Konversation with Caitlin Oriel: Social Media Consultant & Yogi

For this week’s Konversation, we interviewed Caitlin Oriel (coriel) from Boulder, CO. On Konversai, Caitlin offers sessions on Social Media strategy with a focus on Instagram. Caitlin is a woman of diverse talents and interests. Read more about her and what she can offer below!

Konversai: What do you do professionally?

Caitlin: I am a freelance consultant. I provide a variety of services, but I primarily serve as a virtual assistant to most of my clients. I also provide Social media consulting to a few clients.

Konversai: What does a typical day look like for you? 

Caitlin: I work better early in the day. I usually wake up, make coffee, and start my work day from home. I check off easier tasks on my to-do list or anything of high priority first. Then I’ll relocate to a coffee shop or co-working space or take a break to go to the climbing gym. I like to spend my afternoons doing more focus-intensive tasks. I catch a yoga class in the evenings and almost always end up doing a short late-evening work session to finish off what I can. No matter if I’m traveling or working from my home base of Boulder, Colorado, my day has to involve exercise and physical activity to get my energy moving and get me inspired to sit down and focus.

Konversai: How did you end up where you are today?

Caitlin: I worked in an editorial and social media job for three years up until the end of September. During my time at this job, I helped out a friend who is a virtual assistant. She needed me to cover the services she provided to her client for a few weeks while she took a vacation. This opportunity opened me up to a few more opportunities through referrals. My business has come mostly through word of mouth, but a few opportunities I’ve sought out because of their intrigue. What I enjoy about my work is that I can shift the services I offer when I need to according to where my interests are gravitating.

Konversai: What is your favorite thing about what you do?

Caitlin: The clients I get to support! I’m selective about the type of work I take on because I’m someone who finds deep meaning in the work I do. Therefore, I aim to work with clients who are providing a meaningful service, product, or idea to the world. I have a network of entrepreneurial women with whom I work who are hands down the hardest-working, most inspiring entrepreneurs I know.

Konversai: How did you decide to offer sessions on Instagram strategy on Konversai?

Caitlin: Over the past year, I’ve spent quite a bit of time researching Instagram and Instagram Stories strategies to help influencers grow their accounts and their reach. The more I learned and dove into Instagram theory and “Instagram culture,” the more intrigued I became. One of the most fascinating things about Instagram is that the theory on best practices constantly shifts, as social media is ever-changing and ever-evolving. There’s not one approach that is always going to be the right solution, but rather an opportunity to develop a way of thinking about how to best work with social media. I came to Konversai to offer Instagram strategy sessions because I want to teach others how to think about working with social media from a more wholistic, integrative approach.

Konversai: What role do you believe that social media plays in our lives? How about Instagram specifically?

Caitlin: I believe in the power of social to form deeper and sometimes more meaningful relationships with others across the world—relationships that wouldn’t have otherwise been possible before social media. Social media has also quickened the speed at which connections become possible. However, at the same time, social media does have a deleterious role in our lives. It’s become an addiction. With all the visual representations of what’s considered “good” and “bad” in society, social media has become a proving ground of sorts for what is “normal,” and what is normal has become distorted. An example is norms about body image. With the role that Instagram plays as a visual platform, the tendency to want to compare ourselves to the looks we see in others through the images they post becomes even more heightened.

Konversai: What do you like most about Instagram?

Caitlin: I’m a closet photographer. I love taking pictures and looking at pictures. Instagram offers a visual platform to see the world through another’s eyes.

Konversai: Why is having a solid social media/Instagram strategy so important?

Caitlin: If you are just on social media to connect with family and friends, then you don’t need a strategy. However, if you’re looking to grow your business or brand, then you absolutely need a strategy. Without direction, efforts to achieve on social media can become fruitless. Strategy provides a direction for your investment of time and resources in order to set yourself up for the highest likelihood of success.

Konversai: As beneficial as social media can be in our society, it often gets a bad reputation. What are your thoughts on how people can use social media healthily/mindfully?

Caitlin: Work with boundaries. Love them or hate them, we all need them. No phones in your bedroom and no social media within the hour after you wake up and the hour before you go to sleep is a good place to start. With healthy moderation, the potential addictive qualities of social media are much less noticeable.

Konversai: What do you like best about being a provider on Konversai?

Caitlin: I am in love with the mission of Konversai to support talented individuals with a means to make a living through offering their talents and skills to others. I enjoy the ease of working through the Konversai platform and having the opportunity be a part of Konversai’s social mission.

Konversai: Are there additional sessions you are hoping to offer on Konversai in the future?

Caitlin: Yes! I’m also a yoga teacher, and I’m looking to offer virtual Earth Ways Yoga sessions, as I think it would be a nice pivot away from my normal professional services.

Konversai: Why would you encourage a user to book a session with you (something unique about what you offer)?

Caitlin: I love to teach! I would love to work with you and determine what your specific needs are for our session together. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to teaching something new, so I work to get to know each individual with whom I work to meet their specific needs.

Konversai: Are there sessions that you are excited about taking with other providers on the platform? Which ones? What are you hoping to learn more about?

Caitlin: I am interested in working with providers offering foreign language sessions. I love learning new languages but just have not had the patience or accountability to work on this intellectual pursuit.

Konversai: What advice would you give to potential users who are looking to join the platform?

Caitlin: Trust yourself! I found myself experiencing “impostor syndrome” when I considered joining Konversai, but understand that feeling under-qualified or like an impostor is something we all experience a little bit of when we start something new. Trust that you know your stuff and there are people out there waiting to learn from you.

Konversai: What do you enjoy doing outside of work and Konversing?

Caitlin: I am an avid rock climber and yogi. When the weather is nice, I like to check out the climbing areas about 15 minutes away from my house up Boulder Canyon. During the Colorado winter, you’ll find me in the climbing gym. As mentioned, I’m also an avid practitioner and teacher of Earth Ways Yoga.

Interested in connecting with Caitlin one on one? Book a session with her on Konversai—a global knowledge platform that allows for one-on-one live video conversations with anyone, anywhere, about anything. Knowledge providers on the platform have the opportunity to make extra money sharing the things they know and love, while knowledge seekers can enjoy personalized sessions with a live human being catered to exactly what they’re looking to learn on any topic. Sessions are scheduled at times that are mutually convenient for both parties, and neither has to leave the comfort of their home.  All users are encouraged to both knowledge providers and knowledge seekers on any and as many topics as they wish. Any and all knowledge, skills, and experiences have a place on Konversai—the only limit is your imagination. Konversai’s mission is to democratize knowledge, put the human connection back into the heart of technology, and make the world better by enabling meaningful and authentic conversations that can improve people’s lives. Don’t miss the opportunity to be part of realizing this mission. Join Konversai today!

By Pavita Singh

The post Konversation with Caitlin Oriel: Social Media Consultant & Yogi appeared first on The Social Movement.