In conversation with Olivia Hanlon, founder of Girls In Marketing

Meet Olivia Hanlon, founder and powerhouse behind Girls In Marketing, a recently launched marketing community - solely dedicated to providing help, advice, support and guidance for women to thrive and create successful marketing careers. With so much change afoot in all industries as a result of COVID-19, it’s beyond refreshing to know that communities like this exist for women looking for resources, whether that’s for further education and development within their marketing jobs, advice on changing careers, or for women who’ve recently started their own business and looking for help to promote themselves in an ever-growing digital landscape.

After having a call with Olivia and learning more about Girls In Marketing and how they’ve developed in a very short period of time, it’s no surprise to me that they’ve become so successful. It makes it all the more powerful that not only are we promoting a female founder, but a business that supports and nurtures women in their work lives. I speak to Olivia about what prompted her original idea to start the business, the pressures women face working in marketing and trying to advance their careers and Girls In Marketing’s most recent online course.

Why did you originally start Girls in Marketing?

To be honest, it was mainly because I felt I wanted somewhere to go, as it was originally a blog. I have been freelancing for a while, but felt lonely within marketing. I didn’t study it as a degree, and it was lonely in the marketing world as it’s a really big world with a lot of people on Linkedin without a real community. I wanted to find a community similar to me, who were passionate and forward-thinking. Within marketing there is a huge skills gap when it comes to knowing the whole industry. With women, it’s quite female dominated, which makes people confused as to why I would start Girls In Marketing.

The issue and reason is because the industry becomes cut throat when it comes to female progression within marketing. It gets to a point where women are outweighed in managerial, Head Of and Director level roles and it’s difficult to get past that point. I worked with international brands, and have spoken to big clients, and there is a stereotype of women being not good enough in the world, I’m not sure if thats the same within other industries, but it is within marketing. After having spoken to women in that boat and feel that pressure, the point behind Girls In Marketing is to give people confidence to up-skill and go for higher roles. Before us there was no other marketing community, we’ve built something absolutely amazing. It’s great to see that people have been inspired by our content and have started their own opportunities and businesses after seeing our success. 

Was promoting other women in marketing important to you? Why?

The main way we promote is Marketer Monday, that project is close to me because it focuses on promoting other people and different stories. Everyone assumes there is a traditional route into marketing, that you go to school, to college, to uni and you find your dream job, but it’s never that easy. Sharing stories from people, whether it’s from those at entry level to those who’ve been in marketing for years is amazing. I know so many people who started out with random degree, but have ended up in marketing.

Francesca who was on Marketer Monday a few months ago had a biomedical degree, but has now started her own agency. She also invited us down to do her podcast which shows that it is also great to network and connect with new people. I think its great connecting We’ve had other people/brands who have reached out to those featured after we’ve promoted them, and its so nice to see people connecting on that level. 

What has been your career highlight to date?

Probably leaving my full time job to pursue Girls In Marketing and freelance full time. In June, as Girls In Marketing took off, I quit my full-time job. I love working in an office environment but I felt like I didn’t have a life between freelance, working and doing Girls In Marketing and something had to go - I had to give something up. It was one of the scariest things to leave a full time job in the middle of a pandemic. I had many people tell me that, but I think people have been really supportive of finding the confidence within myself to go off on my own. 

How would you describe Girls in Marketing in three words?

Probably empower, educate and community. They are the three words we want to be known for.

What kind of pressures do you face as a female entrepreneur?

So far I haven’t faced any issues with Girls In Marketing - I have made a transition from a blog and side passion project, to making it into something I do every day which is absolutely crazy. Gender has come into it when people don’t think you are this absolute powerhouse. Especially people within the industry, when it comes down to age, I’m relatively young and innovative in the way I think, but these things do impact people.

Going away from GIM and in the context of a career, your gender can really impact your chances of getting a promotion, but equally so can age. People forget that younger people, even teenagers etc on Tik Tok, are often the most innovative. Corporate professionals underestimate the value of having those young people on teams. This is a big thing when you go for interviews, because these people think a young age comes with inexperience, but many marketers that I’ve spoken to with 2-3 years in industry are often most passionate and enthusiastic. It shouldn’t be a barrier to entry, but a leg up.

Which other women inspire you?

I don’t know! So many people inspire me. For general life, my mum defo inspires me personally - she’s very strong and really hard working and I’ve got a lot traits from her. She’s always given me the best life possible and been supportive of me and spurs me on to do new things and new ideas. 

Work wise, people who just absolutely love what they do, and people who are passionate. I don’t think I could put a name to it professionally, just women in marketing who have smashed down barriers 

Another person who really inspires me is Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani activist for female education. When she started her journey she was 14 and shot in the head, but I read her book a few years ago, she was so passionate about female empowerment and girls in education and I’ve taken her values she puts across because I read it at such a young age. I like the idea of being someone who can help people and be a beacon of light for women who want to get in marketing and try new things. 

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Take a break probably. Not just to me personally, to everyone. Working in marketing is so fast paced, but it is tiring. Sometimes it’s not good enough to always be working. You’ve got to take time out to do something else, go outside, have a walk, watch something on the telly. I was talking about colouring the other day, and I love that to de-stress. The marketing world is so technical and digital that you can become obsessed. Have a chill and enjoy doing things other than your job. 

You’ve recently launched a new e-course, what learning/training does this teach?

We have two e-courses, one released in June and one released two weeks ago. Both are online courses and you can do them at own pace. First is a freelance course, has been really popular especially with COVID-19. I put all my energy and knowledge into that course. The one we recently launched is an Instagram course on organic strategies that we’ve tried and tested. The Insta one is to help people who want to learn more about growing organically, whether a small business, marketer, influencer, blogger - defo a great course to get started with understanding Instagram. There’s always new things to learn - we’ve put the things not to do, mistakes we’ve made and things we found not particularly helpful. There are a lot of fake tactics out there, in all honesty, the best people you can ever learn from, are the people who’ve been there and done it. 

How do you keep your sanity and de-stress?

The colouring is a big one. Because I love what I do so much, I like to do make-up sometimes and experiment. I wouldn’t say I’m a beauty guru, but I like to get new eyeshadow palettes and I love getting creative. I work from home a lot more now so I don’t do it every day, so it’s more of a treat. I just love the process, moisturiser, primer, foundation. I think the process is so therapeutic. When I was working full time, I was wearing it every day and that would be my morning routine. I need a routine when I’m working from home too - it doesn’t have to be 9 to 5 but I need time to say that’s it now, I’m done. That keeps my mental health in check, that’s why I’m never bothered by early morning meetings!

What are the future plans for Girls in Marketing for the rest of the year and 2021?

We’ve got the webinar in a few weeks and lots of secret projects on the horizon so stay tuned!