My time in Ireland and my internship at Stillwater Communications has been a great learning experience for me. Moving to a new country for the summer as a 21 year old American student was nerve-racking. I had no idea what to expect. However, the moment I stepped into the office I felt more than welcome. I learned more about the industry in a few months than I had in the few years I had been studying at university.
Creating a social media strategy
One of the main things I worked on during my time here was on Stillwater’s social media strategy. I was constantly trying out new tactics and adapting my methods to attract more engagement and to promote Stillwater and its clients. I devised a calendar in line with our objectives. Each post was focused on a certain goal. I created a balance between sales promotions, new materials and blog posts to engage our followers, and posts that were interesting for our community.For any firm trying to refresh their social media persona, being strategic and planning ahead is vital. Developing our calendar created a very accessible way for us to way to achieve our goals. It removed the stress of creating content day to day, as everything was already planned out and ready to go.
What I learned...
Being an American girl in Ireland was not as hard of a transition as I initially thought it would be. Irish people are very friendly and helpful. I went from being pegged as an American miles away, to only being caught-out when I opened my mouth! For me, this was quite an accomplishment.Working in an office of (almost) all females was ideal. My colleagues were so fun to work with, but I could see that they all take their jobs very seriously. This attitude to work is something that I aspire to. I have learned that gaining experience in the workplace is so important. It is the only way you can learn about what you want to do. I have gained so much from my time here, if I had the opportunity to live or work in Ireland again, I would in a heartbeat.