175: The Power of Social Media for Community Advocacy with Benjamin Perez

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Welcome back, everyone, to another episode of the Grad School Femtoring podcast. This is your host, Dra. Yvette. Today, I have a really special episode for you that may have you rethinking the way that you use your social media. Our guest is Benjamin Perez, who is here to talk all about the power of social media for community advocacy. Benjamin a first generation college graduate and now a first gen professional. Some of you may know him by the handle @Pereztheadvisor on Instagram and Tiktok. He creates content that brings awareness on topics such as higher ed, mental health, masculinity, assimilation, first gen education, mental health, first gen experiences and the college experience, Greek life, Latinx Diaspora. You name it. He talks about a lot of different topics. His passion is empowering and advocating for his culture. I'm really excited to have you today, Benjamin. Welcome to the podcast.

Benjamin Perez

No, thank you so much. Thank you so much. Thank you for the introduction, and thank you for the invitation.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

We were just chatting right now. I said, this is gonna be a good episode.

Benjamin Perez

Yes.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Let's get this started. I want folks to hear a little bit more about your backstory- who you are, what you do, and anything you're comfortable sharing about how you got to where you are today. I know some folks may already be familiar with your work, but I don't think that all of us know your backstory. I'm looking forward to hearing more about you.

Benjamin Perez

Thank you. Yeah, that's - es la pregunta el millon.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Si.

Benjamin Perez

There's the million dollar question. How do you answer- who are you? Tell us about you. You know, it's like in a job interview.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yes.

Benjamin Perez

Tell us about you. It's like, what do you want to know. It's tough.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

This is not an interview- well, not a job interview, I should say.

Benjamin Perez

Yeah, not a job interview. I like to start always this question with my parents. I'm a son of immigrants. Both of my parents are immigrants de Mexico- Sinaloa y Colima. I was born and raised in what's called Salinas- the the salad bowl. Salinas, California- here in the 830 area code. I grew up here, essentially- born and raised here. I have two siblings, millon de primos, the cousins. And just navigating this country, this world, as a Latino male, first gen. No sabiendo muchas cosas, but trying to explore things, a boy who questioned a lot, a young man who had a lot of fire in him to not follow the norm. Now as a man, trying to continue that, but in a better way- a way to make that change in me to hopefully inspire others to also make that change in them. Also, I'd like to say that I am a person who is always trying to crecer, aprender, crecer, and still- sin olvidar. Sin olvidar where I come from, the people- continuing to explore who I am for my ancestors, right? I'm a person who's always thinking but also feeling. Asi, quiero que lo vamos a empezar.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

I love that- thinking and feeling. That's so important- remembering who we are and not forgetting who we are. And then your emphasis on creciendo, on the growth. You're here to talk about social media. I think that there's that tie in there of finding ways to grow, and then using platforms as a way to inspire and motivate others. I want to hear a little bit about how you got started with social media, and since the topic is also about community advocacy, why social media as that platform?

Benjamin Perez

When I started- you remember MySpace?

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

I do. I was all over all of them.

Benjamin Perez

Yahoo groups, msn, hotmail.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Oh, don't get me started. I even had live journal. I had music on my MySpace.

Benjamin Perez

My top 8.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

I learned html.

Benjamin Perez

I was coding back then. Definitely, social media has been- in my generation, it entered my world as a teenager. Like what is this social media stuff? Obviously, social media back then is now what it is today.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Benjamin Perez

I like to mention that. I think it was definitely during this job that I have- I work as, I'm an Associate Director for an organization called KIPP Forward, a program called KIPP Forward in an organization called KIPP. It's a charter school organization. These charter schools focus on providing education to low income families, families of color, families who don't have access- you know, Black and Brown, Asian families. And it's been an honor to work there. One of the things about this job is that back in the day when I started, we were allowed to have an Instagram account for students to follow us so we can provide resources. I was like, okay.

Benjamin Perez

So then I started using the social media account. It was really weird to tell my students - yeah, follow me. Follow me here. Is this your account? No, this is my work account. What's your private account? I can't give you that one. Just really using that as sharing resource to students. I would tell my students, hey, follow me here. Whenever I'm on campus, you'll know because I'll add it on my story. And obviously, again, a persona- I'm a person who's always been questioning. I'm also person who likes to explore, the person who always wants to know more. With social media- I'm pretty good with technology- again, HTML, back the day with Myspace, being the person who helps my family with all the technology stuff. So I've always loved technology. I'm always pretty good with all the little features, all the features that come out with Instagram, with all the social medias- stories, this and that. I'm pretty good at that stuff. So I was using my accounts, a little bit more creative other than sharing resources. I'm sharing stories? I'm like, hey look. I'm here with so and so student, and getting my students engaged, essentially, with my account.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah. This was your work account or both your work and your personal?

Benjamin Perez

It was my work account.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Oh, okay.

Benjamin Perez

So I started- what I'm saying is that with this account, I started learning these things. Like wow, this is pretty cool. There's a way to make connection and build community with my students with this social media account, with my Instagram account. I'm sharing resources. My students are reaching out to me now to ask me questions about college. They're asking me questions, sending me DMs to set up meetings via just Instagram. They're not texting me. They're not emailing me. They're not calling me. I'm like, por que no me mandas un mensaje. Why don't you answer my email? I send them an email, y me contestaban via DM. It's pretty funny.

Benjamin Perez

I was like, wow. Then I slowly slowly started seeing throughout the years, people using your social media when Instagram lives came up and Facebook Lives came up. People were using social media- like going on lives to do a tutorial of something, whether it's makeup tutorial, cooking tutorial, workout tutorial, anything educational. I was like, wow. This is pretty cool. Obviously, we have our our famous tias that like to go Facebook Live when there was a party. Those happen too, verdad? I'm like, okay. I'm just gathering info. Pandemic hits- once pandemic hits, I have that disconnection with my students. We have the disconnection with the world, right?

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Benjamin Perez

I can't see my students. Everyone's like, que esta pasando? Then I'm like, okay. I have this foundation of a social media platform knowledge, of sharing resources. I've been doing this already. I can continue using social media to still build that community and that connection and provide that support to my students, even if I can see them, even if they're tired of zoom- like we all are. I can use this social media with this. So I started using it a little bit more intentional rather than like de vez en cuando. Then I started noticing a little bit more that - wow, this is very powerful, because people who are not my students- I made it public- people who are not my students started following me. And I'm like, this is interesting. Like commenting- thank you so much, or sending me DMs as well. I'm like, no, I don't charge for this stuff.

Benjamin Perez

So then I'm like, I need to rebrand. I would like to disconnect my account from the work account and make my own account, Perez something. What should I call it? So Perez the advisor was born. I'm like, I want to just have it here just for anyone a ver que pasa. My students were invited to join, so my students were part of the process. And family members started following me too- family and friends. In that first semester, me having this account, I started a series - an Instagram series, because of the pandemic too. Instead of having meetings with my students and stuff, I'm like- what essentially am I trying to do with this account? What is my purpose? Porque trabajo donde trabajo? Why do I do this career? Why do I do this? This is the big question.

Benjamin Perez

The reason why I do this work, because I'm trying to to empower my students. I'm trying to help them- not get a degree, but I'm trying to help them find their purpose.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yes.

Benjamin Perez

Whether it's a college degree or not, verdad? Porque we were taught growing up that college was the only way- and it is a good way. But for a lot of people, it's not the way.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Right.

Benjamin Perez

And that's respectable. I'm like, okay, at the heart of it, I want to help my students, empower my students to find their voice, to find their purpose- which essentially is what I was questioning during that time. So I made that series, that Instagram series. Perez the advisor was the account. But find your purpose series was essentially what took off the account. And de ahi it just took off. That social media account like I said, @Pereztheadvisor on Instagram, has just been growing and growing, because again, it was about resources. It was about helping others. But it slowly has been transforming into becoming about me and the things that I told in the beginning of my intro- things that I think about, the things that I questioned, things that I like to advocate about, my own voice and my own experiences. Como le apoyo a otras personas if I also have to grow. I also want to show that vulnerability.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yes.

Benjamin Perez

And be authentic to the people who are following me. Now that's more of a responsibility necause I have a platform and I have people who follow me. Wow, like I would like to share my journey on a lot of these things, and bring these topics to the community that follow me. So we can have that conversation. Because sometimes these conversations, we've never had them or we've never had them at home pues porque no se sabia. Hopefully that answered your question, and we can continue. Obviously, ask more.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah. That's a really incredible journey, because you didn't start out thinking- oh, I'm gonna become big on social media. It was really- the intention was, I want to support my students, and this is one way that I can do that. I think that a lot of folks have been able to resonate with finding their purpose, because that's not something that we're traditionally taught, especially as Latinos, Chicanos, children of immigrants. You're taught- go to school, get a good career, do all the things. But nobody ever says- find your purpose. That's part of that personal- I feel like it's personal development, one component of what you do.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

But then also, it's amazing how you've developed who you are as your own kind of brand, and as a way to expand your platform and to focus on the things that really matter to you, that you want to advocate for on behalf of others. Social media is- you say it comes easy to you, but it's not super easy to everyone. And I know there are some challenges that come - and also you mentioned the responsibility too. I would love to hear more about some of the challenges that have come with navigating this social media platform. And also the benefits, because you could have done anything/ You also have a podcast. A lot of folks have blogs, a lot of folks have email newsletters. There's so many ways to communicate a message, and to develop and build a platform. So I'm curious about, again, the challenges and then the benefits of social media in particular. You are most active on Instagram and Tiktok- is that correct? Or you might be in other spaces too, that I'm not familiar with.

Benjamin Perez

Yeah on Tiktok. On Tiktok, I would like to say como a year and a half. I was always kind of like, that's not for me. But now we're there. We just like video after video. Yeah definitely on Tik Tok. But I would say the heart of my work is on Instagram. I do have a YouTube account, but it's been like- we talked before the conversation right now offline. It's a lot of work.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Benjamin Perez

Just to navigate everything- which is one of the challenges, right? You want to have everything really hella nice. But it's a lot of work. I mean, I don't live off of social media. That'd be great, to be able to do this work and get paid the way that I want to do it. Pero pos asi no funciona. I don't have the time. But yeah, I'm on those platforms. Obviously, like you mentioned, the podcast. Twitter too. Again, that's a lot. There's just so much. So yeah, the challenges- I would say that's one of them, no? It's just being able to have time.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Benjamin Perez

Being able to do the work how you want to share something on a platform and be intentional with it. It takes time to- you host a podcast. It takes time to schedule, to reach out. They don't respond back. You have to reach out again, have that show recording, edit, promote, market, post, Canva. It's a lot on just one episode. Just imagine creating reels, doing Tiktoks, adding stories on your thing on each platform, responding to people. Es mucho. I would say that's one. It's just a lot of trying to show your creativity and make things intentional. I don't like to post just to post. I want to have anything that's on my platform, my pages, it's intentional. Sometimes, it could be a lot, right? So it's just a time management. Not with the social media work, pero just reminding ourselves - there's also a life away from the screen.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Benjamin Perez

How much time are we -am I- on this phone? A lot, right? You know, I just became a father in the last year. And not just remembering for myself, like tambien ocupa atencion, my wife, family.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Benjamin Perez

That's, I would say, another challenge- just remembering that, yes, Perez the advisor and everything you do is important. Pero tambien, esto es muy important. Just having that balance, those boundaries with social media, putting your phone somewhere else, even when- you know, I work from home. So putting the phone on the other side while you're working. Putting your full attention - whenever we host meetings or have a workshop, to be there. Not just to be present, but to be actively present.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Benjamin Perez

Igual en la vida. You have to be actively present. I look around - and this happens to me too. But you look around to family, especially in the holidays- how many times with the family on phones- en la cena, in sitting down. Like can we have conversations? Porque estamos glued to phone. Para todos we have to keep recording. That's another conversation. But I would say the third one is- and it's not a challenge for me, per se. But I can see it could be very challenging, and it's affecting me at times. It's just showing vulnerability or showing your presence on social media, and getting not the best response back, if that makes sense. You know, social media bullying, social media discrimination, and all these things.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Benjamin Perez

I'm an older guy, so no me afecta mucho. I've gotten pretty pissed off, or I've gotten irritated at comments at times that people make to other people on my page. Because if we're talking about a sensitive topic, we're talking about race, we're talking about masculinity, whatever, mental health. There's always those things. Or if they come towards me- towards my image or whatever, at me as a person. They get a little irritating, but it doesn't really affect me. I just- like I've always said- if you come into my page to spread hate, discriminating, or just being a bully, I'm just kind of going to click on your page, block you, and delete your comment. That's it, move on.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Benjamin Perez

Like no pasa nada. Pero, I know how it can affect - social media is a two edged sword, verdad? Especialmente for younger generation.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Benjamin Perez

If I was 23, that would really affect me, especially who I was as a 23 year old. So I can see how social media can be very, very -affecting people like that, you know, en ese aspecto. Pero, I mentioned about responsibility, because I don't know who's watching my content.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Benjamin Perez

No se. I mean, it gets shared a lot. You know, people comment and etc. I don't know who's watching it. I don't know. It could be a 13 year old boy. It could be a 17 year old girl, no? I don't know. That's why I find that if I have a platform, that I have to still think like it's like a work Instagram account, if that makes sense. I want to present myself who I am, but I'm not going to present myself like unprofessional, if that makes sense. I'm authentic, and I am who I am. But also want to respect and have boundaries with I don't, no quiero que, it's essentially, it's who I am. But I also want it to be seen as a line of work.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Benjamin Perez

It's a little bit of both. I don't want it to be strictly- this is my work and that's it. No, no. It's tambien- soy yo. Like if you see something like hey, if you question it- oh that's who I am. Si no te parece, well, asi soy yo. Respetame a mi y yo respeto a ti. You may have a different point of view. So that's, I would say, one of the responsibilities. I really think about a lot of what I'm going to post. As you start seeing my page, you'll be like- okay, so what is this page about? I see mental health here. I see masculinity. I see funny stuff at times- because I do post funny stuff. I see all those things. Que onda on este vato? Well, this page is about me.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Benjamin Perez

It's not a page about mental health. It is a page also, it talks about college talk. I talk about this. It's just, it's me.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Benjamin Perez

Like I said, this page has evolved. It started about the college experience, and just that. But then like I've told you, as I've grown, and as I've been exposed to other accounts that talk about mental health, that talk about masculinity, that talk about money, that talk about trauma, talk about culture, race, et cetera, et cetera, food, all these things. I'm like, wow. I'm very curious. Let me share what I think about this, or how I grew up, or what I have questions on. And if I don't know something that I want to learn more about- that's why in my Instagram Live series, my video series called find your purpose, I bring these guests to share some of that knowledge, too. So we can have that discussion, verdad?

Benjamin Perez

If I don't know something- because I don't know much about therapy. I'll bring someone so we can talk about the myths, or the stereotypes of like- why does our Latino community think we don't go to therapy? Porque el hombre no va? So I bring a professional, another person who has a page, and they share a little bit about that. I'm like, cool. I'm learning, but also my community is learning. That's why I use this page in a way como te digo. As I've evolved, and this patient has evolved, everything that I'm learning and unlearning- I'm like, wow. I want to invite my community to be part of this journey, too. That's why I do these things. I bring people in my series who- I think will be starting this semester in my sixth season, wow.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Wow.

Benjamin Perez

Of the video podcast, not the video series. So yeah, como te digo. There's a lot of difficulties on there, but I will highlight those. Those are the top ones, at least for me.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Well, you know what, you talking right now about bringing in guests, meeting some folks, doing some learning, sharing what you're learning through your video series. That, to me, is a really great benefit. I mean, that's one of the benefits for me in having a podcast. I get to meet incredible people. I get to learn from them, and I get to share what I learn. But I would love to hear about some other benefits- because I know. The challenges, I hear you when you're talking about how sometimes you got to deal with negative comments, or finding time, or just figuring out what to share when and finding that balance between your life on social media and also your life outside of that. Those are all- I think a lot of us can relate to that, to those challenges.

Benjamin Perez

Burnout.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah. But there's a reason why you're still doing it. Let's talk about benefits too.

Benjamin Perez

Yeah, the benefits are definitely the things that -the purpose, right? The purpose is what pushes me, which comes with benefits, no? And one of the main- one of the first ones is the beautiful community that we have on social media. I've connected- having conversations, bringing guests- I've connected with other Latino professionals from all different fields, from across the country. I know people now in Chicago, in Seattle, in Texas, in New York, Miami. I'm like, what is this? It's pretty cool. You should see my LinkedIn. That's definitely one of the benefits- the networking, the community.

Benjamin Perez

The second one- building on the community- is the community who follows, no? I don't like to say followers, but the community who's part of my page- the beautiful comments, the DMs, the vulnerability. Like today- a couple of days ago, I shared something about el sueno americano on my stories. I felt all these pressures and all these things. And al lot of people were just sending me DMs- long DMs- about their experiences on X, Y, and Z. I was like, wow, this is really beautiful, no? For them to share that to someone who they don't really, really know, like that, it's really powerful no? Yo creciendo - for me to share something like that, being vulnerable with someone- that would never happen. And this is coming from not just women, but also men. That's one of the beautiful benefits - I am in this process with them, and they trust me, as I'm trusting them, with me sharing a little bit of me. So that's the second one. Again, building on that one, the third one- it's pretty cool when they recognize you on the street.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

What?

Benjamin Perez

I know- Perez the advisor. I'm like, what? They're like, hey I know you. I'm like, wait- how? I mean, it doesn't happen all the time.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

It must be weird, right? When someone recognizes you, and they know more about you than you know about them? You're like, I'm not sure who you are, but thank you.

Benjamin Perez

Especially when they're like- I mean, I'm not going to throw your phone away if you want to take a picture. I'm just kidding. No, pero when they're staring- I'm like, why is this person staring? You know when you do a double take - I'm like, okay. I'm not gonna look anymore. I don't want them to think I'm flirting or anything like that. Then they tell you aye yo, I follow your page. Oh- you could have just said something. It's pretty cool. Again, it hasn't happened a lot. Bu that's a pretty cool thing, you know? It's pretty cool. But yeah. Aside from that, from the community aspect of things, it's just opportunities that I've received - opportunities to come on podcasts to share my story in different platforms. And then the opportunity to get paid opportunities.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Benjamin Perez

Like I got opportunities to be part of campaigns for the World Cup from different companies, like actual companies and it's obviously paid opportunities. I mean, Instagram and Tiktok have given me the opportunity to also get paid -monetized bien poquito. Pero its like- hey, it's something you know?

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Benjamin Perez

Two, three bucks or something for a reel, a hundred bucks for one. I'm like, wow, this is pretty cool. So all those paid opportunities have definitely given me a little bit more hope that hey, people are watching. People are paying attention over here and they value what I provide. And that's just a beautiful thing. No lo hago por el dinero pero hell yea, si me van, let's do it. Claro que si. Yo le digo a mi esposa- man, there's people who have 100,000 followers who I'm sure they get pretty big campaign opportunities, like the sponsors. Un dia vas a verme tu en univision being interviewed, or getting a big sponsorship to do a my video series. Pero un dia- just watch, just wait. Even my job has asked me- hey, will you leave this job if social media pays you more?

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Uh oh.

Benjamin Perez

I was like, yeah. When the time comes, I will let you know.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

I can't believe you said that.

Benjamin Perez

Yo le dije pues si. Will that happen? I don't know. But that's another beautiful benefit. I do want to circle back, though, to the challenges. As I remember now- one of the challenges is that- what I just said right now, about trying to work hard on the platform, to get sponsors, to try to monetize - and not from my community, but to get sponsors and monetize from companies and organizations who actually value what I'm doing. I've seen people get sponsored, a lot of people get hella gigs for their pages, and it's great for them. I applaud it, because there's more brown people who are getting these opportunities. But I'm like, pero yo, que? So there's a little bit of that impostor syndrome, self doubt in me of like, am I good enough? Is my content good enough?

Benjamin Perez

Every follower that I've gotten, and every person who has unfollowed, I see it. I can tell when I get a new follower. I also check my numbers, and I see how many times I've gotten- they give you the graphic, like this is how many followers you have and this is how many you've lost. I'm like damn. These past three months, I've lost more followers than what I've gained. Por que? Are people following me because they think this is a meme page, because they see the funny one? Then they see that it's not and then they unfollow? How do I keep this page relevant, and how do I make my content something that they want to invest in?

Benjamin Perez

That's something that troubles with me. And it affects me por que I see other people get opportunities. I'm like, pero poque yo no? I'm happy for them, pero porque yo no? Instagram and Tiktok have created programs for Latinx creators, and a mi no me han dicho que si. Me han dicho que no. Pero porque? Can't you really see the why behind this? Like, have you heard any of my podcast interviews that I've been part of? Pero, bueno. That's something that I struggle with, and I get a little bit disappointed. And I might stop providing content. I kind of set a boundary with my page, like I did when- last semester, cuando Instagram created this Dale Tu program. I applied for it. I think it was like about October, November when they announced who got it and I wasn't part of it. Like wow, this sucks. You know, it is what it is. Pero si me aguite I did get a little disappointed. And as you saw- I don't know if people saw or not- but in November, December, I hardly posted. I posted here and there.

Benjamin Perez

But I really, I ended my season for my video series in early November. And it wasn't until now, two months later, where I'm actually picking it up again, and picking up being more constant with my content. So that's one of the struggles. I'm like, man, like, I'm not growing as much. It's not about the numbers, obviously, I know that. Pero when you have more numbers, these companies, these organizations, these people, the people will actually pay- look at your page and want to invest in you. That's the way it is. It's a numbers thing for the most part. If you have a good momentum, you have good numbers, they'll want to invest money, because you're bringing a lot of people. It's a business.

Benjamin Perez

I don't want to think like that. But the reason I want the sponsorship is not because quiero comprarme una casota. No, yo quiero sponsors, I want to be able to monetize, because I want to be able to give back. I've always wanted to create something to give back. I know there's a scholarship that I want to do, pero I want to do something even bigger. I don't want to say what it is because, no quiero que nadie me lo quiera quitar. But I know what I want to create. I know what I want to do. Pero pos se ocupa oportunidades para eso. And this year, I want to really take this year to get to that point. So that's one of the challenges as as I've grown, is how to continue to obviously stay relevant, but not to let self doubt affect me.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Benjamin Perez

And to be okay with boundaries. It's okay to reset, to dejar un ratito and come back to it and come back to it to continue to show up and to be you know continue to be me, essentially- and not lose the heart of the purpose of why I started this in the first place.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Right. Actually, I have a follow up question. You're talking about the struggle of getting sponsorships, and that the pressure of continuing to grow the platform. So I'm wondering, what is the end goal? How do you know what type of goals to set, for instance, every year since you've been doing this for a little while now? How do you know how to set your goals? How do you know that you have arrived? Is there no final goal and you just continuously build over time? Or do you know that once I am doing this to the point where I make enough income that surpasses for instance, my day job, then I know I will have arrived because I can pursue this full time?

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

I don't know. I'm curious, because a lot of us have social media. Some of us have platforms. But not everybody considers themselves a content creator or social media influencer. At some point, you arrive at that - como se dice-realization. Like, oh, this is actually a thing. I'm actually a creator, or this is actually a thing- I'm actually an influencer. I feel like you have arrived, and so now I'm like- what's the next thing? What's the next point? What's the next goal? And does it end? What's the end? Is there an end goal o si no? Do you just keep going, keep striving?

Benjamin Perez

Es lo bonito. I mean, that's a great question. Que es lo bonito de la vida, no? And this is what I try to tell my students. Like-hey, right now, what's the goal? Graduation, right? You want to graduate college? Cuando te graduas, new goals will come up. And sometimes I tell them- sometimes, even when you graduate with a major, that might not be your career. Sometimes we graduate with a major and have a career, but that's not our purpose. It's all these things. So don't stress now. Pick a major that you like. Do research. Is it a master's you want to seek? Is it with a career, etc? Pero, you right now you're 21. But when you're 31, you're going to be a whole different person. You want new things. You're going to want to do something different maybe, and that's okay.

Benjamin Perez

So for me, when I started this page, it was just to provide resources, right? To to build community, to empower. A year later, it became about me. And I'm like, let me share who I am and invite you on the journey. Today, what would be the end goal? Now I want to not just be a page that you follow about or that you laugh with, because of something funny. My goal is to, like I told you, monetize to give back. I see people who are doing it and hosting things for people to attend, providing workshops, conferences, scholarships. At the heart of it, that's always been my thing. At the heart of it, ever since I was in college, it's always giving back in that way.

Benjamin Perez

I want to be able to create - monetize to be able to create these things. Because it's hard. There's a lot of things. So the end goal of all this, no se. No se. You can ask me this a year from now- what's the end goal? I don't know. I'm not sure. I would love- I am seeing that people are making a career out of this, helping their community, giving back, creating things and still being able to live off of it. Imean, by the screen itself, it looks like they're doing pretty well off. I'm sure that it's not that easy.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Uno nunca sabe.

Benjamin Perez

Uno nunca sabe verdad. My end goal is continue to do this, because I know that I see the potential- whether it's taking this to a larger platform, whether it's living off of just this, and I'm okay with that. I'm down for it. You know, before social media, my goal was to be a professor. Queria hacer mi doctorado and be a professor either in Chicano Studies or in a Spanish department. Maybe. I haven't discarded that. I still like that. I still love working with students. I would still love to be a professor, and be in front of the class, and be like- oh, wassap yall. Did yall see this, what happened on netflix?

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Benjamin Perez

Just be hella cool with students. I still would want to do that one day. I'm still going to do my PhD, even though I've gotten no's every time that I applied. I still have those goals. I want to be able to reach those goals. But I still have- this social media is another goal that I know is gonna get me to that. But I also want to be able to give back. I don't know if that's confusing or not. I'm thinking out loud with you. But the end goal, essentially, is to continue putting my work on this because I know it's gonna lead me to something greater than where I am today. And not just me. It's my family- not just my wife or my daughter, but a larger- like mi familia en general. As first gen, I've always been that person who everyone me ponen a mi de ejemplo a los demas. Oh, look, look. And I never asked for that responsibility, no?

Benjamin Perez

They're probably like- Benjamin, go talk to so and so.

Benjamin Perez

Yeah, yeah. Yo nunca pedi esa responsabilidad. And I've always had it since I was a little boy. And now as an advisor, or as an educator, that responsibility too with my students. They're looking at me. Even if they don't want to listen to you, but they see you. Then now with this platform, people are watching.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Benjamin Perez

I want to be able to take this platform and show my community. Like, si podemos y podemos junto. I want to enter this world, so I can break another boundary to help others do the same. I don't want to do it for the fame, or anything like that. I don't want to have an award show and sit next to a famous person. No lo hago por eso. Yo lo hago por la community.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Benjamin Perez

And I know - again, I don't know exactly. Well, I know but I just don't- when we get there, I know it will be like wow. No creo que lo voy a dejar nunca esto. Por que, this is through generation. This is the world, how it is now. I mean, we look at famous people today. Social media is a big contributor of why they make money. Not just- you see bad bunny. You see Cristiano Ronaldo. You see the rock. You see these people. Yeah, they're famous because they play sports, or they sing and they act. But a big contributor to their success and to their money and to everything is because how they use their social media platform to continue making that. So I want to- essentially that's kind of how I'm thinking. I want to use my account to grow, to bring in the income, but also to do something with it.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Benjamin Perez

Then I'm not just like- look at my house in Texas. It has 20 rooms. No. Yes, of course- but I also want to give back.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Benjamin Perez

I want to be able to create things, to develop the next generation, and to heal and to join my generation into something. Again, like I said, I'm kind of throwing hints. I want to create something for brown men.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Benjamin Perez

I'm going to be part of The Brown fatherhood series for Latinx parenting.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

That's amazing. That's great. Yeah.

Benjamin Perez

I love that they're doing that. I want to create something like that too, something for Latino men in higher ed. I want to so pero pada todo eso se necesita dinero.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Si.

Benjamin Perez

La verdad, or sponsors or investors or etc. I just have all these plans and a lot of these things that I've gotten ideas because of social media. And I can start small, right. I can start small in my hometown, create stuff there- where if it's big, I could start big. No se. Pero yo se que este platform will take me there, and I'm just very excited for it. So it's really just continuing and not- sin dejarme llevar por la fama, and tampoco dejarme llevar por las dudas. You know, the doubts. Just continue being me, continue sharing content being vulnerable, being a little bit different. I've always been different in my approach, and llevar que pasa, no? Yo confio. Yo confio que si se va poder.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

You know, I've been doing this podcast for a couple of years, and I've interviewed over 60 people. And a good number of them have their own platforms. One thing I hear time and time again, which I myself can relate to, is this feeling of doing the work for something bigger than yourself. Almost- you could call it a calling. You could call it whatever- you name it. But that's what I heard when you were saying kind of like where the next steps are. You don't fully know what it's gonna look like or what the future holds. But you have that confianza. You have that sense of conviction that a lot of us have in common. And that's why we are in the public eye. That's why we put ourselves out there, because not everybody's willing to do that.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Trust me, I know a lot of people were like I don't want to be- I don't want to have a public account. I don't want to be in the public eye. And I hear that from you. I hear that strong sense of conviction. And I believe you because you believe in yourself, and because of the great work that you've been doing. It's really exciting just to see how far you've come and how you are motivating others, including me.

Benjamin Perez

Thank you.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

And I know of a lot of people who- this is the year that they want to get started on things. This is the year they're starting their platforms. This is the year. I've had several people behind the scenes- Yvette, how do you start a podcast? A lot of people are trying to start their- how do you start a blog, how do you start a website? How do you start this, this and that? For folks who want to start their own platforms via social media, via Instagram, or Tiktok- do you have any tips for them for how to get started? And maybe share some things you wish you knew when you were getting started?

Benjamin Perez

Thank you so much for your words. It's como de digo. It's not easy, right? It's not easy. It may look easy. Like I've told you, I've seen people who have 100,000, a million followers, etc. It may look like it's - wow. This person, what the heck? But I know that they put in hella work most likely. They just didn't have one video that's viral. and that's about it-boom. Maybe it just starts with that. You might get lucky with one video getting hella viral and like, boom. It's just the way it works. Pero, it's not easy. To someone that is barely getting started, I would like to say- just get started.

Benjamin Perez

I'm a person who thinks about all the little things. Like I told you, I'm very intentional. So any flyer or post etc- the colors, the logo, the name, the this, that. I thought about all that. Any flyer you seen- I've been looking like, does this look good? Is it catchy? That's just me. Pero, I would like to say just two things. Just get started. But what's the purpose of your account?

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Benjamin Perez

What's the purpose? If you have that purpose- okay, this is going to be about helping Latinas to do X, Y and Z. Boom- put it on the bio and just go for it. Just get started. It's not going perfect. And as you continue to post, you're going to be learning along the way - at least that's how I started learning right? I started learning along the way. Pero yo pense que I needed to have it perfect from the beginning. And that's not the case. Same thing with the podcast. It might not be perfect in the beginning, but just start it. Oh, I want to start a podcast in 2023. Well then, just start it. Ya tenemos how many days. It's been seven days already. Did you start? You don't really need a fancy mic.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Benjamin Perez

You don't need fancy headphones. All you need - it could be just your phone recording, and boom.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yup.

Benjamin Perez

You can have a Zoom meeting, record it, etcetera. You can do this. You don't need to spend money on a fancy tech, all this stuff. That could come along the way. Yo pense que si. When I started my podcast, I bought the microphone. I have the headphones. Andd you know how many times I've used those headphones, like the ones you're using now? Probably the first three. And then me daba calor. I'm just gonna use these. But then I use them here and there. I'm like, why did I buy them then? But they're hella nice, and I love using them when I do use them to edit and stuff. Pero we don't need them to start. It can come along the way, right?

Benjamin Perez

So just start, but have a purpose. That's the main thing. What's the purpose of this page? What's the purpose of you starting? And then just go for it, no? At the very end, one little tip of advice is going with the flow of what's trending. It's just the way it works, unfortunately. You can still share your content the way you want to share it. But if you see that Tiktoks or reels are what's - lo mas, like what's really being promoted by the platforms, share your content, but that way. Use reels. So just check what's trending and kind of blend your content towards that trending thing, because whatever is trending today is not going to be trending in a week. If there's like this specific sound, or a song, or a way that people are posting, or a reel, try to do that.

Benjamin Perez

If it's not your thing, don't worry about it. But try to do that, too. It's just for your exposure, essentially, because as you do those things, more people are gonna see your content who don't follow you. And they may want to be like- oh, this is pretty cool. Let me check this page out. What's this page about? And you never know. You may get more people who follow you, or more of your content to be shared out. Those are the three I would say that I'm thinking of right now. And have fun, right? I guess another bonus one is have fun with it, porque once it becomes about not having fun anymore, then you lose it, no? Es como, every time, you know every new year's resolution- oh, yeah, I'm gonna work out. I'm gonna be on a diet. Voy haver todo esto. And it never- nunca funciona, because we're miserable. We're hungry all the time. And we're not having fun with the process.

Benjamin Perez

Like, no, it should be fun. Balance it out, et cetera. For this as well, don't feel like you have to have everything perfect. It's not going to last. Have fun in the process. Be yourself. What's the purpose? Having fun is by doing the training stuff, at least in my point of view. Like- oh, there's a dance. You don't have to dance on the platform. I hardly dance. I mean, I dance here and there. Pero- because I love to dance. But you don't have to dance on the platform to get followers. You can be authentic. You can share content. You can do this, and you can still be informative and empowering- if that's what your page is about. So just use the trends and be authentic and have fun, essentially.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

I love that. We're getting close to wrapping up today's episode. So I'm wondering if you have any other closing words or words of advice for my audience- primarily first gen students of color- for folks who are interested in perhaps social media content creation, in sharing, developing platforms, and just putting themselves out there a little bit more this year than other years. Any closing words for them?

Benjamin Perez

For first gen students, you're saying right?

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah. First gen students of color, black, brown, BIPOC students, yeah.

Benjamin Perez

Oh, you're asking me a question for where my passion is, no? To any first gen student or student out there right now, you're awesome. You're awesome. For me, I didn't get to go to college. I went to college, but I didn't get to go to college during the time that you're going to college. It's a whole different experience. You know, there's a pandemic. There's all these things and you're awesome. That's the first thing I like to tell students today. You're awesome. You're capable. Don't worry if a grade it's not what you wanted. Don't worry if your job is not -you're not getting called back. It's gonna work out.

Benjamin Perez

Just build, have a community behind you. And confidence is something that didn't come for with me in college. I did have- I still have self doubt. But as I've grown and as I've fallen and as I've had people help me come back up and etc- just finding why am I doing this- for my family, for myself, etc, for my community. I slowly have felt that fire and confidence in me. So the advice for them and for you all is as you continue to find a little bit more of you, feel that fire and remember why you're doing it. That's gonna let you cross anything, and let you pass anything, and let you go through any obstacle that you may be experiencing.

Benjamin Perez

And just remember that anything that you are experiencing, you're not alone. I don't like to say- you're not the only one. But you're not alone. You know, there's help. Trust me, many times when I felt super stressed, and super distant, super homesick. As I started building community with other people on my campus and getting involved on my campus, I started noticing tha- wow. There's other people who are also experiencing the same thing like me. Like, wow, I'm not stressing. I'm not the only one who's stressed. I'm not the only one who's homesick. So I felt more comfortable in knowing that wow, I'm not the only one. So yeah, just find your community.

Benjamin Perez

And if it's something for social media as well- know to set boundaries when you need to. Social media can be very difficult. It can be a lot. But also follow pages that can help you in that process of growth. I'm not saying follow my page.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

I was about to ask you about that.

Benjamin Perez

Just follow patients that obviously- that will make you laugh. Follow pages that will help you feel inspired. Follow pages that will help you think. Follow paes that will help you to give you a little bit of everything, whatever is your interest. Just follow some of those, because - social media, there's a lot of great people out there who are doing great content, such as la doctora, obviously, me and other people who are doing content intentionally and with a purpose. Check that out. Today, in this age, this generation- your generation- this is the generation that gets the news, watch sports, gets a lot of info from social media. That's why I told you in the beginning, social media is a big responsibility for me, and for all of us that have a platform, to be intentional with it, no?

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Benjamin Perez

Because today's generation, that's what they're looking at. So for this generation, use social media wisely, and have that boundary. There's a lot. There's mental health. There's self care. Just remember that at the end of the day, whether is you're hella stressed with work, homework, family pressures, social media pressures, society pressures- you are more important. Remember that you're important. Remember that you have to take care of yourself. If you have to turn off the TV, if you- one day, you know what? I'm just gonna eat ice cream, watch a couple Netflix. Great, just do that. Do homework tomorrow. Do this tomorrow. No pasa nada. We have to live. Yes, we have to plan for the future. We have to fight for our goals, but we also have to live the day. Vivir el presente. Live life today. I would like to kind of close with that. Follow pages- specially about social media, follow the pages that give you a little bit of everything. One this, one page that, one page that. Yeah.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

For folks who enjoyed this conversation with you, want to hear more about you, want to follow and support your work, where and how can they reach you? Where can they find you?

Benjamin Perez

Of course. If you just Google Perez the Advisor, you will find me. But I'm essentially on Instagram. Again, the same username on Instagram, on Tik Tok- like I mentioned earlier, on Twitter. I do have a Facebook but essentially it's the same thing as Instagram. YouTube, but not as much. So just follow me as @Pereztheadvisor. I do have a podcast called Latinx Greek life. It's basically the experience of Latinx students and alums who were part of the Greek life system. So you yourself are part of a fraternity or sorority, want to learn more about Greek life, check out the podcast. There's people who- I have founders on there, founders from the 1970s. I have students, current students, who've been guests. People who are now directors or AVPs, who are professors, who happened to be members of the Greek life system.

Benjamin Perez

That's a podcast that I have, that I will be continuing this year. And yeah. If you want to, like I said, you want to join me on the ride of life, feel free to follow me on @Pereztheadvisor. Trust me, you'll get a little bit of everything. There'll be posts about little more serious stuff. There will be posts about funny stuff. It's just a little bit of me and my experience navigating the world as a Latino male, as a first gen, as a father, as a person in this life trying to find their own purpose in their own journey.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

I love it. Thank you so much for coming on the show, for sharing so much about your journey, your experience, your knowledge and everything that you're doing. I am so excited to hear about everything else that's to come for you this year. I really appreciate you joining us today. Thank you.

Benjamin Perez

Thank you so much as well doctora, and thank you, everybody, for watching or listening. Muchas gracias.