Emily Huffer, the Social Media Manager at Best Western, shares insights into managing social media for a large brand. She emphasizes the challenge of maintaining a human touch in a corporation that can feel distant to customers. After two years in her role, Huffer describes her work as a blend of community engagement and content creation, which is somewhat uncommon in her industry. She manages a lean team alongside her manager, handling organic social media while collaborating with various regional teams around the globe. Instagram remains Best Western's primary platform, while TikTok is under development due to its unique demands. Huffer notes that their Facebook presence is largely focused on ads and often draws negative comments, prompting consideration of scaling back posts there. Daily tasks include community management, responding to comments and messages, and influencer outreach. Huffer reports that about 70% of their influencer partnerships come from incoming requests, with the team having worked with 113 different creators and 230 hotels last year alone. The shift towards influencer-driven content has occurred over the past year, allowing Best Western to leverage broader reach and engagement. Huffer's approach balances responding to audience interactions with strategic influencer marketing, which has proven effective for their brand. Through platforms like Aspire’s Creator Marketplace, they streamline the influencer management process, from initial outreach to content production. Managing such a sizable number of collaborations is demanding, yet Huffer finds the work rewarding and full of potential.