Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Watson.
Hi Jennifer, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve always had a passion for helping others, building their confidence and a fascination about the weather, specifically thunderstorms and tornadoes. When I was young, I was actually quite shy until high school and I broke out of my shell. I found success by always doing what others didn’t, truly believing in myself and believing that anything is possible.
I originally went to college to become a nutritionist but realized after my first year of nutrition school it wasn’t truly making me happy. I did theater my sophomore year, but it wasn’t until a friend told me, “Jen, you love weather so much, why don’t you make that your career,” did it hit me, I should be a meteorologist! I was at East Carolina University and they were just starting an atmospheric science program. It wasn’t fully completed yet, but they did offer a certificate. So I did research on the most well-known meteorologists across the country and what degrees they had. Many had a geography degree, which ECU offered and a minor in mathematics, so that’s exactly what I did. I got a bachelor of science degree in geography, a minor in mathematics and got my atmospheric science and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) certificates. While at ECU, I researched weather conferences and the Southeast Severe Storms Symposium came up, which was hosted by Mississippi State University, one of the best schools in the country for broadcast meteorology. I applied for a conference grant to attend through ECU and got approved! It was such an incredible experience, I fell in love with the campus, the professors, everything! I ended up applying for grad school there and got accepted with a GIS assistantship teaching GIS labs, that eventually turned into a research assistantship where I helped track debris pile data from Hurricane Katrina to help aid in new hurricane debris model forecast software for the Institute with Clean Energy Technology.
Along with that, while at MSU, I went on several local storm chases and took a storm chasing field course where we actually storm chased in the Plains for two weeks for school credit! I learned more out in the field in those two weeks than I did in two years of being in the classroom by being able to be out on the Plains, forecasting and seeing the storms and their impacts in person, watching their entire life cycle. During school, there was a lot of focus on social media and making sure forecast information was disseminated in multiple places so everyone could consume it and stay safe. It was until the April 27th, 2011 tornado outbreak that I realized the true power of social media in saving lives.
I covered the outbreak for local TV station WTVA in Tupelo, MS and surrounding areas. We call that outbreak a generational outbreak, one which happens about every 35-40 years, where all instability indices are maxed out and everything comes together where the atmosphere is ripe for supercell thunderstorms and tornadoes. It was a devastating day, where several hundred people across the entire U.S. lost their lives, focused in Mississippi and Alabama especially. During the outbreak, I was on the air, but also live tweeting. We told people to get in their safe places and turn up the volume on their TVs so they could still hear us. Dozens of people were tweeting at me while in their shelter asking where the tornadoes were and if they were safe. It was a day I will never forget. The stories of survival from that day are some of the most powerful I’ve ever heard.
From Tupleo, I then went to WHNT in Huntsville, AL as a meteorologist and science reporter, where I covered several severe weather outbreaks but also the most incredible optical phenomena created by the edge of clouds reaching as far south as Alabama, from Hurricane Sandy in 2011 and on the same day, the first recorded meteorite fall in the state since 1954. Six months later I got a job as a Meteorological Content Producer at The Weather Channel producing weather maps for the 5:00-8:00 pm show at the time with Paul Goodloe and Kelly Cass. I then transitioned to be their Social Media Specialist, where I developed numerous social media campaigns and worked on partnerships with NASCAR, Weezer, Meta and Twitter to name a few. It was an incredible five-year experience!
From there I entered the SaaS industry, which allowed me more time with my amazing daughter Zahra. I’ve worked as the Social Media Manager for several SaaS companies including; Agorapulse and ActiveCampaign, where I’ve hosted several social media live shows and have developed company-wide social media and marketing strategies and campaigns. In 2022 I was named one of the Top 113 Digital Marketing Experts to follow!
Along with that I’m a business consultant, where people hire me to help with social media and marketing strategy. Lastly, my next act will be starting life coaching where I will help people find their true passion, take their life to the next level and be a daily personal motivator and accountability partner.
Along with working full time as a Senior Social Media Strategist, I also still co-host two shows with The Weather Channel, ‘Weather Gone Viral’ and ‘Weird Earth.’ Along with that, I also co-host a weather podcast called, ‘Storm Front Freaks’ where we interview the biggest names in the weather industry around the world, from storm chasers to scientists. In addition, I’m a professional keynote speaker, where I’ve talked on the biggest stages in the weather and marketing industries, speaking on topics like how to captivate an audience with confidence on live video, social media strategy, how to grow a community from scratch, how to be a successful live show host, and more! Lastly, I’m a personal coach and motivator, where people hire me to help with social media strategy or as a life coach, to find their true passion, take their life to the next level and have a daily personal motivator and accountability partner.
In my professional journey, I’ve found that consistency in content publishing AND consistency in your message are critical for success. If someone knows that you are an expert in something and you show up every day, you will top of mind and they will think of you first when opportunities open up.
Along with that, it’s all about personal connections and relationships. I’ve gotten all my jobs because of sharing my expertise on social media or by attending conferences. Networking is key, yes what you know is very important, but it’s also who you know. The right connections can make all the difference in the world.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Every journey has its “storms,” but for me I’d have to say it’s been overcoming imposter syndrome and a fear of public speaking. Public speaking never came easy to me, even in college! It’s one thing to forecast the weather in a studio with a camera, two anchors and a cameraman, it’s another speaking on stage with thousands of eyeballs watching your every move and you wondering if you’re making an impact. How I overcame it was I kept forcing myself into uncomfortable situations, it’s only when you do that, that you realize what you’re truly capable of. After years of speaking, I love it and look forward to it! Yes, I still get a little nervous sometimes, but so do the most famous speakers. The one tip I have is channeling that nervous energy into positivity and excitement and focusing on your content and the message you want to get across.
Being in the public eye sets you up for criticism. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that not everyone will like you and that’s okay! What someone thinks about you is their business. So, stop caring what people think! They’re not thinking about you nearly as much as you think they are. It’s more important to live and speak your truth, that’s where you’ll truly find your community and happiness. At the end of the day, do what makes you happy and pulls at your heart and gets you excited to get out of bed! I’d rather have a community of 1000 engaged people than 100,000 that could care less. It’s the intimate connection and relatability that’s everything!
What I’ve also learned in life is that perception is reality. Your mind is powerful, if you focus on the negatives or setbacks in your life, that’s what will continue to manifest, but if you focus on the positives and creating the life you want, everything will fall into place. No matter what storms roll through, stay true to you, believe in your dreams and follow your path. Enjoy the process, this one is hard, it’s been a struggle for me sometimes because I just want to be there already, but I’ve learned the journey is the rewarding part and everything that happens along the way! Remember, comparison is the thief of joy, so stop comparing yourself to others, we are all on our own different timelines, so enjoy your personal journey on this precious Earth because time goes by too quickly.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am an Emmy award-winning meteorologist, you can watch me on The Weather Channel’s, ‘Weather Gone Viral’ and ‘Weird Earth!’ We just finished filming new seasons for both! I am a published scientist and worked with Hyperion Technology Group as a contract field meteorologist where I analyzed severe weather potential and now casted live severe weather during a fieldwork storm chase, where I got to assist in setting probes ahead of potentially tornadic supercells to collect data. It was literally living out the movie Twister in real life!
I have a passion for every aspect of digital media from building brand strategies, creating content plans to getting executive buy-in. I helped launch numerous Facebook Live campaigns for The Weather Channel, garnering millions of views. I’ve been featured twice in Chief Content Marketer Magazine and on stage at Social Fresh, Social Media Marketing World, and Social Shake-Up to name a few.
Some of my favorite business adventures to date include being a part of the social media team for the Super Bowl Committee for Super Bowl 53 in Atlanta, curating content and creating social posts for the fans. Along with that, I started a weather-themed clothing line with my twin sister called Twister Twins and I’m currently working on writing my first children’s weather book. I love speaking and teaching kids and adults about the weather, building their confidence and helping them live their best lives.
Lastly and most importantly is my love for motivating people and helping them realize their true passion and that they have everything they need right now to be successful. As humans, we all crave acceptance and connection, that’s what I try to incorporate into every aspect of my life. I post daily ‘Rise and Smile’ “stories” on my social channels helping to motivate people. I do private coaching and have just started a Facebook group with fun challenges starting soon, so make sure to join the fun and get daily inspiration! There are a lot more exciting things to come!
You can check everything out, including booking me for 1:1 consulting/coaching to speak at your next event, do a half/full day workshop, or check out my merchandise and join my Facebook group by clicking on my https://linktr.ee/jenniferweather.
How do you think about luck?
I always believe you make your own luck. At an early age, I noticed that those that prepared and acted as if they already had a particular job they wanted, an opportunity magically arose at the perfect time.
One of my favorite quotes is from Oprah Winfrey, “I believe luck is preparation meeting opportunity. If you hadn’t been prepared when the opportunity came along, you wouldn’t have been so lucky.” I fully believe if you live and breathe the life you want or the job you want, the opportunity will present itself.
I’m a firm believer in manifesting and speaking things into existence, but you also need to take action and do the work. Actions speak louder than words in all aspects of life, stop talking about it and take action!
Visualizing is something I practice daily and help my clients to do. Visualizing started for me early, when I was in school. My main sport was gymnastics and before every routine, I would close my eyes and go through the entire routine in my head, sticking every landing, then I’d open my eyes and do it in reality. I still visualize today. Before I get out of bed each morning, I visualize how I want my day to go, down to every last detail, how it makes me feel when I help a client succeed, to an important phone call and even the success and accomplishment of reaching a workout goal. It’s amazing once you do that and you have that feeling of success, then you hop out of bed and start making your visualization a reality!
Last but not least, speak it into existence! If you want to do something, talk about it, mention it, take action, let people know. I want to be the first meteorologist to host Saturday Night Live! If I keep that inside, nobody will ever know, but if I mention it on stage, during interviews… etc, you never who might be listening, have connections and be able to make it happen!
Pricing:
- 15 Minute Consultation – FREE
- 1:1 Coaching – $500-$2000 per month
- 1 Day Business Intensive – $1500
- Workshop – $5000
- Keynote Speaker – $10,000
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jenniferweather.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenniferweather/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenniferWatsonTV
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/JWatson_Wx
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@jenniferweather
Image Credits
Jorden Gensler Photography for the one in the sunflower dress.
