Eric Zimmett likes to learn new things, an important quality for someone working in an industry as fast-paced and ever-changing as social media.
This article appears in the September 2019 issue of State College Magazine, written by Gabrielle Barone
The founder of Braden Social Media LLC, a local social media agency that helps clients incorporate social media into their businesses, Zimmett began his college career with an interest in journalism, specifically sports writing. But during his pursuit of a Penn State degree, Zimmett also developed an interest in a different path: advertising.
He stuck with his journalism degree, earning a certificate from the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism and graduating from Penn State in 2008, but he made a point to take as many advertising classes as possible. During college, Zimmett also checked in to social media — first as a Myspace user and then joining Facebook, which was beginning to open to users with a .edu email address.
Zimmett’s first job after graduation was in radio advertising sales. While ad sales and advertising are different, he spent as much time as possible learning about the business of advertising. Soon after, in addition to his regular position, he found himself acting as an unpaid advertising consultant, advising people on how to spend their ad dollars. Plus, he was put in charge of running the company’s digital media efforts.
Zimmett still carries that curiosity into his work today — particularly, he says, in the past few months, as he continues to build his company into a successful consulting practice and works and studies to become an expert in the field.
“That’s what it’s about: just constantly improving and learning and just taking a look at everything that we’re doing as a business or with my clients,” Zimmett says. “Staying on top of all the trends that’s needed, and making sure what we’re doing is sustainable, (that) it works for my clients today and in the future, keeping an eye on what’s coming up in the field and what I need to be prepared for.”
After working at a startup advertising agency, Zimmett decided to start his own company in 2014. He originally named it Braden Zimmett LLC (his middle and last names), which he later changed to Braden Social Media LLC. In researching what his middle name meant, he found it translated to “salmon” from its Irish root. And so his slogan, “Swim Against the Stream,” was born, he says, as a reflection of his own attitude more than an intentional branding choice. The Irish legend of “The Salmon of Knowledge” inspired his company logo: a fish with a mustache.
Though he had the logo figured out, Zimmett also had to begin the actual work of consulting. He built upon past client relationships while trying to keep learning and adapting. That, Zimmett says, is part of the fun. A few months ago, he says, he learned things that became a pivotal point to how he consults on his own.
“I have those moments all the time, it’s amazing,” he says. “It’s motivation, like, ‘OK, I think I’m figuring this out now,’ five years (in). I hope to continue to have those moments forever, really, but it’s cool. A lot of fun stuff, doing my own thing — that’s all I’ll ever want to do.”
In his day-to-day role, Zimmett says he looks at a company’s social media, makes recommendations, studies their goals and customers and what they want, and helps implement his recommendations — sometimes helping to create and schedule content, similar to what a social media manager would do.
Having witnessed the inception of social media marketing, Zimmett particularly enjoys the ways that social media provides unique communication opportunities. With most media channels, the communication is one way: You send a message out and can measure its effectiveness. But with social media, companies can engage with customers and have conversations with them.
“That’s the most powerful thing about it, is actually building that relationship, engaging with potential customers. And there’s other stuff, too, but I think that’s the biggest thing, is that relationship marketing, two-way communication,” Zimmett says, “(It’s) probably the closest to in-person communication with your customers as you can get.”
He enjoys working alone and is the sole consultant, but the company has offered internships. Though the time management and daily activities of running his own business can take up a lot of energy, from actual project work to invoicing and billing, he says he likes the freedom of knowing that the success of his company depends entirely on his own actions. At any time, Zimmett says he’s usually working with between eight and 15 clients.
While social media is 24/7, Zimmett loves the mental process of working with it.
“It’s all-encompassing, so consuming, but I love every minute of it,” he says. “I wake up in the morning, and I can’t wait to go in there to work and just get back at it and keep strategizing, keep thinking about what to do next, and I just take so many notes or (am) projecting and speculating and changing things and trying to perfect things.” •SCM
Braden Social 