Today we’d like to introduce you to Anthony Pero.
Hi Anthony, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in a small, 5,000-population town and wanted to be anything but ordinary. While most of my peers were playing sports, I wrote short stories, practiced instruments, and went all-in on all things creative.
Not being the same as everyone else had its challenges and led to me being bullied my entire childhood through high school. I remember constantly feeling left out until one day; I heard Avril Lavigne’s “Complicated” on the radio in the car with my dad on a balmy March Day. It was the first time I ever felt like there was someone else out there who understood what it was like not to follow trends and who was unapologetically themselves. I was hooked, and the next thing I knew, I was digging around online to find out everything I could about a new artist named Avril Lavigne.
It all started by promoting Avril Lavigne online when I was in fifth grade with a fan site called Avril Bandaids. At the time, we used MySpace and online music forums to spread the word about Avril’s music. Over time new social media channels emerged, and Avril Bandaids would reveal new campaigns for music promotion. It was around this period that I realized I loved marketing. Witnessing a large base pull together with video and photo editing talents gave me an insight into what skills I’d need to further this passion.
In high school, I worked at a local coffee shop that didn’t have a social media presence. I want to think they were my first client and created their social media channels and platforms. This gave me business-side marketing experience that proved invaluable for my future.
I distinctly remember my high school teachers telling me that “social media was a fad” and “you’ll never be able to make a career out of posting things online.” Thankfully I ignored them and took desktop publishing and web design courses. I always trusted my gut, ignored the naysayers, and forged my path. Sure, I doubted myself many times when I continually heard I wouldn’t make it, or it wasn’t an actual job, but I’d ignore it all and tune them out. You always need to trust your instincts because you’re usually right.
I like to think I was ahead of my time in college. I was a marketing major in the JCU business school, and at the time, they barely had anything for digital marketing. Due to this, I needed to complement my education through other ways like online classes, YouTube videos, and freelancing.
In college, I had experience already with marketing for musicians. This was when I discovered Andy Grammer, known for hit songs Keep Your Head up and Honey I’m Good. At the time, though, he only had one song out with Keep Your Head Up and was on a small record label. I reached out to his team about helping promote him and got involved with his street team and online promotional campaigns. I started my unofficial online fan site for Andy, Andy Grammer Nation, and I utilized much of what I was doing with Bandaids to bring Andy fans together. With this group, we launched radio promotional request campaigns and helped get Keep Your Head Up played on radios across the country.
From Andy, I moved on to Live Nation Entertainment and worked with sponsors and the marketing team for Cleveland’s division as a sophomore in college. My Live Nation internship was a great experience that allowed me to work with the media and concert promotion.
After an eight-month stint with Live Nation, I wanted to get into a record label. I set my sights on Taylor Swift’s label — Big Machine Label Group in Nashville. To get this internship, I e-mailed daily and drove down to Nashville over my Christmas break; when I didn’t hear back, I rang their doorbell with my resume in hand. I figured they could interview me or call security, but I will take the chance. Fortunately, they interviewed me for the radio promotions internship I received for my junior to senior summer.
After graduation, I was jobless but kept working with nonprofits in the area. I interned for the city of Chardon as their social media and digital marketing intern. Then, I switched to interning with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Both opportunities allowed me to create without boundaries. I was entirely in charge of campaigns put together.
Throughout these, I worked at Barnes & Noble retail and a restaurant. I took every opportunity to build my resume up and pushed to do marketing for these companies on a local level.
After gaining more experience, I jumped into my first full-time job as a Marketing Content Specialist at a digital forensics company.
After a year of my first full-time job, I switched to working as a digital marketing coordinator at The Kirby Company for almost two years. I handled all social media for the company and distributors. I traveled and taught across the country to lead social media workshops and teach best practices. I continuously learned and helped navigate the company through the Covid-19 pandemic with digital ads.
After my stint at Kirby, I moved into the role of Social Media Coordinator at Baldwin Wallace University. In this role, I had the most fun of any job. I was the first person ever to have this job at BW and was able to create the position how I wanted. Boosting their engagement, creating a fun brand voice, and getting them on TikTok, led to a great experience. While I loved my job as social media coordinator at BW, a new opportunity opened up as Social Media Manager for Cleveland State University.
I am the Social Media Manager at Cleveland State University and love every second of this fantastic community. It’s so much fun to tell the stories of students and the school and be part of Downtown Cleveland. CSU provides such a great opportunity with the campus being Downtown Cleveland. It allows us to work with community partners and offers many exciting opportunities from a social media content creator standpoint.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road, but I don’t think anything ever is. The biggest struggle was trying to find a position. Since I wasn’t following a traditional path with internships and pursued the music industry, many companies wouldn’t even talk to me. I was always on my own, trying to figure out how to break in. The time allowed me to pursue more creative passions like YouTube and building my own social media brands. I traveled to LA for VidCon and saw social media from an entirely new perspective.
I struggled with toxic bosses and work environments at my first two jobs, leading to a lack of self-confidence and hindering my creative abilities.
It was not until I reached my job at BW that I was trusted entirely, and they let me off the leash to do what I wanted. The results were fantastic, and I jived so well with my team that it showed how our content looked and felt. During this time, though, I lost my father to a rare Glioblastoma brain tumor, and my world felt like it was falling apart. It happened all within six weeks of his diagnosis. My BW team supported me through everything and helped me when I struggled to keep my head above water. For weeks though, I struggled with grief and depression, everything was out of my control, and I felt like a mobile.
How does someone get back to themselves after a tragic event? It’s not easy, and I’m still not fully there, but without supportive coworkers at BW, I wouldn’t have been able to do it.
losing my father, toxic bosses, and being bullied growing up made me realize how important a strong support system is. My friends and family let me lean on them when I was weak and in my worst moments. So many times, they’ve saved my life without even realizing it.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a social media manager for Cleveland State University. I specialize in social media and digital marketing.
I’m known for my dry humor and for making everyone laugh. I use my humor on social media and in my posts, which helps overall engagement and reach; plus, it’s great for online community building.
I’m most proud of my resilience. I’ve had many barriers, and I always needed to overcome those. Resilience is what led me to my current role, and what will carry me through my future ones.
What sets me apart from others is I no longer play it safe. I trust my talents, I know who I am and what I exceed at.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Find an employer that respects you. Work takes up most of our lives, and it’s vital that you enjoy what you do. I’ve worked with really toxic company cultures where I was nothing but miserable. When I finally found the right place for me, I flourished. So, my advice is always to do what you love, work with great people, and don’t settle for less.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anthonypero/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnthonyPer0
