Facebook’s Lizette Williams Wants Marketers To Be Their Best Self

As a Black, Puerto Rican girl from the South Bronx, mentorship and culture have played a pivotal role in Lizette Williams’ life and career. Former senior director of U.S. brand strategy at McDonald's and now global head of vertical solutions marketing at Facebook, Lizette explains why the future of modern marketing perfectly sits at the intersection of brand, culture, and digital, and the marketers that master it will drive profound impact. Discover why she says many brands are missing the mark when it comes to truly understanding culture, how she changed industries by taking calculated risks, and how more professionals can learn from young talent! How did you get to where you are today? Any noteworthy aha-moments along the way? I consider myself incredibly blessed and have had many teachers, coaches, mentors, friends and my mom’s support along the journey. I am the first person in my family to go to college and the second to graduate from high school. The support of many is one of the reasons mentoring others is so important to me. One of the most noteworthy moments I have had in my career is realizing that my authenticity as a young woman of color is, in fact, my superpower and not a liability. When I leaned into my authentic self instead of pretending to embody what the world tells us a “corporate professional” should look, speak, and act like, my career took off. You can only be the absolute best version of your true self… or a mediocre version of someone else. I chose to walk this journey in my own authenticity. What are you working on now that's innovative? In my role at Facebook, I oversee a global team that is responsible for curating our go-to-market approach across seven industries including Government, eCommerce, Retail and CPG. We are bringing the story of our technology to life for companies that are seeking to engage consumers in a digitally relevant way. This became more important in the season where everyone is at home. The way that people find, consider and buy products—from cars to packaged goods and everything in between—is radically changing. My team and I are currently working on helping businesses across multiple industries leverage the power of our Discovery Commerce system, a fully integrated marketing solution for demand generation that shortens the path between discovery and purchase. If eCommerce is about people finding the products they already know they want, Discovery Commerce is about products finding people so they can discover the things they are most likely to love. The thing that excites me the most is that we can transform very traditional industries like Auto, Retail, and CPG, because of the seasons and the power of our technology. What innovation(s) are you most excited about and how do you think it will change the future of marketing? I consider myself a marketer that sits at the center of the brand, culture, and digital. It is the perfect trifecta to describe the future of modern marketing. Marketing as a function is evolving and the work that is coming from organizations that understand how to combine those three things to drive truly consumer-relevant work is most exciting. Understand the role of your brand, what it stands for and where it is allowed to play. Understand culture—how to integrate into it, how to drive it, how to connect with consumers through it. And understand digital—how consumers are communicating and connecting. When marketers unlock those three critical ingredients together, the work will be elevated and drive profound impact. How are you engaging your teams virtually to keep the spirit of creativity alive? Team engagement in this virtual environment is crucial! My direct team and I have a weekly meeting where we usually start with an icebreaker to keep a regular cadence of informality and fun alive. I also hosted a virtual offsite with the team in November where I had speakers come in and share inspiring case studies. I constantly encourage them to attend virtual industry events to keep our thinking fresh and relevant. Not Your Parents’ Promotion: Making Bold Career Moves Where do you look for inspiration when coming up with the next project or initiative? Inspiration can come from anywhere. I believe many trends in popular culture precede industry shifts. If we pay attention to consumers, we can start to understand what is coming next to drive relevancy for our organizations. Pre-COVID, I used to schedule meetings with young talent—sometimes influencers looking to understand how to engage with brands or a sneakerhead trying to figure out how to get into retail. They often reach out to me for advice, but I also learned from them, their constituencies, what’s dope and relevant, allowing me to keep a pulse on culture. Was there ever a time where you questioned your career path? How did you handle that? Have the courage to make a change if you really aren’t passionate about the work you are doing. Absolutely. Many people are afraid to switch industries, but you have to take calculated risks. I immersed myself in switching my career to marketing and learned everything I could about it. I came up with a rock-solid answer on how I could leverage my transferable skills from consulting to a career in marketing. I encourage others to have the courage to make a change if you really aren’t passionate about the work you are doing. Life is too short to do anything less. You're also part of the Adweek Executive Mentorship Program. What has been the biggest takeaway from your time with your mentor? There have been so many gems from Antonio Lucio, former Global CMO of Facebook, but the beauty of our mentorship relationship is in how he lives the mantra of “lift as your climb.” Antonio has made time to coach me and cheer from the sidelines beyond our time in the program. It inspired me to do the same for other people—not only am I now a formal mentor through the Adweek Executive Mentor Program, but I weekly carve out time into coaching others. Antonio motivated me to show up for others the way he has continually shown up for me. Antonio Lucio on Leading from the Front, Back and Middle What is one skill that you think is currently underdeveloped in Marketing? A deep understanding of culture is a gap in marketing. Every brand will say they are striving to be culturally relevant. This is critical for the short-term health and long-term future of a brand, but then I still see a gap in organizations aiming to embed culture into the fabric of how they do marketing. An understanding of culture is an intrinsic and intentional understanding of consumers that becomes central to decision-making. How do you pick and develop the talent on your team? I look for innovative thinkers who bring a solutions-orientation to the table. You can teach marketing. You can’t really teach passion, grit, innovative thinking, and solutions orientation. For developing my team, I’m more of a coach and collaborative leader. They lead their own projects, but I also coach them through how to make the work stronger. I also take the time to learn what each person’s career goals are so we can customize an approach for learning and development that makes sense for them. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? My former pastor shared a quote: “True courage is not the absence of fear; it is acting in spite of it.” My entire life is one whole unfamiliar puzzle. I am a Black, Puerto Rican girl from the South Bronx who happened to be extremely blessed in educational and career pursuits. I’ve been scared at so many different points in the journey, but at the same time, it was familiar. I channel the fear and nervous energy into an electrifying, magnetic presentation. I remind myself of who I am, the ancestors on whose shoulders I stand, and a little pre-game Beyonce doesn’t hurt either.

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Facebook’s Lizette Williams Encourages Marketers To Be Their Best True Self

Plus, the global head of vertical solutions marketing explains why everyone needs to understand their brand's culture, digital and role

Julian Gamboa

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Julian Gamboa