Tag: Marketing Diary

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♡

Food for Thought: Consumer Insights

Food for Thought: Consumer Insights

by Laarni Jane ♥ 1 Comment

Journal 2 – MARK 1024

On June 9, 2020 I attended presentation given by the Senior Manager of Consumer Insights at Weston Foods, Julie VanderKloet.

Home | Weston Foods

Image from: https://www.westonfoods.ca

So what are insights anyway?

Insights are essentially a deeper understanding of something (i.e. people, objects, situations, etc.). Julie described insights to be knowledge that helps:

  • Understand a problem in a new way
  • Uncovers fundamental human truth
  • Discover underlying motivations that drive action

This deeper understanding of something, let’s say consumers, help businesses innovate ways to inspire and guide action. A great example that Julie shared was Glossier. The beauty company specializes in cruelty-free skincare and minimalist makeup products. However, it isn’t just the products that made the brand stand out, but it was the connection and community they built with their customers. Glossier didn’t start out as a beauty company; rather, it started with a blog, Into The Gloss.

The team behind the Into The Gloss blog, created Glossier after gathering insights from their readers and editors.

The Into The Gloss team consists of beauty editors that have tried and written about a variety of products. Together with their experiences, and the feedback from their readers, they were able to identify a consumer need in the beauty industry for no-fuss, simple, cruelty-free skincare and makeup. Thus, Glossier was incepted and has boasted a loyal following online (its official Instagram account has 2.8 million followers!).

How do insights work with marketing?

As mentioned previously, insights give businesses a better understanding of their customers; which in turn guides them on their next steps. A marketer’s job is to address these consumers’ needs in a meaningful way. If used effectively, insights can aid in the following marketing tasks:

  • BIM Development
  • Brand Awareness and Equity
  • Building and supporting new brands
  • Brand refresh
  • Packaging design
  • Advertising and messaging
  • Targeting

Julie’s experience at Weston Foods truly showed her the value of genuinely understanding and engaging with customers. Her position as the Senior Manager of Consumer Insights exposed her to both positive and not so great outcomes.

Julie shared an instance when they tried to introduce a new product to an existing bakery brand. The brand itself was quite popular, and sold quite well; however, the new bread product was not doing quite well. Before the launch, Julie and her team researched the demand for the product, which there seemed to be. Unfortunately, once the bakery item hit the shelves, it was displayed inappropriately, resulting in customers completely missing the product. Julie showed a picture of the product to my class, and while most of us recognized the brand, none of us knew of the product. While consumer insights are valuable, they need to be incorporated throughout the marketing plan to be effective.

What’s helped her succeed?

Julie wouldn’t have gotten to where she is now, had she been afraid to speak up and take risks. She also mentioned that as a marketer, you need to have a willingness to learn and try different things, especially as a beginner in the field. This reminds me of one of my favourite quotes,

“The biggest risk is not taking any risk… In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.”

-Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO

Whether you like him or not, Mark Zuckerberg has a point; if you don’t take a chance to try something challenging, you’ll hinder your personal growth. In addition to learning, you need to build your network and create valuable connections with your peers and mentors. Julie advises that these connections should be authentic in order for it to be of any value. This means respectfully getting to know the person and conversing with them (rather than just shooting a LinkedIn request) so that the person actually remembers you.

Lastly, be comfortable talking in front of people. Nothing exudes confidence more than a well-spoken, composed public speaker. As a quiet introvert myself, this is something that I definitely need to work on.

Personal Insights

Like many of us, Julie had her own unique self-discovery journey. She graduated with a degree in chemistry and psychology only to find herself working in the wonderful world of consumer insights. In fact, it might be safe that through this journey, she gained a deeper understanding of herself, and better insight on what career path she wants to take. As a digital marketing postgrad student, who previously completed a marketing degree, I felt challenged by Julie’s experience. If she could get a career in marketing, then there’s no reason for me not to try.

-LaarniJane♡