As part of my degree with Cardiff Metropolitan University, I had the opportunity to take part in some marketing work experience. The goal was to see how the skills I’d learned on my course could be applied in a working environment, and to pick up a few more on the way.

Marketing intern with Transform Comms

The first part of my placement was spent with the Transform Comms team, a multi-award winning B2B content marketing and PR agency, based in the sleepy village of Mells, Somerset.

It was an eye opening and valuable experience — and anything but sleepy!

I was put to work with several responsibilities from day one: creating and presenting a marketing plan to improve their presence on LinkedIn, interviewing the people of Bath about what the term ‘ESG’ means (for Transform’s new ESG branch of the business), using the Agility PR software system to update statistics for companies in their quarterly report, and writing blog posts for the company website (like this one). I also learned about client account management, and the importance of bulk buying coffee from Bookers.

My marketing plan to boost the Transform Comms LinkedIn channel allowed me to better understand and improve my social media marketing experience by putting it to practice in a real working environment. I was able to see how marketing teams develop a strategic approach to their engagement, target audiences, and SEO. I researched and suggested numerous best practices for LinkedIn marketing: optimising the company page, creating engaging content, and leveraging LinkedIn groups to increase visibility. After presenting my thoughts to the team, we discussed the potential value of these ideas and wrote a strategy for the channel’s future.

By writing blog posts for the company website, I was able to practice and develop my writing skills — as well as learning more about the content creation process with Karolyn and Hector (her dog / Barketing Assistant). I researched different possible topics to write about and got tips on how to write in a way that is engaging, informative, and easy to understand.

Another skill I hadn’t put to practice before was account management for an agency’s clients. I spent time observing how Daniel and Funbi both managed and supported their clients, guiding them towards the best solution while advising wherever possible on new projects that, again, may help their clients meet their objectives. I learned about project management, including how to create timelines and budgets, the tools that can help someone manage those things, and how to communicate effectively with clients to ensure their needs were met. Through this task, I learned the importance of building relationships (with both clients and the many, many dogs running around the office — including my own), managing expectations, and always delivering high-quality work.

Finally, one of the biggest challenges I faced during my placement was managing my time effectively and avoiding Daniel’s spreadsheets. I needed to prioritise to meet deadlines, all while coercing Daniel into handing over blog posts, not spreadsheets. Most of the time, I was successful at avoiding the spreadsheets — and all deadlines were met.

Digital marketing intern with Transform Digital

Next, I worked with the Transform Digital team for some digital marketing work experience to create a social media calendar for the coming month, then helped to design the outline of said social media posts, the written content, appropriate hashtags, and the type of media that would best fit with the post. This detailed plan was then sent to the directors for review, before the posts were scheduled.

I spent time observing the graphic design and video editing team, too: George and Nick. During this time, I was able to see how much time and effort goes into the website designing process as well as the incredible attention to detail throughout the whole process. I was amazed by the range of skills shown by the digital team and can only say I’m glad that there’s people like this in the office — otherwise, any content produced in photoshop by myself would resemble stickmen.

I was shown how to assemble a website landing page using links, widgets, and modules on WordPress to ensure that everything worked and was designed to the clients’ needs. I was also shown the complexities behind creating, and opportunities beckoning from, Transform Digital’s new showreel — though I couldn’t quite master the Scottish accent quite like Nick (I mean: Ewan McGregor). As someone who mostly works with marketing plans, writing, and presenting, it was fascinating to see how the other half live.

I gained technical skills, such as design and video editing, that will be useful in creating visually appealing marketing content (just not as appealing as the work George and Nick do).

Everything I learned during my marketing work experience

Several valuable lessons from my time spent with both the Transform Comms and Transform Digital teams will stay with me throughout my career. I’ve learned something valuable from every member of the team and can understand why the company has seen so much success.

I learned the importance of planning and research; of collaboration and communication in the workplace; the importance of clear and accessible communication; and the importance of adaptability in the workplace — things don’t always go as planned, but what matters is how we respond and to always work hard towards a solution.

My time with Transform was short but sweet. As a student, seeing how the real world of work functions through this marketing work experience (rather than two days a week at university) gives me far better idea of the commitment and skill each member contributes to the projects they work on — day in, day out.

///

This blog post was written by Henry Foster, who joined us for three weeks on placement from Cardiff Metropolitan University. At Transform Comms, we actively look for social outreach opportunities like these wherever possible, to support and work with people who are interested in gaining work experience in marketing, communications, the services of our sister companies Transform Digital and Transform ESG, and anything related.