Totally Taryn is Born
At the start of 2020, I was feeling restless. I’d been running my social media consulting business for over six years and had a packed roster of well-paying and (mostly) easy to work with clients. On paper, I was living the professional life I’d always dreamed of, and I felt incredibly grateful for it, something just felt off, and had for a while. To be honest, it had gotten to the point where I felt like I had a case of the Sunday Scaries five nights a week.
Then March came. And the coronavirus brought the whole world to a halt. No drinks with my girlfriends, no date nights, no dance classes, no farmers’ markets, no long dinners at my favorite vegan restaurants, no hikes, no visits with my family, no… well… anything really.
I know I wasn’t alone in feeling disoriented during that time. And I certainly wasn’t alone in feeling frustrated that seemingly half the country and our own government weren’t going to take this seriously. But where I did feel alone was in experiencing incredible sadness that this terrible pandemic had come as a result of humanity’s exploitation of animals. I began seeking out more experts in the field and learned that, given the way we raise our food, the only surprise was that something like this hadn’t happened sooner.
But all those feelings aside…I was BUSY! Busier than ever. While my partner, friends, and family had to face the reality of how long they might be out of work, I was up until 3 or 4am most nights making sure all of my clients were taken care of. Social Media became a refuge for people in quarantine, and my clients naturally wanted to lean into that. Months of plans needed to be fully redone to ensure content strategies weren’t tone deaf and fit the moment. There was simply too much to do to just sit in my feelings, but late at night I found it hard to quiet the little voice in my head.
While I ignored that inner voice, and the whole country tried to figure out the new normal, the news broke that a Black man named George Floyd had been murdered at the hands of the police. He was hardly the first. In fact, the police have killed at least one Black man or woman every week this whole year. The reality that someone had died in such a terrible way shouldn’t have surprised us any more than the pandemic did. I had long been aware that Black people had to contend with things that I as a white woman could never fully understand.
In the wake of protests, and counter-protests, brands in all verticals — but especially the ones I work with most — grappled with whether they should be taking a stance in social media. Those that did received a loud and sometimes polarized response. (This is actually not a bad thing in my line of work - it makes for great engagement metrics on social!) But those that didn’t, received an equally loud response from disappointed followers who expected the brands they loved to speak up. Some clients lamented to me that it seemed there was nothing they could do right in this situation. Yet there was. Because standing up for justice is always the right thing to do, no matter what the response may be. And this was a moment where the right thing to do ethically was also the right thing to do from a marketing perspective. This isn’t just my opinion! A recent study showed that 78% of consumers believe it is no longer acceptable for a company to just make money. They now expect companies to make a positive impact on society as well.
And this was when the nagging whispers that had been keeping me up at night began to get louder. Since I couldn’t sleep, I read. And I learned. I realized that I actually wanted to restructure my business to work with clients who were already doing the right thing! Brands that had a mission and needed someone with my skillset to help them communicate their values through social media. I knew with certainty that this was the piece that had been missing for the past few years. More importantly, I finally had the clarity I needed to relaunch my business as Totally Taryn Social, an agency for progressive and purpose-driven brands.
My slogan when I first went out on my own in 2014 was, “I'm all about the touchy-feely side of tech.” That remains true. But what’s changed is that I don’t just want to help brands foster online communities and hit their social media goals. I actually want to help purpose-driven brands achieve their progressive missions. I want to help them communicate their values to audiences that truly care. The Great RBG said, “Fight for the things that you care about. But do it in a way that will lead others to join you.” These words helped me define my new business goals for 2020 and beyond. And so Totally Taryn Social is born.