Bonjour.Aloha.Hola.Hallo.Ni hao.Ciao.Dia dhuit.HELLO!
You could call me a Social Media guru. Brand enthusiast. Technology geek. Hi, I am Rachel, a Student of Advertising @ Western Kentucky University. Over the past few years I have been learning the ways of the mass communication world. In the classroom we’ve hit topics on the basics of advertising to researching, planning, and delivering ad campaigns to the evolution of digital media including what may be the best medium of advertising ever, SOCIAL MEDIA!
I have developed a deep passion for Branding & Social Media. As a young native to social networking sites, it is not difficult to grasp why companies integrated their brands deep into social networking sites. After all, with twitter having over 100 million users and facebook with over 400 million users, how could you afford to miss out on all of that potential traffic?
Web 2.0 has redefined the way B2C relationships work and operate. With careful planning from within a company or outsourced agencies, you can build a “mega” brand – a brand surrounded by consumer relationships and loyalty. SEO is an obvious and huge part of this planning process; without it, how would you be found. SEO is all about the “link-age” – to become noticed you must notice others. Reach out to others, make connections and write comments on their sites, blogs, and links. In return, people will be looking at your content, and if you’ve got the goods, they will promote you. It’s what we do now, we promote others content and idea…it’s the “link-age.”
So what am I doing with all of this as a student?
Mostly, I’m doing my research, research and well, more research. I am in an EXCELLENT program in the Journalism department at WKU. They are doing the best that anyone could at teaching the latest and most relevant concepts of the digital age. However, with new tools developing daily, students need to be taking initiative in keeping up with the evolving web and technological advances (and if they are not, that just gives me the advantage…).
As I am rounding the corner to graduation, finding a job is always on my mind. As well all know, experience is golden, knowledge is power, and if you’ve got the heart, mindset, and skills – opportunities are endless. After many hours spent researching and emailing agencies, I am privileged to say that I will be able to work with the HBT Advertising Agency in Melbourne, Australia in the summer of 2010. I will be working closely with the creative staff, learning how to strategically develop creative elements of a brands image and advertisements. They also asked me what other aspects I would be interested in (which was mighty awesome of them!). Of course, I asked them about interactive digital media, social media, branding, and SEO.
Internship Goals:
- Gain REAL WORLD experience – the classroom has been a great starting point, but getting out in the real world means applying what you know…and finding out what you NEED to know.
- Gain creative, social media, and branding experience and skills
- Strategy planning and delivery
- Learn how to communicate professionally with clients (asking the right questions as we help aide them in their business efforts)
- Add a couple of good designs to my portfolio & differentiate myself from the rest of the “Pod Generation”
