Hi, my name is Lara I’m 17 years old, and a student at Slemish college in Ballymena. I’ve been given the opportunity to shadow those working at TrainingMatchmaker.com and Watson & Co Chartered Marketing in Creative Space located on the 6th floor of Belfast Central Library. I was able to learn under my Trainer Christine Watson and from trainees, currently being hosted: Sophie Bagchus from Larne and Nicola Sartini from Italy who have blogged their learning plans too.
Spending the day shadowing has given me the opportunity to better understand marketing and what is done at a marketing business in a face to face environment. It gave me the chance to gain insight into what marketing entails and how it helps organisations to grow. Learning the Marketing Mix, the 7Ps and being advised as to the CIM definition of marketing being to anticipate and satisfy customer requirements profitably, taught me the core elements of marketing and how it is beneficial to plan and execute marketing strategies. I was introduced to these through a powerpoint presentation created by my Trainer, Chartered Marketer Christine and shared to me by Nicola and Sophie both of whom had attended the webinar that explained what marketing actually is.
Being able to shadow has helped me learn about the different marketing tools that are accessible. Such as Giphy that helps create gifs and also hosts them, this can help organisations and brands shows creatively what they are offering and can be useful for user generated content with individuals able to add them to their instagram stories for example. Also WordPress, that helps businesses to build and manage websites. What is wordpress?
Having this opportunity gave me the chance to learn more about how social media platforms can play a role in developing an audience. Social media gives organisations and brands the opportunity to speak directly to their target audiences, and then receive instant feedback. I was able to learn about how different platforms are useful for organisations to reach specific audiences. Such as a business trying to reach other businesses benefitting greatly from LinkedIn, by Microsoft for example.
I was also able to learn what a DJI was and how it worked. It is a high quality camera that can be used to capture videos and photos for clients. I was able to see its different features that help create the content for clients. Organisations and brands need a range of content to promote their business.
I chose to shadow a marketing job as I’m still deciding my future career. I’m still completing my A-Levels but shadowing has helped me understand how marketing works in the real world. Being able to learn under Christine has helped me with deciding courses for University and what I wish to study further.
Christine Watson