Final Goodbyes

Confidence grew in my abilities after the implementation of the hugging heritage social media strategy. Whilst, it may have not have spread like the social media phenomenon of Kony it managed to generate some hype amongst our users. Organisations associated with heritage appeared to like the idea as they shared it amongst their networks. It was wonderful to watch the community’s response to one of the tactics I had help to develop. Through out university we have been applying our knowledge and ideas to assignments in return for a grade but we rarely get to see our work in action. In my opinion, work place reality is a lot more demanding and consequential than university reality.

I managed to finalise my social media and membership strategy, which included a variety of tactics that the NTWA could implement to engage with their primary and secondary stakeholders. It was a relief to finish the document and present it to my supervisor and the social media coordinator. It was daunting, as I knew they would be scrutinising and analysing the work I had spent weeks preparing. I was fairly confident that I had managed to address the criteria of the brief. However, my supervisor managed to identify a few holes in the report that needed to be addressed. They included alternative organisations the Trust could form affiliations with and expanded on a future recommendations.

I feel it is appropriate to share four lessons learnt from working at the NTWA:

1.     Voice your opinions when appropriate. One of the hardest aspects of being an industry amateur is finding the balance between knowing when it is important to voice your opinions and when it is not. Striking this balance is no easy feat and I was often hesitant to offer my position for fear that my inexperience would be highlighted.  

2.     Take responsibility for your mistakes. Embrace mistakes and take ownership of them, they are the fastest way to learn. I took my time at NTWA as an opportunity to put into practice every aspect of PR that I possibly could. I made mistakes, made recommendations to quickly and failed to fully analyse the importance of research.  

3.     Take note of people’s names and use them.  Don’t only consider remembering the names of important personal. Attempt to remember the names of everyone you meet (not easy!!), as it will stand you on solid ground and  It is also just good manners. As a side note, look people in the eye when you are speaking to them and appear confident…even if your not.

4.    Research, research, research. You cannot possibly be across everything but you can try. In order to formulate an effective strategy, it is important to understand the various departments and stakeholders who will be affected by the tactics.

   Happy interning PR friends!