Please welcome, Annie Tran

When you’re an entrepreneur of a small business, adding a team member is a big deal. Stressful, exciting, did I mention stressful?

When I started looking at the kind of person I wanted to bring onto my team, I brainstormed qualities I admire – energetic, creative and innovative, driven to look beyond what’s expected…

Those are pretty high standards and Annie met and exceeded those.

Annie and I met by chance a few months ago at a Social Media Breakfast while sitting at the same table. When we realized we were tweeting each other from across the table, we put down the phones and started chatting. She’s newly graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University and exploring the social media landscape for Gibson Sound & Vision.

I’ve been following Annie on Twitter since before we first met and I’m excited to welcome her to the SocialNorth Team. And I’d love for you to get to know her a little better too.

Meet Annie Tran …

Julia Rosien: Tell us about how you got started in social media?

Annie Tran: I’ve always been tech savvy so I started using social media all the way back in junior high. Social media platforms depended on what was ‘cool’ at the time and boy, has it ever changed! I used AsianAvenue, Zuup, Hi5, MySpace and finally settled with only using Facebook in 2006.

At first, social media was like a popularity contest among friends – especially through high school. As I grew older, my use of social media changed. Once I settled with Facebook, it wasn’t a popularity contest anymore as I used it as a way to keep connected with my friends and family around the world.

It took me awhile to understand Twitter, but with an extra little push, I jumped right into the conversation. Since I started, I haven’t been able to stop!

JR: What have you learned about social media that’s surprised you?

AT: I’ve learned that social media changes with age, maturity and where you are in your life. In school, it was all about the trend but now it’s more about actually being social and making connections. I’m determined that the social media networks that I’m on now aren’t just a ‘fad’ because they’re useful to me.

• I use Facebook to connect with my friends around the world and share pictures.
• I use Twitter to connect with my community.
• I use LinkedIn to connect on a professional level.

JR: What has been your most fun (or eye-opening or startling) moment in social media?

AT: I have so many fun moments in social media, it’s been such an interesting journey. I think the most eye-opening moment in social media is realizing how open the Twitter community is to help each other. I have learned more about my community and the people in it just by being more connected through Twitter. I’ve made amazing new friends and am able to see the amazing things that involve local businesses and community organizations.

JR: Where do you see social media going for business in the future?

AT: I would LOVE to see more businesses jump onto social media in the future. I see businesses seeing social media as a must-have platform to connect and learn more about their consumers. In my opinion, I think the best businesses are the ones that understand the needs and wants of their clients. Social media is an amazing tool the businesses need to take advantage of in order to have the opportunity to engage with their consumers in a way that may not have been possible before.

Annie and I will be working together so if you’re on twitter with us, please say hello!

Are you on LinkedIn? Are we connected? If not, send me a connection request and let’s start the conversation. Follow me on Twitter or friend me on Facebook – I’m always on.