From Coffee Content to Content Creator: How a social media post led to a job.
Artly Coffee: The Barista Bot
Cafe photography promoting a seasonal drink made by the AI robot barista from Artly Coffee.
Photo: Barrie Silva
I never thought a social media post would lead to me getting a job!
As a Seattle-area foodie, Seattle content creator, and food photographer, I spend a lot of time learning about new food establishments throughout the city, exploring those new spots around the greater-Seattle area, and posting about it on social media. And that’s exactly what happened with Artly Coffee, home of the AI robot baristas. I saw Artly show up on social media and I was fascinated watching the robot arm pull espresso shots and pour beautiful latte art!
So, like I’ve done with hundreds of restaurants and cafes before, I visited Artly (just across the street from the hustle and bustle of Pike Place Market), recorded some video clips, created an Instagram Reel, tagged Artly, and posted it.
To my surprise, not long after posting the Reel on Instagram, I got a text message from someone in Artly’s leadership:
“Morning Barrie - just left you a DM. Awesome job on the Artly reel…Let’s set up a call next week.”
After a number of phone calls and meetings, I was contracted to work as a Content Creator, and eventually Social Media Manager for Artly Coffee! I absolutely loved the opportunity to flex my creativity to help Artly create content to connect with customers. I created a content calendar to organize and plan social media content highlighting the robot baristas, their high quality drinks, and their in-person cafe experiences. I used my content creation skills to create Instagram Reels averaging 15.7k views per Reel! And I used my photography skills to create marketing assets to promoting their coffee (even showing up as an A-Frame in the Bay Area!). I’m incredibly grateful for my experience working with Artly! I loved meeting the people behind the scenes who are passionate about both coffee and AI technology, and how integrating both together makes for a unique customer experience.
My experience with Artly Coffee wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for social media! I’m not saying that posting on social media is the best way to find work as a content creator or photographer; but I think being active on social media is important! It’s a great way to show potential clients who you are as the human behind the camera. And you’ll never know…you might catch the right person’s attention.
