The document profiles Julie Van Ameyde, owner of Simply Social Media. It describes her 25 years of experience in business development and technology sales, including over 10 years working with startups in Silicon Valley. Her expertise is in understanding how businesses can use social media and software technology to optimize operations and become more productive and profitable. The document highlights how Julie's mastery of business, marketing, and social media allows her to effectively manage social media strategies for her clients.

1. MY| local
F
or a brand new industry that seems light, breezy, and
just-for-fun, the power and science behind social media
can pack a punch for the smart business owners that
learns how to steer the content and engage consumers
online. However, for many business owners, the response
to the advent of the social media era was “Oh, no.” Already
overwhelmed with managing and growing their business, social
media was initially seen as a low priority, labor-intensive, and a
bit of folly. But for many businesses to remain competitive and
visible in their industry, it has become mandatory to login and
engage audiences in the social media space.
Julie Van Amedye
SIMPLY SOCIAL MEDIA
143 Cadycentre, Suite 112 | Northville, MI 48167
248.773.7110 | simplysocialmediallc.com
Simply
Social
Media
Sensation
By Mary Meldrum
Familiarity with how the social sites operate remains fuzzy for
many business owners. Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter,
Google+, Pinterest, and LinkedIn, to name a few, are not only
foreign to many folks in terms of their use and purpose. For
business owners who are already busy running the day-to-
day operations, there are precious few moments to navigate,
understand, create, and develop a social media strategy that
truly provides a return for their efforts. Even measuring that
return can be a bit of a mystery if you don’t know how to do it.
Enter Julie Van Ameyde, the guru of social media. Owner of
Simply Social Media, Julie’s mastery of business, marketing,
and social media is exceptional. Listening to her for just
a few minutes, it becomes evident that when it comes to
social media, she is a crackerjack. Her obvious love affair
with technology goes back to the early days of her career.

2. “I went into technology, new business development,
and software sales. I really love to open up new software
packages and look them over and explore them. I’m able to
figure out how to use it pretty quickly,” reveals Julie.
Julie’s arsenal of experience includes over 25 years of
business development, including over ten years working
in Silicon Valley with technology start-ups. It is no surprise
that she is highly qualified to manage the social media and
marketing for her clients. She openly admits that technology
is her addiction.
“When I sold software, I was able to translate the business
usage and benefits to my customers, many of whom were
Fortune 500 accounts,” shares Julie. “They appreciated me
because I was accessible, responsive, and knowledgeable
about the products that I sold them.”
Julie does not present herself as a typical sales person. She
is not driven by the “thrill of the close” like many great sales
people. Her thrill is figuring out how to optimize business
operations by implementing software technology
to make businesses more productive and profitable.
Her professional rapport with her customers
flowered into long term relationships, and she
remains friends with many of her customers from
Silicon Valley.
“Pressuring customers is never the case with me,”
Julie articulates. “I am more likely to spill my coffee
than to come in with the slick sales pitch. I am just a
person with an idea of how to make your business
better,” she conveys.
Back in 2000 and 2001, Julie’s exciting software
sales career always kept her on the cusp of
something new. She was a standout in her industry,
but traveling three weeks out of a month was
taking its toll and her massive sales territory wasn’t
getting any smaller.
Knowing that she wanted to continue working in
technology, she started looking for a way that she
could eliminate the heavy travel schedule.
In 2007, things started to percolate with social
media. Julie started playing with it, dissecting
it, and figuring out how she could use it in her
business life.
After building businesses for other people, going
out on her own and starting Simply Social Media
was a natural next step in her career path. Simply
Social Media manages marketing across sectors like health,
technology, legal, insurance, and nonprofits. Every business
has their unique marketing needs. To see how Simply Social
Media can fit a business, Julie Van Ameyde offers a free
telephone consultation.
“For some brands,
social media is just
a big ad. We have
not scratched the
surface of what
customer services
can be provided by
social media,” Julie
says emphatically.
“For me, that is
where I can help
businesses and their
customers.”