Anita Kirkbride

Anita Kirkbride

Anita Kirkbride UNDERcomplicates social media marketing for smart, successful small businesses who are done chasing algorithms and ready to connect with humans. Since founding Twirp Communications Inc. in 2011, she has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs show up online with clarity, confidence, and personality without the soul-crushing perfectionism.

From 2018 to 2024 she was the founder and driving force behind Social Media Day Halifax, a national conference that ran for seven years and brought together 300 small business owners each year to learn from local expertise. She created and hosted the BeFlawsome podcast for three seasons, inspiring listeners to embrace authenticity and find their own voice online. Anita also developed the Social Media Strategy for Anti-Heroes course, helping business owners replace cookie-cutter marketing with strategies that feel honest and sustainable.

The unapologetic “Spicy Anita” persona emerged in 2023, complete with a red leather jacket, sharp wit, and a fearless commitment to busting industry myths. Anita encourages her audiences to #BeFlawsome and #UnleashTheAntiHero, asking the hard questions that help people move from tactics to strategy.

A caregiver for her adult daughter living with Functional Neurological Disorder and a mental illness advocate with lived experience of Depression and Anxiety, Anita brings both personal insight and professional expertise to her work. She weaves intersectional feminism, inclusive design, and anti-capitalist values into her presentations and projects. Her commitment to community extends to volunteer leadership roles with organizations and events including ElderDog Canada, the JUNOS, and the North American Indigenous Games.

Anita has been recognized as a finalist in the Small Business of the Year category of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce Business Awards, Canadian Web Blog of the Year, Community Votes Gold Winner, RBC Women of Influence Nominee, and Progress Women of Excellence Nominee.

Speaking Topics:

• Social Media Strategy

• Tactical advice on specific social media platforms

• Social media myth busting

• Online branding

• Using AI to save time creating social media content

• Living with Depression as a small business owner

• Freelance life

• 50 ways to use cilantro