Today we’d like to introduce you to Maria Satira.
Hi Maria, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
After spending nearly 10 years as a broadcast news anchor in several markets in North Carolina and Virginia, I was ready for a career change. I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do, but I knew I needed to build experience in different sectors of marketing and communications. Over the years, I gained experience running social media accounts, writing blogs, and creating press releases for local nonprofits. It ended up being more fun for me than my full-time job, so I figured that I might as well give it a try. I started on a small scale by offering to help some of my friends with content creation and public relations for their small businesses. Much to my surprise, these efforts were extremely successful and before I knew it, I started my first business, Maria Satira Media. I became a resource for digital marketing and content creation throughout the state and along the East Coast. I eventually left the news industry and decided to take a full-time job serving as a marketing and communications director for an economic development organization. I’m still running Maria Satira Media, LLC in the early mornings, late evenings, and on the weekends. I really enjoy both of my jobs and honestly can’t choose between the two, so for right now I’m juggling both and love every minute! I thrive in challenging environments and both of these positions are challenging, yet motivating. They’re great outlets for me to learn, grow, and thrive as a marketing and communications professional.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
There were so many struggles along the way! I think the roughest part of my journey was making the decision to leave broadcast news. While I loved what I did and the role I was in as a morning anchor, it was exhausting. I woke up at 1:30 every morning and had to be at work by 3 am. I served as the solo anchor for a 2.5-hour morning show, then anchored network news updates, and produced/anchored the 12pm news. That’s a lot for one person to do and it took a toll on me mentally and emotionally. Realizing that I needed to make a change in my career was a huge weight off of my back. I had a lot of concern at first, wondering if I made the right decision to leave. Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to “grow up” to be a morning news anchor. Fast forward a few decades and I did it. I was living my dream. But I had to realize that it was okay to change my long-term plan. I reached my goal and it was time for me to make a new one. This latest goal though was to find a career that allowed me to put myself, my family, and my well-being first. I’m so grateful for the rougher part of the road because it makes me appreciate my path so much more.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Maria Satira Media, LLC was founded in 2019 as a content creation and media relations company based in Greenville, North Carolina. Maria Satira Media focuses on helping small businesses, entrepreneurs, and nonprofit organizations nationwide achieve their digital marketing goals. Our team specializes in public relations, content writing, and digital strategy consulting. Maria Satira Media strives to assist clients as they grow their brands and strengthen public awareness through implementation of digital marketing, communications strategy, and earned media. We have experience working with many industries and business sectors from doctors’ offices, legal practices, and real estate to breweries, restaurants, and hospitality. My company works to identify target audiences for each client which allows us to create unique content that will generate more views, more engagement, and more revenue. It’s also important to note that once Maria Satira Media starts working with a client, we will not work with any other competing brands in the same market.
As my company continues to work with nonprofit organizations, I’ve realized that many of them have similar concerns and struggles. It’s becoming increasingly hard for these organizations to raise awareness and generate donations. As a way to help them navigate public relations and earned media, I wrote the book, An Introduction to Media Relations for Nonprofit Organizations. It’s in the final editing stages right now and will be released in November 2021.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
It’s never too late to make a change in life, especially in terms of careers. When I was in high school, I was a finalist for a college scholarship which included an intense interview process. One of the questions they asked me was how I would define success in a career. I told them that I would consider myself successful when I reach the point of waking up every morning with excitement to start my day because I would have a job and career that I love, even on the difficult days. I didn’t earn the scholarship, but I ended up winning a future leader award because of my answer to that question. I didn’t think much of it, but I’ve always remembered that question. Once I reached 30, I realized I needed to take the advice of my 17-year-old self. Who would have thought that a naïve teenager with so little life experience would actually offer an important reflection? I wasn’
Contact Info:
- Email: maria@mariasatira.com
- Website: www.mariasatira.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariasatiramedia
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariasatiramedia
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MariaSatiraTV
