Today we’d like to introduce you to Paulette Parker.
Hi Paulette, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’ve always had a love of storytelling from as young as I can remember. That’s how I ended up in journalism. I’ve spent more than 10 years in radio journalism and production for an NPR member station in Ann Arbor, getting to hear and share other peoples’ stories.
That same love of storytelling and also realizing the power in being transparent about my own struggles is what led me to start Social by Paulette, my social media management and strategy agency.
I’ve never shied away from sharing my struggles on social media. I was diagnosed with anxiety disorder in about 2016. After my diagnosis I sought community online, but I didn’t see anybody who looked like me or that I felt like I could particularly relate to.
So, I became the community I was seeking. I started a blog called “Socially Awkward Mom” where I shared posts about topics ranging from breaking down the stigmas around taking mental health meds, to balancing anxiety with marriage and motherhood.
The response I got from talking about my diagnosis was overwhelmingly positive. I’d get messages from women who felt the same way, but were too ashamed to say it. Messages of appreciation for making people feel less alone.
As a result of that blog, I was invited to speak on mental health at events hosted by organizations across Detroit, and some in Ohio, on topics like the signs of anxiety disorder and impending burnout, giving attendees advice on how to approach talking to their doctors about their mental health concerns, and how getting treatment improved my life.
Those speaking engagements took a back seat for a while, as I dealt with some life issues and turned much of my focus to raising my two girls. And those years quickly led into COVID, which made in-person events non-existent.
But even throughout the pandemic, I never stopped sharing little glimpses of what I was going through, whether it was through Instagram posts or Facebook statuses.
My next experience with being public with my not-always-pretty reality came on December 1, 2022, when I decided to get sober after years of silently struggling with alcohol dependence. For the first year, I shared my monthly milestones on both Instagram and Facebook.
Again, I was met with overwhelmingly positive feedback. Messages from people who also struggled with addiction. Strangers who cheered me on in my journey.
I was once again building a community while simultaneously breaking down the stigma around substance abuse and challenging the stereotype of what it “looks like.”
The messages that particularly stood out to me were from people who commended my transparency and told me they wished they could do the same.
That made me realize how many people have stories within them. Stories that could help people; stories that could make people feel less alone. Stories they WANT to tell.
But many people just don’t know where to start or don’t like feeling “exposed.”
I began advising people – mostly friends and colleagues – privately about how to get over their anxiety around sharing on social media and showing their faces on camera.
As a culmination of all my experience, I decided to start my agency, Social by Paulette. With my business, I offer what I call, Post It With Yo Chest™: 1:1 Content Strategy Sessions, to get people out of their heads and get their stories in front of an audience. We come up with a content plan together, look at the mental roadblocks they might be facing, and help them work through their camera shyness.
I’ve also leaned heavily into TikTok over the past 6 months or so, where I’ve built a community of more than 45,000 followers by posting relatable struggles of people with both officially and self-diagnosed ADHD. I’ve done that simply by being ME.
As Social by Paulette grows, my goal is to help more people show up on social media as themselves. I’ve learned that you don’t have to be a social media star to change lives. You don’t have to go viral to have effective and engaging content. If one person sees your content, resonates with your story, and it sparks something in them, you’ve done more than enough.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road to where I am today has not been easy. I’ve encountered mental health struggles, divorce, single motherhood, and alcohol dependence.
I think there’s so much stigma around both mental health and addiction that they’re typically struggles that you face alone – mostly out of shame.
I’ve also just had the normal existential adult crises…like wondering where the heck I’m going in life. Sometimes I think I’m still figuring that out.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I think I’m most known for being a bit of a social media maven. I look at social media as a tool.
I use it in my day job as a digital reporter and producer at my NPR station – Michigan Public.
I use it to make people laugh through memes on Facebook.
But most importantly, I use it in my personal life to build community, to break down stigmas and normalize talking about things that people tend to shy away from – mental health, substance abuse, struggle.
I’ve been recognized in public by people who follow me on both Instagram (@awkwardmomblog) and TikTok (@pauletteparker) as “the girl who does videos in her car” or the “girl with the lipstick.” (I love a good, bold lip)
That’s always both interesting and weird. Because I don’t really make content for recognition. I make it for people who need to see it and to relate to it.
I’m most proud that I’ve taken experiences and hardships that have happened in my life that could’ve torn me down, and I’ve used them to build up others. Which builds me up in return.
I think what sets me apart is that I’m not trying to be anything I’m not. I show up as me, fully and authentically. And sometimes that’s not pretty. I’m probably an over-sharer, honestly.
And I’m proud that I’m now coaching people on how to do the same through my Post It With Yo Chest™: 1:1 Content Strategy Sessions. It’s like paying it forward. They learn to tell their stories, then they teach others. And it just keeps going.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
A bit of a shameless plug. I’d like to share that I’m getting back into public speaking.
I’ll be moderating a couple mental health chats at an event on June 14 in Detroit called the “Let’s Talk About Black Moms & Mental Health Summit” hosted by an amazing organization called The Sisters’ Couch.
I’m hoping this will be the first of many events I’ll be taking part in going forward.
And I’d also like to encourage anybody who has a story to tell, but lacks the confidence to do so, to reach out to me either on IG (@socialbypaulette) or on my website (www.socialbypaulette.com). As an anxious girl, turned anxious (but confident) public speaker, I can help and I’d love to work with you!
The things you’ve been through don’t have to define you. How you use those experiences is what defines you.
And you’re never alone in what you’re going through. I can almost guarantee you that someone out there is going through the same thing. You just have to find your people. And maybe that happens by you speaking up first.
Pricing:
- Post It With Yo Chest™: 1:1 Content Strategy Sessions: $117
- Post It With Yo Chest™: 1:1 Content Clarity Calls: $77
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.socialbypaulette.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/socialbypaulette
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@simplypauletteparker
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@pauletteparker
