Coworking with Emily Steele

Each week, we spotlight Marketing Brew readers in our Coworking series. If you’d like to be featured, introduce yourself here.

Emily Steele is CEO and co-founder of Hummingbirds, a creator and customer engagement platform for CPG brands. She previously ran a consultancy focused on serving small businesses in Des Moines, Iowa.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in marketing? You know when someone tells you about the snack they are obsessed with and their enthusiasm about it makes you want to buy it immediately? We help consumer packaged goods brands tap into that genuine word-of-mouth marketing with everyday creators who are obsessed with sharing the latest and greatest CPG brand they found at their go-to retailer.

What’s your favorite ad campaign? Our team recently had a good laugh at Snickers’s focus group with all participants named Reese/Reece. They were trying Snickers peanut butter bars and giving feedback, then realized midway through they all shared the same name. It was a playful way to position against Reese’s (of course), and it felt very authentic.

One thing we can’t guess from your LinkedIn profile: I don’t think my obsession with personal growth shines on LinkedIn, but it’s something I’ve been passionate about since I learned my Enneagram at age 16 from a high school mentor of mine. I love understanding more about myself and those I work with so I can help them grow into their full potential. I nerd out with Enneagram, Human Design, and Abraham-Hicks and am always drawn to conversations where people are trying to figure out how to be the best, most aligned version of themselves.

What marketing trend are you most optimistic about? Least? The Wall Street Journal recently published an article, “The latest darlings of social media marketing? Regular people with 500 followers,” and this is obviously very exciting for our team to continue seeing the investment into the nano/small creator space, and to see it growing in general. I have to remind myself often that the creator economy is still so new and always evolving!

On a similar note, creators (despite their size) have a lot of pressure from brands. They need to hit certain impressions and engagements and deliver high-quality content. Expecting one creator to be TOFU (top of funnel), MOFU (middle of funnel), and BOFU (bottom of funnel) is pretty bonkers to me, but I still see it among dozens of conversations I’m part of every week inside and outside of Hummingbirds.

What’s one marketing-related podcast/social account/series you’d recommend? I absolutely love Lenny’s Podcast. While it’s not 100% marketing focused, he brings on amazing guests who represent marketing tech or social media and professional growth and beyond. I always come away with a few powerful nuggets I tuck into my back pocket to try, stop, or ask of others.