Written by Susie Cox, junior social media strategist at Fresh Egg, as part of the Wired Sussex guest blog month
After graduating from Media Studies at the University of Brighton in 2011, I certainly experienced that post-uni life crisis that many endure. I felt like real life was overrated and I wanted nothing more than to be back in the library writing about Thelma and Louise at 4am.
Fortunately, I got past that yearning. A little over a year ago, after stints in PR and television, I made the decision to dip my toe into the alluring, fast-paced Sussex hub of digital marketing.
I worked at a small web design and online marketing agency in sleepy Shoreham-by-Sea; while there gaining an excellent digital grounding in PPC, email marketing, SEO and of course, social media. It was the pace and creativity of social media that really motivated me and now I’m lucky enough to specialise in this area.
While low key Shoreham has its perks, I really wanted an energetic agency where I could be fully immersed in the digital scene. Wired Sussex was the first place I began looking for new jobs and networking opportunities where I could meet likeminded Pinterest addicts.
However, I happened to come across Brighton Social Media on Twitter (where all the best things are found) and went along to the next meet up. Over a pint in The Globe, I learnt about SuperMorriso’s journey to Peru and how social and SEO can be friends. I was inspired and excited, and quickly decided to apply for a junior social media strategist position at Fresh Egg, mentioned by Brighton Social Media founder (and now, my boss) David Somerville. It was a nerve-wracking move, not least because of David’s moustache that I couldn’t be sure was just for Movember.
I have now been at Fresh Egg for six months, delving a little further into the social landscape each day. My role includes everything from campaign planning for clients to providing social strategy training, and from auditing a client’s current social offering to writing a blog post about a new social monitoring tool. The duties of my job can change daily and time moves bewilderingly fast.
What I love about working for a large agency is the vast expanse of knowledge I gain from working with the people I do. (Fresh Egg has over 100 employees across Worthing, London and Sydney - here’s hoping I’ll one day be tweeting from the Fresh Egg office in Aus!)
It’s great to be able to brainstorm ideas with my social colleagues, but also with the content, insight, SEO, web design and commercial teams. Working in a fully integrated environment means there is always someone who will be able to educate you in any areas you lack knowledge. Everyone is very supportive of each other and always happy to share ideas and insight.
I feel that in digital marketing, you always need to aim to be ahead of the curve. You’re on your toes at all times and it seems, in social media particularly, nothing stays static for a second. But this is what’s great about working in digital; there’s nothing better than sipping your coffee and watching while a new update, trend or even crisis emerges.
Looking to get into social media? Here’s a few tips to prepare you:
- Keep on top of the latest updates to all the big social media platforms - follow Fresh Egg’s Friday Social Round Up to aid this
- Sign up to Google+ and actually start using it
- Find opportunities to meet people in the industry and follow them on Twitter -Brighton Social Media is on the last Thursday of every month and the Brighton Digital Festival runs throughout September
- Start blogging and set up ‘rel=author’ on your blog
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If you would like to hear any further chatter from me or ask me any questions, please say hello over on Twitter.