From ClassPass, 1stDibs, and One Medical to Linkedin. Reflections on Working in Social Media

As someone who has built a career in social media for some pretty amazing companies, truthfully, I’ve been thinking a lot as of late to figure out what my path is. I’ve had the privilege of working for beloved brands with the best marketing colleagues in the business, building memorable relationships, and gaining invaluable insights. 

Leading social media teams and building community has been a great opportunity, and while it comes with significant challenges and a pretty undefined path, I have to say I couldn’t be more thrilled about where it’s taken me. While it may have taken a few more “trials and learns” to get there, things really did work out in a way that I couldn’t have imagined. 

Taking a moment to reflect on my career thus far, I worked at ClassPass, gained my first view into tech at a brand I loved, and learned the power of a supportive manager and an insanely skilled, kind, team. Plus, I began to build my channel expertise.

But, one of my favorite parts of the job was working with our studio partners and fitness instructors to create content that fostered community and built up our brands.

At 1stDibs, I got to build my own social team, challenge myself in an area I knew literally nothing about–luxury e-commerce, and gain a confidence I never knew I had. Again though, my favorite part was working with our seller and merchant partners, elevating their stories through social and content to build community and brand. Plus, I hit the jackpot with the Marketing team at 1stDibs.

When the pandemic hit, I knew I had more time on my hands at home, and I wanted to test my passion a bit further, so I built a social media consulting business and worked on ~10 projects across startups and thought leadership. One of my favorite client projects included working with Dr. Heather Irobunda to help her build her platform to empower women with the info they needed to take control of their health, while also building advocacy around Black maternal health.

This passion led me to an opportunity at One Medical to build social and partner with dozens of clinical providers to tell their stories, along with One Medical. Again, the best part of the job! Plus, working with Kristina Skinner, Bre Shirk, Devin Collins, and so many others, while managing the voice of the primary care brand at the forefront of a global pandemic is surely an experience I will never forget. 

And then, through the magic of a strong network and good timing, Joanna Lord took a chance on me at Reforge for an after-work and weekends part-time consulting gig where I strategized and tested into social. I was amazed by the power this organic community had. Plus, featuring their Executives in Residence and member success stories totally tapped into what I loved to do. The reminder that continuous learning and pushing your career forward is constant, inspired me to take some action and figure out how to move forward myself.

Truthfully, (and unsurprisingly given how much I decided to take on during the pandemic), I’ve needed a break from social management for longer than I’d like to admit. I’ve recently lost the spark for something I’ve thrived at for so long, and I think the industry-wide strain of what is expected of social media leaders in 2022 further validated how I was feeling.

The compounded expectation over the past decade to be a community manager, graphic designer, videographer, crisis communications expert, internal comms manager, growth marketer, SEO specialist, blogger--the list goes on and on–became heavy. I stopped feeling like I was able to do my best work without the ability to focus and the pressure on myself to “go viral.” I was harder on myself than anyone else was, always running from a feeling like I was underachieving, and I missed showing up feeling like my best self.

I knew for my own health I needed to explore something else, but, I can’t even begin to explain how difficult it was to get someone to take a chance on me outside of my startup experience without being directly responsible for the company's social channels. Scouring Linkedin after hours became like a second job–interviewing, networking, sifting–you name it. Thank you to everyone who took the time to hop on a call, accept my Linkedin message, or made a referral. It means the world and you bet I’ll be paying it back tenfold. 

Finally, out of irony, Linkedin ended up being just the place to take a bet on me! I couldn’t be more thrilled to announce I’ll be joining the new Linkedin Community and Creator Team alongside so many others, doing what I love most as a creator manager in health care, helping creators develop their voices and build their audiences using Linkedin. I am so thrilled to bring a fresh perspective to a new position. 

While I have to admit, starting over again is scary, and taking a step away from people management is not something I anticipated, I have no doubt this is the right step, and I only have the best of the best past colleagues rooting for me from the sidelines.

For the first time in a decade, I won’t have a company Instagram attached to my phone, or the live Twitter feed hooked up to my Slack. I’ll be funneling my energy and expertise to be channel and relationship-focused, and I couldn’t be more excited.

To all my social media professionals, I’m not going far, and I see you. I wholeheartedly believe you are the next generation of CMOs (if that’s what you crave), and I’m rooting for you. I also truly believe the investment in social will continue to change, but I encourage you to speak up and be adamant about what you need for your team to be successful! If you’re also looking for support to figure out your next step, I’m just a Linkedin message away. 

For social media consumers, I’d like to leave you with one piece of advice that might sound basic. Spread kindness, and be nice! I can understand firsthand frustration with a business or service, but please always remember it’s an individual helping you on the other side of that social media account, likely being your champion, spending most of their day trying to get the internal support they need to help you. 

To those in healthcare who have something to say but just aren’t quite sure where to start, let’s connect! Or, if you’re using another channel for your platform but want to grow on a different platform, I’d love to help — I believe Linkedin is going to be at the forefront of influencing the healthcare landscape, and I’m confident it’s going to be led by voices.

Let’s do this, Linkedin. I’m ready for the #LinkedinLife!