For the last few weeks, we’ve been lucky enough to enjoy what all modern marketers dream of. That is the chance to really see a generation Z point of view for our social media channels.
Mollie has been the Bold social media intern and has offered us the benefit of her unique insight, having been born and reached adulthood in the 21st century. The internet has existed her whole life as well as mobile phones and tablets being the number one entertainment device.
While many of us remember our parents telling us to get off the landline and not to make calls before 6pm, social media is the go-to communication channel between Mollie and her friends. She is therefore perfectly placed to tell us if we are missing a trick or two when reaching out to our audiences online.
As many marketers have speculated, Snapchat and Instagram are the preferred platforms of younger people, so it’s great to see first-hand what features we should be making more use of.
A little about Mollie: She has just finished her A-levels in biology, business studies and geography. She is waiting to hear if she has got into Newcastle or Birmingham to do a degree in Business Management. In her free time, she can be found working out in the gym, eating out with friends (especially at Mowgli) or baking cakes (evidence below). Her dream is to see lots of the world including Australia, Europe and San Francisco. She’s leaving us soon to head off to Madrid, Barcelona and Majorca before the new academic year begins.
Since arriving in at Bold HQ, Mollie has taken on social media tasks including designing, composing and scheduling posts for Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. She’s been an integral part of our strategy sessions, assisting in creating social media plans and she has also shown her prowess with blogging and email.
For this week’s blog post, we took the opportunity to have a discussion with her about business, education and the best features on social media.
Hi Mollie, Thanks for chatting with Bold. First of all, tell us, why did you choose to study Business Management over other subjects?
Out of my three A levels, the subject I was most confident with was Business. I felt like it came naturally to me as I understood the content that we needed to know. This was the subject that I achieved best in.
I am eager to find more information on how businesses are managed in the four functional areas and I want to be more knowledgeable in this broad industry. I thought choosing this degree made sense. I feel passionate to discover how businesses succeed and fail within their industry. I believe that t his degree is able to open doors for you, as it is not narrow with one or two possible jobs at the end of it.
In your opinion, what subjects/skills should schools spend more time teaching?
CPR – I learnt this in my extra-curricular activities like D of E (Duke of Edinburgh) and CCF (Combined Cadet Force) but I feel like schools should go over this so we feel confident like we could do CPR in real-life. [Also,] self-defense, how to put out a fire (with a fire extinguisher), and tax returns – I do not know much information about this and I feel like being taught this or given information about this would be helpful in the future.
What social media trends have attracted your attention recently?
Snapchat Memories: the ‘flashback’ from the previous years on a particular date. I enjoy seeing what you were doing. Private Storiesallow you to have certain people see certain stories. It allows you to see your friends in a more personal way. Snapchat Filters: I like the way they are geographical as they are designed [for] where you are in the world and certain events e.g. World Cup.
I love Instagram Stories with all the added extras that come along with it e.g. Boomerang, polls, GIFs, filters, location. I like how you can alter them to make the image/video your own by drawing or adding extras on the post. The saving of Stories on your profile: I like this and I use this feature, as you can save and keep some of your memories on your profile for you and your followers to look at.
Tagging of products for businesses is clever and looks professional but I’ve not personally used the feature.
What do you think of IGTV?
I have had a look at it but I didn’t find it beneficial to me, therefore, I haven’t used it since. I feel like Instagram has a lot going on at the moment and I’m happy with its features. For me, a big feature like IGTV isn’t necessary. However, I believe it may be helpful for businesses to promote their shop/new items + create brand awareness…
Who are the most well-known brands you are following on Instagram?
Urban Decay Cosmetics – I love how active they are [with] regular posts, they are up to date with Instagram, Stories, IGTV (even though I don’t use it). They use polls and their posts are funny and they give a great sense of motivation in the workplace, somewhere that I would love to work when I’m older.
The Rhapsody – I love their posts, [there’s] lots of things going on in one post: inspiration in the home and outside. Most of their posts are saved because I love them so much!
Neal’s Yard Remedies – I love how organic their posts are on Instagram, resembling their brand perfectly. They are also up to date using stories, posts and tag their products so you can buy them.
Tell us three things you have learned at Bold. Do you think these will come in useful in the future?
The importance of social media for businesses – If businesses do not use social media or don’t post regularly or [they] use unprofessional posts when displaying their products, they all influence the business e.g. sales.
The importance of the marketing function in a business – After studying A level Business, learning that marketing is one of the four functions of a business which is equally as important as operations etc., this experience has highlighted how important marketing really is within a business, especially online marketing. The use of websites and social media plays a large role in the success of businesses.
The importance of keeping up-to-date with current affairs and competition – New ideas are needed for a business to keep ‘with the times’ and not be overtaken by competition. Not participating in new trends, e.g. social media may put a business at a large disadvantage as they may not be keeping up with competition and may not know what their audience and consumers want.
Finally, Mollie, would you like to come back to Bold to intern with us again?
Of course, I would like to come back to Bold again! I have enjoyed every task I have been given, and I love the Bold team so much, thank you!
Big thanks Mollie for all your hard work. Best of luck with your A level results and for the start of your university course!
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See what she’s been up to with her Instagram takeover of the Bold account.