Name: Cathy Druce

Company:  Tangent Snowball

Job Role:  Community Management, Creative and Planning Executive

Twitter: All ‘twittered’ out

What is a usual day for you?

I cycle into our offices on Great Portland Street in central London for about 8.45 and get a cup of tea and a piece of toast before starting anything!

First things first, I’ll log into our clients’ Twitter and Facebook accounts to check if any messages or comments need seeing to urgently, have a look at what’s trending and what people are talking about. I’m the Community Manager on one of our clients’ accounts, so throughout the day I’ll be browsing blogs and news websites for interesting and relevant stories to share, or posting exclusive content and promos from the client. Really it’s a nice job; a lot of the time I’m just being paid to chat with the client’s customers on social media, making sure our community stays happy and engaged.

I also work on social media strategy, so when I’m not chatting on Facebook or posting on Twitter, I’m coming up with ideas to knit social media into campaigns or researching what’s new in social media marketing.

  How did you get your role as Community Manager at Tangent Snowball?

I had just graduated and finished an internship at Ogilvy and Mather and I thought I was going to take some time off, maybe take a holiday. But I was browsing the ‘It’s Nice That’ jobsboard for creative jobs out of interest more than anything, and I saw the ad for this role – and I thought that it looked too good to be true really. I emailed my CV with a covering letter over to the creative director on a Sunday afternoon, and by Monday afternoon I had been invited to an interview the following Friday.

 How does Tangent Snowball try to be ‘different’? 

We don’t really have a contrived plan to be ‘different’. Maybe I’m biased, but I really think Tangent Snowball as an agency, (maybe because the agency is a hybrid of different companies that came together over the last couple of years), has such a variety of different personalities within it with such a broad range of expertise, that we design and deliver campaigns that other agencies just can’t do. We’ve essentially got an expert on everything marketing related under one roof.

  What do you think is the next big thing in social media?

At the moment I’d be tempted to say Pinterest! I really like Pinterest and I think the idea of being able to click a button and share images you like takes out the obstacle that some people see, having to write down your thoughts or observations for say, Twitter or Facebook. I think that could be a really powerful branding and message-spreading tool for brands and I also kind of like that it’s making brands step-up their ‘look’- like Pinterest is just as much about how the pins look as what they are about.

But as you know, social media moves pretty quick, so I imagine my answer would be totally different by next week!

 What advice do you have for people wanting to follow in your career path?

As I see it, a lot of Community Management is about creating personality through content and about using social media in new ways to keep your audience engaged. So try to stay up to date with social media news on sites like Mashable. If you read about the new stuff regularly, you’ll naturally pick up the ways brands use social media and develop your own ideas too and that kind of knowledge of the industry is totally invaluable to agencies. Also I would suggest trying to get some experience copy writing, either from writing you own blog or working on student newspapers or something.

To find out more about Cathy you can reach her on her linkedin.

I previously interviewed Pippa Stennet , assistant marketing manager for The Harlequin Shopping Centre and she told me:

• About why social commerce may well become a big part of shopping online
• How important social media is to a shopping centre

Name: Richard Etienne

Company:  Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS)

Job Role:  Copyright Licensing Executive

Follow Richard on Twitter: @retienne

What is a usual day like for you at work?

No day is ever the same. I could be waking at 7am to speak with clients abroad wanting to secure copyright licensing for a Picasso reproduction, then overseeing an auction at the world-famous Christie’s auction house just after lunch and ending the day with an evening private view for a contemporary art range on Cork St (London). On another day I could be answering emails from Tracy Emin’s studio or Henri Matisse’s Estate from 10am to 4pm – all whilst organising seminar content during the ‘quiet periods’.

You have been working in social media for a number of years. Is that the career you always wanted to be in or did you just fall into it?

Social media is a passion of mine which developed during my time working for MySpace and JumpOff TV. I keep a keen eye on blogs like TWKS and Mashable to keep abreast of developments and have cultivated a culture of social media awareness at the companies I’ve worked for ever since.

How did you get into your current role?

 I was headhunted by my current employers whilst I was working as a Broadcast and Online Licensing Consultant at PRS for Music. I was hired with the purpose of creating a robust copyright licensing tariff that covered all of the new, digital ways visual art could be publicly exploited.

How hard would your role be without social media? 

As my job is more of a legal nature now, the absence of social media would have a minimal impact at this stage. That being said, the way I communicate with my clients and those interested in copyright law has been enhanced with the introduction of Twitter. Evidence of this has been the increased attendance to copyright law seminars our company hosts – with many of the subjects discussed trending highly on Twitter as a result.

How do you think social media will change and develop?

I remember once being asked: ‘if everyone is writing, who is doing the reading?’ Couple that with the fact many regular web users only visit the same 2 or 3 websites a day, social media will develop in an aggressive way which will see the more popular sites striving for collaborative deals that will ultimately gain more subscribers and click-throughs.

What is the best advice you have to give someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?

Keep open-minded and stay focused. Never restrict your options by following the masses. Leaders in innovation have gone on to be some of the most successful people on the planet. Above all, remember: #nodaysoff!

To find out more about Richard you can reach him on his linkedin. 

Before Christmas I interviewed Jennifer Davis, a Content Manager at Make It Cheaper and she told me about:

• Different ways to get into the industry
• How the future could lie within “immediate sharing”

Name:  Jennifer Davis

Company:  Make it Cheaper

Job Role:  Content Manager

Follow Jennifer on Twitter: @ensign_jen

What is a usual day for you?

It can really vary. I get in in the morning and check my emails like everybody, and then the first thing I will do is check my Google alerts because I have quite a lot of them set up for business.  There are a lot of things that go on like press releases and such like, and we want to be the first to give our opinion on those things.  I would also spend time on the planning and content on emails and social media for the following weeks and again during the day writing a lot of content for emails and for the website and uploading it-not on a daily basis but talking to agencies who do some design work for us and html templates- so working with external companies as well. Then when I have updated content and put it out I then will analyse the results and see our successes. I also look after social media here, so I have sent out a few tweets today, we aren’t that heavily into that at the moment, so it is light social media-but I definitely keep an eye on what people are saying, seeing if people do ‘mention’ us -I will try and respond to them straight away and that probably forms an average day for me.

What else do you do with the information you get about the company from social media platforms such as Facebook etc?

I started here a few months ago. Before I started, various people in the company had set up profiles on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and at the moment, we are keeping our accounts ticking over. What I have been doing with Twitter is to broadcast new content and tell people about any interesting news that’s relevant to small businesses. We’ve used Facebook to post our customer testimonials but we haven’t actively driven traffic there – we will be reviewing how we use Facebook and hope to do more with it in the future. Apart from that, we have a business blog on our Business Fit website which we keep regularly updated, we try for a couple of times a week. There’s definitely more we want to do with our social media presence which we’ll be working on in the months to come”

Tell me how you got your role?

I have been here for five months now and I got into this specific role because there is a lady here called Jo-I worked with her in my first ever digital role . We parted ways for a couple of years and it came about they needed a content manager at this company and she put me forward so I was lucky enough to be offered the role here.

How did you get there?

I’m twenty-six at the moment when I left college at eighteen I was actually working in a bank administration role for about four and a half years and that didn’t quite work out for me, I was looking for another job and I was looking for an opportunity and I will admit that I didn’t really know about the digital marketing world at that time, I use the internet every single day and I felt really at home there but I hadn’t even considered getting a job in that industry. What happened is another friend wanted to put me forward for a role that was fully based online, I was lucky enough to get that job which was like the bottom rung of the ladder-work for graduates if you like- and after that the light switch switched on and it was a really fantastic place to start my career in digital-they had every department you could think of. They asked me what was I interested in and I said content- content is definitely something I’m interested in- having been an avid writer in my spare time-they helped me move over into the content team after about six months and I’ve never looked back. Every role I’ve had in the last three years have been a content based role.

Do you use social media a lot personally in your own time?

Definitely.   I have a personal blog and I have LinkedIn, which I make a lot of effort to keep updated. I use Twitter quite avidly. Facebook is definitely much more of a personal thing. I use Word Press for my blog which to be honest I try use to talk about work related things because I am aware that people will be looking at it. Twitter is my favorite of the platforms to use.

What do you think will be the next big thing in social media?

To follow on an idea that I heard recently. I watched a presentation by Will Francis (he used to work with Andrew I think at MySpace) and he said that he felt that the future of the Internet was going to be down to immediate sharing of everything all the time. Almost constantly like blogging about our lives, where we are -like 4square and Facebook Places or Twitter where can just update everything all the time. Obviously it needs to be smoothed out but I really do feel like that’s where its going and I feel like we are a lot of the way there.  Anything that could help make that way easier and better will probably be the next big thing.

What is the best advice you could give for someone wanting a role in digital and social media?

I think there are a couple of routes into the digital world. If you do come out of school and know what you want to do there are a lot of specific courses and degrees you can do but if you are at a point where you have already moved out of school and have decided this is something you want to move into then I definitely think if you can start somewhere that can help. Starting as an analyst or in a junior role whether that be at an agency or somewhere else is a great place to start because you can start from the bottom and then you can see all around you all the different roles there are going and the ones you could move into which is obviously the route I took, starting from the bottom.  It was a really nice way of seeing what I was interested in, choosing a specialty and then really going for it. I think there is room for people who aren’t necessarily degree educated.  And that would be my other piece of advice-if you can find a company that really believes in digital and its not a 100% a money spinning channel for them then I think you will find its a really great exciting environment to work in. It has certainly made me happy.

To find out more about Jennifer you can reach her on her linkedin 

Last week I interviewed Hayley McCool Smith, a Social Media Editor & Interactive Researcher on T4 at Princess Productions and she told me:

• Why she was voted top 30 under 30 in digital
• How making yourself accessible is very important
• Why the industry is changing so much at the moment

Name: Hayley McCool Smith

Company: Princess Productions

Job Role: Social Media Editor & Interactive Researcher on T4

Follow Hayley on Twitter: @hayleymccool

What is a usual day for you?

I get into work around 9.15am. The first thing I do is look at my emails and then look at Mashable and all the other tech digital websites to see if anything has maybe come out over night that could be of use to us. Generally Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday is dedicated to finding out what guests we have in that week, researching them and then coming up with items that we can do with them in the studio. Once we have done that we concentrate on looking at how we can make T4 a lot more interactive. At the moment I’m working on an interactive treasure hunt that will take place at ‘T4 stars of 2011’ (an event at Earls Court which we do every year) so I am working out how we can integrate Facebook into it, for example getting competitions and pages made, speaking to IT and then seeing how then can they facilitate what we need and generally finding new trends in digital- anything that’s emerging and,on the side ,writing scripts for studio items and things like that.

You said you look at sites like Mashable- if you do find a new trend or news what do you do with that and how does that effect a usual day?

At the moment there is a big trend in brand partnering. For example, a magazine partnering with an agency  and then launching a mini series on Facebook.  It’s really important for us to know what is going on in the digital industries. Often campaigns that are created for brands use really interesting platforms and their ideas are completely innovative. We are trying to do the same for television.

Tell me how you got your role?

I started as a runner about 5 or 6 years ago working for a film company in Liverpool and then I got work experience at BBC Radio Merseyside for about a year. From there I worked in radio and then I moved into to learning about multi platform producing.  I did a training  scheme worked quite closely with digital agencies. On the back of that I got a job at a digital agency and worked with them for just under a year before starting at  T4.  I have been working here for nearly 2 years now.

You have been voted  ‘Top 30 under 30 in Digital by The Drum Magazine’‘ – Why do you think you were placed in that category?

It’s a bit of an ambiguous area as I think there are a lot of women who work in agencies but not so many that work in television whose skills specifically lie in digital. The area I work in is so new, a couple of years it wouldn’t have even existed,  so there’s a distinct lack of women in digital television but not necessarily in digital agencies. I think a lot of it is down to making yourself really accessible and easy to find, so my advice for anyone getting into the industry is make sure you’re on Twitter, linkedIn and all the usual platforms. If you have a particular interest in a digital area, whether it be social media or branding, start a blog. It’s a creative way for future employers to see that you have a vested interest in the industry.

 
You said to me when I asked to participate in this interview  – ‘’I need to convince kids that working in digital is the future of TV’’ could you explain…

This industry is changing so much at the moment.  In 2012 there is going to be a massive increase in people who are buying connected TVs. These days people are watching ‘X Factor’ or ‘The Apprentice’ and taking to twitter at the same time. At the same time, a lot of people under the age of twenty are getting their TV purely on on demand services. I know working in TV that a lot of people still don’t really understand digital and don’t understand the massive changes that are going to take place in the next two years. This is for a variety of reasons, perhaps they are digital immigrants as apposed to digital natives. We need to cater for a generation that have been brought up with youTube and Facebook without alienating the rest of our viewing audience. From personal experience, it is often quite difficult  trying to recruit people for a digital role in TV. Many people assume that if you’re going to work in TV, you have got to know how cameras work and write scripts and to an extent you have. But there there is this whole area of television that is emerging for people who are purely interested in digital and technology.

To find out more about Hayley you can reach him on her linkedin page.

Last week I interviewed Ryan Dixon, the brand manager at Thorpe Park and he told me:

• How social media drives ticket sales
• Why understanding exactly what you want to do from the outset is so important

Ryan’s interview can be found here.

Name: Ryan Dixon

Company: Thorpe Park

Job Role: Brand Manager

Follow Ryan on Twitter: @ryandixon85

What is a usual day for you?

A usual day for me in a season is looking at the figures of people coming into the park the previous day and whether or not we need to do any tactical changes. All of our business is driven by ticket sales so if we don’t hit the target we have set we need at look at if we need to change the communication.  That could be our communication via our social networking social, or it could be our website. Longer term there are key periods in our year, so there are usual things like summer and Easter, then we have various event throughout the year, such as fright night, so it’s putting plans together for them through key media.

How did you get into your role?

I did marketing at University and got into it that way. I started off with a big American manufacturering company; they weren’t actually doing the kind of marketing that I wanted to pursue, so I then went onto an agency to get more experience and then the role I am currently in came up, actually through a friend of mine. It was the kind of marketing I wanted to be doing. It was for a well recognised brand, doing some of the above the line stuff that I really wanted to do. It’s working on stunt shows to new ride launches; it is a fun place to be. I saw the role and thought that was the thing I would like to do.

On that journey at what point did you get introduced to social media?

It was very early on when I arrived at Thorpe Park, we didn’t have a Facebook page we were active on, and the Twitter page was in its infancy, so it really started at that point and since then it has been about not just having a page, but how the page can really work for us. So we have grown our fan page by about 250,000 in the last 2 years.  It has continued to grow from when I started. There is a big focus, especially for next year to drive engaging content on social media. So it has been there since beginning but it’s started to get more serious in the last year or so.

Have you seen a big change with social media and how you use it?

We have seen a big change. When we started with Facebook, we did it because it seemed like the right thing to be doing and everyone else was doing it and we used it to periodically update people on things that were going on at the park and we used it as a tool to communicate offers and things that have definitely driven sales. It has changed over time, our fan base doesn’t respond to just communication around offers, our engagement rates are really low on that, it’s putting content on there that people get really exited about. Whether that’s footage of a ride or it’s the latest developments on a new ride, I think now it’s the content people crave. So in terms of the change I think we have gone from using it as a tactical tool for updating people on things to actually it being all about content, that isn’t necessarily pushing a sale but it’s building the brand up which in turn (not tractable) drives sales to Thorpe Park. The other thing that is still evolving with us is that two-way communication. People are asking questions, they complain and its all how we look at that, deal with it and communicate back to people. I think that is definately a focus for us next year.

Do you think without social media it would be hard to drive ticket sales?

I wouldn’t say that it is impossible without social media. I would say we would be able to still do it. We did it for 20 odd years before that anyway but I think it’s a really important part of what we do now and it really help to drive that excitement and reach out and communicate with people, previously we were relying on people coming to us. In terms of our brand website we were relying on people hearing radio campaigns, TV adverts.  With this we have a great set of brand advocates on our social media site that we can start to have two way conversations with. So I wouldn’t say without social media it’s impossible but it definitely help a lot.

What’s the best advice for someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?

The key thing is knowing what you want to do from the outset. With me I knew I wanted to get involved with a consumer brand, I knew that I wanted to get involved with some above the line media stuff. I do so having that knowledge- it helped that every job I got was taking me towards that step. The problem is,  and this is more advice for people coming straight out of university- if you go into a channel that you don’t necessarily want to be in because you don’t really understand what you want to do, long term you will end up getting sucked in and will end up three years down the line not being able to break out of that channel and move into another channel. I think the barriers that get put up in the marketing industry once you get in are so high that its very tough to make that move, so I think the biggest advice from me would be- understand exactly what you want to do from the outset and make sure whatever job you’re doing,  the projects you’re doing within that job are taking you to that point.

To find out more about Ryan Dixon you can reach him on his linkedin page.

Last week I interviewed Georgia Rakusen, the account manager at Screenreach and she told me:

• How she ran her own digital media and events production company
• Why Twitter is so incredibly important

Georgia’s interview can be found here.

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:

• Why brand exposure is so important
• How working with V Festival was great for Firetrap

Laura’s interview can be found here.

Dowshan and Andrew showcased the results of classes that they have delivered to GCSE students at Bishop Challoner Catholic Collegiate School in east London and the lessons they have drawn from this experience.

Dr Vicki Obied, the PGCE Course Director was on hand to encourage her students to take advantage of this presentation and workshop – which they all did enthusiastically. We were impressed by the PGCE students’ inquisitiveness regarding the techniques and technologies that were discussed.

There was also a good deal of healthy debate. Of course teachers need to equip their students with the basics of language, maths and core curriculum subjects. However, the reality of the social web has significant impact for young people coming through the education system and entering the work-place. TWKS are determined to ensure that both new and current teachers understand and are conversant with the possibilities they have for opening up learning for the new generation of ‘digital natives’.

Andrew and Dowshan certainly hit a nerve with these trainee teachers as over half reported back to us that the all too brief timetabled session would be beneficial and impact their teaching. There was also a demand for more insight on ‘monitoring, social gaming, privacy, inappropriate classroom use and safety and the use of content’. Again from the feedback, we can see that teachers are keen for specific lesson plans that can be delivered into classrooms.

By and large these are young teachers who are ‘digital natives’ – the same as their students. Despite the potential of digital and social media, Dowshan and Andrew emphasised that these technologies and techniques sit alongside and do not replace traditional methods. As Dowshan said: “A ‘tweet’ can be an ‘extreme précis’ – with the correct use of language and grammar please!”

The traditional principles still must be taught but we must take the time to educate the young about the reality of digital and social media technology. Some say that students today do not need educating in these areas as they are aware of this. But that is like saying that if you are born and live in England – why should we educate you in English language, literature and spoken English. The focus is to use digital and social media to bring the curriculum to life – producing engaging lesson, helping students to understand the true potential of these social tools and take these skills into their professional lives.

Adapted by TWKS Content Team from Lucy Johnson, Digital Suss Blog

Name: Laura Fields

Company: Firetrap

Job Role: Online Marketing Coordinator

Follow Laura on Twitter: @eeeeekyfields

What is a usual day for you?

I’ll come in and see what is planned for the week, what offers we have got on, what promotions, how the sales are going, what we need to push – and then we can put that into social media as well. We push certain projects if we have competitions, and then if there is anything we can put on Facebook or Twitter and put anything on in the blog that links to that.

How did you get into your role?

I started at ASOS where I spent 2 years in buying. I then did some freelance work and work experience for 6 months, then I worked at Ben Sherman and also worked for two of Peter Jones’ (Dragons Den) companies and I then I saw the Firetrap position and got the job.

How essential is social media for your role?

Well before I started we didn’t really do a lot with it. Then when I joined they focused on it a bit more and as time goes on its getting bigger and bigger – so I’m putting more and more effort into it. It is quite a small department and can be quite tricky to keep on top of, but it is getting more important that we do it.

How would you say social media has impacted Firetrap as a brand?

It’s brand exposure at the end of the day and it improves sales figures and means more people go to our site as well. Social media really links well with the ecommerce side of the site and it’s good because we can talk about events we have got going on, getting people down into our stores as well and then that increases sales at the end of the day.

What social media tools do you use on a regular basis?

Facebook and Twitter. We have a few things going on YouTube and you have the blog on the site. Our biggest social platform is Facebook. We build Facebook tabs to promote competitions to get more people to ‘like us’.

What is your best social media campaign?

We worked with V festival and that worked really well for us. We ran a competition where we posted a link on the V festival page and from that we had a 10,000 sign ups and saw an increase in Facebook by 1,000 likes a day. So working with partners really does help. Its gets us followers and brand exposure. We also did a project for Deadly the Gnome – our brand mascot. That is just a bit of fun and gets people interacting. It has it own Facebook page where people upload and like pictures and using it on Twitter. It just gets a lot of people talking about it.

What is the best advice to get a role like yours?

Work experience is so important. Go out and gain as much as experience as you can by working for different companies. Then it will show you what you really want to do.

To find out more about Laura Fields you can reach her on her linkedin page.

Last week I interviewed Poppy Dinsey, founder of What I Wore Today and she told me:

• How she set up WIWT
• Why having a basic understanding of HTML is important
• Her vision for her online brand

Poppy’s interview can be found here.