Marketing Master Monday
Ryan Zieman, Social Media & Digital Marketing Strategy
Meet Ryan!
Social Media & Digital Marketing Strategy
With over seven years of experience in social media and digital marketing, Ryan has successfully led digital campaigns with top brands such as Chipotle, Barnes & Noble, McDonald’s, and as the Social Media Lead at Motorola Solutions.
In 2018, Ryan was presented with the Rising Star Award from the Depaul University Marketing Advisory Council for his commitment to the marketing community. Additionally, he received the Calls to Action: Excellence award from Motorola Solutions for exemplary dedication and effort.
Most recently, Ryan has the honor of instructing the Social Media Marketing Certificate program at his alma mater, DePaul University.
Q&A with Ryan
Tell us about your career path and how you came into your current role.
As cliché as it may seem, it’s really about networking. Joining the Chicago Chapter of Social Media Club and meeting the brilliant and talented members set the groundwork for my robust network of Chicago-area digital marketers. It’s where I connected with current mentors, former colleagues, and good friends.
Through my network, I discovered the opportunity and co-led the social media community management team at McDonald’s. Our team responded to over 6k inbound messages per week, making us one of the most engaging brands on Twitter.
This experience along with dedicated networking, led to the role of social media expert for the North America Marketing and Sales teams at Motorola Solutions. I strategically created and executed social media content for the corporate accounts with an audience of over 335k followers across LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. This includes leading the 1,000 member global employee advocacy program and social coverage at live events, some with over 20k attendees.
In addition to being a marketing practitioner, I share my skills and expertise with continuing learners at DePaul University who are eager to deepen their understanding of social media marketing and advance in their careers.
One of my favorite campaigns is the Big Mac Special Sauce activation I worked on at McDonald’s. The mission was to give away 10K limited edition bottles of sauce to fans across the country. The community management team worked onsite at the production studio where three identical sets were being live streamed simultaneously on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
In real time, we identified customers engaging with the live videos who then had a chance to win a bottle of the special sauce. This unique campaign created new buzz and excitement for a menu item introduced back in 1967 and set the stage to bring customers into restaurants for the limited-time Grand Mac and Mac Jr.
I’m most inspired by leaders inside and outside of the marketing field who take risks and go against the grain. These are people who I admire for their intelligence, humility, and no-glory-in-the process attitude. When I’m feeling creatively drained, travel, photography, and design bring me back to life—be it a trip to a new place or simply flipping through a favorite magazine.
Life is not a linear path. For someone who is a self-proclaimed “Type A Perfectionist,” this lesson took a while to learn. Only after years of experience did I realize that there are always going to be twists and turns. Sometimes you just have to ride the wave. One of the other mantras that I keep in mind is that good things fall apart so that better things can come together.
Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn and meet him at Digital Megaphone Events!