In one of my university courses (INFO250: Networks, Crowds and Communities ), we worked on a community based experiential learning (CBEL) project. During this project, we were put into groups and we were connected with a local non-profit organization. Alongside my peers, we were paired with a Women's Resource Society called Atira.
After partnering with Atira, I worked with a group of my peers to redesign their social media marketing strategy leading up to an annual event. I was also working with an Atira representative which allowed me to ask questions and learn many new collaboration and communication skills. By designing a marketing strategy I have gained experience collecting social media analytics for Instagram and Facebook to strategically curate content for our target audience. While working with a diverse group I have analyzed problems and data related to online engagement, aesthetics, marketing and communication efficacity. This introduced me to new and creative ways of finding solutions to contribute to social media planning and content development.
Below are a couple of examples of the content we created for Atira.
Throughout this experience, I had the opportunity to use my creative skills and create content for Atira's social media. This opportunity gave me the chance to really work for a specific target audience and think about how my work will affect other people. I developed many hard skills while analyzing their current social media status. In other words, I was able to analyze their target audience as well as their social media analytics, which gave me significant insight as to how to plan for a more strategic way of using social media platforms. Additionally, I think that I have gained interpersonal skills by working for a specific target audience. This allowed me to think about the users and take action accordingly. This skill is very transferable and I have found myself using it in many of my other projects.