Alyssa Schiaffino - Who am I?
My Brand + Me
Centering the Chaos: One Woman with Multiple Passions
If you’re a business owner or marketing manager you know the chaos that comes with branding, marketing, advertising and, the scariest of them all, social media. None of it completely makes sense, and you feel like your efforts go in all directions except the most important direction, ROI.
What if I told you the chaos could, and should, be centered around one strategy that achieves your business goals?
I’m Alyssa Schiaffino, a Strategic Communication Master’s student who works two jobs while building my LLC, Creative Concepts by Alyssa Schiaffino. I am a go-getter obsessed with the creative process. Grab a snack and a notepad because I'm about to whip out the whiteboard (my favorite) and brainstorm with you. My skills and passions (they’re the same) include social media management, content creation, photography, short-form video, design and writing.
Above all, however, I specialize in using my many passions (the chaos) to build one cohesive brand strategy for my clients. While I love all things creative, I also see the big picture and understand how your creative and business needs can feed into each other.
You might be a little skeptical of my experience. So, let me tell you more about myself. I have team leadership experience from a year-long internship at Channel Control Merchants, where I led TikTok content marketing and management while gaining knowledge of email marketing and the business side of branding. Currently, I am the point person for social media management in my GA position. I also design and print marketing materials, create the newsletter and plan events. For my second job, I am the Strategic Communication/Brand Coordinator for a local business owner whose goal is to re-brand/separate her two businesses.
But, don’t take my word for it, you can see my skills in action on my online portfolio.
My Background
From High School Food-blogger to Professional Brand Strategist:
How I Built my Skills
Remember when you were a high schooler and you had no idea what you wanted to do with your life? Well, this was about where I was until a classmate told me I should be the “public relations specialist” for a project. Public relations? High school me had never heard that term before, but my classmate was telling me I’d be great at it. What would make her say that about me? Let’s rewind a bit.
I’ve always loved art, and throughout high school, my skills grew significantly. I won awards, challenged myself with new projects and made some money. It was in this passion that I had my first tiny revelation of what I wanted my future career to look like.
There I was junior year, sitting at a table in AP Studio Art class planning my next project, when I was overcome with this feeling of joy. It was in that instant I thought, “This is what I want to do with my life. I want to always be challenged with a new project to work on.” While exciting, this thought didn’t give me much. Work on what kind of projects? And for whom? The thought was a dead-end for the time being.
However, art was not my only passion at the time. I also had a New Orleans food blog on Instagram, @followthefoodnola, which I started the summer before sophomore year. The account grew throughout high school. I received free food and admission to exclusive events, judged food festivals and hit 5k followers by the end of running the account.
You can probably see now why my classmate told me I’d be great at public relations. I had the skills, I just didn’t know the skills could evolve into a career.
Why couldn’t I do what I was doing for my blog as a career? With that thought, I started college at The University of Southern Mississippi as a public relations and advertising major. Toward the end of my three years at USM, I added a social media content and strategy minor.
Throughout my classes, I fell in love with the content, specifically the concept of Integrated Brand Promotion. Learning about IBP was the key to my future aspirations. I knew what I wanted to do!
Thankfully, I also had two internship opportunities to grow my related skills/passions: one for a marketing agency and one for the marketing department of a corporation, Channel Control Merchants. Each gave me a different experience, and I learned even more.
But, why end the learning there? Enter into the present day. After completing my B.A. at USM in three years, I felt drawn to a master’s, which is why I am currently pursuing my M.A. in Strategic Communication at Southeastern Louisiana University.
Strategic communication is synonymous with the concept of Integrated Brand Promotion, so this program is perfect for me. While completing my master’s, I also work on campus promoting the Department of Communication and Media Studies. I enjoy this job so much. It’s helped me realize how exactly each of my skills contributes to the bigger picture of cohesive brand strategy, and through connections, it led me to my second job, Strategic Communication/Brand Coordinator for Kali Norton Photography and The Creative Studio.
Little by little I’ve held onto the things I love, and, over time, these passions molded into skills for my niche. Whether you’re a high school food blogger or an adult with a full-time career, I encourage you to find the things you love and dive deeper into them. It just might lead to something great.
