Member Spotlight: Aggie Meroni – Founder – White Bee Digital
Showcasing the work and skills of our community and members is an important part of the work we’re doing at Digital Women.
And with our series of Member Spotlights, we help our community get to know members better.
This Member Spotlight highlights Aggie Meroni – Founder – White Bee Digital
Aggie is a Digital Woman To Watch 2021 and Facebook Lead Trainer with Enterprise Nation. Aggie helps eCommerce brands grow with managing their ads on Meta (Facebook & Instagram), Pinterest and TikTok. Aggie has over 10 year experience in sales and marketing.
First off – What do you love about Digital Women?
I love the community. There is a mix of expertise and everyone is so approachable and generous with their knowledge.
Aggie, tell us about your freelance / founder story
I have had a very squiggly career! (who hasn’t these days?) I studied European politics with French and Spanish at university and only used Spanish when I travelled round Central and South America in my twenties. I worked at a charity, events company and Channel 4 once I graduated to save money for my trip and it was the debt I accrued from this once-in-a-lifetime trip that set me on my career path.
I came back penniless and in need of a job so I went to a recruiter who had helped me during my student days. They had a PA role for me at an investment company. Not really the industry that excited me but hey, needs must. After a very eventful interview with two powerhouse women and a building evacuation, I didn’t get the job.
They offered me a role in the sales team instead. I was reluctant. Sales in an investment company?! Wolf on Wall Street much?! I was reassured they already had clients so no cold calling was necessary.
I just had to keep the clients happy so they wouldn’t leave and keep them updated on new services they could buy from us. I loved it. Fast forward 10 years and I had worked my way up to managing sales for the UK and the Netherlands for a global financial institution but… I wasn’t enjoying it anymore.
I had started listening to the unofficial Shopify podcast on the way to work. I was hooked by all the founder stories and their digital marketing tactics. It seemed so exciting and dynamic, I wanted to get involved with what they were doing! I was getting involved more and more in digital marketing in my finance sales role and enjoyed it the most. Whilst on maternity leave, my role was made redundant and I took my chance.
I enrolled in my Post-Graduate Diploma in Digital Marketing with the Digital Marketing Institute. For the first time, studying was effortless and the time flew by. I WAS HOOKED.
As I graduated, Covid was starting to take hold of the world. Agencies were letting their staff go left, right and centre. I didn’t stand a chance. Mid-thirties career changer with no interest in a ping pong table and the beer fridge. White Bee Digital was launched out of necessity and 5 years ahead of schedule.
Originally, I offered organic social media management but my real passion was managing online ads for eCommerce brands. (That Shopify podcast never left me). Now, I only offer ad services.
I have worked at specialist agencies, worked directly with brands and even train other agencies on how to manage ads for their clients now. Recently, I set up The Freelance Ads Club, to give a safe space for other freelance ads managers to share ideas, ask for advice and share leads. There are nearly 100 ads managers in the community now and it’s exciting to see how we can all help each other grow.
Aggie, tell us more about you, your work and the services you provide:
I work with ambitious eCommerce brands who are ready to grow their businesses. They have a proven product and a loyal community on social media and now they’re ready to show what they offer to a wider audience with online advertising on Meta (Facebook & Instagram), Pinterest and TikTok.
And the services you provide?
Full service ad management, consultancy (either to troubleshoot issues or work with you to manager your ads), audits of ad accounts and corporate ad training for other agencies and in-house marketing teams.
What Digital Skills do you think are most important for Founders / Freelancers?
Knowing how to google things! The digital landscape changes so quickly, you need to be eternally curious and be bold to keep learning.
You can always hire people to help you with things out of your zone of genius but I think it’s useful to have a general understanding of new trends and skills before outsourcing. My motto is ‘everything is figureoutable’ (thanks for this one Marie Forleo).
What is your favourite social media channel and why?
LinkedIn is my current favourite. The organic reach is much stronger than other platforms and your content will receive engagement for days and even weeks after you initially posted it. It has helped me connect with so many interesting people I would not have met so quickly on other channels. It has definitely helped to strengthen my business.
Aside from Digital Women, where do you go to learn new digital skills for your business?
I invest heavily in training and memberships relevant to ad strategy and changes. The changes are non-stop. Being on top of them means I am confident I am always delivering the best results for my clients.
What trends do you see emerging in digital in the next 12 months?
Omnichannel marketing is going nowhere. It is impossible to only use one marketing channel to grow your business. You need to think about your website, how you’re found by Google, your content on social media, your email marketing and how you are networking.
From a ads perspective, investing in your messaging and creatives will move the needle for you more than your targeting. This is something some brands are being slow to adopt.
Tell us one thing you’ve gained from being a member of Digital Women
The network is incredible and I have made friends as well as won work from recommendations and referrals.
