Just over a year and a half ago now I started my placement year with Loud Mouth Media. From back in my school days I have never been certain about what I wanted to be when I grew up and now I am “technically” a grown up I’m still not entirely sure what my calling in life is. I guess that’s why I chose a degree in Public Relations because I love how diverse the course is. It offers various modules in Communication, Public Relations, Marketing, and Advertising. A degree in PR isn’t like your typical traditional degree in the sense that it’s not necessarily something they teach you at school, but the lessons and skills you learn within a PR degree couldn’t be more relevant and in demand today.
If you would have asked me 5 years ago “Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time?”, just as I was about to begin my A-levels I never would have imagined that I would be where I am today. The idea of applying for a placement job within a company and having to sit a-lot of interviews seemed quite daunting at first, but the independence and experience I gained in doing so has been invaluable and boosted my confidence. I applied for Loud Mouth Media around May 2016, I was delighted to be shortlisted for an interview. I then received a phone call later that day to say that I was successful and they wanted me to join the Loud Mouths!
Fast forward a year and a half and I’m still working alongside the Loud Mouth team as I was fortunate enough to be offered to stay on part time alongside my final year studies.
You’re probably wondering…who are Loud Mouth Media?
Well, Loud Mouth Media is a Digital Advertising Agency specialising in Pay Per Click (PPC) and provides a fully managed service across AdWords, Bing and Social Media Advertising. We are currently a small enough team of 13 but continue to grow every year!
My role as Digital Marketing Assistant includes; working alongside my colleagues to conduct client research; develop campaign proposals; build and manage client social accounts; analyse campaign performance; and create content for our website and blog. There is no such thing as a quiet day in the Loud Mouth Media office, we are always busy with client work or developing our knowledge within the digital industry. As we are a Google Premier Partner agency we regularly receive training from Google about the latest Google AdWords updates and products. This helps us to stay ahead of the game.
I started my placement at Loud Mouth Media with little to no knowledge about the world of digital marketing/advertising and now I feel like I have learnt so much and I continue to learn every day. Along with the rest of the team, I am fully Google AdWords certified across Search, Display, Shopping, Mobile and Video. To celebrate achievements like this we often have team lunches from Deliveroo… and who doesn’t love a Deliveroo for lunch?!
We also love any excuse at all to have cake/sweet treats in the office 24/7 including birthdays!
One of my favourite memories at Loud Mouth Media so far was when our boss Mark, offered us all an extra day of annual leave if the PPC Team could head pass the ball to one another without dropping it and they did it on their first attempt!! After that they tried at least another 5 attempts and couldn’t get it once. You can admire that particular video below. (Please excuse my LOUD laugh at the end).
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My placement has given me many opportunities including; being given the opportunity to write a blog article for NI Job Finder, as well as attend Digital DNA in 2016 and 2017 as part of team Loud Mouth Media. Being able to attend events like this gave me the opportunity to network with like-minded individuals, help promote Loud Mouth Media as a brand and develop my knowledge of the digital industry all while having fun doing so.
From my time with Loud Mouth Media so far, I have watched the company go from strength to strength. Just back in April 2017 the entire team attended the DANI Awards, which celebrate and reward the talent, expertise and achievements of the digital, creative and tech industries across Northern Ireland. Loud Mouth Media were ecstatic to be recognised in four of the categories, the main one being the winners of Best Digital Advertising Campaign!
Most recently on the 30th November, some of the Loud Mouth Team attended the Prestigious UK Search Awards in London that were being presented by none other than Jimmy Carr!! I was frantically checking the UK Search Awards Twitter feed that evening for updates and much to the entire teams delight we were awarded ‘Best Small PPC Agency’… in the entire UK! To win such a hugely competitive award is a massive achievement and representative of the hard work the LMM team have put in over the years. I am so thankful that I have got to be a small part of all the success the past year and half and am excited to see what new challenges and opportunities 2018 brings for the team.
Nicole Hanna is a final year BSc student in Public Relations at Ulster University. She can be contacted on LinkedIn at https://goo.gl/pLviS8 or on Twitter @NicoleHanna101