Scott Rising, Manager of Social Media Communities
Scott studied at the University of Arizona and majored in Retailing and Consumer Sciences. He interned at a leading fashion retail brand before the company recruited to work as a full-time Assistant Buyer. After two years, the company hired Scott as the Manager of Social Media Communities; he now oversees influencer marketing, drives Snapchat strategy, manages consumer communities across multiple platforms and more.
Scott is originally from Alaska, enjoys traveling the globe and has a passion for pop culture. Follow Scott on Twitter @Rising and read more about his career:
On school:
I studied Retailing and Consumer Sciences at the University of Arizona. My courses related to consumer behavior were most useful because they inform how I think about people interacting with our content.
On internships:
For me, internships were crucial in order to gain work experience and build my resume. I was active on campus and attended any and all career fairs. It was important for me to find an internship that paid because I could not afford to work for free. I ended up at my current company after first becoming an intern.
On first jobs:
My first job was as an assistant buyer. They recruited for the buying program at my university. I spent about two years as an assistant buyer working in different product categories. The role gave me incredible insight into how my company operates. I was eventually able to leverage that knowledge to get my current job in social media. I would not be as good at this job if I hadn't had my experience of being a merchant.
As a community manager for a major brand you need to be extremely knowledgeable about the company and how it operates because you never know the kinds of questions you'll get. Equally as important, you need to build a good network internally so that you know who to reach out to when you have questions you can't answer.
On tools and resources:
It helps me to fully understand the nuances of all social media platforms that my team touches, which include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, Wanelo, We Heart It, and Tumblr. Powerpoint is crucial to my job as a way of communicating strategy internally. I would be better at my job if I could use Photoshop.
On his current job:
Advice:
I would tell myself to look at a job from every angle, including the aspects outside of work. I was too open to moving anywhere if the job was right. I'm lucky I landed in New York and think I wouldn't be as happy had I gone somewhere else.
On professional organizations:
I belong to my Alumni Association, which I highly recommend. Coming from the perspective of someone at a massive company, it's been much more important for me to network internally with the groups we have. I co-lead our employee resource group for LGBT employees and I think it's really great for employees to have affinity groups internally that stretch them outside of their direct responsibilities.
On the biggest news in his industry:
This depends on where you sit in the industry. For us, we are keeping a close eye on organic Facebook reach. Snapchat continues to evolve its platform in new and exciting ways.
Scott is originally from Alaska, enjoys traveling the globe and has a passion for pop culture. Follow Scott on Twitter @Rising and read more about his career:
On school:
I studied Retailing and Consumer Sciences at the University of Arizona. My courses related to consumer behavior were most useful because they inform how I think about people interacting with our content.
On internships:
For me, internships were crucial in order to gain work experience and build my resume. I was active on campus and attended any and all career fairs. It was important for me to find an internship that paid because I could not afford to work for free. I ended up at my current company after first becoming an intern.
On first jobs:
My first job was as an assistant buyer. They recruited for the buying program at my university. I spent about two years as an assistant buyer working in different product categories. The role gave me incredible insight into how my company operates. I was eventually able to leverage that knowledge to get my current job in social media. I would not be as good at this job if I hadn't had my experience of being a merchant.
As a community manager for a major brand you need to be extremely knowledgeable about the company and how it operates because you never know the kinds of questions you'll get. Equally as important, you need to build a good network internally so that you know who to reach out to when you have questions you can't answer.
On tools and resources:
It helps me to fully understand the nuances of all social media platforms that my team touches, which include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, Wanelo, We Heart It, and Tumblr. Powerpoint is crucial to my job as a way of communicating strategy internally. I would be better at my job if I could use Photoshop.
On his current job:
- Live Opportunities- Reacting to trends (when it makes sense) and strategy for any "command centers"
- Community Management - Overseeing a team of moderators who respond to all of our customers on various platforms
- Snapchat Strategy and execution - Figuring out the content and strategy behind our Snapchat then creating it
- Influencer Marketing - Working with internal teams to guide the strategy and implementation of various influencer strategies
Advice:
I would tell myself to look at a job from every angle, including the aspects outside of work. I was too open to moving anywhere if the job was right. I'm lucky I landed in New York and think I wouldn't be as happy had I gone somewhere else.
On professional organizations:
I belong to my Alumni Association, which I highly recommend. Coming from the perspective of someone at a massive company, it's been much more important for me to network internally with the groups we have. I co-lead our employee resource group for LGBT employees and I think it's really great for employees to have affinity groups internally that stretch them outside of their direct responsibilities.
On the biggest news in his industry:
This depends on where you sit in the industry. For us, we are keeping a close eye on organic Facebook reach. Snapchat continues to evolve its platform in new and exciting ways.