Trailblazers and leaders: Shannon Walker

Shannon Walker | Founder | Social Disruption PR

How did you get into comms?

I have always loved connecting with people and being creative. From the age of seven, I have been involved in elements of Brand Marketing through my Grandad's Musical (Steel Pan) business. From creating posters, participating in press and radio interviews to managing social media, this ignited a passion for PR, community building and storytelling. 

I began perusing a career professionally in comms after studying Advertising and PR at Uni and securing press internships at Jimmy Choo and MatchesFashion.com. I liked the idea of being multi-disciplined so, alongside traditional PR roles, I delved into Magazine Advertising and Social media. This was before I decided to specialise in Influencer Marketing which enabled me to work with amazing brands such as Elie Saab, Cartier, Issey Miyake and most recently Liberty London. After seven years in comms, I launched Social Disruption as a vessel for the change I wanted to see in the industry and as a way to create more purpose through my profession. 

What does an average day look like?

I’m trying to be more disciplined so I start my day with a 5:30 am power hour zoom session with an accountability group. On a good day I’ll power on past 6:30 am to the end of the day, on not so good days I roll back into bed and set my alarm to reawaken around 8 am. 

I have a morning routine of prayer, then watering my houseplants which I find really centring, the rest of the day tends to vary depending on the projects I’m working on and where I work. Most days I’ll join my sister in our co-working place (dining room table) but as lockdown has eased, I’ve enjoyed working at least once a week in a hot desk space to have face to face meetings which I’ve missed. Otherwise, my day is usually filled with virtual intro brand calls, Influencer outreach, putting together digital comms strategies, catching up with clients and creatives. 

Towards the end of the day, I usually read an industry article to keep abreast of news then create and schedule content for Social Disruption’s blog and social media channels. 

What advice would you give your 21 year old self?

You are here on purpose for a purpose, keep believing in yourself and trust your instincts. It may not feel like it, but you are heading in the right direction and on the right path. Have faith, trust the process because the ups and downs of your journey is essential for where you are heading. 

What is the one thing you wish you’d known when you set up on your own?

Setting up on your own can feel lonely… especially when you launch at the start of a global lockdown. I’ve built amazing relationships so far in this journey, however I wish I had done so earlier with other freelancers, agency founders and a network of entrepreneurs in general.

What’s your greatest achievement to date?

Despite the turmoil of this year, 2020 had been my most pride-filled year in terms of personal and professional development in the face of adversity. Taking a leap of faith and launching a business in a pandemic has not been easy however, I’m incredibly proud of what Social Disruption has achieved so far. I launched to make a difference in the industry, so it’s been humbling to be part of industry-wide conversations regarding change and work with large corporations on steps to increase more diversity and purposeful communications in the PR and Influencer space.

Is there a particular comms campaign that you’ve seen in your career that you didn’t work on but wish you had?

This brand may be perceived as overexposed, but I don’t think I’ve seen a more disruptive communications campaign in my career than the launch of Fenty Beauty. The impact the brand created exemplifies for me why community building is the future of communications and a leading example of what modern-day, integrated and multi-layered communications looks like. It was amazing to witness the movement the Fenty Beauty created by depicting what inclusivity in marketing looks like as well as shatter discriminatory myths about the viability of marketing to the Black customers. It’s always exciting to work on a brand that has a bigger purpose than selling a product, but a mission to do some much needed disrupting too – so that’s definitely one I wish I worked on. 

What’s the key skill you think a successful business owner requires?

In this day in age being somewhat of a polymath is highly advantageous and cost-effective. There’s an app for everything so you can build a website, create a logo, manage social media, run ad campaigns etc requiring only an internet connection to execute many tasks of running a business and connecting to your customers. The ability to wear many hats as a business owner pushes you out of your comfort zone, expands your knowledge and inspires creativity, so I’d say being multi-disciplined is a key skill to thrive as a business owner.

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