Meet Ro Coleman | Digital Marketing Professional

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ro Coleman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ro, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
For me, risk taking is a HUGE part of growth and success. I’m fortunate enough to not have any major responsibilities like kids so I can take risks without having to consider much more than the advantages and disadvantages it has to my situation at the time — which is a large part of what allowed me to take some of my biggest risks in my career. That and some unfortunate life events.

Admittedly, I started out as an ambitious college drop-out. Though I could not afford to finish my journalism degree and lost my on-campus apartment, I would not be stopped from pursuing my dreams. I knew that would take some major risks, though. Despite my lack of resources and money, I hopped around from St. Louis to L.A and back to Chicago risking it all and quickly gain experience that allowed to me to work with some of the biggest names in media and finance like the LA Weekly, WGN Radio, Chicago Sun-Times, and my current position with Wintrust. Beyond that, the skills and lessons I learned along the way are invaluable. I got to network with peers on similar journeys and learned how to quickly adapt to my role and various situations as a communications professional.

My advice to anyone regardless of their life circumstance? Take as many risks as you can and always follow through. You never know where it’ll lead you. My risks took me from drop-out to journalist to producer to digital marketer in less than 10 years without those traditional certifying documents most of aspire to obtain. It was not easy, but it was absolutely worth it.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’ll start by introducing myself. I’m Ro Coleman, Digital Marketer and Founder/CMO of SociallyRo. I help teams integrate strong social strategy into busy campaign calendars.

My journey to digital marketing was not your average. My career started in broadcasting as a journalist and producer for some of the biggest news names in Chicago (amid a long period of struggling with homelessness.) Like many of us, my career in broadcasting took a sudden halt as the COVID-19 pandemic took over.

I thought my life was over. I hated average jobs and it seemed like finding “my ideal company” to work for was impossible. After over 5 years in broadcast production and journalism and nothing to show for it but a pretty resume,

Pushing forward regardless, I spent hours upon hours trying to reteach myself new skills and experimenting with low-cost clients needing simple social management help. I wanted to pivot into a career that allowed me to merge my creative passions for production and content creation without having to settle for the monotony of traditional journalism. So, I dived head first into creating my own content on my personal account – taking advantage of some transitional edits and other video skills I’d already learned in my past.

Eventually, I figured out I had a natural skills for social media in many ways and landed my first job working for a big business that if I’m honest, was not at all prepared to truly hire a social media manager. It was obvious, despite my suggestions and recommendations, they had no intention of focusing on the strategy — they just needed someone to post and call it day.

Disappointing as it may, it was the push I needed. I went back to the drawing board and thought long and hard about my goals and wrote out numerous plans/avenues to achieving them before finally opening SociallyRo this year – a digital marketing firm dedicated to helping marketing teams at all stages. For me, it’s my biggest career accomplishment. We have already been able to onboard a couple clients since opening and even had to decline a few inquiries, so we are very optimistic about the year ahead!

If your team needs help with converting clicks to sells on social, contact me today at rocoleman@sociallyro.com with the subject, “Ready to be Social” or visit our website www.SociallyRo.com.

You can also get free help all week long on Instagram @sociallyro.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
One week with my bestie in Chicago? Perfect time for a staycation! First stop for me is a beautiful 2 bedroom 2 bathroom Airbnb with a view downtown Chicago.

During the week we’re having brunch at Wake ‘n Bacon and taking a couple stops at some of Chicagos best speak-easys and newest dinner spots like Kitchen N Kocktails and Somerset. Then we’re kicking off the weekend cruising on Lake Michigan in a motorboat rental with a couple bottles and ending it with Lunch at the Fulton Market and Dinner/Nightlife bar hopping West Loop!

And of course all of the boring things like catching up, bouncing ideas and all the things that make my friends better than yours! 🙂

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to dedicate this shoutout to my mentors who helped me along the way; Stephen Nitz, Daryl Johnson, Tremaine Davis, and so many others that aren’t named here. A special thank you to my first loves, my mommy and my sister Tati for all of your unconditional love and continued support over the years.

Website: https://www.SociallyRo.com

Instagram: https://www.Instagram.com/SociallyRo

Linkedin: https://www.LinkedIn.com/in/rocoleman95