Social Media Assistant...and PR?



I have recently started a social media position at Mohawk College in the business department for the entrepreneurial hub called SURGE; it has been quite the experience!

I saw the job posting through an email that was sent out to the public relations graduate certificate program class list. I was lucky enough to be chosen for an interview and was then offered the job.

So far I have mainly been in charge of SURGE’s Twitter account. When I first started they were at 414 followers and as of today we are at 508! It has been a unique experience learning about social media in a business setting. Did you know that it is recommended for a business to have 50 interactions a day on Twitter? Me neither – but it's true. I’m lucky to have an amazing supervisor who has let me have creative control and allowed me to take charge of their accounts. Due to the fact that I am a full-time student and have an internship on top of this new job, I have been researching tools that will help me maintain the business-Twitter-etiquette. I have recently signed SURGE up for SproutSocial. I have been using SproutSocial to schedule my own original tweets, as well as scheduling retweets and likes. So far it has been working great and it allows for me to balance this new job with the pre-existing elements in my life.

Although my official title is “social media assistant”, my supervisor has included me in, essentially, all aspects of the business. I am learning the ins and outs of event planning (which is a lot more work than I ever thought), the different entrepreneurial outlets in Hamilton (there are quite a few believe it or not!), and all of the different channels programs need to go through to get approval, advertising, and more. 

We try to send out a weekly newsletter; which I have now been put in charge of (each pending approval from my supervisor). The newsletter is great way for me to practice my persuasive writing, as well as apply what I have been taught in the print design class.

It's been a really exciting process learning about this field. Below is a picture of the first SURGE event I had the privilege of attending. I was definitely surprised with the turn-out! Looks like there are a lot of aspiring entrepreneurs at Mohawk.



Will this job help me in my public relations career?

I think so (which is such a bonus)! One of the potential job areas we have discussed in this program is a “social media expert”. I think that at the end of this public relations program and once my contract is up with SURGE, I will be able to consider myself a social media expert. I also hope that my career allows me to stay in Hamilton. The fact that SURGE works with CoMotion on King, The Forge, Spectrum, Innovation Factory, Platform302, and more (which are all Hamilton based entrepreneurial hubs and/or work spaces) helps me develop a relationship with this industry within Hamilton. SURGE focuses its attention on Hamilton startups, which will also help me when pursuing my job search in Hamilton – every company needs PR eventually. SURGE has definitely introduced me to places and people I would not have otherwise seen or met, and shown me how important building relationships really are in this industry.

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