Chicks Who Click Blog

Tara Anderson, Chicks Who Click

We’ll be interviewing Chicks Who Click to get up and close with our speakers. Tara Anderson is a rockin’ Chicks Who Click working at Lijit (Consider it a search engine for your life! Check it out on the sidebar to the left!) Tara Anderson will be speaking at Chicks Who Click in Kansas City.

1) Give us background on who you are, and what you do to work and play!
I’ve always been a writer and a performer. Whether it’s blogging or getting up on stage for an open mic night, I love expressing myself and hopefully making people laugh. I consider myself a career scanner in that I’ve done many different things and the only real constant between them all is that communication has been at the foundation of everything. From teaching public school to managing a bar, I dig connecting with people.

By day, I work for Lijit doing marketing (social media and otherwise). When I’m not doing that, I like being outdoors. Running, biking, hiking, backpacking and skiing are just a few of the activities that I love doing in Colorado. I’m also a newlywed and really enjoy eating the delicious meals that my husband cooks for me.

2) What are your guilty pleasure social media sites?
I’m new to StumbleUpon, but I find myself wasting a lot of time on that one. Part of me wants to call it work because I always discover new and interesting blogs. But really, I end up stumbling, getting lost amongst cool stuff, and not doing much work. ☺
And, of course, who doesn’t love Twitter?

3) What company (besides your own) do you think is absolutely rocking the social media space?
On the local level, there is an awesome consignment store in Boulder, called Rags, that is doing an excellent job of using social media to engage their customers. They have a fun blog that talks about fashion and are reaching new folks via Twitter. (I could be biased, since it’s one of my favorite places to shop.)

Nationally, I think Ford’s use of social media has been amazing. While all the other car companies are in distress, Ford has done a great job with customer retention. I think this is due, in no small part, to Scott Monty. That man is a genius and Ford made an excellent decision by hiring him.

4) What is one website or social network you don’t think most people don’t know about but should?
I find HootSuite (http://hootsuite.com/), formerly called Brightkit, to be a very effective tool for those who are maintaing a twitter account for their company. By scheduling tweets to go out on the weekend, HootSuite makes me look like I’m working way harder than I really am.

5) What do you hope to get out of the Kansas City Chicks Who Click?
I want to meet even more rockin’ Chicks. The first gathering in January was inspiring and I made some great new friends. Also, this is my first trip to KC, so I’m hoping to sample the amazing BBQ that KC is famous for.

6) Where can other Chicks find you online?
The better question is where can’t you find me online.
Lijit company blog:  http://www.lijit.com/blog/
My work blog: http://iquitforlijit.typepad.com/
My personal blog: http://talltara.com/
Twitter: @tarable
LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/taraanderson