Interview with Sabina Cornovac, social media specialist: "Be curious, trust yourself, save"

Sabina Cornovac has been a content creator and social media specialist for over 12 years. He graduated from the Faculty of Journalism in Bucharest and the Master of Public Relations and Advertising. He has worked in the media, in PR agencies and with clients, and for about two years he has been doing content management for the United States market. In parallel, he is a blogger and co-organizer of the only monthly social media conference in Romania.

We spoke with her about her work experience, social media and entrepreneurship. Sabina was also a mentor in one of the KEN Academy classes, where he spoke to the children about promotion.

We know that you have already had an experience with the children of KEN Academy, the European School group. How did you like them?

That's right, I had the joy of meeting a group of 20, very curious, very present and attentive. They amazed me with the things they know and I appreciated their willingness to learn really interesting things that will help them in the future.

You are on your own two feet from a fairly young age. What has this meant for your career?

At 16 I left home, for personal reasons, and since then I had only one goal: to be financially independent. The fact that I had a full-time job since the second year of college helped me enormously to cope with a fast pace and to appreciate every penny made. At the end of college, and then a master's degree, I already had a few years on my work record and an income that allowed me to live in rent and start saving. This satisfaction cannot be compared to anything.

What are the three words that define you, from a professional point of view?

Ambition, team, adaptation. I would also put courage, but I still have work to do here.

Have you had any career failures so far? If so, how did you overcome them and what did you learn?

I think we all have setbacks in our careers and that's okay. Because we learn the most valuable lessons from mistakes or negative situations. The hardest part was when the team I was managing wasn't working properly and it took me a while to learn to be more of a manager than a friend. Otherwise, everything is overcome with a lot of communication and the recognition of the fact that we always have something to learn.

At KEN Academy courses, children build their own businesses. We know that you also organized the only monthly social media event in Romania - SocialPedia - before this crisis period began. What were the biggest challenges you had in the beginning?

The hardest part was getting started. It took me about four years to dream because I was always comparing myself to others and I thought there was no need for another event like this. This is one of the biggest mistakes I've always made, both personally and professionally, the comparison. And then, it's always hard to attract long-term sponsors, with whom you can build a long-term relationship. The solution? Courage, work, adaptation on the fly, initiative and a great passion for what you do.

Social media promotion is an essential part of any business. Also tell the children why it is so important.

With love 🙂 It's a very long discussion, but I'll try to keep it short. The main point is that any brand already exists in social media. The simple fact that people are talking about you there means that you are present on that social network. Once you accept this, the next step is to answer them. And turn everything into a two-way communication. Then you never have to go everywhere. But only where your audience is and where your activities really help you achieve your business goals. As a final argument, I would say that internationally 4.5 billion people, that is 60% of the total, are online (figure valid as of January 2020).

How do you choose the social network that best suits your business?

There are a few seemingly simple steps. I would start with the business objectives. Be SMART (specific, measurable, approachable, relevant and time-bound) and update them from time to time. Then I would continue with my target audience analysis. Who do I contact, everything I can find out about those people and, above all, where they communicate, where they hang out on the Internet. I would continue with an analysis of each social network and compare them to see where it is worth being active or not and to what extent. It is generalized that Instagram is for photos, Facebook for information, Youtube for relaxation, TikTok for the little ones, Linkedin for business, etc. Go beyond these generalizations and choose according to data, figures adapted to your business.

We live in an ever-changing world and more and more jobs have moved online, especially these days. What do you think is the trend in the future?

And even more will move online. But that doesn't mean offline is going away. People's need to socialize and physically interact with other people is universal and will not be completely replaced by the screen of a device. At least, not in the next 10-20 years. The tendency is to adapt, to unify the two worlds, and those who will gain will be precisely those who will find methods to satisfy both online and offline needs. In the year 2020 we must know how to manage online very well and I recommend young people to learn as much as possible IT, programming, web design, etc.

Do you have any advice for small entrepreneurs in KEN Academy?

Dear ones, you are already extraordinary for being a part of this academy. You have taken the first steps and I congratulate you for that. Keep going, be curious, ask a lot of questions and believe in yourself, try to differentiate yourself and show the world why you are better than others, always work in teams because this will save you from many problems, invest in your education in the long run, don't forget to have fun and play. And as a final piece of advice that applies perfectly during this time, save! Little by little, start getting used to it now and you will have a lot to gain in life.