Social Media Specialist Taylor Shanle is Proud To Work For Dutch Bros As They Donate $1M To COVID-19 Relief

Alumni

Social Media Specialist and Grad Taylor Shanle is Proud To Work For Dutch Bros As They Donate $1M To COVID-19 Relief

Taylor Shanle graduated in 2016 with her degree in Visual Communications. She is now a Social Media Marketing Specialist at Dutch Bros Coffee, the largest privately held drive-through coffee chain in the U.S., headquartered in Grants Pass, Oregon. We caught up with Taylor to get to know her better and to find out how Dutch Bros has successfully pivoted to align their digital marketing strategy for these interesting times.

Tell us how Dutch Bros has pivoted, and changed their digital marketing and social media strategy for these times: We have definitely had to rewire our digital strategy and adapt our language to the current state of the world. Right now, we have to be really sensitive to our online audience and how we promote our business. We want to be transparent with our followers while also treading lightly with our social media presence, which can be a tough balancing act. The world is scary and uncertain right now, so if we get even the slightest chance to make a positive impact we are going to embrace it the best we can! Our shops are still open to fuel essential workers and hopefully help maintain a little bit of normalcy for our customers. With that, we have strayed away from driving customers to the shops for the time being and have pivoted to a Dutch Bros at Home campaign in its place.

We want our customers to have that comfort and love of Dutch at home with their favorite coffee bags, mugs, clothing, etc. Hopefully we’ll be able to head into normal programming in the near future, but for now we are just adapting with the times and doing our best to radiate kindness and positivity!

Tell us your industry story--your path to FIDM, and some of the highlights of your career so far: Once I found FIDM in my college research, the search was over. I immediately signed up for the 3 Days of Fashion program and flew down with my parents to LA to watch the DEBUT Runway Show. We were sold! I started an official FIDM Fashion Club at my high school, applied and was accepted into FIDM as a Junior. Originally, my goal was to become a fashion stylist. I quickly realized that was not the path for me. So many of my Visual Communications classes opened my eyes to the world of social media and digital marketing. I was able to combine the things I loved and use my writing and styling skills in a different way. I interned with the FIDM social media team which really jump-started my career path, with the exception of some odd jobs along the way. I’ll be completely honest, finding work in LA is no easy feat. I was jobless for almost five months at one point, even after applying to hundreds of jobs in my field. More than once I was promised “too good to be true” positions and was let down.

After a lot of hard work and countless hours job searching, I landed a Social Media Manager position working from home for a plus size fashion brand. The position was a great learning experience and even though it posed its own challenges, it really taught me a lot about my strengths and needs within a career. After my year contract was up, they were going under and couldn’t keep me on so I was again out of work.

I ended up moving back home to rural Crescent City, CA and started tutoring and working at the local Dutch Bros shop. In the beginning, moving home, to me, meant I had failed. I had big hopes and dreams for myself in LA and suddenly found myself back where I started with no concrete plan. After a while, I took over the social media accounts for the three Dutch Bros shops in my area and knew I had to get myself into HQ. As soon as a job opened up, I jumped on the chance to apply and get my career rolling. Dutch Bros HQ is in Grants Pass, Oregon, only an hour and a half away from my hometown, it couldn’t have worked out any better. Moving home wasn’t rock bottom for me, it was the best thing I could’ve done for myself. It gave me the time to reconnect and refocus and lead me straight to a company and career that I am so passionate about.

I accepted the role of Social Media Specialist at Dutch Bros in January of this year and was lucky enough to start before this pandemic really hit. I’m now in charge of our social media schedule, rolling out digital campaigns, strategizing our channels, and collaborating closely with so many other critical departments. I absolutely love what I do and am truly so blessed to work for such an amazing company.

What are you doing to stay inspired during these challenging times? I’ve been so inspired by the network of small businesses and women encouraging and supporting each other online. These are such uncertain times for everyone, and we need to be lifting each other up more than ever before! I challenge myself to chat with friends/family/colleagues once a day to get advice, a creative spark or just to interact with someone other than my Alexa. I also take the time to fill my day with positive news and fun music to break up all the negativity going in the world. John Krasinski’s Some Good News series is a total life saver!

How are you showing up for your community, your career, and yourself right now? I am staying HOME! Being at home all day every day has given me the opportunity to settle into my new place, organize and set a routine, cook more, workout daily and focus on my work when I’m most productive. At work, our social media strategy is more important than ever and I am so grateful to be able to keep working and aid the company in any way that I can. The work I produce right now is especially important and I’m striving to make sure it’s content that we will be proud of throughout these difficult times and after.

What brands are inspiring you right now, in terms of their response to the needs of the world during this pandemic? A little personal shoutout to Dutch Bros, who has already donated $1M to COVID-19 relief, given raises to broistas and is donating ALL of April’s profits to First Responders First. It’s truly inspiring to work for a business that truly takes care of its employees and puts its community first. There are also some great companies like ASRV who are producing masks and matching the purchases by donating masks to health care workers and first responders.

What are some of your best memories of your experience at FIDM? Narrowing down to just a couple is so tough! I loved meeting and working with new classmates and instructors, some of whom I created lasting friendships with. There were so many projects I enjoyed working on, even cutting hundreds of cds by hand for a window display! I genuinely enjoyed doing homework at FIDM and the feeling of completing a tough project and showcasing your work cannot be beat. Just being able to go down to the museum or attend any of the fun events FIDM put on was so special to me. It was definitely an experience I wouldn’t trade for anything!

Any tips for our students who are about to experience their first quarter of online-only classes? Create a routine! Working and studying from home can be challenging with so many distractions (hello Netflix!). Block out parts of your day to work on specific projects, take breaks and get some fresh air. I love using Google Calendars to slot out times and see my day laid out in front of me, you can even set up reminders to stay on top of your tasks/due dates.

What are you most looking forward to once the pandemic is over? Traveling! Being able to adventure out in the world and explore is something I’ll never take for granted. I’m supposed to be going on a two week Greece/Italy trip this fall, but with everything going on, it’s so uncertain. I can’t wait to get back out there and see the world once it’s safe to do so!

Anything else you’d like to share? You don’t have to have it all figured out right now, especially during all this craziness. You will change your mind a million times and you may think you’ll never know what to do with your life. Just follow your gut, be smart and have fun on the ride! It eventually all works out for the best in the end, even if it doesn’t seem like it right now. Be confident in yourself and your abilities and life will take you where you need to be!

Best wishes and stay safe!