‘Stark honesty truly does move the needle faster’: Reland Logan on Digital Marketing and Leadership
Graphic by Katey Williams
After being laid off during the pandemic, a week short of her 30th birthday, Reland Logan felt like she had no choice but to start her own digital marketing company Gray Digital Marketing. While others may think that starting a company in the middle of a pandemic is a risky idea, Logan says she’d rather take the road less traveled. With founding her own company, Logan gained freedom that she didn’t have when she was on someone else’s schedule.
As a guest for one of Parachute’s Cloud Chat Sessions, Logan shared her expertise in marketing, leadership, and more. Here are some highlights from the conversation:
*Logan’s answers have been transcribed and edited for spelling, grammar, and clarity.
Q: What’s your leadership style?
A: I am very straightforward. I'm also everybody's biggest cheerleader, so I will cheer on anybody to reach any of their goals all the time.
But with that cheerleader piece, I'm also going to dish out a hand of tough love. I will be very strategic in my questioning and empower you to get things done, but I'm also going to be very realistic and ask the tough questions to make you think and challenge you to be your very best.
For some people, that's a very tough person to be around because nobody wants to just see somebody hold up a mirror instantly and be like “Let's talk about this.” But I find that level of stark honesty truly does move the needle faster. It creates a trust and a bond that most people never get to have.
Q: What traits do you look for in those you work with?
A: I'll be very transparent. It's not that I'm looking for particular just overall traits because I don't believe in “cultural fits.” I really am a person who believes in “cultural adds,” so I'm always looking for what's missing. Where do we have a gap in our performance? What do we need to elevate ourselves to the next level? And then that's how I determine what person is great for my team.
Q: What marketing strategies have helped your company grow?
A: I really just ask people. I feel like it's so hard for people to have like one on one face to face interactions with folks, and I really truly believe in insight and analysis. So I am constantly asking people like what issues do they have with Instagram? What do they wish they knew? What's their biggest problem? I ask a lot of questions so I can tailor my solutions to what they need. It has been super effective.
Secondary to figuring out what people need, I just also do a really great job of always being there to help people and connect others. I'm always reaching out a hand to help others or connect people to the best people for them. 'Cause that keeps me top of mind for folks and I hope that whenever I'm not in a room and people are talking about me that it's positive.
Q: How can marketing help amplify BIPOC and other marginalized voices?
A: Insight and analysis. I think that they need to do a better job of hearing from us and actually asking us what it is that we need out of marketing and who we are as people.
I think another piece is making sure that you hire people in the room to make decisions on what ads are appropriate and like how it's being marketed too. I think that that's something that we don't necessarily think about, handle, do. It's kind of crazy.
I decided to create a podcast to answer this question and really tackle diverse personas, because I don't think that our world does a great job at it. I wanted them to hear from a multitude of voices 'cause I am one person of 17% of America and there is no way that I can answer for everybody. But if I can get multiple voices in the room and share how it would be best to market to us, then we have a better chance of succeeding as marketers.
Q: Advice for other young professionals chasing their career goals?
A: My advice for those of us who are chasing our career goals, especially as women of color, is to learn how to take “no” with grace. And I say that because I think “no” should motivate you. I think it should motivate you to the point that when you do achieve it, you take pictures and you share it around the world to say, “Well you told me ‘no,’ and look what I did.”
But I think that really like taking “no” with grace is a hard skill because I think sometimes we take “no” so personally. It makes you kind of feel like a failure, but that's the world just telling you not yet.
You have to be able to be like “Okay. The answer is “no.” Oh well what can I do to continue to grow and get better?” Eventually, you will be put in the position to say no. And you will be put in a position to be able to say yes.
If you can really learn that it's just a word and that it's not a reflection of who you are, that's going to allow you to move mountains.
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Written by Sam Nguyen
