5 on the 5th Interview: Peg Fitzpatrick

Peg is everywhere! She’s a social media pro, an author and seems to be Guy Kawasaki’s right hand! I met Peg through the Social Solutions Collective and have a lot of respect for her. From the way she handles her social media posting to her book, Peg is one of the few who actually walks the talk. When I was deciding who I wanted to interview, I knew I had to get Peg on here. Read her responses below and definitely go follow her on Twitter and Google Plus!

Name:  Peg Fitzpatrick

Title: Author, social media strategist

Website/Blog: http://www.pegfitzpatrick.com

Twitter handle: @PegFitzpatrick

Question 1: Why did you choose to work in this industry?

I worked in traditional marketing and online customer service and made the move over to social media when I saw an opportunity for companies to market on Facebook years ago.

I love being in this social media evolution and keeping up with what’s coming and going.

Question 2: How do you keep continuing your education and staying up on all the latest trends and changes?

I read social media books and blogs, attend conferences when I can, and follow the updates from the big social media platforms really carefully. You never know when something is going to change and it could affect what you have planned so it’s important to stay sharp on the rules and guidelines.

I also use social media every day so I’m on the different platforms and catch the changes quickly.

Question 3: What do you love the most about working in your industry? What bothers you the most?

I love the freedom and challenge of social media.

My pet peeve is people who troll others because they are jealous or having nothing going on in life. If you don’t like a blog post or social media post, move on and do your own thing. Thankfully there are very few of these negative people but sadly they do exist.

Question 4: What is the hardest situation you’ve encountered in your business and how did you handle it?

I think the hardest thing is still that women aren’t treated as equals. Even in this online space, men seem to dominate in blogging, social media, and speaking engagements. I don’t see why it should be that way and I’m thrilled there are more up and coming female leaders in the social media space.

Question 5: What is the best business advice you’ve been given and why has it stayed with you?

The best business advice I got was to read The Four Agreements by Don Miquel Ruiz. It helped me when I was at a challenging job as well as now in the social media space. It’s a book that I re-read occasionally and I always get something from it.

One for the road…

Bonus: If you could come back to life as any person from the history, who would it be?

Hmmm so hard! I would chose to be William Shakespeare. He wrote amazing things that have lasted hundreds of years and still connect with people today. If you read Much Ado About Nothing today, it’s smart, witty, and biting – just as William intended it to be. That’s an amazing thing!