We were lucky to catch up with Kira Ziff recently and have shared our conversation below.
Kira, so great to have you with us today. There are so many topics we want to ask you about, but perhaps the one we can start with is burnout. How have you overcome or avoided burnout?
Working in marketing can often come with a LOT of burnout! It’s important to take breaks every now and then and pull yourself away from the screen! A few different ways that I avoid burnout are:
1. Changing up my environment! I’ve found that mixing up my surroundings and switching out a desk for a new coffee shop every now and then can do wonders for boosting energy and reframing my mindset!
2. Taking a 15 minute walk! Between meetings I like to get out and take a quick lap without my phone. This helps me disconnect from technology and take a breath. Something I’ve learned is that if I have 6 meetings back to back from 11am – 5pm, by the last meeting of the day it becomes very difficult to bring my best foot forward and help solve problems! Taking a few quick breaks during the day gives your mind the mini “power nap” that it needs to get through!
3. Leave 1 day a week open with no meetings! For most start up CEO’s it can be difficult to find any balance or time for yourself when you are constantly moving between working directly with clients, leading a team, managing admin work, and supporting your team on day to day tasks! I like to leave 1 day a week (specifically Thursday or Friday) blocked off to give myself a few hours to focus on how I can set up smoother systems and take time to work on personal growth!
If you don’t make time to rest, then your body will make time and it’ll typically be at a very inconvenient moment! If you can carve out a few minutes eac day to be mindful about what your body is asking for then you can avoid total burnout and keep the pace!
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I own a digital marketing agency based in Los Angeles! We work with a variety of companies from CPG Brands to Interior Designers to craft creative social media strategies, create content banks, source influencers / creators, and implement these growth strategies! Platforms that we manage include Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Pinterest.
I love every part of what we do! One of my favorite parts is getting to take a campaign live! A lot goes in behind the scenes when it comes to bringing an idea to life and it’s exciting (sometimes nerve-racking) to see how our audience reacts!
We’ve recently been working on expanding our internal offerings and services to reach a wider market! We recently brought on Pinterest marketing and it’s a platform that I personally believe is way too slept on by social media teams! With our first account, a grip sock company, we’ve been able to take them from 10K monthly visitors to 1 million + in just 1 MONTH with entirely organic marketing practices! I’m excited about continuing to roll out Pinterest management in 2024!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Patience, Confidence, and Curiosity!
I’ve owned a few different companies before getting started in digital marketing and when you are self taught, it takes time to learn which strategies work vs which don’t, how to craft original content, brainstorm strategies, etc.! I’d say one thing htat set me apart was that I had the confidence and curiosity to say yes to everything! You’ll only learn by pushing your boundaries and expanding your scope of work!
When you are just starting out, it’s important to be confident but also have enough self awareness to realize when you don’t know something! Put yourself out there, meet people, and learn from those who have more experience than you!
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
For me the most helpful people in my life have been my parents and my boyfriend! I grew up in a household where oth my parents were entrepreneurs and my boyfriend also owns his own company. It’s so helpful to surround yourself with people who have a similar mindset or are doing something similar.
I started my first company by myself when I was 17 while all of my friends were getting ready to go off to college so I often felt pretty lonely! When my boyfriend started his company, it gave me a safe space to go with issues, and ask for help to find solutions! I don’t think that I would’ve been able to keep the same level of focus and consistency if I didn’t have somebody going through the growth with me!
If you don’t have anybody in your life to go to when you are starting a business, I recommend joining clubs and expanding your network! Start talking to people who are working in the industry that you’re interested in, and start asking questions! There are a lot of really cool people doing really cool things and most of these people would love to help out and offer advice!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sociallydisrupt.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itssocialdisrupt/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/socially-disrupt/
