…A Day in the Life of a Marketer.
By Becky Reid, FIA Marketing Manager
Last week I had a rare occurrence…a week off work on leave. I’d love to say it was restful but, in all honesty, it involved lots of hard physical work decorating, stripping wallpaper, feeding workmen and the like!
It did make a refreshing break, though, from constantly being on the laptop/mobile checking emails, scanning the web for industry news etc. But ‘why are you telling us this and making us jealous?’ I hear you cry! Well, the mental space and physical labours did give me a chance to mull over various things marketing (as that is a subject I am passionate about!).
‘Marketing’ has changed a lot since I first started down my chosen career path. Long gone are the days of checking sticky chromalins for dust marks and couriering packages across town to meet deadlines. These days it’s all about FTP sites, PDFs and ‘field marketing opportunities’ (events to you and me).
No wonder a lot of people are finding it hard to keep up with the ever-increasing developments in the marketing world. Blogging, tweeting, poking… I know when Monica and I get going on one of our social media hobby horses half the people in the room look thoroughly confused and put it down to ‘yoof speak’ (not in my case!).
But I wasn’t always like this. I didn’t always know about these things; I heard about them, became curious, learnt more and gave it a go. I still don’t profess to be an expert at social media, but I’d like to think I’ve got a basic handle on it. Just ask my other half who is always moaning that I’m ‘facebooking’ or reading Twitter while in the pub!
I was first introduced to Facebook back in 2007 when, sat working in a race track media centre somewhere in the world, a work colleague suggested I might enjoy keeping in touch with friends and family by joining up to this new fangled Facebook (FB) site. I signed up and, lo and behold, found a whole bunch of mates back home, who would then proceed to invite me down the pub on a Saturday night while I was working in another continent!
I joined LinkedIn the following year when I was sent an email from another work colleague (different industry) and now I seem to have over 350 connections!
People ask me what to do, what’s it all about? I’ll be honest…the best way to find out is to just register on the sites and give it a go! Find people you know and before long you’ll be conversing and tweeting as if you’ve been doing it for years. Social media is all about being a bit nosy, and we all have a curious streak.
But you need to use common sense about what you post and on what platform. For example: I use FB for friends and family. I don’t want to talk work on it; I keep that for LinkedIn. Likewise I won’t put anything personal on LinkedIn as that is for my professional life. Twitter can be used for either/both professional and personal but be mindful of what you post and who might see it!
I recently welcomed my stepmother into my FB circle (she said it was strange seeing me in a suit); I also use it to keep an eye on my teenage godson (yes, Craig, I am watching you).
So, while I might not have been chained to my laptop working last week, I have to confess to uploading pics to FB via my mobile of the various bits of DIY for my family to see, as well as reading about the latest news and gossip from the Motorcycle Show at the NEC on twitter.
I think this shows how our usage of technology is changing and how we, as businesses, have to change with it. That doesn’t mean it can’t be enjoyable in the process though. Unlike DIY.
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