A Week in Digital Marketing: My Work Experience at I-COM
Before doing my work experience at I-COM I knew very little about digital marketing. I understood marketing as a general term and knew it was something I am interested in pursuing in the future. However, I had very little knowledge on the different areas of marketing and was keen to learn more. Before starting I was particularly looking forward to learning about paid social adverts and PR as this was what I was most familiar with. However, I was hoping to understand other areas I was unfamiliar with to improve my knowledge and understanding. I was worried I would find it difficult due to having no prior experience in digital marketing. However, the tasks I have been set made it very easy to understand and after the first task I felt much more confident.
I have learnt that marketing agencies work with clients to increase their brand awareness and customers. This could be by improving their website, getting them mentioned in publications or helping them appear high on google searches. It surprised me that there are lots of different teams that work together to achieve a client’s goal, all with different tasks and expertise. A client will benefit from several different marketing channels to bring their goal into action with greater efficiency. This allows each step to be done effectively and in an organised manner. My understanding of marketing has changed throughout the week as previously I had not heard of concepts such as SEO or thought about the role of AI. I had not thought about how the rise of AI has affected the way people search for information and found it interesting how marketing agencies utilise this.
When completing the Morphy Richards task about SEO I chose to look at coffee machines. I assumed that people would search for coffee machines based on colour, size and price. I discovered that people can search for coffee machines in a variety of different ways based on what they want from the product. When observing different websites I realised that how clearly a website is to navigate has a large effect on whether a customer will purchase products. Therefore it is important that the website is clear and easy for customers to browse and find what they are looking for. I realised that it was useful for customers when companies offered guides on what each kind of machine does and who it is made for to make it easier for them to make a decision. I understand now that SEO hopes to utilise Google search by including words that people may search up when looking to buy products, to bring their website higher up on the results. I found it interesting to compare websites from both a customer and marketing perspective to figure out what works and what is confusing.
When planning an article on medical negligence claims I learnt it is important to work out who the article is intended for before planning it. This is because by considering the intended audience you can understand what they are looking for and you are more likely to catch their attention. By considering search intent you can look at what someone would hope to get out of an article. For example, if someone is looking for information about the subject rather than contacts of solicitors it is important you focus on that so they can benefit from reading it. To keep the article clear and beneficial it is important to get the order of information clear and reduce the amount of technical terms used unless they are necessary. I enjoyed this task because it encourages you to think from a reader’s point of view to get the most out of the article.
When learning about PR I completed the task of finding publications where the fictional brand ‘the wonky picnic and co’ could get their campaign mentioned in publications. Before completing this task I thought it was best to choose the publications with the largest number of readers. However, I now understand that it is important to think about what publication is best suited for the brand’s campaign based on whether they usually post similar content. I chose ‘The Manc’ as my strongest media target as it regularly covers local lifestyle stories and their articles are light hearted and unique. The audience of this magazine will be interested in light hearted local stories and nominate their favourite bench spots near them. If the campaign was published in a media that does not fit with the brand’s goal and purpose then it will not lead to engagement with the campaign and products. I enjoyed looking at different publications and articles and thinking about what their audience is likely to be interested in.
When looking at paid search and paid social advertising I learnt that paid search is best when people are already searching to buy products whereas paid social is intended to catch the attention of people who may be interested in the brand. It is important that social media adverts can grab attention as it needs to stop someone from scrolling through social media and get them to engage with the brand or campaign. I learnt that short advertising headlines need to be kept simple and make it clear what the topic is about. When choosing a creating idea and image I wanted to keep things feeling bright and fun to align with the brands goal whilst also showing why you should buy their products. I really enjoyed both the writing and creative side and think it was my favourite task I completed throughout the week.
After learning about client services I now understand it is important to prioritise certain tasks based on urgency and impact. Urgency is whether there is a problem happening right this moment and whether there has been a deadline set for the task. Whereas impact is whether a client is missing an opportunity or losing customers and sales. I learned when dealing with problems it's important to involve the correct members of the team instead of doing it all yourself to make sure problems can be dealt with properly. It is also important to reply to the clients even if you are unaware of the answer to make sure clients are aware the problem is being looked at.
When looking at marketing for The Wonky Picnic and co using different marketing channels the main thing they wanted to make picnics feel less formal and more fun. The main thing they wanted to achieve was to increase the number of products sold on their website in the next 3 months. To achieve this goal I decided it would be best to focus on using PR and paid social adverts. I chose these two channels because it would increase brand awareness through advertising the campaign and get the attention of target customers who might be interested in the brand. However, advertising ‘Britain’s best bench’ on multiple media platforms can work to support the same goal because it is likely to reach more people and gain more engagement. It is important to think about a client's goal before thinking about a marketing strategy to choose the right fit. As the goal of the wonky picnic and co is to make picnics feel more fun and sell colourful hampers and products, it's important to stick to a light-hearted advertising strategy. I enjoyed completing this exercise as it helped me see how different channels at the I-COM team work together to achieve a clients goal instead of seeing them individually.
My favourite task throughout the week was looking at creating paid social adverts for The Wonky picnic and co. I liked the creativity that came with thinking about the image and text and how this can bring the clients goal to life. I also really enjoyed looking at the websites of different brands and looking at the user journey of navigating it. It brought to my attention that how easy a website is to navigate has a big effect on whether people will purchase products. The task I found difficult was looking at client services and what problems need to be prioritised. Initially I found the PR task confusing when thinking about what publications would be the best fit. However, after finding a few websites and magazines that would work I found it much easier. I am most pleased with the work I did for advertising The Wonky Picnic and co and thinking about an information article that would fit with the brand.
I have developed lots of skills throughout the week beyond just marketing. I have made lots of decisions on what would work best to bring about a specific goal. I have also learnt how to explain my decisions and why I made them. I have also learnt how to create things visually and think about what works best depending on the target audience.
The area of marketing that I have been most interested in is paid social. I enjoy the creativity behind creating images and texts that can attract the attention of a target audience. I like thinking about who the audience would be, what they are interested in and what would stop them scrolling through social media. I enjoyed thinking about the customers the brand is hoping to gain attention from and creating adverts based on them. I also liked thinking about different ideas and working out what would work best to achieve a goal.
I would like to explore PR and paid social further to understand how you can be more creative. I would like to learn how I can improve my skills further and look at how advertising would change depending on the client’s goal. I would be interested to see what kind of adverts would be made for brands with a more formal and serious aim and target audience.
After completing my work experience I have learnt that SEO is very important in marketing and you can utilise search words to bring more attention to a client’s website. My understanding of marketing has changed as I am more aware of the different sectors of the marketing team working together to bring a client's goal to life. I am much more knowledgeable about what digital marketing means and how it works and would definitely like to pursue it as a career. I have really enjoyed my experience at I-COM and I really appreciate the effort put into creating each task. I have gained some great experience and knowledge from each day and think it will be really beneficial in the future.