Manu Muraro is the founder of Your Social Team, an Instagram training business based out of Atlanta. She’s the head and heart behind a few of Atlanta’s most popular Instagram accounts, including Ponce City Market, High Museum of Art, AJC, Tiny Doors ATL, and more. An intelligent, inspiring, and socially-savvy woman in tech, and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to sit down with Manu and hear her story.
Tell us a bit about your background in marketing.
Before I started my business, I worked at King of Pops as their Marketing Director. It was exciting, but too exciting for me as a new mom. There were lots of events going on nights and weekends. I had my first daughter when I was there. After trying to roll with the first year of motherhood, I realized I needed more flexibility. I didn’t want a job I had to travel in and needed to have my own thing.
What inspired you to start your own business?
I started as a small social media agency doing freelance work. Because of the work I did at King of Pops, everyone was hitting me up asking to pick my brain about social media. I was going to so many lunches! So I decided to put on my own social media workshop for small businesses. It sold out right off the bat. I realized there’s definitely a need, I really enjoy it, and I don’t think anyone else is doing it. I love it.
You are a true thought-leader in this space. How do you keep up?
Instagram is putting out new tools almost weekly. I keep a close eye on TechCrunch and Instagram’s blog. But its really hard to keep up if you’re doing anything else. My business is Instagram. My full-time job is keeping up with everything that’s going on, trying to test new apps, creating content different ways, and telling people how to do it. But a lot of people are busy working on product development and sales, things that are probably more important for their business. If I can make people save time, that makes me happy. I offer free tips on my feed and teach people how to leverage new tools and updates for their business.
How has building an Instagram following for businesses changed over the years?
There are more than a billion accounts on Instagram right now. In a crowded party, you don’t see your friends. Three or four years ago, if your feed was good to look at and showing good products or inspiration, you’d do really well. But today, you see people who have a gorgeous feed but they don’t have a following and they don’t have engagement because there are too many accounts. To cut through the noise, you have to always create content differently, always add value to people, and always engage.
Any words of wisdom for Atlanta entrepreneurs looking to grow on Instagram?
Not everybody is a photographer. You don’t have to have a photographer and a studio for all your shots. Your feed doesn’t need to be glossy and perfect. A lot of people can take photos from their phone that are genuine and feel authentic.
If you’re a marketing professional or entrepreneur looking to leverage Instagram to grow your business, head over to yoursocial.team. You can also connect with Manu on LinkedIn and follow @YourSocialTeam on Instagram.
Subscribe to TechCONNECT for more real-life stories and behind-the-scenes insights from tech leaders, founders, innovators, and visionaries.