Sara J. Rosenfeld

In the startup community, you very rarely have one role. You’re expected to be able to multi-task with ease, and no job is considered too small or too big. When you’re in marketing or communications, that means that being a dynamo writer with innovative, creative ideas just isn’t enough. You’re actually going to have to talk to people. And I don’t mean on the Internet.

When you’re shy, that fact alone could be enough for you to turn down a job. Networking events, trade shows, and other social situations can be your undoing. By keeping these things in mind, you’ll be able to conquer any social situation, and take the world back from shy.

1. Remember that you’re not alone

When you walk into a bustling room full of people, you often feel instantly intimidated. Do not turn around and walk out, or go find a comfortable place in the corner. Take a minute and breathe, then plant your feet and scan the room. There will be lots of people already engaged in conversation, but you’ll also see people standing around, looking for someone to talk to. Go and introduce yourself, and remember: They are more nervous than you are (especially now that you’re armed with these handy tips).

2. Tag in a partner – to start

If you’re lucky enough to have a friend or co-worker you can go to your networking events with, it can be a great way to make you feel more confident from the moment you walk in. Start by approaching other groups or clusters of people together, but don’t be afraid to separate from your partner. If they’re the only person you’ve spoken to all night, you’ve done it wrong.

3. Keep a one drink limit

Ohhh, the networking lush. There’s one at every event. Don’t be that person.

You’re nervous, so you order a drink. You feel naked without something in your hand, so you order a second as soon as it’s done. All of a sudden, this event is awesome, and you’re not nervous at all. Everyone is SO friendly. Until you’re pretty sure you’re going to throw up on someone’s foot.

Don’t be this person. Ever. Order one drink, and drink slowly. When your hands feel empty and you start to get nervous again, order a soda water.

4. Be conversation ready

The easiest way to get someone engaged in a conversation is to get them talking about themselves. Is it their first time at this event? If not, do they generally enjoy it? What do they do, and what are they hoping to get out of this event? If they tell you they’re a founder, ask about their company.

Not only will this put you at ease, but it’ll get them engaged in the conversation. Have your own responses to those types of questions ready, and you’ll look like a networking natural. Just don’t forget to look for clues that the conversation is dwindling (such as the person you’re chatting with scanning the room with their eyes), and have your conversation-out prepared ahead of time.

That’s it. Now go conquer shy, and see how easy networking can be!

What gives brands that special magic? It’s more than a logo or a tagline. It’s that special feeling you get, that personality you associate with the company. It gives you the warm and fuzzies. Or the heeby jeebies. Either way, it brings out something in you (even if that something is nothing more than a subtle yawn).

It’s kind of like a personality for the company. You either like it, or you don’t. But you know who they are, and what they stand for.

Just a few short years ago, the concept of a personal brand didn’t make a whole lot of sense. You were who you were, and that was that. You maybe added some verbal sparkles when it came to the resume, but that was it. There was a resume, an interview, and references. Pretty simple, right?

Now, not so much. You’re on LinkedIn, talking about your exemplary communication skills, and on Twitter talking about Jagerbombs. You’re a culinary gastronomist on Facebook, a wedding planner on Pinterest and a party animal on Twitter. And you can’t figure out why you’re still unemployed.

I’ll let you in on a little secret: People don’t hire a resume. They hire a person they want to work with. And when they check out all of your social profiles, they’re trying to figure out a little bit about who you are as a person. And with all of those conflicting messages, you’re just coming off as someone with a split personality. Not so hireable.

So pick some traits you love, and highlight them across all of your social channels. If you have one (very likely Facebook) that you intend to reserve completely for personal use, crack down on those privacy settings. Then, start making your other channels consistent, with a unified message you want employers to see. If you want to get really fancy, you can even create your own website using a tool like flavors.me or about.me, so it’s easy for employers to see all of your information in one place (you can check mine out at sarajrosenfeld.com, which is powered by flavors.me).

Next comes something most people don’t think of: real life. If your social commentary is casual, witty and warm, don’t be too dry and formulaic in your resume and cover letter. You’re a professional, but also a person. Make it clear who you are, online and off, and keep that message consistent. Voila. Your very own personal brand!

Ohhh, the Oxford Comma. The only piece of punctuation so controversial that it has its own song.

When I was in graduate school, I had two thesis advisors (as did everyone in my program). I sent my first draft off to advisor number one, and there it was, scribbled in bright red ink, all throughout my paper: “Please remove comma.”

So I did. Fifty pages later, and there was not an Oxford Comma to be found. I made a few other recommended changes, and sent my newest draft off to advisor number two.

And what did I get back? A bit old empty circle, right where each comma had been. “Please add comma.” This was two graduate level communications professors. With totally opposing views on the Oxford Comma.

So I went to the writing centre, where I worked. What did this group of linguistic junkies think about the Oxford Comma. Apparently, very, very different things. Suffice it to say, no conclusive decision was reached.

I carried on, using the Oxford Comma. I submitted my thesis (Oxford Comma in-tact), and went on to my very first job, where I would be working as a Community Manager. It wasn’t too long before the age old dilemma came up in a blog: to comma, or not to comma. I learned that we most certainly do not use the Oxford Comma. It’s the norm in publishing, and so it’s the norm for us. I’m sure one day I’ll be working somewhere else and people will adore the Oxford Comma. They’re be writing it sonnets, or maybe haikus.

And this brings us to you. Should you be using the Oxford Comma? That entirely depends. Find out the norm in your workplace, or ask your professor. At the end of the day, as long as you’re consistent with your coworkers or classmates you’ll be just fine.  And if you’re in grad school, ask both of your advisors before making an Oxford Comma related change throughout your very-likely very-lengthy thesis. You can thank me for that one later.

With an undergraduate degree in business, I went into the world of professional communication with a tunnel-view. I thought a graduate degree in professional communication would make me a more effective communicator in the workplace. I wanted to state my point eloquently, write concise and persuasive reports, and make presentations to key decision makers that would leave the audience in awe.

What I didn’t know is that communication is happening all around us in more ways than you can imagine. And the more aware you are of each of these types of communication, the more you can harness them to meet your goals.

The obvious type of communication to bring up is non-verbal communication. Be hyperaware of your nonverbal ticks, and stay cognizant of your nonverbal behaviour. Whether you’re crossing your arms in a meeting or touching your hair a little bit too much in an interview, the people around you are responding to your nonverbal cues (whether they’re aware of it or not). On the flip side, taking an extra second to consciously register the nonverbal cues of those around you can go a long way. If you ask someone for a meeting and their shoulders tense up, don’t push your luck.

My personal favourite tip when it comes to non-verbal communication? The feet tell all. Look where someone’s feet are pointing when you meeting someone new at a networking event, and you’ll be able exactly where they’d like to be. Pointing away from you? It’s probably time to excuse yourself to “take a call.”

Then there are less obvious forms of communication like emotional contagion or scent communication. Stores are already harnessing scent communication and spritzing their locations with fragrances that’ll make you linger a little longer or feel a little bit more open to shopping.  Savvy business owners are taking note, and lightly scenting their offices to result in a more energized and efficient workforce.(The key word there being lightly).  In fact, the perfume or cologne you’re wearing may very well be having an impact on both your own and your coworkers efficiency in the workplace, without you even being aware of it. My tip? Stay away from scents like lavender and vanilla, and spritz a little lemon or mint if you’re hoping for an efficient and creative workday. Studies are showing that you don’t even need to be aware of a scent for it to have an impact, so please, please, don’t feel the need to bath in your new productivity-enhancing perfume.

And emotional contagion? It’s perhaps my favourite form of not-so-obvious communication. It turns out, there’s something to be said for the whole “when you smile, the world smiles with you” thing. We have a deep rooted desire to mimic the emotion of others. And the pathway between smiling and happiness is a two-way street. Which means that if you make a conscious effort to smile frequently in the workplace, others are likely to follow suit. And since smiling actually increases happiness levels, you won’t have to force those frequent smiles for very long. It’s a simple way to make for a happier workspace. And if a happier group of coworkers isn’t enough to encourage you, happiness is shown to increase creativity. Pretty neat what a simple smile can accomplish.

Am I missing your favourite not-so-obvious form of communication? Let me know about it in the comments below!

I’ve been doing the trade show circuit for about a year now, and I’ve been fortunate enough to have an experienced partner in crime who taught me the ropes on day one. But at every show I go to, there’s an obvious rookie. Follow these tips, and you’ll be a trade show pro in no time!

My own experience with trade shows began a little something like this:

“Hey, make sure you wear comfortable shoes tomorrow.”
“Yeah, of course, these are suuuuuper comfortable.”
“No. Actual comfortable shoes.”
“Yeah…these are actually way more comfortable than they look.”
“…No. Actual comfortable shoes. You’ll thank me later.”

And therein lies lesson number one: Wear comfortable shoes. There are some trade show icons who can rock the five inch heels at every show, and it’s pretty epic. But if you’re not used to standing in one place for ten hours straight in heels, don’t do it. And if you’re going to be a hero, pack a backup pair of flats.

Lesson number two: Prepare for the unexpected.

Before my first show, the team got together and listed out what we’d need in our “trade show survival kit.” I couldn’t believe what we were packing. Breath mints, Advil, hand moisturizer and hand sanitizer, lint rollers, sewing kit, bandaids, markers, scissors, deodorant, and more. It seemed a little excessive.

But you know what? There’s nothing worse than a ten hour day in a noisy hall with a headache. And when you’ve shaken your hundredth hand, you’re going to be glad you packed the hand sanitizer (especially during flu season). I even realized we missed something (throat lozenges, for after a day full of talking in a noisy room). So make your very own trade show survival kit, and try to prepare for the unexpected!

Lesson number three: Don’t go it alone.

So you work for a small company, or you want to show the team you can run the show and you’ve decided to rock the show by yourself? Well, that was silly.

I hate to break it to you, but at some point during the day you’re going to want a coffee. And probably a bathroom break. Most likely because of the aforementioned coffee. And when your computer is hooked up to your trade show booth, and all your giveaways are just sitting on the table, it’s really hard to step out for a second. So whenever possible, always bring a partner in crime.

If you’re sitting in a booth right now, needing to run to the bathroom and wishing you’d read this blog one day sooner: make friends with your booth neighbours. They’ll almost always watch your things.

And that brings us to lesson number four: Always be nice to your neighbours. You’ll be sitting next to them all day. You may even end up next to them at every single show you attend for the rest of trade show season. Or for the next three years. So be friendly. Watch their things. And offer to pick them up a coffee when you grab one for yourself. A little kindness never hurt anyone, especially at a trade show.

And that’s it. My favourite tips for surviving your very first trade show. Have any stories about trade shows you just barely survived? Share them in the comments below!

A few months ago, I did a talk on working smarter by using different apps to help you run your business, and I learned something interesting from my audience.

I had originally set up the forty-five minute talk to be

• 15 minutes for factors to consider when picking apps, such as price having, ease of use, or access for multiple people
• 15 minutes for apps I personally loved
• 15 minutes for Q&A.

I very quickly realized that nobody cared what factors they should be keeping in mind. They didn’t have time to test and pick and choose, and that’s why they were there. They just wanted me to tell them which apps to download. It taught me a valuable lesson in being concise, getting to the point quickly, and really knowing your audience (mine at the time being busy freelancers, who didn’t have time to test out multiple tools). So, without further adieu, here are some social media apps I absolutely love:

SproutSocial
I seriously cannot recommend this app enough. If you’re only going to check out one app on this list, make it this one. The interface is beautiful and clean, and it makes day-to-day social media management a breeze. You can easily favourite, retweet, and reply. You can also make notes for internal use, and immediately see the customers social media history. With scheduling, a queue feature and more, it saves me hours every week. There is also a really simple mobile app, so you can handle any situations that arise, wherever you are.

The only downside of this app? The reporting isn’t as robust as I’d love it to be. You can see the basics, and even compare your social media channels to your competitors, but if you really want to geek out on your social media data, you may find yourself exporting and doing a little Excel magic.

SourceMetrics

While still in beta, this tool is the Yin to SproutSocials Yang. What it lacks in real time updates (it only updates the information once an hour), it makes up for in the most robust social media metrics in the business. Each and every message you send gets put into a “Campaign,” which you’ll choose when you send the message. This makes it a breeze to know whether you’re spending your time on support, specific marketing campaigns, or something else. If you’re devoting serious dough to your social media channels, the ROI measurements are best in class, and well worth checking out..

Sleep as Android

So this isn’t quite a social media management app, but seriously, who’s life isn’t a bit easier when they’ve had a good-night sleep. The Android version is a little bit more robust than the iPhone one (Sleep Cycle), but the impact of these apps is absolutely fantastic.

You set a wake up window (say 7:00-7:30), and the app will identify the best time in your REM cycle based on the movement in bed. You’ll wake up gently and feel much more refreshed and ready to take on the day. Add in cool features like a “go-to bed” alert you’ll receive based on your wake up window and a graph of how deep your sleep was, and it’s easy to see why this app is in my must-have arsenal. My personal favourite tool? It records any noises made during the night. Just in case you want to prove to someone that yes, they do in fact snore.

Have a favorite app I missed? Let me know about it in the comments below!

My name is Sara, and I’m a woman in tech. So yeah, I guess you could say I’m kind of like a unicorn.

I walked in on my first day as employee number twenty, give or take. The breakdown of the women in the office was as follows:

• 1 marketing intern
• 2 co-op students
• 1 administrative assistant
• and me! (Community Manager)

So that makes 5 total, two of whom who had employee status. Now, just a year and a half later, the company is at about 80 employees. The number of women in the office has increased, but the ratio hasn’t changed significantly. Perhaps most noteworthy is that the number of women in positions of influence (director, VP, or Chief level) still remains at zero.

There are some little things you’ll notice when you’re one of the few women in a tech company. Navigating the kitchen is perhaps my favourite example. We have a nice kitchen. Cupboards, fridge, freezer, and of course: a dishwasher.

Working at a startup, there’s a strong “everyone pitches in” mentality. It’s great most of the time. But it creates a very awkward situation when the dishwasher is done running, and the dishes are clean.

You walk into the kitchen, and there are three or four people sitting around, chatting. They’re heating up their bagels, making their coffee, and generally shooting the shit. You go to make your coffee, and realize there are no mugs. That’s when you realize that everyone else just grabbed one clean mug from the dishwasher. Ouch.

What are your choices?  You can:
a) Empty the dishwasher yourself
b) Comment. “Dishwasher’s empty. Let’s do this!”
c) Ignore the desire to pitch in, and pretend you didn’t notice the dishwasher was empty

I’ve heard of all three options being chosen. I don’t have an answer as to which one works best. Personally, I go for option B or C every time. Something about the first choice just rubs me the wrong way.

At the end of the day, I don’t want to talk about the systemic issues that are keeping females out of studying technical roles in university, and therefore keeping them out of technical roles in the workplace. I don’t want to complain about the lack of females in senior positions in the tech industry. I don’t even want to share my awkward, woman in tech stories (I assure you, we all have a few).

I want to address what’s perhaps the biggest issue I’ve experienced: We’re keeping each other down. Being a woman in tech is hard. Trying to establish a career as a woman in tech is even harder. For every girls in tech or ladies learning code initiative, there are five more females who think that a cut-throat, competitive nature is the only way you’ll make it. Women who will keep projects a secret, refuse to collaborate, and even turn down good advice, all in an attempt to be the one who gets to rise up. Everyone wants to be the next Sheryl Sandberg or Marissa Mayer. We’re working to be the exception to the rule, instead of working together to change the rule.

I’ve been fortunate enough to work with some incredible, supportive and intelligent women. And that kind of environment doesn’t just help one of us, it helps us all. It’s amazing what you can accomplish, as a team and as individuals, when you work to support each other.

So the dog-eat-dog world? It’s time to stop. It’s time to check your ego at the door, every day. It’s time to realize that we can accomplish a lot more when we work together. It’s time to make supporting each other our priority, and really mean it.

Who’s with me?

Nowadays, most companies have gotten the message the message that social media is important. Whether it’s an order from a higher-up, a general consensus amongst the marketing staff or the idea of a new hire, having a corporate presence on social media is becoming the new norm.

Whether it’s a full-time marketing person, and intern task, or just a side job of an employee who happens to be socially savvy, it’s becoming increasingly common to see companies devoting resources in one way or another to their social media presence.

But how do they define success on social media? And what are they trying to accomplish?

Unfortunately, many people are going in blind. They know they need to be on social media, and that’s about as far as that thought process goes. So they don’t establish clear goals, and frequently end up using the only success metric they see: Likes. Followers. Repins.

In other words, they’re using lazy metrics.

When you don’t have a clear goal, the only number you see becomes your success metric. The problem with this is that it often leads to poor marketing practices, like spammy auto-direct messages being sent to everyone who follows you on Twitter. It’s the modern day equivalent of churning out poor quality articles to post on other people’s blogs, with a simple request for a link back *shudder*.

So how do you stop using lazy metrics? Easy! Stop going in blind, pick your goal, and be specific. Do you want to use each of your social media channels to accomplish the same goal, or is  Twitter more of an acquisition tool, but Facebook way better for increasing brand loyalty. Are you hoping to increase brand recognition, become top of mind in your industry, or turn your fans into raving evangelists? Are you introducing a new product, or just trying to get the word out there that you exist?

When you know what you’re looking for, knowing what to measure becomes a whole lot easier. Acquisition is frequently the easiest to measure, especially with our good friend Google Analytics. If you’re in tech, it’s a no-brainer. If not, you’ll have to find some creative ways to measure your impact, such as online coupons, or special offers to your social media followers (“Come in and say x for half price..”). If you’re looking to increase brand loyalty, you may have to get a bit more creative. Using customer loyalty surveys is one method. Chatting offline with customers at trade shows or local events is another great one.

Staying on top of these metrics is a lot more work, especially once you’ve factored in that you’ll probably experiment with a few different metrics before you find what works with you. But you’ve already devoted resources to creating a social media presence. And you’ll never be using your social media channels to their fullest potential, or know how successful your social media presence is until you stop using lazy metrics.

When I first started my role as Community Manager, I was excited. It was an exciting new adventure, and I couldn’t wait to get started.
The job description for “marketing and communications” had seemed like a natural fit.
Writing skills? Done, I had just spend the past year teaching students at Ryerson University how to improve their writing at the library writing centre.
Social media? Heck yeah! I don’t want to brag or anything, but I totally know what a tweet is. I’ve even mastered the Pin and the Google+ (which may never become popular enough to be a verb).
Content creation? Okie dokie! I’d like to think of myself as creative, and I love to write.

In my first week, we picked my new official title: Community Manager. While I knew social media would be a major part of my new role, the rest was a little bit…shall we say, fuzzy?
For my first week, I’d come home every day and Google Community Manager. What exactly is a Community Manager? What’s expected of them? And how can you really exceed at this hard to define role?

I discovered Erin Bury’s blog. She’s a trailblazer in the field of Community Management, and a major inspiration in the Toronto startup scene. But she focused a lot of her attention on in-person community building, making sure she was at every Toronto Startup event. I wasn’t sure if that was the best route to follow, especially since I was trying to build a community in about 200 countries.

I went to my very first SproutUp (a great event, and a must-attend if you’re able), and met a few other Toronto based Community Managers. We started to meet up every few months to discuss the challenges of being a Community Manager, and find out just what it meant to each of us.

Now, just a year and a half later, there are a lot of great resources available on the field of Community Management. Just yesterday (which was named official Community Manager Appreciation Day), Mashable published this great article on the future of Community Management. I’ve found my balance where I work. It varies day by day, but I get to do a lot of social media management, email marketing, PR,  and blogging, and a little bit of tradeshow attendance, networking events, fun projects (like working to create our tradeshow giveaway, custom socks), and more.

At the end of the day, Community Manager is a title that’s becoming increasingly popular in the startup community, where people tend to wear quite a few hats. It’s part of what makes the role so difficult to define, and what makes it so enjoyable. There may never be a one-size-fits all job description for Community Managers, but at the end of the day it’s all about finding what works best for you, and the community you’re trying to build.

If you’ve never been on the receiving end of a company’s social media channels, it’s a pretty unique experience. Most people turn to social media when they love a company. It’s impacted them so strongly that they’re willing to include this company in what’s usually considered a much more personal space.

On a day to day basis, I’m lucky enough to hear incredible stories, and even get to see pictures, from some of the company’s happiest customers. I know I’m incredibly lucky, and I don’t want to understate how grateful I am.

But there’s another group of people. These are those who’ve been taught that if you complain loudly, you’ll get a better response faster. Pre-social media, they were the individuals who yelled at customer support over the phone, and  somehow always end up at the front of a line even though they were the last to arrive. They bullied their ways into refunds. They yell the loudest, and it works.

Now, I’m not saying you can’t say anything negative, and that social media needs to be an only-positive place. If you have a question, I’m always more than happy to make time to help, or find you someone who can. If social media is your go-to space whenever you have something to say, be it positive or negative, all the power to you.

My point is: Don’t use social media as your place to raise a little hell. Don’t subscribe to the philosophy that those who yell the loudest get their needs attended to first. And always remember that there is a real person who’s at the other end of your message.

I personally find that the more time I spend on Twitter at work, the less time I spend on my own personal account (go figure). But, when I do turn to Twitter [insert shameless plug for my personal Twitter account here], it’s usually because I’ve had an awesome experience with a company, and I want to tell the world! Or because I’ve just baked some seriously awesome cupcakes. I definitely also tweet pictures of cupcakes I bake.

My moral is: why not spread a little happiness, and shout the loudest about the companies you love! You never know what might happen when you start to tweet happy.