Today we’d like to introduce you to Peter Markel.
Hi Peter, 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.
My career in social media marketing started in 2018. At the time, I was living in Salt Lake City, Utah, working as a waiter at a popular restaurant. I was tired of the long days & nights of the restaurant industry and was ready for a career change. I had an idea to start an augmented reality social networking app. I paid an app developer to create me a minimal viable product that I could use to showcase to investors & early adopters. I wasn’t particularly skilled at traditional marketing or online marketing strategies like email, blog writing, or SEO; but I was familiar with social media. So, I started posting to social media platforms to get awareness about my app start up. One thing led to the next, and I had people in my network start reaching out, saying, “I see what you’re doing for your start-up. Can you do social media for my business, too?”. Sure enough, my social media marketing side hustle turned into my full-time job. I quit my job at the restaurant and went full-time social media marketer. Fast forward 5 years, my wife & I moved to Laguna Beach, and together, we own and operate Somnu. We provide a range of businesses with social media marketing services. We represent businesses in the education, finance, automotive, private equity, & healthcare industries on social media.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Somnu’s success story looks similar to the success of the S&P 500 over the last 35+ years. Trending upwards with a few major setbacks. Everything we are doing is a learning curve. We (my wife Hannah & I) are learning not only how to run our business from a financial (accounting, bookkeeping, payroll, taxes, expenses, savings, etc…) & legal (contracts, employees, contractors, etc…) perspective, but we are also learning how to effectively market our client’s products & services on the ever-changing social media platforms. For example, when we first got started in 2018, TikTok was not mainstream, Instagram Reels didn’t exist, & YouTube didn’t offer a vertical video format. We had to learn how to strategize, create, & post short-form videos on a regular basis for many of our clients. Meanwhile we had some internal issues with contractors that we were working with that needed legal assistance to overcome. All in all, our professional development has been running at light speed, and we have learned how to take care of our clients while also taking care of our business and ourselves.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Somnu?
Somnu helps businesses go viral on social media. We’re a full-service social media marketing agency, and what that means is that we strategize, create, & post social media content on behalf of our clients. We also represent our clients when their followers/subscribers comment on posts or send direct messages. Simplified, we take care of our client’s social media marketing so that they don’t have to. We work hand in hand with the c-suite executives or we integrate with the efforts of a marketing team. Currently, our specialty is in short-form video marketing. We help businesses create TikToks, Instagram Reels, & YouTube Shorts. The content that we have made for our clients has been seen & engaged with by more than 100,000 million social media users. Social media marketing acts as an exposure tool & the first step in any sales funnel. We help businesses get better SEO & get more website traffic. What sets us apart is our all-in-one service offering. A lot of the time, you see videographers, photographers, or graphic designers who will create social media content, but they won’t post it. Or you will see social media managers who will post content that they paid to have created. Here at Somnu, we package content creation & content posting into one cohesive service. Our brand is our creativity & our work ethic; we know how important it is to look good on social media, and we go above and beyond to have our clients stand out on social media. We offer a range of social media marketing packages, social media ads services, & a la carte media production services.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
My wife & I are avid outdoors people. One of our greatest accomplishments outside the office was when we summited Grand Teton in Wyoming. Whenever we get the opportunity to ski, hike, backpack, or cycle, we take full advantage!
Pricing:
- Social media marketing services range from $500-$5000 per month
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.somnuinc.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/somnuinc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SomnuInc
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/35597186/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_HgMDKDDQ_idW09hhQ91g
- Other: https://vimeo.com/somnu
Image Credits
Jon Haverstick Photography
