Written by Monika Varžinskaitė, Wired Sussex Intern Placement Programme intern, turned Digital Marketing Strategist, of Say Digital.
Usually, when I tell someone that I'm a Digital Marketing Strategist, I'm asked: “oh, so you spend all day on Twitter?” The answer is both-yes and no. Social media is just a part of my role. I have a lot of responsibilities at Say Digital, which gives me an opportunity to experiment, learn, improve my knowledge and grow.
* Producing a competitor analysis
* Analysing target audiences and their needs
* Putting together a marketing plan for Say Digital, measuring and optimising the strategy: it includes weekly benchmarks and monthly reporting for ongoing data analysis, insights and refinements
* Media planning (including blog posts, newsletters, social media), creating and developing content
* Email marketing, paid advertising, social networking
* Community management
* Copywriting/proofreading copies
* Coming up with some ideas for new product branding
* Brainstorming campaign ideas/researching
* Collaborating with team members to achieve the best results for marketing Say Digital
* Asking a lot of questions!
As the Digital Marketing field is always evolving/changing/shifting/moving forward I read a lot, follow all the news and I need to be agile to stay on top of this dynamic and ever-evolving digital environment.
Overall, my mission is to come up with the best ideas on how to show our prospective clients that we’re really good at what we do (and I really believe that we are!)
In short – the process is quite simple: it contains developing the strategy to promote Say Digital products and service; presenting that strategy to the management team; then delivering the strategy and assessing and shifting the strategy as needed.
The role itself, my duties, and acquiring new skills – all of it is very important in order to progress in my career. However, I think that cultural fit is very significant as well, because it can make the journey smoother, more pleasant and even fun. So why do I think that I work at the most awesome agency in Sussex?
Say Digital is a democratic agency, where everyone’s voice is heard. Natalie and Richard encourage openness and honesty, which creates a good atmosphere and builds trust with each other.
We have flexible working hours, so if I miss the train, I don’t have to panic, because I can come in later and stay as long as I want to. Also, I've got autonomy and can plan my workload with some guidance from Natalie and Richard.
I'm surrounded by people who trust and support me. What is more – they’re all young, forward thinking, creative, hard-working and passionate! What else would I need?
I get to work in a multicultural environment with people from the United Kingdom, Portugal, Denmark, New Zealand, Thailand and I myself come from Lithuania. It gives me an opportunity to broaden my view and get to know other cultures whilst discussing structure of languages and tasting different meals.
I couldn’t leave out the other advantages, such as: hanging out with an office dog Lupin, working in a cosy, red brick office, a collaborative Spotify playlist, which we play in the office, everyone gets a Caterpillar cake on their birthdays, we don’t waste our lunch breaks-instead we have a pumpkin carving competition or go for a walk all together. Also, we have “Good noodle” points, which we award someone who has done something good (I've been awarded for baking a pumpkin pie).
These little things that I mentioned above, when summed up, make a big and positive impact on my attitude towards my career, my role, the workplace and my colleagues.
On a first day of internship I showed up wearing matching shoes to my boss. Natalie posted it on Instagram saying: “Our latest recruit @monikavarz turned up wearing matching shoes to @sambouri - good sign?” Now I know that it was a good sign as I’ve been offered a full-time position, meaning that I could keep my nice and warm place in the so-called “Taylor-Swift” hub, alongside Natalie and Majken.
I’m grateful for Wired Sussex Intern Programme, who do a great job in connecting young people, like myself, with local companies.