue to support and encourage others to support is helping everyone have access to clean water. Any charities or intimidates that support clean water or providing clean water to countries is a passion of mine. Anyone who is reading this now that is a part of a big movement, please reach out! 🙂
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I love mantras and practicing being present. One mantra I say every morning is: “I am grateful for where I am today”.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
Oprah Winfrey
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Instagram: @haley.findlay Website: http://haleyfindlay.com
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWkY2XGdYKiOJQWYd48uAqw
Email: [email protected]
This was very meaningful, thank you so much!
The Social Impact Heroes of Social Media: Haley Findlay is using her platform to amplify the… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.