Marketing is an enormous challenge, with companies seeing the need for engagement in order to connect with customers. It’s easy to artificially build engagement, but this does not last. Lasting connections require the personal touch. That’s precisely what Wheeler Marketing Agency excels at. With three years under her belt as CEO, Danielle Wheeler has achieved overwhelming success. Named by CEO Monthly as Most Influential CEO, 2022 – Oregon, the USA, we thought now was the right time to find out more.
Danielle Wheeler would describe herself as the sort of person who sticks to her guns. When it’s something that she’s passionate about, she’s willing to go above and beyond to make sure that it’s the success it deserves to be. Nowhere is this clearer than in her approach to social media, where she feels the word “social” has begun to lose its power.
“It was all about connecting with each other,” she tells us. “That’s why these platforms were created in the first place. But as time went on, more and more users forgot about this aspect and only focused on only trying to make a sale.” That might seem odd for the CEO of a digital marketing company to say. After all, her business depends on profits made thanks to social media. But the important difference is that these are not profits directly because of it.
Wheeler Marketing Agency was made with the goal of putting the social aspect back into social media, focusing for the most part on Instagram. This platform sees brands paying thousands of dollars for ads, only to reach people that will eventually see them as a faceless brand. “I’m going the opposite way,” Danielle explains. “Building engagement, making brands the talk of the town, and creating a space where users want to go and be a part of is what we do. Connecting with your community is more important than ever. And it’s the only tried and tested method through which any brand can put itself out there and form a bond with its clients and create brand loyalty and ROI.”
The growth of Wheeler Marketing Agency was a result of its success, but it did take Danielle by surprise. She has been CEO of this former side-gig for three years and in that time has built a team of remote workers dedicated to building new communities. “I had no experience leading a team so it was definitely a learning process,” she laughs. “There were definitely some growing pains as WMA expanded and I learned how to clearly communicate goals and expected outcomes. But now? I completely trust my team to manage their responsibilities without me constantly looking over their shoulders.”
Her team is not one where the boss is constantly breathing down their necks, but more akin to King Authur and the Knights of the Round Table. A diverse team of people come together to discover the best path to success for clients. One person makes the final decision, of course, but everyone is involved in making it.
The importance of social media is clear to any business, particularly during the pandemic. “Many brands and businesses turned to social media as a way to generate revenue,” Danielle explains. “However, because many of these businesses hadn’t been connecting with their customers before the pandemic, it was a challenge for them to improve their sales using Instagram. Our ability to connect brands with their audiences helped them to weather the storm and come out stronger on the other side. In the months since the pandemic began, we’ve seen a huge increase in demand for our services, and we expect that trend to continue well into the future.”
The future looks bright for this incredible team, and Danielle intends to stay at the forefront of whatever they do. “You can’t preach connectivity and not be connected yourself,” she says. “By staying active and engaged with my team, clients, and our social audience, I can help to create a strong sense of community and support that is essential for a successful business.” There are already plans in place to enable the team to take on more clients without compromising on quality over the next twelve months. It’s clear that the passion which led Danielle to start Wheeler Marketing Agency has not diminished in the slightest: “I think it’s going to be a great year – we’re going to achieve a lot and learn a lot too. I can’t wait!”
