Interview with Melissa Church, CEO, Digi-Buzz
Church discusses audience-led channel selection, content calendars and influencer checks that prioritize engagement and local relevance.
Interview with Melissa Church · Edited by Haley Spracale, Editor at Featured News · Oct 6, 2026
As a CEO in marketing and advertising with deep experience in social media marketing, influencer work, and content performance, what perspective do you bring to helping small businesses build a social presence?
I have worked on all sides of social media marketing.
I got my start running a popular science education blog called Bad Science Jokes.
I can test new features, trends, and more with a large audience before testing them on a client's page. I can help bridge the gap between selling and creating a community for a business because I've done it.
What career experiences led you from your background in performing, communication, and marketing into leading a marketing agency as CEO?
Early in my marketing career, I moved from one agency to another. Overall, I found I didn't like how they operated.
I didn't like that clients couldn't speak to someone after 5 p.m. I didn't like the cookie-cutter content style. I didn't feel comfortable working for agencies that took advantage of their clients. I started Digi-Buzz with the intention of doing the opposite of what some other companies were doing.
When you begin working with a small business in the Midwest, how do you identify the social media channels and content priorities most likely to fit its customers and resources?
I ask every new client two questions:
"What is your ideal demographic?"
"What is your current demographic?"
This helps me pin down who we want to reach and who we are currently reaching. If our ideal demographic is someone we aren't getting as customers, we can begin a strategy for a social media site that demographic frequents.
How have you helped a Midwest small business turn its local personality or community ties into a distinctive brand voice on social media?
Yes, more than once! It's one of my favorite things to do.
Brand voice is so important. When someone scrolls through social media, they hear a voice in their head as they read. We want people to think of your business as a friend, so we create a specific personality and ensure all content from your business is something that this character would say if they were a real person.
With your background in acting, improvisation, and public speaking, what is one practical way business owners can become more confident and natural on camera?
Practicing in front of a mirror is a great way to get started. Pretend you are speaking to an interviewer and watch how you speak.
Do you move your eyebrows a little too much when you speak? Being mindful of the little things can help you notice them before people start commenting about it online.
For a small Midwest business with limited time and budget, what content-planning habit has consistently made social media more manageable and effective?
For businesses that really need help, I suggest a very basic content calendar. For example, a pizza place that has high turnover of employees and cannot afford a dedicated social media person:
- Mondays: Always talk about your special of the month. One day, take as many photos of the special as possible and schedule them for the entire month in advance.
- Tuesdays: Talk about delivery or takeout. Schedule the whole month, again.
- And so on for the rest of the week—broad topics that are easy to generate content for, so someone can dedicate just a few hours and create a whole month of content.
Also, remind them that taking a day or two off during the week is important. They do not have to post every single day.
What have you learned about using local influencers or community partnerships that small businesses can apply before committing budget to a collaboration?
When working with micro-influencers, always start with a free product to pitch. I have seen many small businesses paying way too much because they do not understand the influencer economy. Someone with 5,000 followers may ask for hundreds of dollars — but what is their engagement rate? Where are these followers located? Sometimes it is far better to give a $50 gift card to a loyal customer with 500 friends and high engagement than to give it to someone with a lot of followers. Speaking from experience, I have had local businesses pitch me because they see I have over 700k followers on Instagram. I tell them there is no way I could be a good investment.
Find someone who frequents your store online. See if they post things publicly or if it's private. Ask if they will make a video or do a post in exchange for a gift card. Many times, you will find they say yes!
- Start by offering free product or a gift card to test interest.
- Check engagement rate and follower location before committing budget.
- Consider loyal customers with smaller but highly engaged networks.
- Confirm whether their posts are public or private and discuss deliverables (post, video, etc.).
- Use affiliate codes: give them a special code for their friends and reward the "influencer" with another gift card for every five sales generated.
Which social media metrics do you use to determine whether a small business’s efforts are contributing to meaningful business results, rather than simply generating attention?
The statistics I focus on are Page Visits and Engagement.
Page Visits tell us how many people are actively looking for something. They may be looking for:
- more information
- a phone number
- a website
- to follow
- to unfollow
- a specific post
This is an important metric to watch.
Engagement shows us if our content is resonating with people. If we keep engagement up, we will show up more frequently and stay front of mind.
What is one common social media risk you see small businesses overlook—such as copyright, brand consistency, or audience trust—and what should they do to avoid it?
I see so many businesses using trending audio when, most of the time, it is copyrighted. AI can scan your posts very easily. There are people actively searching for businesses that use copyrighted material and issuing copyright strikes and lawsuits faster than ever.
Just because "everybody" is posting it does not mean you automatically have the legal right to use the audio. Don't lose your entire marketing budget on something so simple. You can create content without using trending audio.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and expertise. Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Social media is such an integral part of marketing your business. Make sure you get the most out of this investment. Utilizing social media to its fullest can give you an extremely high return on investment, but using it incorrectly can cost you your business. Don't lose your page by posting something illegal, such as copyrighted music.
Focus on consistent posting, being personable, and creating content that people want to see, and you will be helping your business.
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