Steel City News July 2016

Most Outstanding Regular Local Publication 2015

Steel City News

Pinterest Guide

Learn how to use the social media site that is taking over the internet!

6 Months of Awesome Take a look at the first 6 months of 2016 with us and see how we’ve Achieved Awesome so far!

Cross-Cultural Leadership: An Englishman in Helsinki Read the amazing JCI journey of Andrew Baxter, 2007 JCI Sheffield President

Starting Your Own Business Bored of the 9-5? Check our step by step guide to starting your own business!

July 2016

Hello There As the British summer is well and truly upon us it gives me some time to reflect on what we have achieved so far.

We have had some amazing events this year and given people the opportunity to develop themselves from networking training with Auriel Majumdar to taking part in or hearing our ‘should we stay or should we go now’ EU referendum debate in Sheffield these have empowered people to take a step out of there comfort zone.

This month also saw us hold our annual afternoon tea event which was a very successful and such an enjoyable afternoon.

I would like to say a massive well done to the council team who worked really hard on the day to help achieve raising over £500 for our nominated charities INAS and The Catherdral Archer Project. I would also like to say a massive well done to our Immediate Past President Mark Smith who was project lead. Excellent results Mark.

As we take our steps into the next half of the year we have some exciting projects in the pipeline; we will be looking at holding a Business Expo on the 3rd December 2016 which will be an opportunity for local businesses in Sheffield to get together and introduce themselves to customers across the region. Ryan Stuchbury our Business and Strategic Partnership Director will be leading on this project. If this is something you would like to get involved in we have Event Management training and Risk Assessment training over the next couple of weeks provided by Make Your Mark which will prove very useful to you getting involved in this project, both of which promises to be fun and exciting! This will be a great chance for you to learn some new skills and then put them into practice in a safe environment.

We also have agreed to host a JCI awards evening celebrating successes in the City please keep an eye out for more information to come about this. We will be recruiting for a project team.

We are pleased to welcome new members this month from the showroom who have also decided to become one of our corporate sponsors along with Numill tools. I would like to extend a warm welcome to these new members and sponsors and hope that your partnership with JCI Sheffield is a lasting one.

That’s all from me this time and I look forward to seeing you at one of our future events.

Gareth Carson PS tickets for our annual dinner on 8th October will be on sale very shortly!

Gareth Carson 2016 JCI Sheffield President gareth.carson@jcisheffield.org.uk

Contents Feature

Page

LEAP Events Diary Deputy’s Corner Around Yorkshire Achieve Awesome - 6 Months of Awesome 5 Apps that Run Your Organisation Former JCI Vice President Appointed as 2016 Local SDG Pioneer Meet National Board Arguing - Fun and a Learning Experience?

Set Up Your Own Business Free Business Checklist Your Guide to Pinterest Cross-Cultural Leadership: An Englishman in Helsinki My JCI Journey: JCI Sheffield Annual Dinner Busiess Academy

1 2 3 4 5-7 8 9 10 - 11 12 13 15 16 17 18 19 20 Designer - Ryan Pilkington Editor - Mark Smith

Events Diary 27 Jul

4 Aug

11 Aug

19 Aug

Networking Wednesday Event Type: Business Venue: Bloo88, Sheffield Date: 27th July, 2016 Price: £5 JCI Sheffield Does Mock the Week Event Type: Training Venue: Holiday Inn Express Date:4th August, 2016 Price: Free How to Sucessfully Win an Argument Event Type: Training Venue: Holiday Inn Express Date: 11th August, 2016 Price: Free

28 Jul

9 Aug

16 Aug

Assessing Risk - Beyond the Tick Box Event Type: Training Venue: Holiday Inn Express Date:28th July, 2016 Price: Free Event Management Event Type: Training Venue: Holiday Inn Express Date:9th August, 2016 Price: Free Stretch, Balance & Tone Event Type: Training Venue: Holiday Inn Express Date: 16th August, 2016 Price: £5 Donation to Charity

LEAP 2016 (Leadership Academy) Event Type: National Event Venue: BBP - Birmingham Date: 19th Aug, 2016 Price: £135 - £185 for members For more information head to our website http://www.jcisheffield.org.uk/events

Deputy’s Corner Hello again! What a great month its been again with lots more exciting events and projects in the pipeline!

As you may know by now there was a rather ‘small’ event in Finland recently that a few of us here in Sheffield had the honour of attending, European Conference! We made up part of the loud contingent from the UK and when it came to the opening ceremony with our JCI UK National President Sarah Beckwith coming on stage, boy did we made a lot of noise in encouragement!

As my first international conference experience it was amazing and everyone in JCI Finland can be really proud of this fantastic event. I got to attend a few training sessions, explored the city a little, even going to a theme park one day. I also got to go on a boat trip which sailed by the town of Nokia (Yes where the legendary Nokia 3310 and 3210s come from) and sampled some Finnish food. I have to say however, the highlight for me was the other delegates; I met a lot of new people at the conference all of which I plan to keep in touch with and thats one of the things I love about JCI - the opportunity to really expand your network. Everyone was friendly, warm, welcoming and generally just amazing! I have to say a huge thank you to Katja from Finland who was the UK country manager for the conference organising committee and she kept us all in check, helping us when we needed it and did a great job.

Back in the UK and in Sheffield have just held our 4th Annual Charity Afternoon Tea at The Hilton Hotel in aid of The Cathedral Archer Project and INAS. It was attended by 60 people who had a great time. I also took a step outside of my comfort zone and MC’d the event which is still nerve wracking for me but is getting easier. JCI is the safe environment to practice these skills and I’m trying to take all the chances to have a go I can! I’m also really proud of Mark, Gareth and the council team who worked extremely hard to put on the event without them the Afternoon Tea wouldn’t be what it is and make the impact it does in terms of fundraising.

Its also quite a scary thought but I’m also beginning to think about 2017 and planning the exciting things we’re going to get up to. But the main thing I’m thinking about is my council team. Which if you’ve ever thought about taking a role on the team come and talk to me! It’s a great step not just career development wise but also for your own personal development. Since being on the council team its given me a huge boost in confidence enough to consider taking the reins of JCI Sheffield and leading the chamber. So what are you waiting for get in touch!

Neal Stirk 2016 JCI Sheffield Deputy President neal.stirk@jcisheffield.org.uk

Around Yorkshire Blogging Training 26th July 2016 18:30 Cralton Park Hotel, Rotherham

Save the date - Train Pub Crawl 6th August 2016 10:00

Time Keeping Training 17th August 2016 18:00 Doncaster

More information on the events can be found on each Chambers Facebook pages.

Achieve Awesome 6 Months of Awesome It’s been a busy 6 months! In the past 6 months of 2016 we have hosted the first JCI UK national event of the year, Inspiration Day 2016, travelled internationally to Ireland and Tampere, Finland, we have hosted the JCI World President here in Sheffield, our members have stepped outside of their comfort zones and taken on the challenge of achieveing awesome in 2016. Whether this was taking the first steps of building confidence in public speaking or delivering their first training session.

#AchieveAwesome

We want to share with you some photo’s from this year so far and let’s make the next 6 months even more awesome!

5 Apps that run Your Organisation Ever feel like you could do with a hand with taking notes, checking your Facebook page and remembering all of those awesome business ideas that pop into your head at any given random moment of the day? Well we know that feeling so we’ve made a list of 5 apps that we couldn’t do without. Check out our list below.

1. Evernote. This app has become a firm favourite in many busy people’s lives the app, which is also a website, helps you to manage your lists, thoughts, favourite website pages and more. With this app you can make your day to day life ultra organised. Think of the app as your new all in one journey. The app, unlike many note taking apps, can take multiple types of note. Ranging from the humble text note, setting an alarm reminder, engage in a work chat with your contacts and more. All of these can be organized further by tagging them if they are related to the same theme or you can place them into a Notebook, which are simply folders for your notes. The app is free on both Android and IOS (Apple devices) and all of your notes are available on both the mobile platform and the website.

4. Buffer. Social media can be one of the most time consuming tasks for businesses. Take your social media to the next level with Buffer. There are free and paid accounts available. The app, also a website, allows you to update your social media channels, including Facebook and Twitter, in one go! Instead of spending 2 hours bouncing from app to app and website to website try to replicate the schedule why not do it remotely all in one easy to use app in 20 minutes? Think of what you could get done with that extra 1 hour and 40 minutes! Read more about Buffer in our May issue of Steel City News!

5. Gmail. We all know that feeling when you look at your email inbox and you see the amount of junk mail that is sat there collecting digital dust. The Gmail apps allows you to remotely check your emails, label them and organize them with thanks to the ‘archive’ function. The app also allows you to have multiple accounts meaning that you can check all of your various inboxes in one easy app. Happy emailing!

There you have it! Say hello to your newly organized business and those new free hours in the day! Do you have 2. Facebook Pages. We all know the deal with social any apps that you can’t live without? Get in touch and let media. For the first five minutes it’s all business and nothing us know, email in at info@jcisheffield.org.uk or tweet us @ can detract you from your goal of updating your page and JCISheffield. replying to comments and engagement. Then you see your best friend has tagged you in a post and then all work goes Thanks, Ryan Pilkington out the window for an hour only for you to realize that you’re now watching cat videos on Youtube. Sound familiar?

Not any more! Instead of going onto the normal platform of Facebook why not try the Facebook Pages app? The app allows you to only see your business page and will not show any personal account updates or notifications. The app will enable you to reply to the comments on your page, check the page insights and analyze how your Facebook page is doing.

3. Instagram. Now this isn’t for the social media channel it’s self but for the photo editing qualities the app possesses.

Photo’s are one of the most shared types of content and the quality of the photo is everything. No one likes a rough, bad lit and unfiltered photo. Get your photo’s looking tip top and filtered with the various effects and tools available in the app. Read more about Instagram and how to get the most from it in the June issue of Steel City News!

Former JCI Vice President Appointed as 2016 Local SDG Pioneer On June 22, during the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit, 2009 JCI Vice President Farzana Chowdhury from Bangladesh was named one of 10 Local SDG (Sustainable Development Goal) Pioneers. These 10 individuals are business leaders and changemakers from all regions of the world initiating change and development in their communities by demonstrating how businesses can be a force for good.

But Chowdhury isn’t just paving the way as a business leader; she is creating a path for women and bridging the gender gap in the workplace. As the first female Managing Director and CEO (Chief Executive Officer) within the insurance industry of Bangladesh, she has made great waves in creating a more equitable work environment.

Chowdhury was appointed to her position at Green Delta in 2013, coming to the position with expertise as both Additional Managing Director and Group CFO of Green Delta. She also served as an active board member from 2002 to 2008.

As a strong believer in sustainable development and equality, Chowdhury has made many sustainable contributions to Green Delta ranging from the creation of CSR programs to generating equality in the workplace.

In her position as a 2016 Local SDG Pioneer, Chowdhury will be a beacon for women’s economic security. Coming from a country where women are still deprived of rights, she is motivated to work for the empowerment of women through an innovative business model. In line with this model, Green Delta launched Nibedita — the first ever-comprehensive insurance scheme dedicated to women. This personal accident insurance scheme provides economic security to women regardless of their income, occupation or vocation.

As a former JCI Vice President, Chowdhury understands the importance of active citizenship in advancing global development as well as how critical the advancement of the Global Goals for Sustainable Development are in creating a more prosperous and peaceful world.

Her daily work has given a voice to the voiceless and has inspired active citizens everywhere. She serves as a leading example among the thousands of young people who are empowered by the opportunity of being a JCI member. Chowdhury lives her life fulfilling the JCI Mission and demonstrating the power of positive change.

Meet National Board As a member of JCI Sheffield you get the opportuntiy to build your network throughout not only Sheffield but around the UK and the world. In this monthly feature we will be talking to a member of the JCI UK National Board so that you can understand who does what role, a little about them and what their goals are for this year.

Name James Lambert Local Chamber: JCI Southampton How long have you been a JCI member?

3 years What made you become a JCI member?

I re-located to southampton for work and didn’t know anyone so I Googled networking organisations and found out about JCI there.

What is your role on National Board?

Personal Development Director What made you want to take on this role?

Since becoming a member I have developed in numerous ways most notably in my confidence and public speaking What positions have you held within JCI prior to National Board?

At a national level - LEAP Director in 2015; Ten Outstanding Young Persons project manager (TOYP) ; at a local level I have been JCI Southampton’s Community, Training, International and most recently Finance Director What advice would you give to members who are thinking to take on roles within their local council?

Go for it. Take on a role that will push you out of your comfort zone. JCI is an organisation where you learn by doing and are surrounded by people who want to help you. If there is a particular area you want help with then email me at james. lambert@jciuk.org.uk or speak to your local training director and we will see what we can do to help!

If you could choose one national JCI event to attend in 2016 which would you choose?

Definitely LEAP (Leadership Excellence In Action Programme) Which is a weekend in August.

Do you have a goal for 2016?

To gain experience of delivering training courses

Arguing - Fun and a Learning Experience A big part of the JCI experience is learning how to be an effective public speaker and even taking part in the range of local, regional, national and international public speaking competitions that are on offer. Whilst speaking off the cuff (extempore style) or joining a team of three to take part in a debate can be a nerve wracking experience, these opportunities teach us as JCI members key communication skills such as thinking on your feet, structuring an argument and talking with passion and conviction.

arguments. Charlotte is particularly good at this and they are really effective and often go down well with the judges too!

1) I often take the role of team captain, so would highly recommend using a three by two grid to jot down the main points that each member of your team and the other team make. It really does help you as captain when you do your summing up at the end of the session, to acknowledge key arguments on both sides and just as important from a scoring perspective, referring by name to each member of We caught up with JCI UK current world debating the teams. runner up champions (they were beaten to the champion title by JCI Sweden at the World Rafael adds: Congress in Japan last year), Charlotte Scothern from JCI Rotherham, Mark Smith from JCI Sheffield 6) Make sure you are passionate about what you and Rafael Tselikas from JCI London to pick their say, even if you don’t actually believe what you are brains to ask them their top 9 debating tips. saying yourself!

Charlotte says:

7) Be structured and make sure your arguments flow within what you say but also with your whole 1) Don’t worry about what you say – think about team. how you say it. In a debate, passion is key and the more convincing the way you put across your 8) Definitely as Mark says, get to know all the argument, the more the audience will believe you. judging technicalities very well and follow them by Its not what you say, it’s the way you say it! the book!

3) Enjoy it! Debating is unusual and it tests your skill to present a reasoned argument and perhaps on the complete opposite to your own opinion. It’s a unique experience that can be fun, so just enjoy every moment of working with your team!

Mark says: 4) Get to understand the rules and scoring criteria.

What you actually say is only a small part of the scoring framework.

How you structure your arguments and work together as a team, how you present yourself with confidence and conviction are other areas where you can clock up those all important marks.

5) Try and come up with a ‘sound byte’ that your team can keep repeating throughout their

If after reading these top tips you have an urge to give it a go, come along to our How to Sucessfully Win an Argument training on the 11th August at the Holiday Inn Express

#Debating

2) Prepare, prepare, prepare! Think about how you define the argument, how the opposition could, the pros and cons and how you would rebut them. The more prepared you are, the easier it will be to work as a team.

Starting Your Own Business to life. To keep your self organized be sure to check out our past issues of Steel City News for your free daily planner, blog planner, social media planner and more! Use these to get a head start on your business planning. For your chance to network why not check out our Networking Wednesdays at Bloo88 on West Street, Sheffield? They’re on the last Wednesday of the month and only £5! More information can be Step 1: Research and plan your business. This part found at www.jcisheffield.org.uk is vital. Before you strike out with your golden ticket idea you must ensure that you research whether there Want to learn business skills? Want to know the tools is a market for your service or product. One you find for the job? We have our first Buiness Academy this this out try to find out how big the market it, is there year on the 10th and 11th September at the Inox at much competition or much demand? Use all of this Sheffield University Students Union. More details are information to build your draft action plan for your to follow shortly. Keep your eye’s peeled! business.

If you are interested in starting your own business Step 2: Build your brand. This can be done through then keep your eyes peeled for the launch our of 2016 the help of a designer or you can have a go at making Business Academy! a logo and brand identity yourself. This step requires lots of thought and trial and error. Look onto what other similar businesses are using for their brand and whether you like their ideas or not. What do you want your logo to say to new customers? How do you want your business to be portrayed.

Step 3: Websites and your online presence. In today’s world simply having a nice logo is not enough.

Think about your social media platforms. Which do you use more or which are you more comfortable using? Have your new business logo set as your profile photo and have some branded banners set up for you to use to ensure that when customers see your online profile the first thing they see is your branding.

Ensure that your branding is consistent throughout your online platforms, including your website.

Your website can be built by yourself in a day using Wordpress, Square Space or Blogger or if you have more budget to play with you could hire a designer to design and build your website for you. Remember to think about your domain name. Keep it simple, easy to remember and check the availability of the domain first before you use it on any branded materials.

Step 4: Get networking. The best way to build your brand quickly is to attend networking events. Ensure that you have your business cards printed in time and any other flyers or booklets you may want to take and start talking to people. What customers are you looking for? Are any of these people in the room potential clients? Can they help you or can you help them? Attend as many as you can, it can be a very scary experience but it will become easier with time.

There you go! Follow those 4 steps and you’ll be on your way to seeing your dream business idea come

#TakingTheFirstStep

Tired of the same old routine? Bored of the 9 to 5?

Are you ready to strike out on your own but scared or unsure of where to start? Building a business can be hard work and time consuming at first but it can be one of the best decisions you could make. In this article we will share with you some top tips on starting your own business.

Business Checklist Use this business checklist daily to ensure you stay on track and get the essentials of your business to do list! There’s a space for notes and a space to write all of those last minute ideas down.

Social Media

Date:

/

Notes:

Engagement Checked: Facebook Twitter Instagram Other Content Created / Scheduled Facebook Twitter Instagram Other Communication Replied to emails Contacted / followed up with business contacts Up to date on WhatsApp Website Write blog Website maintenence Reflection Reviewed the day’s progress Planned for tomorrow

Scribbles:

/

Your Guide to Pinterest Pinterest. It is one of the most popular social media sites available today and is seeing non stop growth with 100 million active users and 176 million registered users. The platform has a value of $11 billion! Those who use the site will know the addictive quality of the platform. We all know someone who is obsessed with ‘Pinning’ things.

There’s a reason for the platform being so time consuming and so addictive and that is because of its ultra simplistic design. The app and website is nothing more than rectangles filled with images that you scroll through. A never ending supply of new images, promoted Pins, ‘Picked For You’ Pins and featured Boards. With the social media site growing by the minute and it’s following becoming more and more loyal, how can you tap into this audience?

The Basics of Pinterest

change. For example Monday is Fitness, Tuesday is Technology, Wednesday is Quotes, Thursday is Fashion, Friday is Humour, Saturday is Travel and Sunday is Food. This can be handy to keep in mind when promoting your business on the platform and making a marketing plan.

3. Use your descriptions wisely. Many people overlook the descriptions of their Pins and instead focus on the actual image. This is a mistake. Pins that have links, calls to actions and prices for products have an engagement increase of about 80%. Don’t write an essay in the description box though, 100 - 200 words is perfect.

There you go, our tips for getting your Pinterest following to grow and when and how often to Pin. One last tip, be sure to set a timer when using Pinterest if it’s for work, you can very quickly loose track of time!

1. Timing. It’s often said that there’s no right time to use social media and that it all depends on your audience and although this is correct, it can help to have a guideline to use as a starting point until you notice a pattern with your audience engagement.

The best times reported to be on Pinterest is between 2pm - 4pm and then 8pm to 1am.

2. Pin lots. The idea of Pinterest is to Pin as much as you can throughout the day to ensure that your images are seen by the millions of users as much as possible. Ensuring more chance of ‘Re-Pins’ and building a following. If you don’t have time to put on a brand new Pin from your website then simply Re-Pin images from the boards you are following.

80% of Pins on Pinterest are actually Re-Pins.

15 - 30 times is the best bracket to start with and spread this throughout the day. It becomes very do-able! One thing to remember is that each day of the week the theme of ‘Featured’ or popular posts

#Pinterest

Pinterest is a community where people share ‘Pins’ from websites. A Pin is a visual bookmark. When What do you think to Pinterest? Do you use it? you click on a Pin it will take you back to where Let us know at info@jcisheffield.org.uk that Pin was found. The beauty of Pinterest is that anything online can be a Pin for you to save for Thanks, Ryan Pilkington, Happy Pinning! later. When you want to organize your Pins you use Boards. Boards help you organize your Pins by a theme or a topic. It can be a great platform for saving and hvairng inspiration, new work you’ve created, holidays you want to go on or literally anything else!

Cross-cultural leadership – an Englishman in Helsinki I spent my childhood in a small village in the east of England.

At secondary school, I was given the choice of learning french, german or both. I regret to this day that I only chose french but at the time, even french language skills seemed irrelevant in rural Lincolnshire.

their CIO. Makita Oy is responsible for a large geographical area and is part of the Makita Corporation from Japan.

On a daily basis, I’m interacting with staff from around the globe and dealing with diverse cultures. The cross-cultural leadership at Makita Oy is challenging from a number of perspectives including geopolitical issues, time-zones, language skills & business customs. My advice for aspiring cross-cultural leaders would be to exploit every opportunity to understand different cultures. Consider speaking to the Syrian refugee in your local café or stretch your networking skills at international JCI events. This will help you challenge cultural stereotypes and gain first-hand knowledge & understanding. I would also strongly recommend language skill development. Language ability can open many doors and I hope to refine my Finnish language skills once my MBA studies at Haaga-Helia are complete next year.

As my career progressed, my french language skills helped me secure a global it management role at Gripple Ltd in Sheffield. It was here that I was introduced to JCI by the Gripple founder Hugh Facey MBE who was also the 1979 JCI UK National President. In 2004, I joined JCI Sheffield, a chamber formed in 1927 and was the 3rd chamber established outside the USA. Despite my demanding work schedule, I was very active in JCI Sheffield and become the President in 2007. This year was particularly special as JCI Sheffield celebrated its 80th anniversary and also hosted the UK National Conference. My career then took me to Dubai where I worked with an international team to Andrew Baxter establish JCI Dubai. I had the honour of representing JCI 2007 JCI Sheffield President Dubai at the 2008 World Congress in Delhi.

I was introduced to finland through meeting JCI Reading’s finnish President in 2006 and she would later become my wife. I was briefly involved with JCI Cosmopolis in 2009, before my career took me back to the UK. Today’s organisations need leaders who can adjust to different environments quickly and effectively communicate with people from other cultures. There’s no doubt that JCI had a profoundly positive effect on my personal & professional life. It allowed me to gain skills and experiences that I feel could take others (non- jci members) a lifetime to achieve. I embraced many opportunities in JCI from local to international level. I attended a number of European & World Congresses that expanded my global contacts, many of which I have turned into life-long friendships and business associations. In today’s ‘information age’, business leaders are increasingly expected to lead intercultural / global teams. Managing teams across international borders demands cultural empathy – the ability to understand different points of view and share feelings & emotions.

My JCI experiences allowed me to refine my empathetic skills. From working on a cross-faith Peace Conference in London - to losing my passport at one of the world’s most dangerous borders in Korea, JCI allowed me to learn in a supportive environment with like-minded people.

In 2012, I moved back to Finland and joined Makita Oy as

My JCI Journey: Tracy Viner It is a long time since I started my journey so the some of the chronology is hazy but there is something that stands out through every year since I first joined in December 2000 - the people.

This organisation is made up of everyday people but they have one difference from everyone else. They care and it can be about anything from their local community to world issues but they all want to make a difference. The people I met at my first JCI event are still friends today. They are people I am proud to be associated with and I want to support them in their challenges through life as they have willingly supported me through mine.

Whilst being a member I have been gently (and sometimes not quite so gently) pushed out of my comfort zone making try and learn new skills, experience new places and benefitted personally and professionally every step of the way.

I have friends around the world, been trained on leadership in the forest outside Gothenburg and on Marketing and media skills on the slopes leading up to the Acropolis in Athens. I have heard the Chief Executive of Toyota explain their work culture across the globe in Japanese in Fukuoka, Japan (with an English translation in my ear!) and I have visited the Taj Mahal all through JCI. Being local president in 2004 enhanced my networking opportunities across Sheffield and gave me increased confidence. This had a big impact on my work as a fundraiser and helped increase my passion for the city and wanting to help the people in it in whatever way I can.

I have remained in touch with the organisation and acted as a mentor to newer members and been available to support when issues have arisen. Sometimes my challenge then has been to advise and step back and let people learn and grow for themselves. I have found this even more rewarding.

I have received awards, been on the local, regional and national committees in various roles and been awarded a Senatorship (lifetime membership) as well as honorary lifetime membership of the local organisation, however the first thing I think of when asked about are the benefits of JCI, I will always say the people.

Happy birthday to Tracy who turns 50 this month!

Tracy Viner, Senator #66781 Member since December 2000

A Day in the Life of a JCI Marketing Director Marketing. It’s a role that is vital for all businesses and organizations. The role in a nutshell means that you look after the social media accounts held by the chamber, design any promotional materials such as banners, posters, publications and leaflets and ensure that the website of the local chamber is kept up to date with the latest events and information.

There are opportunities to meet, learn and grow through the role and this is my second time in the driving seat. I decided to take on the Communications Director role for JCI Sheffield last year (2015) and have taken on the Marketing Director role for both JCI Sheffield and JCI UK this year.

So what’s a normal day for a marketing director? The day can vary depending on what is on the to do list but there are staple tasks to keep the JCI brand running and in the public eye. These tasks as always with any council role within JCI integrate with everyday life such as jobs and hobbies.

1. Social media Checking / Automation. This is one of the biggest tools you can use as a marketer because of the it’s size, opportunities and challenges. Depending on the social media accounts held and how active they are the day usually starts with checking out the social media accounts and seeing retweets, likes, shares and comments on the platforms used. It’s always helpful to set a timer for this as you can easily become distracted with your personal notifications. This later on in the day will turn into a session looking at the analytics for the biggest channels and seeing what posts worked and which didn’t and using those as a starting block to set out the next posts for the week or a couple of days. Hashtags can be daunting and can break a brand if used incorrectly so I always make sure to do a test of a hashtag before I use to make sure that the JCI name isn’t in the same search or feed as a hurtful new story or unrelated issue.

2. Design. For me design is something that will integrate its self into my everyday life. On an average day I will be either emailing back and forth regarding banner designs for events or promotional materials, or editing existing designs. These will then be used on the website, Facebook and Eventbrite to ensure that the event is public on our biggest platforms.

I always find it helpful if possible to set out a block of time to get around 3 events drafted first (if possible) so that you know these are ready and any amendments can be made without rushing!

3. The third are various tasks done throughout the day. Idea generation, article drafting for publications or blog posts and any other notes made to either enhance marketing strategies. It’s always handy to get things jotted down as if you’re like me then your mind will be running at 70mph on a normal day trying to focus on one task at time but struggling. This means I can get the idea out of my head and onto my app ready to return to when I need.

These are by no means the be all and end all of the marketing role. It’s our responsibility to ensure that the JCI brand is seen with the correct manner on social media and publications, the brand artwork is kept within the global brand guidelines, that I keep up to date with the latest social media trends and updates, send out emails to our mailing list and deal with any external companies such as printers.

It’s always funny when I think to my days as a Marketing Director, as social media, like most of us, surrounds us so when I’m checking my own personal accounts I always do a check on the JCI accounts to see how they are doing.

Overall the role is one that I have developed in and I am still continuing to develop and grow. If you’re interested in marketing then you can check out more about the role on our website along with other council team roles.

Thanks Ryan Pilkington 2016 Marketing Director ryan@jcisheffield.org.uk

See you next time!

www.jcisheffield.org.uk