Hey there👋 Another month, another member of the Drift team here for you.
I know you’ve already met Fernanda Lavalle, Shannon Donovan, Mary Mitchell, Catherine LaMacchia, Nadine Shaalan, Kahlil Trocmé, Britnee Laughlin, Sam Boyd, Allison Betito, Carolina Caprile, Michelle Ai, Frank Schepps, and Tate Knapp.
In this edition of Inside Drift, I’d like to introduce you to Pat Timmons, the mastermind behind all of our social media accounts. Pat joined Drift right before the pandemic hit as part of our video team, but when an opportunity arose for him to join the social team, he jumped on it. Since then he’s been a major player in so many of our big initiatives including RevGrowth, our website redesign, book launches, and much more.
Ready to meet Pat? Let’s go ⚡
Editor’s note: The following has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Kaitlyn Martins: We’ll start with an easy one! Can you tell me a little bit about what you do at Drift?
Pat Timmons: I manage the social media strategy, posting, and community engagement for Drift. I amplify our team’s amazing content, products, and announcements in an authentic and valuable way for our community.
Kaitlyn: What does your day to day typically look like, and how has it changed since we started working remotely?
Pat: I kick off my day by researching the trends of the day and using those insights to post relevant social content utilizing our blogs, events, webinars, and more. As many of us know, things change quickly in 2020, so scheduling too far in advance isn’t always the best approach. Once my posts are scheduled, I block out two hours of my morning to engage with our community and have meaningful conversations with them. Midway through the day I take a lunch break, walk a mile or so, then come back to check in on our community for another two hours. The rest of my day, I’m jumping into meetings with the team, attending webinars about marketing and social media, reporting on social media data, or researching trends that could influence my social media strategy.
It is funny actually, I started running Drift’s social media the first week we were fully remote. Before that, I was on Drift’s video team.
Kaitlyn: So many millennials in the workforce right now grew up with social media. How does running corporate social media accounts differ from how we handle our personal accounts?
Pat: It’s really not too different. Running a corporate social media account should be about using just as much honesty, empathy, and authenticity as a personal social media account. At the end of the day, our job as social media managers is to make something that is not human (a brand) and make it human to our community. You do this by providing a ton of value to your audience and by writing like you talk.
Kaitlyn: What is your favorite social campaign you’ve run at Drift?
Pat: I loved the campaign we did with Feeding America at the beginning of the pandemic. It was so hard seeing so many families without food, and I was proud that through promoting Drift Insider and donating the funds back to Feeding America, our community was able to make a real difference in many lives.
I also was a big fan of our Thanksgiving conversation generator, Uncle Larry bot 😎
Kaitlyn: How has Drift helped you in your professional development?
Pat: Before Drift, I never liked reading. Throughout undergrad and grad school, I studied hard but never read books cover to cover – I just skimmed them. Since joining Drift, I have gained a love for reading because of the Drift Book Club, a program where Drift will send us any book on the community reading list for free once a month. This resource has allowed me to read, learn, and apply what I’m learning directly to my role.
Here are three books I’ve loved from Drift’s Book Club:
- The Brand Gap by Marty Neumeier
- Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon
- Play Bigger: How Pirates, Dreamers, and Innovators Create and Dominate Markets by Al Ramadan, Dave Peterson, Christopher Lochhead, and Kevin Maney
Kaitlyn: What’s a fun fact about you?
Pat: I was torn between going to culinary school and studying marketing right after high school. Cooking is a passion of mine that started when I was really young and has only grown since. My favorite thing to make is Caesar salad with chicken romano.
Kaitlyn: Have you picked up any hobbies or discovered any hidden talents during quarantine?
Pat: Along with reading more, I have started writing a lot more. I’ve always wanted to be able to just sit down and start writing, but never really had time to do it. Now that I’m at home and have more time on my hands, I love writing because it helps me process the world around me and everything I’ve learned or observed throughout the day/week.
Kaitlyn: What is your favorite part about working at Drift?
Pat: The team. Every day I get to work with some of the most talented marketers, salespeople, customer professionals, product experts, and more within the industry. The people at Drift truly care for each other and it is apparent in the rituals we keep as a company.
Kaitlyn: Finally, what advice do you have for prospective Drift candidates?
Pat: Be yourself. At Drift, there are so many amazing personalities and stories throughout the entire company, and it is inspiring to be a part of this team. You have a unique perspective, and we can’t wait to hear it.
Want to join Pat on Drift’s marketing team? We’re hiring. Check out our open roles here.
