In this episode, Deb Schell interviews Theresa Anderson, Head of Agency Business at Agorapulse. Theresa Anderson brings over two decades of diverse marketing experience to her role at Agorapulse. Throughout her career, she has worked with Fortune 100 enterprises, served as Program Director for the Center for Entrepreneurship at Rollins College, and managed all aspects of communications and marketing for one of the top ten marketing agencies in Central Florida.
The breadth of her marketing and leadership experience makes Theresa ideally suited to head Agorapulse’s agency business development and growth. Her responsibilities include working directly with agencies to understand their unique challenges and championing solutions that work in the real world. To realize this mission, Theresa develops and deploys peer-to-peer networking and learning opportunities, negotiates partnerships with key vendors, and works to ensure that the needs of agencies are represented at every level of the organization. From product design to marketing campaigns, Theresa serves as Agorapulse’s direct liaison and advocate for the company’s growing base of agency clients.
By focusing on the needs of social media management professionals, Agorapulse has earned legions of loyal customers and a #1 ranking on G2 and Capterra. This proves that you don’t have to be the most significant player in a category to be the leader; you must be the best. Through its wide range of innovative yet practical solutions, Agorapulse empowers agencies to focus on what they love: turning everyday digital interactions into meaningful connections for their clients.
Theresa and her blended family, which includes five sons, reside in the Florida Keys, where they enjoy the many activities that come with living in one of the most unique natural environments in the world.
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1:56: At the top of our interview, Theresa details her role at Agorapulse, the premier one-stop social media management platform.
6:33: Theresa explains why she chose to go through the discovery process and the importance of getting outside your bubble. She discusses the benefits of hiring Deb as an unbiased third party. The choice to survey people outside Agorapulse’s current client base provided valuable perspectives in assessing the need for their offering.
6:35: Theresa says, “I feel like discovery doesn’t always get its due as far as how important it is when you’re doing pretty much anything. It’s easy to get in your bubble.”
17:09: Deb and Theresa discuss the value of analytics and the importance of choosing the best metrics. In business, this data is vital to ensuring that tools and employees are viewed as assets rather than expenses.
26:40: Theresa discusses finding the right platform and testing what works best for you and your business. She speaks on the importance of UTM codes. These enable you to track leads, sales, and visitor demographics that make sense and avoid relying on potentially misleading metrics like comments and likes.
37:31: Theresa’s tip for cultivating a strong social media presence is to view it as a necessity but not to overwhelm yourself initially. It’s better to do one platform well than to burn out trying to do everything.
Chris Fitz is the Founder and Artistic Director of River Crossing Playback Theatre in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. With experience in improvisational arts since 2003, Chris and his ensemble use Playback Theatre to build community by dramatically portraying real-life stories.
He is also a trained mediator and former Executive Director of the Center for Community Peacemaking, specializing in Restorative Justice—community-based practices that address harm and promote healing in schools, communities, and the legal system.
Chris sees Playback Theatre as a tool for personal and social healing, emphasizing the power of storytelling to foster connection, belonging, and understanding. Through performances like ”Healing York,” his troupe has addressed issues like racial harm, showing how storytelling can help heal communities.
Chris believes in the importance of repeated dialogue and rituals to foster belonging, whether in-person or online, and offers advice to community builders on engaging participants without relying too heavily on presentations.
His focus remains on creating safe spaces for people to connect, share their stories, and address community challenges through both art and conversation.
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The Community Strategy Podcast offers interviews with online community leaders who share their community-building journey. Our podcast covers community concepts, community building, community strategy, community structure, community membership, and community management. Visit our Website Find Calm Here to learn more about working with Deb
