Business Showcase: Paul Dunphy Esquire – Social Media Curation

Do you find you have little time to manage your social media accounts? If so, today’s Business Showcase feature may be of interest to you.

Paul Dunphy is a social media curator who manages accounts for both individuals and companies who either find it difficult to fit social media into their schedules or feel they lack the know how.

We sat down with Paul to find out more about his company and the curation services he offers.

Hi Paul. Can you explain what services you offer?

I manage social media for individuals and companies who do not have the know-how or more commonly do not have the needed time and space to do so themselves. I specialise in Twitter and Facebook and work from home. I run accounts continuously or for periods of time. For example, if a company or individual is planning a launch or a rebrand, they would hire me in the run up and the launch itself and then take over themselves but more often than not they leave it with me as they see the huge success on the accounts!

What is your background?

I have many years experience in media, branding and communications. Prior to starting my own business I worked with the charity Oxfam Ireland as Media and Communications Executive which covered all forms of media. I worked with @OxfamIreland for 14 years (and was lucky enough to travel to Uganda and Tanzania to see Oxfam projects in operation) and in that time helped raise the profile of the organisation.

When did you begin curating social media accounts?

I started my business in June 2014 so it’s still relatively new. Prior to that I took a career break with no idea what I was going to do next. I had more time for twitter and loved it (I even won an award for funniest person on Twitter at the #RaboTweeties in 2014, which meant a lot as it was a public vote).
During lunch one day a friend of mine said ‘if only you could get a job where you are paid to tweet all day’. That set the seed. Then a Twitterpal asked me to run their Food and Wine business accounts on Twitter and Facebook and I really enjoyed it so decided to start up a business and do this for a living and so far (touch wood), it’s working out. I’ve been busy since.

Who are your target market?

Well I will only take on accounts that I can be passionate about, so I have to be interested in what they do in the first place as I tend to give 150%, everything from food to jewellery companies! Or if you’re a quirky business or a celebrity that needs help. Anything that’s a little bit different! I’m open to everyone and work around peoples budgets.

There are a lot of services out there offering some form of account curation. Why should people choose you to run their accounts?

You just have to look at my endorsements on my webpage www.pauldunphyesquire.com everyone from Marian Keyes @mariankeyes, Tom Dunne @tomhappens and Samantha Kelly @tweetinggoddess to see why! I think they say it best.

Can you give some examples of accounts you have ran in the past?

You can check out @gablestone1982 a company I’m currently running, they work with jewellery and gift brands primarily in Ireland and the UK.  I love this account as I get to look at jewellery and get to interact with jewellers throughout Ireland and the UK who stock the brands that Gablestone work with.
Previously having met Samantha Kelly (@Tweetinggoddess) and gotten superb advice about starting up my own business, I worked on the @IrishBizParty and @BritishBizParty until early this year. (Samantha included my story on how my business came about in her superb book ‘Tweet Your Way to Success’)

In general, do you find people want it known that their account is being curated or do they prefer to keep that private?

Half in half I would say, the people who do not want everyone to know that a curator is running their account usually have good reasons, sometimes it’s because they are ‘known’ and have a public persona and it could confuse matters. I have run a few accounts like this.

Running multiple social media accounts can be quite time consuming. How do you manage the workload and insure each account is receiving the necessary attention?

I only take on a certain amount of accounts at any given time so that I can dedicate time and space to each. Plus I have excellent time management skills from my past experience. I also adore social media which helps! I currently have space to run one more Twitter account!

Do you have any plans to introduce new services?

Not at the moment as offering my current services is working well for me, however I’m always open to ideas and suggestions. For example, I have recently been taken on to give advice in relation to a new account Twitter launch, but the company themselves run the account. Down the road I may also look into running Twitter Workshops for people new to social media, and in particular Twitter. I’ve actually been asked to do one soon – exciting!

What’s the best way for people to get in contact and find out more?

My contact details are all on my webpage www.pauldunphyesquire.com or on Twitter (I’m rarely away for long!)  @pauldunphy

If you would like to have your company featured in the Irish Tech News Business Showcase, get in contact with me on John@IrishTechNews.net