Welcome everyone! I’m excited to learn more about you all. Thanks for joining us in The Arb!

Hi! My name is Jenna Drenten and I’m a consumer sociologist and marketing professor at Loyola University Chicago. I study digital consumer culture (DigitalConsumerCulture.com): everything from influencer monetization to how algorithms shape consumer life to how brands leverage social media trends across platforms. I found my way to The Arb via a LinkedIn post from a colleague who works at Sprout Social!

I teach graduate classes in social media marketing and brand storytelling (in which I assign some great content from Sprout Social!) and undergraduate classes in IMC, marketing, and consumer behavior. While my career has primarily been in publishing academic research, I’m interested in connecting with industry experts as we all work to better understand the role of social media marketing and the future of social media management. I’m also very interesting in qualitative social media research methods.

When I’m not teaching and researching, I’m watching the latest TV obsession (right now it’s Lessons in Chemistry on AppleTV and The Golden Bachelor on ABC); binging a podcast (most recently, Classy with Jonathan Menjivar, about social class and society and ICYMI, Slate’s digital culture series); hanging out with my partner and our two puppies: Ellie, an 8-month old golden retriever, and Molly, a 1-year-old boxer (road tripping, hiking, running, and just being active outside). I’m on the Associate Board for the Chicago Public Library Foundation and care deeply about access to education & books.

Hello all! I am Kate Mains, I work as a Salesforce Admin / Senior Systems Analyst for Conagra Brands. I was recommended by Sprout to join the Arb to gather community support and help after encountering some issues related to the Salesforce integration with Sprout.

I am not really a social media person, rather I work on the Salesforce side of the house. In fact, a somewhat related fun fact about me is that I do not have any personal social media accounts. 

I am intrigued by the idea of social media marketing, and specifically how one can measure its effectiveness and direct ROI for a business.

Something unique about me is that I have 2 rescue Galgo Espanols (dog breed), and am involved in the breed’s rescue efforts in Spain where they are abused and tossed out after their use as hunting dogs is over. A sad story for sure, but they are still sweet, kind loving, speedy and lazy dogs. They definitely live up to the moniker of the 40-mile an hour couch potato!

Hello everyone,

My name is Aly Ramzi, I am a 44-year-old father of 2, happily married and settled in Hong Kong; I grew up in the suburbs of Washington DC, and I am originally from Pakistan.

Since my 20’s I have worked in the investment management industry, starting as an equity research analyst, and moving up through the ranks to portfolio management, private equity, and proprietary trading.

This past summer, I decided to make a pretty hard career pivot and leave my old world behind.

I have founded my passion project: Rakaposhi Organics, we are a craft manufacturer of a very niche product called Shilajit, which is easily THE most powerful nutritional supplement I have ever consumed (and I have consumed many!). I am not sure if its appropriate to share our website and insta accounts here, so I will leave them out (but we are easy to google)

Being new to this type of business, I stumbled across this forum while doing some research on Facebook, and my intention is to learn as much as I can about online & digital marketing, and perhaps find marketing partners who can help us launch our product.

Being a startup founder, I tend to work silly hours, especially because my teams are spread across the world, with me being here, my manufacturing unit in Pakistan, my social media and marketing teams in Dubai and New York. Typically, my days start at 7am, and I am on calls on and off till 11pm.

When I’m not working, I’m either hanging out w my kids/family, or I’m out for a hike.

Something unique about me, is that according to my Samsung Smart Watch, I am in the global top 2% of average daily step count (for my age) at 17,234/day. I have found this to be a most amazing way to distance myself from the “weeds” and give me some perspective, especially when things are going sideways!

Its great to be here, and I look forward to learning a lot and connecting with the community.

Best Regards

Aly