New Kid On The Block - Meet Our Digital Marketing Executive
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There's a new kid on the block here at Raffingers. Meet Tim, our new Digital Marketing Executive! To celebrate this new arrival into the Raffingers team, we thought we'd give our readers an insight into our new team member so that you can learn more about him and discover his plans for the future of Raffingers.
1. What was your job role before joining us?
I was actually a Secondary School Teacher of ICT & Digital Media, would you believe?!
2. Talk us through your prior experience?
Before teaching, I had already been in the digital marketing game for around 3 years, predominately doing in-house marketing. I got to experience various aspects for the first time, such as (marketing jargon incoming!); copywriting, social media management, programmatic advertising, PPC, Paid Social, Email Marketing, SEO, HTML & CSS, and much more!
3. What interested you about this role?
Although I am traditionally an in-house digital marketer, I’ve also been quite keen on getting into agency-side marketing as well to add a bit of variety to my day-to-day. This role is particularly unique as it's an amalgam of in-house for Raffingers and agency marketing!
4. What are you looking forward to doing most in the coming year/s?
I think the most exciting thing to be looking forward to in the coming years is the launch of Raffingers Marketing for September 2022 and spearheading this new venture with the rest of the marketing team, building it from the ground up and seeing it grow into its own beast.
5. Do you have any hobbies outside of work? If so, what are they?
Well, if there’s anything you should take away from this interview, it’s that I am always busy doing something! I have far too many hobbies which means I’m never short of something to occupy my time with! My hobbies include electronic music production, running, learning German, skateboarding & snowboarding...but not all at the same time!
6. What was your route like into digital marketing?
Despite my last job role, my route into digital marketing was fairly straightforward. I did an Advertising & Marketing degree at the University of Greenwich...and I’ve always been known as the technological Wizkid, so going digital-only seemed logical to me! However, digital is seldom taught in marketing degrees because of how quickly the industry changes and advances as technology improves. Most things I’ve learned and applied in my day-to-day digital marketing life are either self-taught or learned on the job!
7. A fun fact about yourself?
About a month before the first UK lockdown, my wife & I took home our first dog, a white pug named Luna. What’s more, I couldn’t help myself but start an Instagram account for Luna! I applied all my knowledge on Instagram’s algorithms and trends, as well as analysing data from posts to optimise the account. As a result, Luna had reached 1,300 followers in just 3 months!
8. Do you have any key marketing advice you think would be useful for businesses out there?
When it comes to social media, one piece of advice I like to share is that if you don’t know why you’re posting at a certain time of day on a certain day, you’re wasting your time. For example, I’ve seen businesses religiously post at 9 am on the dot every day for no particular reason. Is this time suitable? Not really! Imagine this: your ideal customer works 9 am- 5 pm in an office in Central London. So why would a post aimed at this person be posted at the exact time that they won’t be looking at their social feeds! Instead, aim to post during their commutes to & from work as well as around lunchtime. This approach guarantees improved online visibility, so it’s a no-brainer!
9. Who inspires you?
This may seem a little cliché, but I look up to Elon Musk for inspiration. He is the epitome of dedication, whilst also being ambitious and having multiple varying pursuits on the go. What I particularly love is that he taught himself rocket science! It makes you wonder...does the saying “It’s not exactly rocket science” hold as much weight as it once did?
10. What’s the best book you’ve read recently?
I’d be lying if I said I’m an avid reader! I do occasionally read books, but time is precious to me so I only read if there is something to gain from it other than a story. With that said, the best ‘most recent' book I’ve read is Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen! This is the first of the Harry Potter books, but in German! As a self-taught speaker of German, I’m always looking for ways to practice my German and expand my vocabulary – so why not make it fun?
11. What’s something you’re proud of?
During my teacher training year last year, I already knew deep down that teaching wasn't quite for me. However, I refused to quit the course. Instead, I persevered and completed my teacher training and gained my PGCE, which was a challenge in itself during the pandemic! At least now, I can rule out teaching with absolute confidence, knowing that I gave it my best shot.
12. What’s your idea of a perfect workday?
A totally fictitious scenario, but how nice would it be to spend a sunny summers day in a lush, green park where we as a department could work remotely? Get some music playing and have ice cream. I would also go for a lunchtime run, and this is something I already do occasionally – it really elevates my mood and I feel more energised & productive afterwards.
13. If you could have dinner with 3 celebs dead or alive, who would they be?
It’d have to be Chris Chann (pro skateboarder and YouTuber), Sonny Moore (aka Skrillex), and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart! I would act as Mozart’s translator since we both speak German, and I would love to witness Mozart’s reaction to modern-day electronic music such as Skrillex’s music, and Chris Chann’s mere presence would add further comedy to the situation. Maybe Chris could give Mozart a skateboarding lesson too after we’ve had dinner!
14. If you were an animal, what one would you be and why?
It took me a while to think about this, but I believe I'd be a Labrador Retriever! I’m a fast learner, sporty & energetic, reliable, loyal and I love dogs. Also, it’d be awesome to have my own humans to look after me and feed me! Imagine being able to lounge about and play whenever you please!
15. What do you hope to bring to the company?
I plan to revolutionise Raffingers online presence on social media and the website, taking Raffingers’ digital marketing to new heights! More reach and more engaging content for the right people!
16. Where do you see the world of marketing in years to come?
There will definitely be a lot more AI in the picture for sure! There are already some AI services out there being used today in the industry! Whether that’s good news or bad news, we’ll soon see! Also, where it appears that the Metaverse is now slowly but surely becoming a real thing, with the likes of Ferrari and Nike rushing to join in on this new virtual reality as a replacement for the internet as we know it today, I can imagine the lines between traditional marketing and digital marketing blurring a bit, and even coding skills are required in the job! All that said, I still think the Metaverse is a long way off from becoming fully functional and mainstream.
If you are interested in joining Raffingers, check out our join the team page and check out our social pages for frequent updates!