Employee Spotlight - Marketing Content Coordinator

For the past 45+ years, our team of local and knowledgeable employees has had its hand in shaping this small, family-owned business into the trusted company it is today. This year, we want to take the time to introduce you to our incredible staff. They work behind the scenes to ensure that you have the best vacation experience possible, but it's time to find out a little more about who they are in and out of the office. 

Today, we would like to introduce Jessie, our Marketing Content Coordinator. We had the opportunity to sit down and get to know her a little better. 

I'm about halfway through my second year here - I'm one of the newer hires!

Marketing Content Coordinator

It's a LOT of our digital marketing and content creation. If you see something that Island Realty posted, chances are it was me who put it there (yes, I am interviewing myself right now!) A few of the things I am in charge of are taking our listing photos & Matterport, writing our email campaigns, writing a blog post every Wednesday, answering your Q+A submissions, all of our social media posts and advertisements, our graphic design work (think the welcome packet and desk planners!), and I run our local vendor program! It's a little bit of everything but I get to be creative and every day is different which I love!

I love getting to go into all of the units when I am taking photos. We have such a variety of rentals, that it's really interesting to see all of the different design choices owners make and which amenities you get at each location. I also really enjoy having full creative control over our social media accounts. Not only do I get to create all of our content, but I get to talk to anyone who DMs us which has been an incredible way to connect with guests. Anytime we get tagged in vacation photos or you share your stories with us, it makes everything so much more personal.

Although I grew up in Chicago, I knew that I wanted to be near the ocean (and somewhere that didn't snow) so I moved down to South Carolina for college - Go Gamecocks! I inched closer to the ocean by moving down to Charleston after graduation, and landed in IOP two summers ago when I accepted this incredible job! If you had told me 5 years ago that I be walking from my office down to the beach for my lunch breaks, I wouldn't have believed you- but I'm SO grateful for that opportunity!

I actually started my own jewelry business (Embellished Baubles) during the lockdown that has been growing and expanding over the last few years. I vend at a lot of local craft fairs and have some booths in local stores so that keeps me pretty busy on the weekends. I also have a cat, Matilda, who is probably my best friend. She plays the role of quality control for any new pieces I make before they get sent off to their new homes. 

I'm a BIG fan of brunch at the Obstinate Daughter on Sullivan's Island. Between the stunning interior, comfortable patio, and scrumptious sweet rolls (and obstinate flatbread), you literally cannot go wrong with stopping by for a meal. It's only an 8-minute drive from the office which is a major plus as well. 

I know it's cheesy, but one of my favorite memories was my very first day of work. I came from a BIG building with a lot of employees in it, so working for a small company where you know everyone's name was something I had actively sought out when changing jobs. Even still, when I arrived on my first day, I got really emotional seeing that there was a handwritten welcome note on my new office's door. A few different people from our management team even took me out to lunch to get to know me a little better and showed me some of our different rental properties (navigating the different street names in Wild Dunes has a SERIOUS learning curve)! I had never felt so seen at a place of work before and Island Realty's local and community-based values helped me to feel welcomed from day one. 

That's such a hard question, we have so many amazing rentals and I have a whole long list of properties I have favorited on our website. You know, just in case! Realistically, I think I would probably pick a Port O Call- but if I could choose any property at all, I would pick Dune Crest Lane 7. It's a newer property so I've gotten to go inside and take photos, and I am completely enamored with every single design choice the owners have made. It's immaculately designed and decorated, and you can't beat the oceanfront location!