Today we’d like to introduce you to Mabel Martinez.
Hi Mabel, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
From writing headlines to now creating hashtags, I’m a former journalist who traded in her press pass for social media strategies, trending memes and sharing stories across social media platforms. Raised in a single-parent household in The Bronx, my mother worked tirelessly to provide for me and to give me an education. She really instilled in me the values of perseverance, resilience and hard work. My mother’s strength really inspired me to pursue my dreams and never give up, even in the face of adversity. I grew up attending Catholic school from 1st grade all the way to high school where I developed a strong sense of discipline and community. I was always the student who was part of every extracurricular activity.
In high school, I was part of Student Government, the Step Team, Yearbook Club and more. I even worked at a law firm part-time to help pay for expenses and I worked there all the way through college. Fun fact: I actually wanted to be a lawyer but that all changed when I went to college. I attended Long Island University in Brooklyn. At LIU, I found that I had a passion for writing and after taking my first journalism class, my professor encouraged me to join the school newspaper, Seawanhaka. At the school paper, I started the first fashion column where I wrote on trends, interviewed designers and featured students in the newspaper. A year later, I decided to run for Editor-in-Chief of the school newspaper and I won. I held the title for 2 years and completely rebranded the newspaper and made it the spot to be on campus. With my hectic class schedule, I ran the newspaper, worked at the law firm part-time and also interned at the Spanish-language newspaper, El Diario La Prensa where I really got my feet wet in reporting on hard news.
During my junior year of college, I applied for the American Society of Magazine Editors internship and I was accepted into the program where they placed me to intern at none other than People Magazine. This was a dream come true for me. During this internship, I was able to interview celebrities, attend events and really fell in love with pop culture. I even made it to the “breaking news” section of People.com where I broke the story on Katie Holmes car accident in NYC right in the midst of her divorce with Tom Cruise. From there, I landed being a stringer for the magazine and then became a reporter at the magazine. I then was laid off and began freelancing for a variety of sites like Yahoo Beauty. I also worked at Glamour Magazine’s sister magazine, Glam Latina Magazine as a writer and was also laid off, I was also a Beauty Editor for Siempre Mujer and then I dabbled in modeling which I still do from time to time and then I took my talents to the non-profit sector. I worked part-time at Dress For Success, a global organization that empowers women to achieve economic independence through career development.
After Dress For Success, I went into the beauty industry (which is where I wanted to be). I worked at bareMinerals as a Junior Copywriter. I wrote for our website, retailers, in-store displays and more. I later left bareMinerals to work at Maybelline New York as a Community Manager. At the brand, I worked on social strategy, managing all social media platforms and helping with content creation. At the brand, I even helped launched our very first black shade of SuperStay Matte Ink Liquid Lipstick.
After Maybelline, I became the Digital Content and Social Media Manager for Carol’s Daughter, Dark & Lovely and Magic Shave. Currently, I’m the Social Media Manager at Lancôme where I manage the brand’s social media platforms, social strategy and paid media influencer.
My love of beauty, fashion, writing and social media really play a key role in my work and really reflect my desire to connect with people. Plus, just being curious about everything has helped me get to where I am today.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It hasn’t been a smooth road. I was laid off twice and fired once. There were plenty of times where I got ‘no’s’ and for a while, I was freelancing for about a year and picking up gigs to help pay the bills. Thankfully my mom and my family were there for me to help me and not let me give up.
In college, juggling school work, being Editor-In-Chief, interning and having a part-time job it was a lot for me. I would come home and cry to my mom because it was so stressful but luckily, she got me through it and I really have to thank her for that.
Working in corporate America is also hard there are ups and downs every day but with time I’ve learned to better manage my stress and do things that make me happy. There has to be some type of balance and I realized being all about work isn’t okay and you need balance in life. My definition of success has changed. Success isn’t just about achieving one’s goals but it’s about prioritizing your personal life and well-being. It’s about setting boundaries, practicing self-care and still making time for your family, friends and hobbies. I learned this the hard way this year.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Currently, I’m the Social Media Manager for Lancôme. I manage our social media platforms, handle community management, come up with social media strategies and work on paid media. I’m also based in NYC. I feel that what sets me apart from others is my background in journalism. My experience in researching, writing and storytelling gives me a unique POV and skillset that I always apply into my work. Whether it’s crafting engaging content that resonates with our followers and my attention to detail when it comes to content and our posts. I also feel that my passion for beauty especially coming from working in beauty magazines gives me a unique eye for aesthetics, what’s trending and honestly, I love to take risks and try new things which helps me stay ahead of the curve in an industry that’s always evolving. I feel that this all helps me stand out and bring a fresh perspective to what I do.
Any big plans?
My plans for the future. I definitely want to stay within the beauty industry and within social media and influencers. I see myself as the head of a department maybe social media or influencer. I want to work internationally one day as well maybe 2 or 3 years from now.
I’m also in the midst of creating a podcast with my best friend because I want to continue to share compelling stories in different ways and helping others along the way.
Contact Info:
- Website: mabelmartinez.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msmabelmartinez/
- Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/mabel-martinez-5678b943
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@msmabelmartinez
Image Credits
For the professional model images please credit: Photographer Nico @photographer_nico on Instagram
