Influencer: A Conversation with Author Brittany Hennessy

Not too long ago author Brittany Hennessy @mrsbrittanyhennessy was in Orlando promoting her new book Influencer - Building Your Personal Brand In The Age Of Social Media. As a faculty member at Full Sail University I’m always looking for resources that I can use in class to help my students take their media strategy next level.

After I picked up the book and started reading, I realized it wasn’t just my students who needed the “how-to” information Brittany was sharing.

When I read a book that has immediate practical application in my life, I dig in deeper with the author. Whether that’s following them on Insta or, in Brittany’s case, subscribing to her newsletter. Mostly I’m looking for a way to engage more deeply with content I find valuable.

In the last year I’ve seen a lot of possibility with my professional Insta account - @emilymakessense. At first it was just a place to document and process the work I was doing. Then it grew into a rich community of practice with other educators. Now it offers a place to extend conversations with my students beyond the classroom.

Reading Brittany’s book made me realize there was so much I didn’t know and it got me curious about the career storytelling possibilities of Insta as a teaching portfolio.

It just so happens that Brittany also offers coaching calls, so you know I had to take her up on that.

On just a 30 minute call she dropped a lot of wisdom on me and inspired me to think about this feed in an even more intentional way. She was engaging and funny and clearly knew her stuff.

I look forward to executing on some of the ideas we discussed and passing her book along to one lucky student who’s ready to go there too.