Opportunity dances with those already on the dance floor. – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
Turning every situation into a learning opportunity – even during the not-so-fun moments – is an important quality to possess and a sign of a leader who looks at the bigger picture and acts accordingly. Advocating the same, Marissa Salzone is a woman with utmost confidence. She is someone who pushes herself to be comfortable despite being uncomfortable. Simply putting, she can put herself in scenarios with her head high without fear. Regardless of her position, Marissa knows what she wants, and can tackle any situation that comes her way. She believes in herself more than anything; in her own words, “I’m going to take this on, watch out world.”
Journey of her Gut Feeling
When she entered college, she was enrolled in a different major. During that time, Marissa had this gut feeling that this isn’t her mission in life. “I thought, ‘people who have made an impact in their industry didn’t settle.’ After doing more research, I switched into the Communications program with a concentration in Public Relations and Advertising. As soon as I got into the program, I immediately felt right at home,” Marissa recalls.
Soon, she started a podcast and interviewed nationally recognized public figures including American pollster John Zobgy, joined the Public Relations club, and made connections with people in the industry throughout the Upstate NY Capital Region. Marissa wanted to absorb everything she could, because in her heart, she knew that she was here to make an impact in one of the most fast-paced industries out there.
When walking out of the Communications building for the last time, Marissa said to herself, “I have no idea where life is going to take me, but I know what I’m meant to do.” Back then she didn’t know, which route will take her to the ultimate destination, but she knew what she wanted – to become a role model for strong young professionals.
Later as an intern, she was assigned to call random strangers asking for donations. Even though that wasn’t fun for her, she took something away from that experience, and that’s how she has greeted every experience of her life. Play along the line, learn something from it and take it to the next adventure.
Constantly Assessing the Outlet, Audience, Content and Design
Currently serving as a Marketing Manager at GreyCastle Security, Marissa has achieved most of the things she dreamed of. Be it hosting an event, a webinar, or developing an advertisement, as the Marketing Manager, she has always believed in using her creative resources best, which has always helped make her cause better.
She constantly assesses the outlet, audience, content, and design. Marissa believes marketing is about being in front of the right people, at the right place at the right time. “You don’t want to waste something on nothing. That’s why strategic marketing is critical” she adds.
When they have Marketing Interns at GreyCastle Security, Marissa always makes them sit in meetings that might not make sense to them then, but it would be useful for them when they graduate.
Leading Provider of Risk Assessment
GreyCastle Security is the industry’s leading provider of cybersecurity risk assessment, advisory and mitigation services. The company was established to help organizations establish effective cybersecurity programs, minimize the impact of security incidents and simplify compliance. GreyCastle Security has clients throughout North America, specializing in cybersecurity for healthcare, higher education, financial services, technology and critical infrastructure.
GreyCastle Security’s revolutionary approach to service delivery completely eliminates an organization’s need to recruit and retain new cybersecurity personnel. Its award-winning cybersecurity programs are delivered continuously and managed proactively by certified experts, including risk assessment, awareness, vulnerability assessment, penetration testing and incident response. Going into future, Marissa expects rapid business growth, and nationwide expansion to meet the demand of its clients that are throughout the entire United States.
At the end, it’s all about Outlet and Content
Marissa believes when it comes to Marketing there are two types of trends: outlet and content. When creating a campaign, regardless if it’s B2B or B2C, she claims there are two questions that always need to be asked, “Through which outlet are we distributing the content?” and “What is the content?”
To explain it better, she gives an example of putting an info-graphic on Instagram which would not be the best use of your budget. Allocating money towards online advertising would possibly make more sense since certain audiences are on certain channels.
For the same reason, she encourages creative thinking throughout her entire organization, and they do that by taking everyone’s ideas into consideration. This is important because ideas that are presented to them are from employees that are in the ‘trenches’ with clients every day.
A Coffee Lover on the Mission
When asked about daily routine, Marissa answers, “Coffee in the morning, 90’s music on the way to work, and a good Netflix series after dinner with my fiancé and French Bulldog, Chi Chi. My twitter bio says ‘Coffee wakes me. Marketing gets me. TV relaxes me’ which is 100% accurate.”
Considering the increasing number of women in business, Marissa’s hope for women is that they should never feel threatened by a statistic that’s against them. She thinks if you’re qualified for a job, apply. If you see a job that is one position above your current, apply. Don’t ever let intimidation be an option.
“Embrace the social change; it is organic. With different generations, come different perceptions of life. With technology being a foundation of today’s world, it’s going to create an influential movement. Social change is happening for a reason. It’s evolved over past decades and will continue well beyond your and my lifetime,” she concludes with advice for people who want to bring social change in the society.