Celebrate World Social Media Day with Chris Norris, Owner of Revox Social

Happy Social Media Day! In honor of this atypical holiday, we wanted to highlight an essential member of Erie’s small business community who has been working in the field for almost his entire career. Chris Norris, owner of Revox Social, has made a splash in the Erie small business community, bringing his knowledge about social media to many companies in the area. 

After graduating from Westminster College in 2008 with a Broadcast Communication degree, Chris had hopes of landing a job that involved him with everything TV and radio. At that time, those were the only media that were widely used; there were very few widely accessible media platforms. Once he started his first job with the Erie SeaWolves, he was in charge of making videos, creating content to put on the jumbo screens during the games, and also coming up with scripts for sponsored ads that they might have to read over the loudspeaker. 

Chris compared this job to producing a TV show, though this experience made him realize that he didn’t want to be in TV, he wanted to be in sports. He first heard about Facebook while with the team and quickly set up a page so that fans had a way to connect with them even if they weren't in season. It was here that Chris was first able to learn how to use Facebook as a marketing tool. He quickly discovered that he loved social media and engaging with fans of the team, and from that point on the rest was history. 

After a few seasons working with the SeaWolves, Chris started working with Mercyhurst Athletics where he learned from college students about some of the upcoming social media platforms, like Instagram and Twitter. This position with Mercyhurst really helped Chris understand social media and how it could shape and transform the Erie community for the better. After several years of working at Mercyhurst, Chris accepted a job with Erie Insurance. This is when he discovered his love for social media and working with small businesses, and wanted to keep pursuing it. It was here that Chris started to offer social media consulting and social media management for some clients on the side. Once he had enough clients to make a living, he was able to quit his job at Erie Insurance and pursue social media full time. 

June of 2019 is when Chris secured the name “Revox Social” for his brand. The word "revox" is Latin for “another voice,” which is what social media is for many people and businesses. "Using your brand voice is so important because it is an authentic way to connect with the community that you are surrounded by," says Chris. The moment that he realized that he could implement social media in the places he was working, was when he realized that social media was going to be heavily impactful for the businesses in our community.

Since then, the most important experience that Chris has had in his social media career has been connecting with all of the people that he has worked with, whom he sometimes may never meet in person. The people of Erie have been so opening and welcoming to Chris and what he has to offer, which has made his job that much more fulfilling. Chris said, “Before social media, it might have been weird if you never met someone with whom you were connecting, over a letter or something else.” Because of Revox Social, Chris has had the opportunity to connect with people in his own backyard and all over the world that he never may have connected with otherwise. “That’s why I will always go to bat for social media. It can be a crappy world on social media but there are also many good things that can happen on these platforms,” says Chris. Working in this industry has really changed how he views it and has also changed his life in many ways, because of all the amazing connections he has made along the way.

Some of Chris’s most impactful clients so far have been the Erie City Mission, The Erie Downtown Development Corporation, and Underdog BBQ. Working in so many different industries not only makes for a variety of interesting content produce, but it also exposes him to businesses that are truly playing their part in making Erie a better place. These partners have also allowed him to really get to know the city of Erie better and what all it has to offer. 

When asked which social media platform is his favorite to use, Chris answered with a chuckle, "LinkedIn, because I feel smarter when I log off." After he puts his phone down, it feels like he has learned something and is overall a better professional from the short time he was scrolling. He adds, “LinkedIn is a great place for personal branding. Nobody is going on LinkedIn to look for your resume, they are looking to see what type of content you are posting." Chris highly recommends for everyone to take advantage of LinkedIn and start creating content for that platform because of how beneficial it can be. If the post is right, engagement on a LinkedIn post can be way better than on Instagram, Facebook and all of the other popular social media sites, and can connect you with many other professionals in your community and industry.

With Chris’s extensive knowledge about social media, we were so glad to be able to sit down with him and learn a little bit more about his journey with social media. We thank him for working hard every day to make Erie a great place to live, work, and play. For more information about Chris's local business, you can visit the Revox Social website here.