We are so happy to keep on celebrating the 10th anniversary of Three Girls Media! Here is a great article from the Nisqually Valley News featuring an interview with CEO, Erika Montgomery.
Employees of Three Girls Media, Inc. celebrated the agency’s 10 year anniversary recently on the Olympia waterfront. The business’ founder and CEO, Erika Taylor Montgomery, lives in Rainier.
Local Firm Celebrates a Decade in Business
Posted: Friday, October 9, 2015 2:57 pm
By Jenna Loughlin jloughlin@yelmonline.com
Ten years after starting her own business, Erika Taylor Montgomery is the most proud of the hundreds of companies her agency has helped and the team of employees she has been able to support.
Montgomery founded Three Girls Media, Inc., a public relations and social media management agency, when she was living in Silicon Valley after a successful career that included 20 years as a broadcaster in the San Francisco Bay area and as press secretary for the California Legislature. When she was tired of toeing the party line, Montgomery had to decide what her next move was going to be.
“I was kind of at a crossroads in my career. I could either go back to work for another PR agency working 70-80 hours a week for somebody else, or I could do something different, so I decided, what the heck, I think I can build a better mouse trap here in PR and decided to launch my own company,” she said. “So, with nothing but a notepad and a pen and a $3,000 loan from a friend, I launched the company on my own, and that was in June of 2005, and I haven’t looked back since.”
Montgomery moved to Olympia three years ago and settled in Rainier this past February, thus moving TGM headquarters to the Nisqually Valley. The agency has clients all over the United States and even in Europe. What is unique about TGM is that it offers its services to businesses à la carte style, which means small businesses can pick and choose what they want, thus paying only for what they need.
“Unlike traditional agencies that generally charge by a large monthly retainer, we don’t do that,” Montgomery said. “Instead we’re set up in an entirely new way that’s pretty revolutionary to the industry.”
These services include writing content for a client’s website and making sure it is primed for web searches, writing and posting blog posts, creating enewsletter templates, writing enewsletter content and sending them, setting up and/or managing a client’s social media accounts, writing content for social media and posting it and monitoring for fan engagement
“Everything looks like it’s coming directly from the client’s company, we’re just the wizards behind the curtain that make it happen,” Montgomery said. “If you can’t find anything online and all you have is a mediocre website, it’s not going to do you justice.”
On the public relations side of things, her team of five employees, who are spread throughout the Western U.S., will promote what a client is offering by contacting the media, writing and sending press releases, coordinating interviews and getting copies of the coverage.
Montgomery attributes her company’s success to the philosophy of offering services to small businesses who need it the most, but can afford it the least.
“Unlike most public relations agencies or social media companies that are really focused on large clients, big business, instead we really focus on small companies, everything from solopreneurs to mom and pops,” Montgomery said. “Most of our clients have 10 or fewer employees.”
Some clients may only choose to utilize Three Girls Media’s services for six months to a year, but there are a few that have stuck around. Plush Puffs, which makes gourmet marshmallows in Burbank, California, is TGM’s oldest client, having been with the agency for nine years.
“We’ve really grown together,” Montgomery said. “We’ve helped them achieve some amazing media coverage. They’ve been on the Food Network several times, they’ve been in tons of print publications … and it’s just been a super fun account to work on. Who doesn’t love flavored marshmallows?”
This level of coverage that TGM can offer is an achievement that makes her smile.
“We’ve had our clients in virtually every major newspaper and magazine you could name, as well as prominent websites,” Montgomery said.
When it comes to the name of her agency, Montgomery gets asked about it often. The assumption that there were three girls who started the company is incorrect. What Montgomery wanted when naming her marketing agency was something catchy.
“I was trying to think about what we really do for our clients, and no matter what the activity is, most of it is based around spreading the word about our clients and most of them want that done very quickly,” she said. “So I was thinking if you want to spread the word about something really quickly, what’s the fastest and most efficient way to get that done? All you have to do is tell three girls and before you know it it is out there like wildfire.”
To celebrate TGM turning 10 years old, the entire staff gathered together in Thurston County in early September to celebrate face-to-face.
“As a virtual firm that allows all of our employees to telecommute, it’s always exciting to have the opportunity to see each other in person,” Montgomery said. “Our team had a blast at various locations in the area, including the Painted Plate in Olympia and Don Juan’s in Tenino. Everyone had a fantastic time.”
As their employer, Montgomery is proud to be able to offer flexible schedules and a family-friendly workplace.
“I’m thrilled that I can provide that for them,” she said. “We’ve been able to provide a lifestyle and a level of income that has allowed our employees to thrive in their own lives.”
For small businesses that are interested in what TGM has to offer, but do not know if they can afford it, Montgomery offers a free 30-minute consultation.
“Once they talk to us and kind of see what we can offer and the value that we can provide at very low cost, it’s kind of an eye-opener for them,” she said. “Advice is free, always, with me.”