Samia Gore: Inside the Scale and Social Strategy That Built a Multi-Million Dollar Wellness Brand

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I have always had a passion for self-care and wellness and I have always been a girl who loved to pamper myself and try new things. My start as a CEO of the wellness brand BODY Complete Rx (BCRx) was, however, a bit nontraditional. It all began from a passion to become the best version of myself. In 2014 after having my 4th child, in which I gained a considerable amount of weight, I felt my lowest. I had let myself become less of a priority and my health was suffering the consequences. I decided to set out on a — publicly documented — weight loss journey to lose nearly 80 lbs, in which I also made the decision to publicly share my ‘Mommy Makeover’ journey, which quickly advanced into a following of like-minded women and men. I soon began to share more about my personal routine, like the organic ingredients I used to aid in my weight management. These tips and tricks, specific to my own journey, continued to catch the attention of the aforementioned audience and from that BODY Complete Rx was born.

Can you explain to our readers why you are an authority about Social Media Marketing?
In just over 2 years BODY Complete RX has grown a social media presence and recognition to rival that of mega multi-million dollar brands. Speaking to my audience authentically, drawing from my own experiences, has allowed me to obtain a social media presence which has fueled the expansion of my brand. As the CEO I use my own social presence, as well as partner with a variety of aesthetic, health, and wellness enthusiasts to leverage the messaging of my brand and expand our audience.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?
One day in March 2018, after being sold out of product for a number of weeks, we restocked our inventory only to do an amazing $250,000 in sales in 10 minutes, closing the day with nearly $300,000 in revenue without any discounts offered on products.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Not sure if this is funny per se but one mistake that I can say I made is investing in social media gurus. Obviously as a business owner on social media when looking for support or resources the first place I look is on social media. While there are many qualified people who market their businesses on these social platforms, there are just as many crooks and people who “look good” or are “popular” who misrepresent their actual skills and ultimately drain unsuspecting business owners and entrepreneurs of their precious startup dollars. So many people giving seminars and webinars about things they know absolutely nothing about. And it sucks because you are hiring for their expertise as you may have limited knowledge on the subject — I’ve learned my lesson.

Which social media platform have you found to be most effective to use to increase business revenues? Can you share a story from your experience?
Instagram is without a doubt our strongest social media platform. We look to expand our footprint on our Twitter and Facebook accounts — @bodycompleterx — in 2019. Please follow us!

Let’s talk about Instagram specifically, now. Can you share 5 ways to leverage Instagram to dramatically improve your business? Please share a story or example for each.
Use your social media to get to know your audience. Interact with them. Ask them questions and engage with them. This is quick and easy market research as well!

Use IG tools such as ads, hashtags, IG shopping to help advertise your business outside of your current audience/following creating extended exposure for your brand.

Create campaigns with hashtags! BCRX utilizes uniquely created hashtags to help connect our customers in our brand. Follow the hashtag #downinthepounds and #bcrxfam and you will see customers worldwide who have used BCRX

Use IG to improve your customer service. Most business accounts direct you (in their bio) to an email as this is where most would prefer to engage with customers. BCRX uses email as a platform to connect with our customers, however, we also make sure BCRX has quick and accessible customer service via Instagram. This way we can enhance our support so that we can help with any questions regarding our products and orders.
Leverage exposure opportunities. Instagram is becoming a modern day TV with every account being a “TV station” run by the account owner. Just as with TV, commercial breaks are often used on IG with brands leveraging their relationships with celebrities and well-known personas to share for brand exposure. BCRX also utilizes this model by connecting with customers with varying exposure to best share their experiences with our products and brand.

Because of the position that you are in, you are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
I would want to focus on a movement that helps people understand the things that they say behind a screen regarding other peoples bodies matter. Our bodies are our temples and we can’t escape them. Your “she’s not cute” or “he’s fat” or “her nose is too big” comments hurt. If you don’t have anything positive to say about someone’s body don’t say anything. It seems as if there is a certain level of decency some people in this world are missing. I wish I could do an anti body shaming campaign that focuses on that.

Some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them :-)
My dream lunch date would be with Daymond John. I would love to pitch my brand to him. As an African American woman building a wellness brand, which aims to help change the health of a mainly minority customer base, I know that what we are doing at BCRX is special. Knowing Mr. John’s own story of having thyroid cancer and his passion for health and education, I believe he would see the value in our brand.