Ever since Facebook first came to Temple University during my freshman year way back in 2004 I have been passionate about what we now know as social media. I must admit that if you would have told me then that less than 10 years later I would be paid in part to be the ‘Facebook Guy’ then I would have called you crazy.

If you take a look at my resume you will see that I have a pretty varied work history: from retail management to sports radio to the mortgage industry. The one common thread interwoven in each one of my stops is digital. It started small at the Barnes and Noble at La Salle. We worked to build our Facebook page as a way to connect with students and spread the word about flash sales, rental return dates and more.

In the radio world I was hired specifically to head the social media presence of the station but by the end of my time there I considered myself a digital marketer. I was studying Google Analytics to help the sales staff put together better pitches for prospective clients using audience data. I was applying the idea of content marketing before I knew what content marketing was on the station’s blog.

Now I am working as a Social Media Specialist in the rigidly regulated mortgage industry. Innovation is not a word that government regulators and legal counsel want to hear yet it is something that I strive to achieve on a daily basis. Again, although my role is clearly defined as overseer of social media efforts for the company I have found myself contributing in a number of other areas across digital marketing and IT including the development, QA testing and deployment of multiple websites, a merger/rebrand, the redevelopment of an organizational intranet site and more.

The one key thing I have learned at each stop in my professional journey is that versatility is the key to being successful.