My Career in Marketing As a Digital Media Specialist

Learning about other people's jobs is so interesting to me now that I'm an ~ adult ~. One thing I've definitely learned is that there's a lot of technical industry jargon and gate-keeping of information when it comes to any kind of job, so I'm here to give you the scoop about mine. Hopefully you find it helpful / informative / interesting in some capacity. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments! Now lets—drumroll, please—get to work. Oh, the joys of a bad pun.

 

My degree:

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Where I went to school:

Indiana University Bloomington

What I studied:

I majored in English with a concentration in Public & Professional Writing, and I minored in Marketing. Here's a very short list of some of the classes I had to take to complete my major, minor, and concentration:

Major & Concentration:
+ Technical Writing
How to write memos, proposals, reports, etc. Not only did I learn how to properly write professional documents, but I also learned how to use Adobe InDesign, which is a program that I use on a daily basis at work ( and sometimes even in my personal life ).

+ Argumentative Writing
             - How to persuade someone about something in a piece of writing, basically.

Minor:
+ Intro to Marketing
A broad overview of how marketing works from a business standpoint and a consumer standpoint.

+ Marketing Communications
            - Analysis of marketing strategies and how marketing messages impact consumer purchase
              behavior. What a professional jargon moment.

Why I chose my major & minor:

I chose to become an English major because reading was my favorite thing to do growing up. Writing had also always come easy for me, and I became really interested in blogging and writing for online publications ( like Spoon University ) when I was a freshman in college.

I minored in marketing because writing about products and services appealed to me. I was interested in writing and marketing, and I can do both of those things in the marketing industry.

 

My industry: 

Marketing & Communications

Where I work:

Monroe County YMCA

My job title:

Digital Media Specialist

Here are some other job titles that essentially mean the same thing: Social Media Specialist / Coordinator, Digital Media Coordinator, Digital Marketing Specialist / Coordinator

What I do:

When people ask me what I do, I usually keep it short and sweet: "I run my local Y's website and social media accounts." Like I said, that's the short and sweet version—here's a list of ( most of ) what I actually do:

+ Create 2-3 social posts ( with written and visual elements ) per day for the Y's Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
+ Write copy* for and design six monthly email newsletters + any additional email requests
             - *Copy means text of any sort—in a tweet, an email, a book, a recipe, an essay, etc. + Interview members about their "Y stories" and do one of the following to tell / share that member story:
             - Film and edit a video OR
             - Write an article
+ Write and edit copy for fliers, posters, bulletin boards, web and print ads, and any other public-facing marketing materials
+ Record Stories & Lives ( read: do social media stuff ) during programs and special events
+ Shoot photo & video during programs and special events to use for social media, digital ads, and other marketing materials
+ Design fliers, website banners, TV slides, and a handful of other graphic design pieces using Adobe InDesign

What I like about my job: 

+ It's interesting ( to me ) in the scheme of possible career options.
+ I get paid to write, which basically means I get paid to do my hobby.
+ Not to toot my own horn, but I'm good at it.
+ I get to do a variety of tasks, so I don't get super bored most of the time.
+ I get to put my graphic design skills to use, even though graphic design isn't reeeeeally in my job description.
+ It's pretty easy and low-stress for the most part.

 

What I dislike about my job:

+ I have to go to program meetings ( like swim lessons or youth basketball practices ) and special events quite often, since they need to be documented on social media. This means working late and on weekends in most cases, but it's usually only for a few hours at most.
+ Everyone thinks I just sit on Facebook all day long—insert eye roll, please.
+ I have to be relatively social, and as an introvert, it can be exhausting.

If you have any burning questions that I didn't address, ask me in the comments below! I'm more than happy to share any insight I have.