Meet the Social Misfits Squad — Carlos Miranda

“Meet the Social Misfits Squad” is our ongoing interview series where we sit down with members of the Misfits family to chat about their work, passions and backgrounds.

This week, we caught up with our CEO, Carlos Miranda, who founded Social Misfits Media back in 2012 — he also founded our sister companies, I.G. Advisors in 2011 and Lightful in 2016. Carlos is an entrepreneur with a deep knowledge of the digital, technological, and philanthropic sectors. As you might imagine, it’s sometimes hard to pin him down since he’s always running from meeting to meeting — but we lured him in with the dual promises of coffee and that he could mention his love for ‘Star Trek,’ and other geeky things, in at least two of his responses.

What’s a typical day at SMM for you?

I know it’s cliché, but really there’s no such thing as a typical day at Social Misfits Media. I mainly manage the team alongside Natalie, but as the CEO, I must cover a lot of bases — I do everything from business development to key stakeholder management, finance, staff morale, etc. This all means I’m constantly in meetings, so it’s a good thing I love coffee!

What’s the most surprising thing you’ve found from working at SMM?

At Social Misfits we work with a range of organisations, from private businesses to charities and foundations to government departments, like the NHS. Despite the variety of industries and sectors we work with, I’ve found that the level of support and strategy needed by our clients — across sectors — is comparable. Some people have this assumption that the private sector understands digital way more than the non-profit sector and I’ve found that not to be the case. There is amazing innovation in the third sector that is sadly often overlooked.

What’s the one piece of advice you’d give our clients?

It’s very easy to try things on social media and for things not to work out, that’s when people tend to jump to the conclusion that investing in social media or digital is not right for them. To avoid this from happening, I’d suggest having a concise set of goals and a clear understanding on what you want social media to do for you in the real world. You should also be prepared to track against that target and pivot when necessary. So, in short, have clear targets that all key stake holders in your organisation understand!

What purpose-led campaign in recent years has resonated with you most?

It’s extremely topical given the times, but a good friend of my wife and I named Christina Traugott helped launch a grassroots campaign on Go Fund Me — which they’ve named “A Million Masks” — to buy masks and other protective supplies for healthcare staff across New York. They’ve raised almost half a million dollars so far — spreading the word almost exclusively on social. Strongly recommend everyone go check it out.

Personally, what’s your favourite social media platform and why?

It has to be Twitter. Aside from the news, I use it to engage with the things I enjoy the most — which really means ramen, espresso and obviously Star Trek. Star Trek Twitter is fantastic. #LiveLongAndProsper

What’s the last TV show you binged?

I’m obviously making my wife watch “Star Trek: Picard” with me on Amazon Prime, the first season just wrapped last week. We’ve also gotten into the groove of watching “Friends” before bed; it’s comforting and relaxing, we’re on season nine.

What 4 pieces of pop culture would you take with you to a desert island? (1 x Film, 1 x TV series, 1 x Album, 1 x Book)

Film: “Raiders of the Lost Ark” — I could rewatch this an infinite number of times and I think the spirit of adventure would help on a desert island.

TV: “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” — It’s my favourite Star Trek series, so I can’t leave it behind.

Album: Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ — It has everything you could ever want from an album — ballads, dance tracks; not to mention that “Purple Rain” is probably the greatest song of all time.

Book: J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’ — You can re-visit the book time and time again; I try to re-read it once every two years.

We’d like to thank Carlos for his time. Please feel free to connect with him on LinkedIn or Twitter. Next week we’ll be talking to our Junior Community Manager, Rorie Clarke!