She turned a reel about mussels into 15,000 views—and it’s just one reason she’s a socialgov star.

Meet Jameil Weldon, the Social Media Manager for Mecklenburg County, NC and the Golden Post Awards 2025 Social Media Professional of the Year. She’s kicking off our new 7 Questions series by sharing the real tools, tips, and creative inspiration behind her standout content.

From native species and neon sticky notes to cross-agency collabs and content hacks, Jameil brings a documentary filmmaker’s eye to the smallest screen. Connect with her on LinkedIn and read on for her best advice, favorite follows, and how she built a thriving gov social presence—one sticky note at a time.

Describe yourself in 200 characters or less.

I'm a former television news producer/video curator/documentarian who brought her skills back home to North Carolina. I love traveling for books, museums, bodies of water and state capitals.

Tell us about your socialgov journey.

I started as a social media specialist at Mecklenburg County in 2019 after several years in nonprofit social media management. My manager went on leave three weeks after I started, then six weeks after she returned, we all went home for the pandemic. 

I learned a lot from trial by fire and, sincerely, GSM. I love diving deep into a field and GSM has been the perfect place to meet and learn from a ton of people across the U.S. and Canada. 

I was promoted to social media manager in 2021 and successfully made the case to expand our social team from two to three last year.

What can we always find on your desk?

Neon sticky notes. My brain dumps and quick lists just feel right on a sticky you can see from space!

Where do you draw inspiration and creativity from? 

Like so many, I’m very, very (too) online so I get inspiration from a lot of places. I have more accounts than I’m willing to admit, with a variety of curated algorithms that show me content based on my interests – mostly food, museums, libraries, authors and a handful of musical artists. 

My work feeds are further curated (except work Threads, which continues to resist my attempts) and include inspiration across industries. My work accounts have an emphasis on interesting gov social accounts so if you’re doing something cool on social, LMK because I want to follow you! 

I also love reading the Link in Bio newsletter for great tips, inspiration and interesting interviews with social media managers.

(Jameil’s favorite accounts to follow right now include City of Marion Libraries on Instagram, US Postal Service on Threads and City of Greenville, South Carolina on LinkedIn.)

What is the post you are most proud of? Why? 

I shot and edited an Instagram reel about the reintroduction of an endangered native mussel species to a restored stream. Most people don’t know we even have native mussel species so it’s always fun to share a local tidbit. I got to use my documentary filmmaking skills on the smallest screen to highlight this partnership between our Storm Water and Park and Recreation departments and U.S. Fish and Wildlife. It was also our first reel to surpass 15,000 views.

If we were coming to visit you in your town/city/state, what is your favorite thing we should see or do?

If you’re coming to my city, welcome to the Queen City, named for Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz! Discovery Place is our local science museum and great for kids. A free kids trip not far away from Discovery Place is ImaginOn, our children’s library. 

If you’re coming to the Old North State BKA North Carolina, I love Asheville if you’re looking for a taste of Appalachia with fantastic food, art and book scenes. It’s also near the amazing North Carolina Arboretum. If you’re looking for the Atlantic Ocean, try Carolina Beach. Nearby Carolina Beach State Park is home to our native carnivorous plants, the pitcher plant and the venus fly trap!

What is your best piece of advice for fellow socialgovs?

Meet other socialgovs, especially if you’re on a small team. It’s so helpful to talk with people who are making government social media interesting, creative, funny and thoughtful when you’re looking to make a change. Making these connections has helped me to learn from people all over the country. Nearly every time I’ve asked someone to meet with me to talk through a project idea or strategy, they’ve jumped to help, whether through email or a video call. It lifts a weight to talk to people who just get it.