FXBG Neighbors Podcast
Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast
FXBG Neighbors Podcast
EP #59 Behind the Scenes with Golden Hour Media
Ever wondered what it takes to make your business shine online? Claudia Stockli, founder of Golden Hour Media, has the answers you're looking for. As your "social media's ride or die" and "internet's bestie," Claudia brings a refreshing perspective to digital marketing that transforms how small businesses connect with their communities.
Growing up in New York City with entrepreneurial parents, Claudia inherited both business savvy and a deep appreciation for small business impact. Her journey through Virginia Living Magazine and Yelp equipped her with marketing expertise, but it was a pandemic layoff that unexpectedly launched her entrepreneurial path. When her chiropractor mentioned needing social media help, Claudia took a leap of faith—without even owning a laptop—and Golden Hour Media was born.
What sets Golden Hour apart isn't just social media management; it's comprehensive digital storytelling. Claudia debunks the myth that social media success comes from simply posting pretty pictures. Instead, she emphasizes strategy, authentic connection, and finding someone who genuinely believes in your vision. "Social media isn't scary," she reassures, advocating for an approach where you "show up for yourself" and enjoy the process of building something people want to be part of.
When she's not transforming clients' digital presence, Claudia embodies her "work hard, play hard" philosophy through travel, photography, and family time. These adventures double as inspiration, as she collects ideas from advertisements and menus encountered on her journeys. Her advice to aspiring entrepreneurs? "Just go for it"—embracing the inevitable trial and error that comes with growth.
Ready to elevate your online presence with a partner who sees your vision? Connect with Claudia on Instagram @itsgoldenhourmedia, visit goldenhousocialmedia.com, or simply say hello when you spot her downtown. Your digital transformation might be just a conversation away!
Claudia Stockli
Golden Hour Media
This is the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Dori Stewart.
Speaker 2:Welcome back to another episode of the FXBG Neighbors Podcast, where we share the stories of our favorite local brands. Joining me on the podcast today is Claudia Stockli. She is with Golden Hour Media. Claudia, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 3:Hi, I'm so excited to be here.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm excited you're here and I can't wait to learn about you and your business. So let's start there. Share with us a little bit about Golden Hour Media yeah sure.
Speaker 3:So Golden Hour is basically your social media's ride or die is what I tell people. I'm your internet's bestie, so started out in straight up social media management and we do still do that. But now we just go a little deeper. So we really learn your business story and, with my background in marketing and photography and being a big tech nerd, we kind of just bring that story to life right. So everything's done in-house your video is formatted for social, cleaning up your Google page, running your ads, you name it. We kind of just really take care of your digital presence and we're all about like honing in on your social media and your digital presence so that you're showing up exactly how you want to online.
Speaker 2:Amazing, amazing. So I'd love to learn more about you. Tell me, tell me about your journey. How did you get into it? What's your backstory?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I actually grew up in New York city. I was born there. I my grandmother still lives in the city. I very much go visit all the time but I grew up in a family of small business owners. My dad ran restaurants, my grandma had a cleaning business in New York, my uncle was a contractor, so really I feel like it's kind of just like in my blood but I've always really loved this hustle and understood how important small businesses are to our communities.
Speaker 3:I went to school up in Rhode Island for college and I loved it there. But I did end up coming back to Virginia where I landed a job with Virginia Living Magazine. They're based down in Richmond and I was on their marketing and sales team. I worked on these really fun issues like their best of Virginia and their wedding issues, and I just saw the excitement that like these small businesses had to be a part of that story. And then that's kind of where, like I really fell in love with like the small business aspect of it. And then from there I actually worked for Yelpcom. I was on their marketing and sales team but during the pandemic, big tech had all those layoffs, so I was part of that.
Speaker 3:But it was a blessing in disguise because one day, like I really went in for a chiropractic appointment and my chiropractor who's still my client, but she ended up being Golden Hour's first client. She was like I really feel like we need to like go into social media. And then that conversation kind of opened the door for me and really in that like moment I was like I could do this myself. So I started working with her and like learned a ton through trial and error and kind of realized how much I loved helping small businesses and then Golden Hour was born there. So yeah, I haven't looked back since.
Speaker 2:I love that. I love your origin story. So let me ask you this do you find that there are any misconceptions when it comes to your business or the industry?
Speaker 3:yeah, um, I think one of the biggest myths is that social media is maybe just posting pretty pictures and the followers start to roll in, um, and then I think that the truth is that there's just a whole strategy behind it, right? So it's storytelling, it's connecting with your audience, it's getting in front of the right people and, honestly, I think that you know, connecting with a social media agency, that makes sense. That person running your social media should click with you and see your vision and be a fan of your work. I think that's really it. Whether it's someone that you're hiring in-house, I think they really need to be a fan of your work and see the vision.
Speaker 3:And, yeah, social media isn't scary. I think that's a big thing. I meet a lot of people on my discovery calls that are like oh, like I hate doing this and I get it. Like you can very much not like doing it, but I think just showing up for yourself and like you need to be a fan of your work and you need to have someone on your team like rooting for you. And, yeah, the best results come when you actually enjoy the process and building something that people want to be part of, and that includes your social media page.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, that's such good advice. It is. It's so hard to put yourself out there, but I think you have to flip the script and think about I'm not doing this for me. I'm doing this to help other people, and having a team like you who are cheering you on is super important.
Speaker 3:So I love what you're doing. Yeah, thank you. It's fun, I have fun doing it.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. Speaking of fun, when you're not busy working with your clients on social media, what are you doing for fun?
Speaker 3:Oh man, I am a very big person on you, work hard, play hard, so I like to have fun. I love traveling. I'm really really close to my family. I'm one of three, I'm the oldest and my siblings mean a lot to me, so they're both down in Richmond. I go down to Richmond quite a bit.
Speaker 3:We like to travel. Like I said earlier, my grandmother still lives in the city, so I love to go visit her and take her out while she's still mobile and can do all the things. And yeah, my husband also loves to travel. So we like to book little trips, even if they're day trips. It's also a way that honestly keeps me motivated. I have my entire phone is pictures of different ads or different menus that I've seen in my travels and I kind of bring that back to Fredericksburg and kind of like let my clients do what they want with it, but I'm like, hey, we should do this. But yeah, I definitely like to disconnect. I love photography. That's kind of like the mix and with Golden Hour right, as we also do branding. So I have been starting to dabble in some film photography and that's kind of like where my fun is is just learning new cameras and learning new tricks and traveling, yeah, and then I have two doggies that you might hear barking, but I just got a mini Dachshund last year and he's a lot of fun.
Speaker 3:So family travel of many docs in last year and he's a lot of fun, so family travel cameras, all the things and docs.
Speaker 2:I love it. I love it. So let me ask you this If someone listening is thinking about starting a new business, what advice would you give them?
Speaker 3:I think you just got to go for it. I know that's so cliche and that might sound silly, but I think that my favorite people to work with and I and myself too, like I think you just have to go for it. I think you there's a little, there's a lot of truth actually in the fake it till you make it. I don't know that golden hour would have been as successful if I didn't listen to myself at that chiropractic appointment and I just was like, well, I can do it for you. Like I don't even think I had a personal laptop at that point.
Speaker 2:But I.
Speaker 3:I masked up and went to the Apple store that next week and I was like we're doing it. You know what I mean. So, and there's been times, like in in my, in my journey, just even before this, where I've like shown up and I'm like I don't really know what I'm doing, but I feel like I it's just going to come to me and it does like sometimes you fall on your face. But that's part of the trial and error and you're going to face it, whether it's now or down the road when you own a business. So, yeah, I'll just say rip the bandaid off. That's like I'm. I'm too much of an anxious person to to to just wait around and see if it works out.
Speaker 2:It's like let's just go for it. Yeah, it's how we grow.
Speaker 3:Yeah, for sure I love it. So what is something that you wish the listeners knew about? Golden hour media? Yeah, so, um, like I said, I I wish people knew that social media can be fun. That's really the the stick here. I guess it's a huge part of your digital presence, whether you think you need it or not. The truth is you do so. You kind of. The truth is you either get with it or you get lost, both in people's minds and in the algorithm, and it doesn't need to be scary. So at Golden Hour we break it down into bite-sized pieces and give you a white glove social media experience. We're a small business, not a content factory, so you're not getting cookie cutter Canva templates Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I again, our story is to tell your story, so everything we do is tailored so your brand actually comes across loud and clear and that you show up for yourself.
Speaker 2:Nice nice, I love that. So if the listeners want to learn more from you or connect with you, where can they find you?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so you can find me. My social media is it's at it's golden hour media and then our website is golden hour social media. com. So you, there's a content or a contact form in there that you can fill out and send us an email, or you can always send me a DM. Also, I'm always around downtown, so if you see me, like please come say hi and just pick my brain about social media, we're going to start doing some like content, like workshops around town, so I would suggest to come to those and those and, just like I said, just please reach out.
Speaker 2:I'm always here to help Nice. Amazing Claudia, thank you so much for joining me on the podcast today and sharing Golden Hour Media with us.
Speaker 1:Thank you, Thank you for listening to the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to fxbgneighborspodcast. com.