Content, Campaigns, and Being Candid - Sophie Lawson, RIFT Group

What does the future hold for social media? What are the top tips for securing a job in content creation and community building? And how important is social media when it comes to the Finance sector?

Sophie Lawson, Digital Content & Community Officer at RIFT Group, answered all of these questions for us, as well as letting us know how she found working with The Candidate to secure her latest role.

Sophie Lawson, Digital Content & Community Officer at RIFT Group

What were you looking for in a new role?

I really wanted to branch out into a new sector where I could use the skills I had learnt from my past roles in a whole new way. I was also looking for a fully-remote role as I felt this way of working would be most effective for myself and also working within the social media space. I knew I was most interested in content creation and organic growth, working within an office environment can be tricky when creating content and can limit you physically, filming and shooting content is best done out and about, and mentally as my best creative ideas are usually thought of when I have zero distractions! Having that flexibility was really important to me to be able to get the best results and work most effectively.

What has been the best part of your new role?

The best part of my new role is having complete autonomy over my work. It is great to have the freedom and trust to create content and even better when the results come back and champion your gut-feeling.

What interests you most about social media and community building?

If you couldn’t already tell, I love content creation! I think it actually takes a lot of blood, sweat and tears to create great organic content. Especially in the age of TikTok where the social media rulebook for brands has been completely tossed out. Brands are encouraged to show their faces and also show their human-sides. It has meant consumers are able to connect with brands on a much more personal level as well as expect a lot more from brands when communicating with them on social media. The saying 'working in social media means you wear multiple hats' is true, but it means you are learning new skills everyday and you are never bored!

What do you think the importance of this is within your sector?

I think brands showing their human-side is important in all sectors but especially for finance. Lots of people are struggling financially at the moment with the rise of the cost of living and are looking for empathy, support and brands they can trust when they are engaging with content online around financial issues. Financial circumstances are very different this year and in a year from now they could dramatically change again, it’s vital to adapt to what’s happening in the world. It’s a sensitive time and it’s important to put away your marketing hat sometimes and make sure the content you are posting is helpful and valuable but also realistic and sympathetic to the current situation.

What challenges does social media face?

I think the biggest challenge that social media faces right now is staying relevant. Things move so fast on social media and with short-form content being pushed to the max at the moment it’s getting harder and harder to get users attention and even harder to keep that attention. It’s a tough balance between curating content that really holds value and that ‘thumb-stopping’ content that entertains.

What excites you about social media, now and in the future?

The influencer space and how that is expanding is really exciting to me. Brands are now beginning to use user generated content in a whole new way on social media and influencer campaigns are becoming much more creative and complex than simply just reviewing a product. In the future, the ‘influencer’ will look completely different to what it looks like now.

Top 5 Tips for securing a job in your industry:

Always back yourself when it comes to your ideas and abilities.
Show them what you can do. Show them the design you created or the copy you wrote!
Research the company. Make a note of things they are doing right and things you would improve.
Understand you’re not the expert yet. Ask lots of questions. You don’t know more than the people that have worked there for years.
Get the skills you need. When working in social media the more skills you pick up the more you can offer. Take the course, attend the workshop.

How was your experience working with The Candidate?

I had a really positive experience with The Candidate. It was the easiest process, one message on LinkedIn, I gave them an idea of what I was looking for and they found my new role for me within the week that ticked all the boxes. They kept in contact with me regularly through the interview stages and answered any questions I had. It was a really quick process with no issues whatsoever.

Thank you Sophie - some fantastic insights!

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