Courtney Seiter is a great fount of information on social media and culture. She is a writer and editor at Buffer, focusing on the intersection of social media and workplace culture. Her writing has appeared in TIME, Fast Company, Lifehacker, Inc. and more. On the side, she’s the co-founder of Girls to the Moon, an amateur DJ
and an excellent dog petter.
1. Tell us about Buffer and what makes it different from other social media tools.
Sure thing!
Buffer is a tool that helps individuals and companies share easily to social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Google+. Buffer will help you find the
best times to post for the most engagement, and then you can fill up your queue so you’re always in touch with your audience. We offer great analytics so you’ll always know how you’re doing and have the insights you need to keep improving. I think our
customer support sets us apart; we treat each and every customer with the utmost respect and gratitude, because they’re why we exist!
2. We understand that Buffer has a unique organizational structure, unusual employee benefits and commitment to total transparency. Tell us a little about it.
Buffer is a very cool and different type of company; I feel very lucky! We’re a
remote team of 60+, with teammates scattered
all across the globe. We get together
every 6 months or so at a different location–we’ve been to Cape Town, New York, Sydney, Reykjavik and next up in January is Honolulu! We have
cool perks like
unlimited paid vacation ( plus an extra bonus you only get if you take a vacation!) and free Kindles and all the Kindle books you can read for yourself and your family. We’re also very devoted to
transparency as one of our
10 core values, so anyone can learn all about
our salaries, our revenue, our team demographics, and what every cent of their subscription to Buffer goes toward. (P.S.
We’re hiring!)
3. How are you creating a welcoming environment for teammates and customers?
Awesome question! Our customers come from all walks of life, all around the world; and we believe our team should reflect that diversity in order to make the best product decisions and create the happiest and most inclusive culture. We have a unique opportunity to add teammates from anywhere in the world! So we’re working toward being
very deliberate about growing our culture in a way that
celebrates our unique differences. We’re getting news of our open roles to new, different and underrepresented groups and tracking closely how we’re doing with
growing the team in a diverse way. We have a lot of important work to do here, and
a lot to learn. It’s an exciting project to work on!
4. What are you currently working on? How does your role affect inclusiveness at Buffer?
5. What’s new for social media in 2016? Do you have any crystal ball prognostications for the new year?
I loved seeing the rise of tools like Periscope and Blab this year; it felt like a return to the kind of real-time engagement that made social media so special from the start. In 2016, I predict and hope for more movement in this direction, toward more authentic moments and conversations!
6. What are your passion projects outside of Buffer?
I love working with kids to create a more just future for the next generation. I am a founder of
Girls to the Moon, a startup that works to empower young girls to own their confidence and passions. And I’m a tutor and volunteer at
Fannie Battle, an amazing program providing resources for underprivileged youth in East Nashville.
7. Bonus: What didn’t I ask you that I should have?
Hmm, good one! Well, if you’re in need of any book recommendations, I’ve been reading a book a week throughout 2015 focusing on awesome lady authors. You can
find all my selections here!
