PPC, SOLUTIONS 8
Social Media Specialist Ariadna (Ari) Paulín Believes in Making the Most of Every Opportunity—and Has Spent Her Life Doing Just That
Here’s the thing about Ari:
I talk to her nearly every day, and I swear I learn something new with each conversation.
Most of the time, she’s teaching me something nerdy, usually about some new app or platform I can’t wrap my brain around. (Listen, “tech-savvy” is not my middle name.)
Other times, she’s sharing an interesting fact about Mexican history or culture, telling me a story about her family and her travels, or simply recounting the events of her weekend.
And, maybe it’s the teacher in her (more on that in just a bit) but I always come away feeling just a bit smarter for having spent time in Ari’s aura.
Ari is a social media specialist at Solutions 8.
What exactly does that mean?
For starters, about a zillion daily tasks that might drive a normal person insane, but that Ari manages with ease every day.
Primarily, she is responsible for creating and distributing content (both written posts and multimedia assets) across all of our CEO Kasim’s social media accounts. She also collaborates regularly with our graphic design team to ensure all visual content aligns with Kasim’s brand.
Of course, if you know anything about owning or managing a social media account, you know what a monumental task it is to stay on top of. Now imagine trying to do it for a digital marketing celeb like Kasim—across multiple social media platforms.
On top of creating content, Ari regularly monitors and updates Kasim’s social media channels, interacting with followers in real time to build and grow a strong online community (and keep the trolls in check, because there are always trolls).
I don’t know about you, but I’m tired just from writing all of that.
A born multitasker, Ari makes it all look easy though. She has even created a side business out of her passion to help people grow and be successful with social media.
What makes her particularly good at her job?
“My OCD,” Ari admits. “I am a perfectionist and I like things well done. I am very proactive, and if I see an opportunity that we are missing, I will step in and say ‘Hey, why don’t we do this?’ or ‘Hey, guess what? I already did it; here you go.'”
And, because Kasim is smart enough to hire super talented people who are ridiculously good at what they do, he typically tells her to ‘go for it’ when she recommends making a change or trying out a new trend. “He always rolls with my crazy ideas,” says Ari.
Ari is also bilingual and says it has definitely helped her in this position and throughout her career. She learned English in kindergarten and told me a story about when she was just seven years old and she helped her whole family navigate their way around Disneyland in California.
As for the toughest part about her job, she says it’s just staying away from her phone.
“Social media is a great way of staying connected. But now it’s my job, and it really becomes addictive. Staying away from my phone is hard to do because wherever you are, you could just open the social media app and start clearing notifications and getting some work done.”
Though, she admits it can be a perk when you’re, say, waiting for a root canal at the dentist and you can still be working. However, it’s tough to put it down and take a break from electronics.
Did she always want to be a social media specialist?
Not quite.
As a kid, she wanted to be many things, including an actress, but she admits she has always had a love for photography—as evidenced by the collection of film cameras mounted on the wall in her home office.
The daughter of a pastor, Ari spent a lot of her time in the spotlight and would often perform in plays or other events. She says it brought out the leader in her, taught her how to manage herself, and helped her feel comfortable in front of a crowd.
“Mostly I wanted to be a teacher,” Ari shared with me. “And that became true.”
Ari went to university at Tec de Monterrey, where she received a nearly full scholarship, was an A student, and graduated with honors (no surprise there).
Having earned her BA in Communications (with a minor in Audio/Visual Productions), she went on to become a multimedia teacher and taught middle school for seven years before her husband was offered a job that required him to relocate to Guadalajara, about 10 hours away from Monterrey, where they had been living.
That’s when she took a chance on Solutions 8.
“This is not something common here in Mexico, to change your career,” explains Ari. “So me switching gears and then finding this opportunity at Solutions 8 was completely crazy for all of my family.” But then, she had the opportunity to meet with Kasim and talk to him about the position and the company, and she was impressed that a CEO would take the time to do that.
So, she accepted the job. “And then from there, it’s just been a wonderful ride,” she said. “I love working with Kasim and for Kasim because I’ve seen leaders in other industries, and they don’t have half the values he stands for.”
In her free time, Ari loves exploring with her family.
Ari is originally from Querétaro, Mexico, which she describes as a small city (about a million people, LOL), roughly two hours away from Mexico City. She describes her hometown as “the D.C. of Mexico” because their current constitution was signed there, and because it played an important role in the history and independence of the country.
Now that they live in Guadalajara, Ari and her family enjoy exploring the area as often as they can. “Since we don’t know how long we’re going to be in the same town, we like to explore the places we’re living.” She says if you want to experience real Mexico, Guadalajara is the place to be. It’s the birthplace of mariachi music, a hotspot for good tequila, and the weather is always beautiful—not too hot and not too cold.
And speaking of her family, Ari is married with two beautiful kids and one adorable fur-kid. She met her husband Alberto back in 2006, and they were friends for three years before they started dating. Now, having been married 13 (almost 14) years, she says he is the most influential person in her life. “He is the calm to my tornado,” Ari told me. “And I admire him so much. The kids and I can get pretty intense, and he is absolutely brilliant and patient with us.”
As for the kiddos, 11-year-old Andrés is a math champion, an avid reader, and a dedicated hard worker who likes to finish what he starts—traits he obviously gets from his mom. He and his sister Ana (9) both have ginormous hearts, but where Andrés is all logic, Ana is all spirit. “Her super power is empathy,” says Ari. “She works with her heart, she thinks with her heart, and she never goes unnoticed because she lights up a room whenever she walks in.”
Finally, sweet Kira is their 3-year-old rescue mutt. She was adopted during the pandemic and is now a cherished member of the family. “She looks like the Tramp from Lady and the Tramp,” Ari laughs, and she can usually be found resting right behind Ari while she works.
Her favorite travel experience? It's more about the journey than the destination.
“I don’t think I could just call one thing my favorite; I just love traveling,” Ari shared. “I love the feeling of standing alone in an airport with my bag and just saying ‘This is me.'” As a mom, she says she doesn’t get to travel as often as she used to, but she is always looking forward to the next adventure.
Ari has journeyed to five of the seven continents (or five of the six, or all five, depending on where you were schooled). She has explored North, Central, and South America as well as Europe (Spain, Italy, Germany), Africa (Egypt and Morocco) and Asia, including Israel.
When she was younger, Ari did an internship at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida (USA) and absolutely loved it. She and her husband also traveled to the Caribbean on their honeymoon cruise.
In another life, she told me, it would have been cool to be a reporter for National Geographic. And like most of us, she would definitely travel more if it weren’t so darn expensive.
Fun facts
Ready, set, rapid-fire fun facts about Ari!
As a cinephile, she loves movies—especially Star Wars, Harry Potter, and The Hunger Games. However, she says it’s nearly impossible to pick just one that changed her life. “There’s beauty in all of them,” she told me. “Even if it’s a crappy story, you can just take it for the visuals and from the production standpoint. And you can admire everything that all of the artists behind and in front of the cameras did to make it.”
She is also a certified scuba diver and says one of the craziest things she’s ever done is night diving in Cuba, which she describes as absolutely terrifying. “The feeling of floating in the middle of nowhere, and seeing the depth and how vast the ocean is… then you go pitch black so you don’t know if there’s going to be something under you or below you, so that’s another level of anxiety.”
As if that’s not impressive enough, Ari also has experience rappelling and canyoning (which involved a 12-hour hike through mountains, in a wetsuit, and jumping blindly into a hole hoping she made it into the water below instead of landing on a rock).
For someone who says she’s “not a sporty person,” her adventures definitely tell a different story.
I, for one, can’t wait to see what Ari does next.
Author
Pamela Sapio
Pamela is the Senior Content Writer at Solutions 8. When she’s not writing, you can find her hiking in the woods with her dogs. She is currently on a quest to visit every national park in the United States.
