Natalie Zfat is frantically typing away on her laptop when I arrive at her New York apartment, a stone’s throw away from Union Square. It’s the middle of fashion week and it’s just over an hour before she needs to whizz off to the next show. And, while firing off a few pressing emails, she quickly launches into an account of her last few weeks, which have involved a pit stop in London for work, not to mention deadline after deadline for her ever-growing roster of clients.
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Being connected is at the heart of what she does. For the past six years she’s gained quite the reputation as the woman heavyweights like Elie Tahari and Levi’s to the likes of Dell and American Express turn to when it comes to creating content online. Now at the helm of her agency, The Social Co, she works on both one-off and lengthier social media projects with brands, whether that’s filming video content, taking over a clients social media channels or hosting a killer event.
It almost never happened though. After being laid off from Rolling Stone magazine, where she wrote about everything from music and film to pop culture and celebrity, undeterred, she decided to hone in on her digital experience and continue to do what she loved, this time on her own terms. Here she talks candidly about starting out as a writer, what it truly means to be a social influencer and why it was always her plan to go out on her own.
I started out as a journalist back in 2006. I was preparing to graduate from college and I sent a blind LinkedIn message to Rolling Stone magazine’s Managing Editor, Will Dana. I wrote that I was preparing to graduate from journalism school and I wanted an internship at Rolling Stone. I think my exact words were: “I will outwork and outperform any of your other applicants.” Two weeks later I was on a plane to New York. My advice to anyone trying to get into journalism is to be confident. Ask for what you want. Smile through your sentences. Write to editors at the publications you admire. If you truly want something, you owe it yourself to do everything in your power to get it. When I’m hiring new members of my team whether permanent or freelance, there’s nothing more attractive than ambition. Almost anyone can learn a skill, but when someone sits across the table from me – and proves that they’re hard working and passionate – I’m sold. I knew from a very young age that I was a writer. As a kid, I would have these blowout arguments with my parents, and my instinct was to go into my room and journal about it. I wrote about my challenges, my fears, my dreams, my goals, and the people who piqued my interest. I guess now that’s called blogging.
In 2012, I was on staff at fashion brand Elie Tahari. Because I came from Rolling Stone and had a journalistic background, Tahari personally hired me to start an online magazine for the company, and be the voice of their social media properties. After a year, I realized I wanted to scale this model for other brands – music, film and tech brands I loved and respected. Because Tahari hired me directly, I knew I owed him the courtesy of telling him I was leaving. I put 15 minutes on his calendar, told him I was starting my own company, and by the end, he offered to be my first client. Writing for Rolling Stone was certainly my dream job – but running my own company was my dream, period. I have a habit of being unflaggingly optimistic – so when I got laid off from the magazine, I knew there was something great on the cards. Or at least I convinced myself there was.
It’s an unusual job, being a content creator or “influencer.” A day at work might include getting dressed, driving a car, going to a museum, stopping for ice cream and posting photos along the way. I recently overheard someone say: “I still can’t believe bloggers make money.” But what I think they’re really saying is: “I can’t believe you and I just had the exact same day, but you’re making money.” An influencer is not paid for their opinion; they’re paid for their time. It’s an important distinction that I’m not sure everyone realizes. I don’t work with brands I don’t love. I won’t work with a brand that’s not a fit for my personal brand. It takes hours – sometimes days – for me to research a brand before I come to that decision.
The most common excuse I’ve heard from someone who isn’t on social media is that they “don’t like self-promoting.” Maybe I’ve lucked out, but not a single person I follow is a self-promoter. I have friends who celebrate their accomplishments, share their triumphs and discuss their challenges on social media. I think that’s healthy and even therapeutic. I don’t see how it’s any different than sending out holiday cards with a photo of your family or writing an email to your pen pal catching them up your world. On social media, you simply save money on postage. Judgment is the most important quality someone can exercise on social media. Using discretion – and often restraint – is the key to sharing (and not over-sharing) with your community.
Technology can be polarising in the sense that it can be our biggest ally in distributing information but it can also be a source of distraction too. My business coach recently introduced me to Email-Free Fridays. It’s exactly what it sounds like: you don’t check your email on Fridays – you simply churn out work, distraction-free. It’s incredible how productive you can be. If you feel like that will start a fire in your office, set up an auto-away that says: “In an effort to be more productive, I’m not looking at email today. If you have an emergency, call me at this number.” My phone has not rang once.
I recently read Jennifer Lawrence’s Lenny essay where she talks about how women have to find an “adorable” way to state their opinion in the workplace. It made me so mad at myself for every statement I ended with a question mark – every fact I peppered with an “I don’t know.” So many of us are guilty of giving in to that sexist norm – but it’s so dangerous. It’s dangerous for ourselves, for our colleagues, and for our daughters.
My business has evolved a lot in the last two years. Brands who used to ask me to write for them – are now asking me to write about them. In most cases, my audience has outgrown theirs and it’s more valuable for the content to live on my properties. I’ve had the great privilege of travelling all over the world to work with some of my favourite companies. Having said that, I’m still very hungry, in life and in business. I like to think this is the tip of the iceberg. A piece of advice that has always stayed with me is the saying that there are only two days in the year where you can’t accomplish something – yesterday and tomorrow. Get it done. Now.
Natalie was shot by Naomi Mdudu in her New York apartment. This interview has been edited and condensed.