Today we’d like to introduce you to alana vorda
Hi alana, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
After graduating with my Master’s in 2018, I spent nearly a year undergoing an extensive interview process with the FBI who offered me a position as a special agent–my dream job! However, shortly thereafter, my dreams were crushed when that offer ended up being rescinded (boo). I floated around aimlessly the next few years toying with thoughts of pursuing the Navy, CIA, and other government agencies. All the while, I was working a low paying job at the local library. I knew I needed a change and I definitely made that happen. I began 2021 as an assistant to a successful Houston realtor (Chris Phan owner of Truss Real Estate). About six months into my employment, he fired his social media manager and transferred the responsibility onto me. I quickly learned that not only was I good at it, but I genuinely enjoyed it–2 things I hadn’t ever experienced simultaneously at a job. By the end of 2021, I left my assistant role and launched my social media marketing company: Vorda Social with Chris as my first client.
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?
Every other day since I started Vorda Social has been and continues to be a learning experience. I didn’t know any other social media managers that I could consult when I started and I had hardly any friends that were entrepreneurs. However, I had a goal and I was resolved to figure it out one way or the other (thank you Google).
It wasn’t just traversing the ever-evolving social media landscape to successfully run my client accounts, but learning to create a business–and let’s be honest–not bleed out during tax season. When I started, I didn’t know whether to file as an S-Corp or a sole proprietor, I didn’t know about writing service agreements, pricing my services, building a website–the list goes on and on and that’s just the back end! Learning to cope with losing clients, incompatible personalities, and striking a work-life-balance (what’s a vacation again?), there was so much I didn’t know, that I didn’t know lol!
When I look back to where I started, my journey as a business owner and social media manager has all been all sorts of challenging but all in the best way. I mean, it’s the journey that makes a good story, right?
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Vorda Social?
I’m known as Houston’s Real Estate social media manager with clients like Chris Phan of Truss Real Estate, Vecino Homes, and Draft House Design Studio. I also have–what I call my anomaly client–a meal prep company: My Fit Foods.
I work primarily on Instagram since that’s the platform my clients’ customer demographics most (currently) utilize. I tailor marketing strategies based on my client’s goals and then my videographer and I have a blast creating content to post/execute those strategies. In the past I’ve had clients concerned about the fact that they’re in the same industry–as if they’re in competition with each other–and my perspective on that is this: even though my clients are all in the same industry, each brand has a unique voice. And at the risk of sounding highfalutin, it’s my job to create social media strategies that fine-tune their brand’s voice to reach their audience’s ears–ahem…Instagram feed,
From that point, I focus on authentic engagement. Anyone can put out content, and fire content too, but it’s the genuine interactions we have with one another that create what is so innately human to us–community. It’s what I believe makes social media so extraordinary, the ability to connect with people on a personal level that you may have never interacted with or met otherwise.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
I thrive working from home #gointroverts
Contact Info:
- Website: https://vordasocial.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/vordasocial
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/vordasocial
- Other: https://tiktok.com/@vordasocial
Image Credits
n/a
