Tag: Marketing Agency

Remote Teamwork

Remote Teamwork

by Laarni Jane ♥ 0 Leave a Comment
COOP 4005 – Blog Post 2

As a social media intern, it’s my job to manage Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages for various clients. I also provide support to account managers with a variety of tasks, such as content creation and social media audits (scorecards). To work effectively with my team and supervisor, I learned to use different online communication platforms (Skype, Zoom, Google Hangout) and made time in my day for additional tasks.

Client and Team Communication

My day starts bright and early, at 8 AM. The Qode Social and Qode Media team has a morning huddle on Skype, which usually consists of good mornings and an ice breaker question. These morning chats help the teams warm-up and get our creative juices flowing. I then proceed to login to the socials of my assigned clients for the day and check for messages and reply to comments. 

Each client has a unique tone – which means I need to switch gears in commenting and interacting with their target audience. One of my clients is a specialty cheese brand, targeting individuals who love cheese and enjoy wine pairings. When interacting with their audience, I usually use formal and posh-sounding language (i.e. “Such a delectable spread!”).

We referred to this chart quite a bit in my content marketing class.

For my cheese snack client, I use informal phrases to appeal to their target audience of millennial hikers (i.e. “Looks like an awesome adventure. Hope you brought some snacks! 🧀”). As I’ve previously learned from my content marketing class, we must communicate with our audience using a consistent and relatable tone. 

Indeed, there have been days where I had to deal with negative comments and messages. In response to these interactions, I would frame my reply with a “You-focused” attitude (which I learned from my business communications class) and escalate messages to my supervisor when necessary. Despite working remotely, my supervisors are quite helpful and open to chat online. 

Taking Initiative

As an intern, it’s imperative to show your interest in the field and ask questions to demonstrate your drive and dedication towards your mentors and peers. With Qode Social, the quality of your intern experience depends on how much you want to learn. Since day one, my supervisor mentioned that if I ever want to learn something or take on additional tasks, I should reach out to any of the account members – and so I did.

In fact, since writing this article, I was able to accomplish the following:

  • Revamped the Instagram Page for a Client
  • Design graphics and images for Instagram Stories
  • Copywriting (Instagram Captions)
  • Conduct a social media audit (scorecards)
  • Draft ideas for a shot list
  • Assist with costume design for a client photoshoot
  • Account Build (Doubled the Instagram following for a client)

Working with Qode Social has been eye-opening. I enjoy being able to use many of the concepts I learned in class in actual scenarios. It’s been quite the ride so far, but I’m looking forward to what comes next!

-LaarniJane♡

My First Week as a Social Media Intern

My First Week as a Social Media Intern

by Laarni Jane ♥ 0 Leave a Comment
COOP 4005 – Blog Post 1
Laptop, Computer, Business, Table, Paper

Just last week (Sept. 24), I started my internship as a Social Media Manager with Qode Social. As the full-service social media branch of Qode Media (parent company), Qode Social specializes in creating content to help develop positive brand experiences. From day one, I was introduced to the fast-paced nature of the digital marketing industry. As an intern, I was responsible for community management and account building for the various clients of the agency. 

Qode Social is the Social Media Marketing branch of Qode Media.

Community Management

Social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, constantly change and update their algorithm – which is why companies need to stay in-the-know to maintain its hard-earned following.

Community management entails prompt replies to comments and direct messages; thereby, fostering a community between followers and brands. Community management also helps to humanize a brand, making it easier for fans (and potential customers) to relate with a brand. 

Account Building

With many brands hopping to social media, it’s becoming increasingly challenging to build an organic following. Account building is the act of increasing awareness of a brand by reaching out to potential customers and engaging with their content.

Liking, sharing, commenting, and following target audience members are just some of the ways I engage to increase the exposure of Qode Social’s clients on Social Media. 

Finding Success Despite the Pandemic

Due to the pandemic, many marketing agencies have been struggling to maintain their workload and retain employees. Fortunately, Qode Social has been doing well despite the situation and has even assisted other agencies with their clients. As a result, my internship experience has become a lot more “colourful” per se, as I get to work with clients from various industries such as consumer packaged goods (food), pharmacy, and education! 

Having only started my internship a week ago, I’ve learned so much about the digital marketing industry – particularly with social media. I look forward to the coming weeks as I’ll be assisting one of the account managers with a brand-new client! 

-LaarniJane♡

An Introvert’s Networking Journey

An Introvert’s Networking Journey

by Laarni Jane ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

MARK 1024 – Final Networking Blog

Team, Young, Professionals, Startup, People, Business
Image from: https://bit.ly/2XNXFgf

It’s hard to believe that it has been about eight months since I decided to “take the leap”. After graduating with a marketing degree and zero practical experience, I struggled to find a job in my field that, frankly, paid the bills. In the meantime, I continued teaching piano while working retail part-time. Don’t get me wrong, I love music and I’m especially thankful for the opportunity it gave me to develop leadership skills and independence. However, after teaching for about nine years (since high school!) I decided to work on myself and enrol into a Digital Marketing program at George Brown College.

During my time at GBC, I was fortunate enough to learn from weekly guest speakers – each of which were well-versed in marketing and job searching. As an introvert, the idea of networking and job seeking was quite daunting. However, as a future marketing professional, I knew that I needed to overcome my shyness and forge connections with different individuals.

Lessons Learned

One of the first lessons I learned is to expand my professional network! One of the speakers, Julie Vanderkloet, expressed that isn’t enough to add someone as connection on LinkedIn, instead you should strive to create authentic relationships with individuals you meet on your job searching journey. Whether it be a former employer or even a classmate, a genuine connection is with someone that actually remembers who you are.

Urban Dictionary: wait a minute, who are you
Kazoo Kid, gif from: https://bit.ly/30K5GF9

In addition to meeting new people, it’s important to ask questions. For myself, this meant participating more in discussions in class and even at my current workplace. With the pandemic still running rampant, meetings are taking place online – meaning that we must be comfortable chatting both in-person and virtually. By asking questions, you are showing the other person that you’re interested in what they have to say. As marketers we are constantly exposed to different insights, and we must question why people are thinking or feeling a certain way so that we can create solutions to meet their needs. Being curious is a part of being a marketer, as we are always thinking of what clicks and sticks in people’s minds. While it’s great to ask questions, we should be succinct in phrasing inquiries.

“If you can get the message across in 50% less words, then do it!”

-Julie Vanderkloet, Senior Manager of Consumer Insights at Weston Foods
Board, Slate, Blackboard, Font, Courageous, Brave
Image from: https://bit.ly/33IZW08

Be brave! Courage and resilience was a recurring theme throughout the guest speaker series. Kareem Perez, career coach and brand consultant, encouraged my classmates and I to start taking action and “fail forward” in reaching our career goals. By taking the chance and applying for that intimidating job posting, we are taking a step forward towards success. Being afraid to make a mistake won’t help you progress, but will actually hinder your ability to grow as both an individual and professional.

“If you can hit 75% of what the job poster is looking for, you should go for it. If you are a good fit they are likely to let you learn on the job.”

–Asta Schouten, Social Media and Brand Strategist

Building My Network

Image from: https://bit.ly/3fK1Pfw

Thanks to the seminar series, I was able to connect with the guest speakers on LinkedIn. SEO specialist and GBC alumni, Natasha Burtenshaw-deVries has been extremely helpful on the platform by sharing stimulating search marketing content and advice.

Graham Sterling from Acadium introduced my classmates and me to online digital marketing apprenticeships. During my upcoming work term, I plan on completing an apprenticeship with Acadium to obtain more experience and grow my professional portfolio. 

Kareem Perez from The Tech Effect was gracious enough to connect on LinkedIn and offer a career discovery session for us to chat about “getting myself out there”. All of the speakers were generous enough to offer their time and expertise to help us gain a better foundation going into job searching.

Behance :: Adobe 99U Conference 2020
Image from: https://www.behance.net/99u

After continuously hearing about networking and conferences, I finally attended my first event – the 2020 Adobe99U Conference. At the virtual convention, I heard from different individuals from the creative industry. One of the speakers, Nishat Ahktar, a design professor at Portland State University, shared the importance of fully listening and not just passively looking. Ahktar referred to the act of attentive listening and appreciation as the gift of exchange. When actively listening, we gather deeper insights and stimulate creativity.

To exercise the gift of exchange, Ahktar shared a simple exercise – listen to an album from beginning to end. By taking the time to listen to each track, you open yourself up to a level of critical thinking (i.e. Thinking about the lyrics, instrumentation, emotion, key, tempo). It’s important to remember that someone took the time to create something, and as listeners, we must fully listen and appreciate the content. This conference, while primarily about design and art, reinvigorated my creative drive and inspired me to create content and share it on my blog site, SimplyLJ.

SimplyLJ logo designed by yours truly 🙂

SimplyLJ was initially created as an online space for me to share my creative work. However, the site has grown to become a place where I can share a variety of content on topics that I’m passionate about, like music and marketing. As an introvert, sharing can sometimes seem difficult but as the speakers have mentioned, we need to be brave and take chances! So, I took the leap and started a music podcast series called The Melody Project in which I discuss music and pop culture, all while brushing up on my public speaking skills.

Check out my podcast series, The Melody Project!

While I currently haven’t obtained a co-op, I have a list of contacts that I am planning on reconnecting with to secure a position with a marketing agency. There are many facets of marketing that I still want to explore and I believe that a work term in an agency environment will provide a diverse experience.

-LaarniJane♡