Week One

25 June 2019

Today was my first day as a Marketing + Communications intern at Mercy Corps Northwest!

As is typical for any new job, I spent today meeting my coworkers, acclimating to the work environment & diving into the different components of the organization’s brand + mission.

The first item on my agenda was attending an all-staff meeting. Unfortunately, I did not bring a notebook to this meeting so I can’t refer to anything in detail, but it was a great opportunity to hear from each team within MCNW. As I become more integrated into the team & begin developing projects, I hope to contribute to these weekly meetings.

One of my biggest duties as a member of the Marketing + Communications team is to manage/contribute to our Editorial & Social Media Calendar. This Excel document is the main vehicle through which tasks are assigned, proofed, and confirmed for publishing. In addition to planning content for the various social media platforms MCNW utilizes (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram), this document also contains some helpful tools for content creation - namely, a list of appropriate hashtags, a link to our social media strategy, relevant research, and a content/idea bank.

ASSIGNMENT: Create a highlight/shoutout for Flexible Fitness

My process:

• Talk to my supervisor about the context for the post (owner responded to earlier post about tagging LGBT small businesses)

• Research business (browse social media & website) Draft copy that fits the context while also highlighting attributes of business

• Create graphic that is on brand for MCNW (supervisor posted inspiration) using Canva

• Post content on Editorial & Social Media Calendar for proofing One approved, use Hootsuite to schedule post on designated channels

Besides receiving my assignment & working on it, the rest of the day was spent in meetings with the Marketing + Communications team. As mentioned previously, I neglected to bring a notebook so I don’t have specifics on what we discussed, but primary topics included: branding/messaging for MCNW (in comparison to MC Global) and aspirations for social media & our website.

HOUR LOG: 8.5 hours

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27 June 2019

My supervisor was out of the office today, but left us with some tasks to complete!

ASSIGNMENT: AmeriCorps VISTA Outreach

One of the teams at MCNW manages & supports AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers. There were a few positions in Central Oregon seeking candidates - my task was to reach out to various nonprofits in the vicinity of the job sites and ask if they would share the positions with their community.

My process:

• Read job descriptions to get a sense of duties of position and cultivate list of relevant audiences

• Research active organizations/nonprofits in region + find contact information Write emails to as many relevant orgs as possible

UPDATE: Of the five organizations I emailed, I only received a reply from one. From a weekly staff meeting, I learned that one of the positions had a few new applicants.

ASSIGNMENT: Rework copy for small business feature cards

Something organized by my supervisor that was already in motion when I started at MCNW was the creation of a ‘outreach pack’ (there’s a better phrasing for this - I’m just blanking at the moment) that includes some marketing materials (stickers, a letter, etc). One of these marketing materials is a series of cards that feature four small businesses that are part of the MCNW small business community. The front of the card showcases a watercolor image created by one of my fellow interns and the flip side contains a brief paragraph about the business. The original copy was taken almost verbatim from the business’s website and, expectedly, the copy read like it was written by four different voices. My task was to rework the original copy and make it punchier and more dynamic - including the same information and incorporating other bits about the business if needed.

My process:

• Read original copy

• Analyze websites/social media of small business

• Rewrite copy Send to supervisor for proofing

After sending over my copy edits, my supervisor approved them & included them in the final card design! I don’t have significant experience writing copy, but hope to develop this skill further throughout my internship.

HOUR LOG: 7 hours

WEEKLY TOTAL: 15.5 hours