In today’s digital world, Instagram isn’t just for pretty pictures—it’s a powerhouse for building brands and driving sales. But to truly succeed, you need more than just good visuals; you need to understand the data behind your posts. This guide breaks down the most important Instagram metrics—like saves, shares, reach, and engagement rate—and shows you how to use them to level up your ecommerce strategy.

In our chat with Michelle, she shares the inspiration behind her Build a Better Brand Method, the importance of storytelling in today’s digital world, and how Pinterest became her secret weapon for growing Brandmerry.

Shannon’s knack for humanizing brands and creating engaging, relatable content has set her apart in the industry, so we sat down with the dynamo to delve into her copywriting journey, the inception of the Freelance Squad, her insights on the intersection of AI and creativity, and more.

We sat down with Jaime to talk about how Contracts Market started, what business owners need to know about contracts, and what you need to know about using AI in your business.

After being laid off as a result of working in the events industry when the pandemic hit, Stephie Faria started to recognize that the way we did business was changing. With her educational and work background, she quickly recognized a space in the market to support the businesses who were forced to take their efforts online to ease the transition – and with that, her own business was born.

After several misdiagnoses, being told her pain was all in her head, and feeling ashamed by what she was experiencing, Azia To was diagnosed with vulvodynia and vaginismus. Now fully recovered, Azia has made it her mission to help others feel less alone and share how she healed her condition to lead to her now pain-free life.

Today, she sits down with us to talk about her experience talking about her disorder online, how to get comfortable sharing vulnerably on the Internet, building a company that supports your community, and more. 

Public relations (PR) has been ingrained throughout Remy’s life, from successfully engaging every huge editor in the city during her first internship to her current role as managing director at A&C. Remy shared her thoughts on the changing landscape of the PR industry, her best advice for getting people excited about your brand, and her top tips for creating genuine connections through networking.

Kirsti McNabney made the jump last year in more ways than one. She quit her job and started her own marketing business, and at the same time started a podcast, Thinking About, where she sits down with interesting people to help listeners level up their lives.

Kirsten Schmidtke has paved her own way throughout her career, and now helps others do the same in her work coaching professionals. Going from owning a dance studio, to being a stylist, working on her mom’s jewelry business, and getting into technology sales, she’s learned a lot on the way and has chosen to spend her days sharing these experiences with others. 

Cleo’s Social Strategist, Dana Sondak, always knew that she wanted to live life on her own terms. Now, she’s created a freelance career out of all things social, working as a makeup artist, and starting her own hair accessories company. Her creative energy and enthusiasm about everything she loves is obvious in all she does, and best of all, she gets to do it her own way. 

Lemon8, a photo-sharing app described as the love child between Pinterest and Instagram, has been turning heads on the scene since its launch. It might be worth checking out if your brand has an especially aesthetic appeal that could provide value on the platform.

A master of her marketing and client relations craft, Raya landed at Quietly in Vancouver after her wide ranging experience in London and New York. She continues to be a force in her work for all her clients - arranging projects and partners to perfection to ensure the best result each time. 

AI-generated content has stepped into the spotlight. If you’re a professional in the digital media or tech space, then you’ll know that the concept of AI tools is not an entirely new one. The rising popularity of Chat GPT and Jasper AI has brought up a conversation on the future of AI in the space of social media content creation. 

Once Cleo’s lead writer, Anastasia Barbuzzi, realized that empowering herself to learn about money matters changed her life, she knew she had to bring that to others: and that’s when $HMONEY was born. Already a creative, podcasting was a natural platform for her, and many flocked to share in the financial learning episodes. 

Serial entrepreneur Victoria Marshman saw a problem emerge during the pandemic and went out to solve it. Enter Mave & Chez: the slipper revolution. Switching from a service-based business to a product-based one, Victoria and her partner Dani ran an incredibly successful Kickstarter campaign and are taking preorders now.

LinkedIn has seen a shift in the type of content that gets posted. It is no longer exclusively for business posts - it has become a multi-use platform where people can not only share what’s happening in their professional lives but in their personal lives, too. The shift in what is now considered “evergreen” content and what new trends are being seen will provide a new kind of value in-app.

In an age where social media has become known for perfect editing, glamorous filters and showing carefully curated moments, one of the newest and fastest growing platforms “BeReal” is here to shake up the game and promote a more authentic way to share content. So what exactly is BeReal, and how can brands get in on it?

A multidisciplinary communications professional, Erin has worked across a diverse number of fields. Starting in Toronto's arts community at the Harbourfront Centre and the RIC (Ryerson Image Centre) before moving on to The Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship where she worked with numerous startups supporting their marketing and communications from the ground up. Now, Erin heads communications at the University of Toronto's Acceleration Consortium where her passion for startups and communications meet.