Wow, I’m so glad you asked! Just kidding…you probably didn’t ask for this, but neither did I. That’s the real beauty of The Skinny Pig Inc. And before we dive in, I’ll be speaking this Friday (11/13) at BlogHer Food, their annual virtual food event, talking all things social media marketing! Tune in at 1:25 PM! Link here to register, it takes 2 seconds (name and email)! Now, onto my story…
It all kind of started from a need to help me file my taxes easier. Spoiler alert: it’s still not easy and I hate it. My birthday is in April and I now have one more reason to hate April: tax day.
But I digress. I created the company name (real original, I know) in 2018 out of desperation and a strong desire to feel better about pitching clients. I felt that if I had a “company”, I would sound more professional. Too bad I didn’t actually take into account that the company name is HARDLY descriptive to anyone outside of my Instagram/blog audience. Soooo if you’re reading this, I assume that means you’re interested in understanding, so thank you! I appreciate you.
In its current state (aka The Time of Covid), The Skinny Pig Inc. is a social media/digital marketing consulting agency. You can throw in a sprinkle of blogging coaching too. I’ve been doing that a bit more over the past few months and it’s so rewarding! So if you’re a budding blogger, feel free to hit me up! But I work primarily with restaurants and brands to help them find their voice, create content, and manage their social media presence. Long and short of it: I have way too many Instagram and FB accounts on my phone.
Prior to Covid, I was doing more in-person consulting work. For example: you would hire me to come in to your restaurant, then I would tell you what you’re doing wrong or wasting inventory on (if anything), and help you get clear on your brand image/social media voice. I’m a writer, so writing captions or blog posts for your brand (in an authentic voice) comes very easily to me. Then I’d take a bunch of photos for you (to use on your social media/website) and maybe even run the Instagram account for you. Some people like to run their page but have someone else create the content, while others prefer to just hand it off to me entirely. Every client is different! And honestly, one of my favorite things to do is visit a restaurant, check out their menu, poke around their website, and give feedback. Think of me as Gordon Ramsey for the digital age, but with way less yelling/forehead wrinkles. God bless Botox, right?
You may be thinking “well, who the hell do you think you are to tell me that?!” And while I respect that aggressive attack on my character and lack of faith, it’s a fair question. So allow me to fill you in.
I have been writing about/reviewing restaurants in this city for over a decade. I’ve written for many top food publications like Food Network, Thrillist, Coastal Living, Bravo, and more. That’s why I’m verified too. Not to mention I spent 7 years working in ad sales and marketing (at various publications and digital media companies) prior to leaving that gig to pursue The Skinny Pig full time in 2015. I can think of a time back then when I visited 56 restaurants in one month. 56 IN ONE MONTH. I like to think I know my shit, for lack of a better term.
Another reason people like working with me? I’m honest and tell it like it is. If you want an influencer/photographer to come to your place and just regurgitate pics of your food on the internet, you should look elsewhere. There are plenty of people on Instagram for that (too many, if you ask me). But if you want someone to tell you your menu is way too long and has spelling errors, we will get along just fine. Website looking like it hasn’t been updated since the Clinton administration? I’ll tell you that too. And I promise I can help your business be better, at least from a digital standpoint. If you have waiters with shitty attitudes and you keep getting bad Yelp reviews, that’s on you to fix, but I’ll make sure to point it out. Make sense?
So again, prior to Covid destroying quite literally every facet of my life, I was doing more of that and I loved it. Now, since in-person meetings are strongly discouraged, I am pretty much operating as a remote social media shop. I go to restaurants once/month, take a bunch of pics and videos (by myself), post them to social media, write copy, and handle influencer outreach as well. If you want someone to message influencers and try to get them to come to your restaurant, look no further. I have a background in sales and a strong network of influencers (translation: I have no shame and good friends).
Hope this helps clear things up a bit on what I do in this industry. And if you want to connect (or hire me!), please shoot me a note. I’m happy to work with you on pricing, or even set up a 30-min one on one coaching call if you’re not sure about taking the full leap and just want some beginner’s guidance. I can help you with that part out as well, and again, no sleazy salesperson stuff with me. I left the ad sales world because 75% of the time, I didn’t feel good about the things I was selling. And when you don’t believe in your product, how can you sell it? But when it comes to selling my services, it comes easily to me because I believe in this work. If I don’t think I can help you, I will tell you that and suggest someone who might be a better fit.
Trust the pig, because I’m no bullshit.
Email below:
theskinnypignyc@gmail.com
