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!
