Napier recently hosted Eve Holland a student from Havant College, who joined us for a week to experience the world of B2B PR and marketing.
Find out how she got on during her week of work experience placement and the key things she took away.
As encouraged by my college, I ventured into the business world and secured myself a summer work experience placement at Napier. I had no idea what to expect but was pleasantly surprised when I received an email the week before outlining my entire itinerary for the week. Sufficiently organised and supported by the Head of Business Development and Marketing, Hannah, my time here has been both informative and enjoyable. I have received constant support and contact with everyone working at Napier, whether that is online via teams or in the office. They have kept me busy by providing tasks to write in various formats, attending teams calls with team members, sitting in on weekly training sessions and interacting with other members of the team.
What have I got up to?
During my week here I have completed a variety of tasks such as researching Napier’s competitors, writing case studies and press releases with the support of the team. I have also practised creating content, such as writing an article on B2B formatting, designing landing pages on SharpSpring and writing social media posts. I also had the opportunity to join Mike and Hannah on a trip up to London for a business meeting and a Turtl event. Throughout the week I have also been given guidance on creating my LinkedIn profile and expanding my contacts within the industry both from Napier and beyond.
What have I learnt?
By being surrounded by hardworking people in a new industry, I have expanded my language and knowledge of the B2B world, purely by being in the presence of people who have expertise within it. For example, the term lead generation is thrown around often, a concept I never knew until this week. I have also learnt skills that can apply to the wider world, such as strategy vs tactics, establishing the difference between the two. In terms of industry skills, I have spent time navigating CRM software such as Sharpspring and the process of creating and editing a podcast through programs such as Squadcast, descript and audacity. I have also encountered Turtl’s interactive, analytical software that is super effective for creating visually exciting content to personalise to any audience. With Napier’s Creative Services Manager Rob, I’ve also been able to develop my skills and knowledge on different Adobe software, learning new features and programs I didn’t know even existed, something I will definitely be playing around with in my own time!
What has been the most interesting?
I have found my day out in London to be the most interesting part of my week as I was able to see the interactions between different industries within B2B. Turtl’s event fascinated me as I got to hear how different businesses and industries use their software and interpret the tool in different ways to market to different audiences, known and unknown. I found the whole day to be an enlightening experience as I was able to speak to multiple people, many of whom were strangers, about my future, whether that regarded university, career choices or life generally. I received varied pieces of advice that have really opened my mind to the possibilities of my future.
Do I see a future in marketing?
I enjoyed my week in the B2B industry and could see myself doing this in the future. Marketing provides an opportunity to implement varied and exciting tactics, and I particularly enjoyed the side of the role that involves graphic design, social media, podcasts and journalistic writing.
Thank you, Napier, for a great week introducing me to the world of marketing!