Today we’d like to introduce you to Laney Estel.
Hi Laney, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
When my brother and I were growing up, we used to record videos to music in our living room and backyard. We can pinpoint that as when our journey truly started. This continued through college while getting a performing arts degree and learning a lot about theater production. Social media wasn’t even a thing back then, so the concept of sharing your performance with others was limited to those who saw it live or that VHS tape you could play it back on. Also, during this time, I worked part-time in Disney parks on both coasts as well as Universal Orlando. This was the second time I can pinpoint a significant spot in our journey. Theme parks can give you such an insight into design and performance, as well as the travel and hospitality field. But it wasn’t until 2014 when Youtube really started to become more popular that we began to realize exactly how everything connected. We could finally show how travel, product reviews, and pop culture could be shared in a more mainstream way and as a result, we could help other businesses. At that point, my brand, Zainey Laney, as well as our social media company, Ares Lane, was born.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Honestly, every inch of this journey has been a learning experience. Not only because we were always trying to understand exactly how to build what we did into a business but also because the nature of social media platforms is constantly changing. Sometimes each step we took seemed to be two steps behind everyone else. One of the biggest struggles is to get the right eyes on our content. For a while, brands were not convinced that social media should be a part of their marketing plan, much less something to pay someone to do for you. Even today, social media creators are trying to shed light on the difference between being an influencer and creating content for a brand’s use. However, there has been a huge explosion of UGC (user-generated content) creators lately, and hopefully, that will help brands and businesses continue to evolve in their approach to marketing.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Essentially, there are 2 parts to the work we do online. First, Zainey Laney is my personal online brand. I use this to post book and pop culture information, product reviews, and travel content. Although the travel content had to slow for a while during COVID, it really is what I love to do, and we are jumping back into it. My theme park employment gives me a lot of insight into how things work and allows for unique recommendations for people to have the best experience. Specifically, due to some injuries, I have to use an ECV when traveling. This gives added insight into ADA compliancy and what to ask for in order to make things more enjoyable when traveling with special needs. When a business can be accommodating, it really shows how much they care about their consumer.
The second part of our business is Ares Lane Creative. Along with my brother Marshall Daley, we create short form video for businesses to use as part of their own marketing as well as Social Media Marketing, organization, and branding consultations. Marshall has a graphic design degree from UCF, so he is able to do logos, illustrations, and video editing in addition to other tasks a brand may need. We really want to offer a more personalized service that focuses on a creative approach to accomplish their goals. But above all, we want to start what we like to call trust marketing. This is a way to create connections with the consumer and the brand so they know that what we are doing is something honest, not just a way to make a quick buck. We want to stand for quality and consistency.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Being able to help another person is important, whether it’s assisting with a task to help someone run their business or giving someone insight to make their vacation a little more relaxing. We may not be able to see how our work impacts people in the greater sense, but it’s the small things that really can give meaningful support.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.areslanecreative.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/areslanecreative/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/zaineylaney
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@zaineylaney
