Gabriela Cardoza Discusses Leveraging Social Media and Automation for Businesses

In this episode of the Champ Life series, we invited Gabriela Cardoza to share her incredible entrepreneur journey. Gabriela likes to define herself as a “serial entrepreneur,” as she started her first business at only 19.

Since then, she has hustled to become one of the best in the market and establish herself as a prolific brand and marketing consultant. She is also a savage Twitter marketer and a supermom to two young kids.

She runs her marketing kingdom from home in a true freelancing style. To say that we were utterly impressed by her working style and her ability to multi-task would be an understatement.

Today, she will share her journey with us and talk to us about her passion, which is her work. In the interview, she shares personal insights about how she provides social media consultation for personal and corporate brands worldwide. She also talks about branding, social media, and marketing!

Muneeb: Please share your career history with our audience.

Gabriela: I built my first business, a social network, at nineteen. I fell in love with entrepreneurship, but my goal at the time was to work in politics and, specifically, in educational reform. I graduated with a degree in political communication. At 21, I started as an intern at El Palacio De Moncloa, the equivalent of the White House in Spain. There, I was tasked with developing digital marketing and branding strategies for the Prime Minister’s upcoming electoral campaign.

After getting a taste of branding and marketing, I decided to go back to school, and I got my master’s in visual and digital media management. Simultaneously, I launched a consulting business that offered neurobranding and coaching services to women. I did this for some time, and eventually, I left consulting to work as the head of social media for a university in Boston.

I loved working in social, but I wanted to find something that combined all my interests and areas of expertise. So, I once again went back to branding and social media consulting. Now I happily work with personal and corporate clients all over the world.

Muneeb: When and how did you discover the Digital Marketing world? And what made you choose it as your career

Gabriela: Being a millennial, it is almost like digital marketing, and I grew up together. I remember the early days of AOL, AIM, Ask Jeeves. I grew up with the internet. As a result, I’ve always been aware of how digital marketing works and how it’s changed over the years.

I think my first formal introduction to marketing, however, was during my undergraduate program. I went to a business school, and we were encouraged to pursue entrepreneurial interests. We were taught and expected to create business plans, marketing plans, elevator pitches – everything we needed to launch and run our businesses successfully. That sparked my interest in the field.

Muneeb: Being an experienced Brand Consultant, what would be your advice that every brand must focus on

Gabriela: Every brand should start by defining its unique value proposition. What about who you are, what you do, and what you stand for is unique? That is where your point of differentiation lies. It will help you determine your audience, your message, your goals, and your strategy.

Muneeb: What would be your tips for newbies who want to pursue Digital Media Marketing as their career?

Gabriela: My advice for up-and-coming marketers and brand strategists would be to commit to lifelong learning. Communications as a field is constantly changing. Audiences evolve. Technology evolves. Tactics evolve. You must be willing to experiment, ask questions, search for answers, and take risks. Always remain curious and teachable.

Muneeb: Can you share some key points that can be helpful to leverage Social media? Which social platform do you like the most and why?

Gabriela: Social media is an incredible tool. Brands, personal and corporate alike, can utilize it to grow reach, recognition, trust, engagement, interest, thought leadership, leads, and more. You can use social media to create a community, find new opportunities, better understand your audiences, and better tailor your products and services. The possibilities are endless.

My favorite platform is Twitter. I think because of the 280-character limit; you’re forced to be concise, clear, and clever. That restriction often pulls a new level of creativity out of its users.

Muneeb: How necessary are marketing automation tools for every business owner? What would you like to say about Social Champ?

Gabriela: Marketing automation tools are essential. Platforms like Social Champ help users stay consistent with their efforts. Using social media automation tools allows you the freedom and time to schedule content, choose platforms, work on finding the right CTAs and suitable media, without having to worry and feel rushed. You can plan, and it frees up valuable time that you can use to engage with your audience or take on another marketing task.

When choosing the right automation tool, you want to look for something that is easy to use and that serves the platforms you want to be on. The tool should provide you with great insights and features to help your content creation, curation, and overall performance. Social champ is excellent at this.

Muneeb: Can you please share your workplace picture?

Gabriela: I like to switch up where I work. I find it helps me ideate more creatively. I am fortunate enough to live on an island, and one of my favorite places to work is the beach!

Muneeb: Who has inspired you in both personal and professional lives?

Gabriela: Without a doubt, my mother and my grandparents were my most significant sources of inspiration. My grandparents were prominent scientists who worked together for many years and made some notable scientific discoveries. And through it all, they always remained true to themselves and true to their purpose, which was to help others. Meanwhile, my mother was a biologist specializing in animal behavior and, in particular, ants. She taught me to value and be mindful of everything and everyone.

Muneeb: How do you spend your free time? Do you like playing games, watching movies or anything else?

Gabriela: I love lounging on the couch with my family. I love food! Snacks are my love language. I love a good true-crime documentary. (I’m practically a detective at this point.) I love going out of my way to meet and pet every dog I see. I love playing Tetris and Boggle. I tend to go down YouTube and TikTok rabbit holes. And, perhaps, the nerdiest thing I do is read medical and business case studies. I find them fascinating.

Rapid Fire Round 

Muneeb: Who would you like to nominate for interviewing next on Social Champ?

Gabriela: Yes, I have two candidates;

Chi Thukral runs content and sustainability at Yanko Design. She is so creative and has an amazing sense of humor!

Krystal Wu is the Social Community Marketer at Hubspot. Her ability to create communities and foment a sense of belonging within them is inspiring!

We would like to thank Gabriela Cardoza for taking the time from her busy schedule and letting us conduct the interview. It was an amazing session with her!

If you are interested in knowing more about your favorite influencer, marketers, or even a startup owner, let us know in the comments below. Who knows, we might interview them next. You can also reach out to us on Twitter and tag them!