Hi, I'm Lexi Carter.

Jon McBride

Director of Digital Communications, Brigham Young University

Social Media Consultant, Jon McBride Media

Interview Questions & Notes

How did you get into social media?

• He was Matt Gerrish’s predecessor at Weber State. Graduated in communication from WSU and fell into all of the social media. Ended up doing all of the comms tracks undergraduate emphases and started interning in the Marketing Communication Office. A full time position opened up and he jumped in in 2008 as a ‘web writer’, which was really just a media position. Spent 3 years full time at Weber where he launched the university’s social media channels, including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Moved to BYU in 2011 as a logical next step / progression in his career. Started in media relations and slowly moved into the digital world. Helped set up BYU as its own newsroom with a focus on expanding a personal community/audience for the university rather than relying on external media outlets to tell their story. Is now the director of digital communications.

How did you start your consulting business?

• Started it officially last year. He had been doing a side gig in sports broadcasting, but once that ended consulting came to the forefront. There is such power and connectivity in the world of social media, so it was a natural progression to lean on the network he had built through conferences, webinars, and Twitter to set up his own consulting business. Hasn’t done much with it though since COVID hit back in March.

What is a typical day like for you?

• Consulting with COVID is not much of his day right now, definitely on the back burner. The work he does do with his business mainly happens on the nights and on the weekends. He has a couple clients and most of the heavy lifting of planning strategies and performing audits happens on Saturdays.

• As for his 9-5 job at BYU, as it goes in the world of social media it rarely stays within those hours. There is always after-hours monitoring and posting. There is no typical day, there’s always a wrench thrown in like a new announcement or something crazy (like a pandemic). When COVID first hit, we were all in crisis communication mode for days and weeks on end. It was hard to step back and think about what the community needed besides the standard updates to what was happening logistically with campus. The community needs to feel connectivity and positivity, especially back in the early pandemic days. He didn’t want to just be reactive, he wanted to be proactive.

• As the director of digital communications (new position as of August), he is in charge of the high level social strategy, brand management, and making sure all entities across campus are using the same key messages. It’s almost like a consulting role for BYU’s campus.

What do you like most and least about your work?

• At BYU, the thing he likes most is the impact he can make. Social media is so immersive, powerful, and far-reaching. He gets a seat at the table for planning strategy and key messaging and gets to tackle tough topics in the community like right now it is how to discuss diversity on campus. It’s more than simply posting a sunset picture.

• At BYU, the least thing (or hardest thing) is when you are so invested and focused on issues and seeing your community respond not the way you want them to is disheartening. The disappointment is real but there will always be opposition to what is posted.

• In consulting, the thing he likes most is the chance to take a different approach to branding and social media. When you work full time for a brand, it’s easy to get stuck in your ways. In consulting, he gets to work in various industries and apply best practices to them but through a different lens.

• In consulting the thing he likes least is the time to invest. It’s one more thing on the to do list and it can be draining. Especially when your full time job doesn’t stay within the 9-5 schedule, then your hours of after work and on the weekends can’t always be dedicated to your consulting because the full time work always bleeds in.

How does your job affect your lifestyle?

• He has 3 kids and is a single dad with shared custody. Is lucky to have strong coparenting and flexibility on both sides. His biggest priority is his kids, so he needs to make sure he is constantly prioritizing his time and practicing good time management to align work with home. Self care and mental health is so so important, so he takes time each week to play hockey and let off steam.

What skills are essential for a marketing consultant?

• He is a big introvert, enjoys time alone and is easily drained with being around others. Going into consulting, he thought that would be a drawback that he doesn’t have a forward, bubbly personality. But over the years, he has learned that networking doesn’t mean small talk or meet and greets. It’s all about talking shop and in the social media industry there are so many opportunities to connect. Talking shop is so much more natural of a way to connect with someone. So networking is essential, but not the traditional definition of what networking is. He hasn’t done cold calls for clients, per say. Most of his strategy has been more pull than push through blog writing, a weekly newsletter, and social media channels. He’s built a network on social media that reshares and amplifies his messages to potential clients, which validates his expertise.

How do I prepare to start a marketing business?

• Make sure your niche has a need. The biggest challenge is to establish as a consultant who adds value but NOT someone who takes over their account management. How do you give your clients the tools to succeed on their own? Give me X amount of time, we can talk, I’ll show you on a high level on how to have a presence and impact on social. Here’s where I could add value. But be very clear you aren’t going to run their accounts, you are just training them to do it themselves.