What They Didn’t Teach You in School (Georgia Rakusen – Screenreach)

Laura

on 16 Nov 2011

Hi, I’m Laura and these are my interviews with some of the best people working within digital and social media. I only finished school a few years ago and what I found out since leaving was the amount of opportunity within the digital communications world. I wrote a blog post addressing ‘how I wasn’t made aware of pursuing a career in digital and social media’, which is why I am on a mission to do these interviews. I want to make young people more knowledgeable about career options and hopefully these will leave them feeling inspired and excited by what can be achieved. Also, hopefully someone within the education sector will read these to help with career advice.

Name: Georgia Rakusen

Company: Screenreach

Job Role: Account Manager

Follow Georgia on Twitter: @g_rak

What is a usual day for you?

I’m the account manager at Screenreach Interactive and my job on a day to day basis involves managing clients’ projects and being in charge of the delivery. I oversee the creative and the technical elements, and make sure it’s what the client has asked for. We always try to exceed those expectations as well. I also work closely with the marketing team and business development. We’re one big happy family!

How did you get into your role?

Before my role at Screenreach I ran my own digital media and events production company called Haus Projects. In my role there, I managed projects for festivals, conferences, large-scale events, organisations and venues. This involved managing special projects such as web projects, social media strategies or large events working with digital media artists.

So you have always been involved in social and digital media?

Yes it’s always been something that I’ve been very interested in, but it’s not something I had planned to do. I studied English Literature at University and went on to work in event management. Being clued up on social media has worked very well for me. I was recruited by a local university to devise and deliver an entire module on digital marketing for advertising and media students. I enjoyed challenging the students expectations of how social media could be used to advertise businesses, and we looked at some really interesting case studies. I’m not a lot older than graduating age so think I provided an interesting perspective, compared to some of the other lecturers. Social media has always given me a head start when dealing with clients. I have a strong online presence, which works as an asset to the company I am with now. We have an amazing marketing manager, Sarah Athey, who I work closely with. We look at competition, emerging trends in the technology and digital sectors, and see what we can do better.

What makes you so passionate about Social Media and why is it you have had such success within it?

Twitter levels the playing field. It gives you the power to communicate on the same level as those you admire, and the rich and famous, the notorious! Social media removes the gate keeper between yourself and a million other people. It can be very liberating. It prompted me to follow people who were making interesting use out of Twitter and Facebook, creating viral campaigns such as alternative reality games for feature films, and embedding social across wider marketing campaigns. It is exciting to see how people use technology for political and social use. I blog, I tweet, I’m on Facebook. I have an opinion, and I like not having a barrier between me and other people.

How do you see the impact of social media expanding at Screenreach?

Screenreach has developed a open digital media platform called Screach, and we’ve developed a mobile app which sits on peoples’ social networks. It allows Users to have two-way interactive experiences with content on TV, advertising screens, radio, and at sporting events and concerts. Literally anywhere. As the app gains traction (we have a new release coming out soon!) Users will be able to challenge each other to games and experiences, and post their engagements on Facebook and Twitter. This in turn will allow us to better profile our audience, and help our clients respond better to the likes and desires of Users.

What is the best advice for someone wanting to get into social and digital media?
My number one tip would be to have an opinion. No one reads a blog by a person with no conviction. Become an expert in your chosen field – whether that’s in mobile apps or tortoise breeding! See what other people are doing online, and have conversations with them – across all the relevant social networks. Sometimes it’s about being brave, but some of the most successful companies to emerge in the last 10 years are the most disruptive ones, so don’t be afraid to be different. Also, companies use social media to recruit, so you’ll find the best chance of a job in digital by being present and vocal on those channels.

To find out more about Georgia Rakusen you can reach her on her linkedin page.

Last week I interviewed Laura Fields, an online marketing coordinator for fashion brand Firetrap and she told me: