Louise McDonnell lives in west Sligo with her husband and two children. She is an online and social media marketing expert and is passionate about delivering Facebook, SEO, website marketing training and coaching. She has a particular expertise in Facebook marketing having coached and trained in excess of 2000 businesses since 2009.
Louise launched her Facebook Marketing Book (published by Liffey Press) in October 2017 and was voted as one of the top worldwide 50 Facebook Marketing Bloggers by Feedspot. More recently Springboard.com listed Louise as one of the top 108 digital marketing experts worth following! She works with many Irish government agencies including Failte Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and Local Enterprise Offices in Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal and Roscommon. She also provides corporate training to businesses all over Ireland and online coaching to business owners all over the world.
Can leadership be taught? If so, how?
I believe that some people are natural leaders. It’s a quality that comes from within. But I also believe that even natural born leaders benefit from training. In my experience, leaders that have learned how to manage people have happier, more productive teams. So, yes I do believe it can be taught but I also believe only people that are comfortable taking on leadership roles, should.
If you had to leave your organisation for 1 year what would you ask of your team and what advice would you give them?
Firstly, I would communicate to my team what I expect from them during the time I’m gone. I would advise them to make a plan for the year with clear objectives, KPIs and milestones. I would make it clear that everyone on the team should be aware of what they need to do and by when. I would also advise them to continue to keep ahead of digital marketing trends and to reflect this in the training solutions (online and offline) that are offered to customers.
What are you doing today to make sure your organisation will be relevant in 10 years time?
It’s really important to keep abreast of new trends in digital marketing and social media. I am continually upskilling myself and networking with other leaders in my sector. I also conduct my own market research with the aim of finetuning my customer personas so that my services are relevant to them now and in the future.
What leaders outside your own organisation do you admire and why?
I really admire Paul O’Mahony. Paul set up his first digital marketing company in 2010 and in less than ten years he developed a multimillion global businesses. Paul is an international speaker with over 1.5 million followers on social media. Paul is an inspiring and a natural leader who also is generous with his time and always willing to help others.
Social media strategist, Samantha Kelly, a.k.a. the “Tweeting Goddess” is a natural leader. Samantha is a founder of the Women’s Inspire Network and her mantra to is help people every day.
If you could wind back the clock to when you were starting your career what advice would you give yourself?
I would tell myself that no one is indispensable. I’d stress the importance of finding a good work-life balance. I’d tell myself to read more and to learn how to say “no” more.
What are a few resources (books, blogs, podcasts, courses etc) you would recommend to someone looking to gain insight into becoming a better leader?
I would advise women to join the “Woman’s Inspire Network”. Members benefit from weekly online webinars on a variety of topics that are relevant to female entrepreneurs now. There is also wonderful networking opportunities on and offline.
Find Louise at www.LouiseMcDonnell.com, www.Facebook.com/LouiseMcDSocial, www.Twitter.com/LouiseMcDSocial
