Member Spotlight: Rachel Ward — Marketing Manager
Rachel Ward is 1B student currently attending the University of Waterloo where she is studying Accounting and Finance. At 180 Degrees Consulting she as been a Markeitng Manager for 1 year helping our team connect with students and NPOs.
- Please share a brief introduction of yourself with one fun fact.
Rachel is a marketing manager at 180 Degrees Consulting and is currently going into her 2nd year of AFM at the University of Waterloo. Rachel joined 180 Degrees Consulting in her first year of university because she wanted to find a club that meant something to her, and the business model of 180 Degrees Consulting was the perfect blend of Rachel’s love for business and her passion for helping non-profit organizations. In her time at 180 Degrees Consulting, she has gotten to know a great team of people, and has gained hands-on experience in a marketing role. One fun fact about Rachel is that she can play both the piano and trombone!
2. As a marketing manager at 180 Degrees Consulting Waterloo, what are some of your responsibilities?
As a marketing manager for 180 Degrees Consulting, my main responsibilities revolve around planning our social media approach and structuring our email newsletter. On the social media side, I work to find new ways to attract the attention of university students and non-profits in the Waterloo area through brainstorming new social media strategies and creating weekly graphics for our Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook pages. As a part of this role, I meet weekly with our 180 Degrees Marketing Team to discuss new ideas for our social media content and assign individuals to new projects. As a part of our newsletter subdivision, I helped structure the very first 180 Degrees Consulting Newsletter in 2021, and I continue to help find articles, interviews, and information that appeal to our newsletter audience.
3. What are some notable highlights during your time with us?
As a member of the 180 Degrees Consulting Team, I really feel like an equal team member. I am working on a team that respects my opinions and encourages new ideas. As a part of this, some of my greatest highlights are when ideas that I bring to the table are brought to fruition. In particular, witnessing ideas I had for social media series such as Trivia Thursdays become consistent content for our Instagram allowed me to take pride in my contributions. I am also particularly proud of our latest NPO spotlight for Big Brothers Big Sisters, as I was able to use personal connections to facilitate a mutually beneficial experience for two organizations I am passionate about. Overall, the responsibility and respect I am given in my role at 180 Degrees Consulting drives me to continue to be passionate about the work I am doing.
4. What do you think are the most important skills for success in your role?
I think the greatest assets someone can bring to this role are being observant, creative, and adept at managing their time. As a marketing manager, a part of my role is to create and adjust ideas for our current social media strategy. This means I must be aware of the trends and content that are popular, and I must be up-to-date on how favorably our current posts are being received. This level of observance requires an ability to monitor the content of other clubs and organizations to derive inspiration and discern trends, as well as keep in mind how each of our posts performs compared to the bigger picture, finding reasons behind the good or poor reception each post gets. On-top of the more technical aspects of the role, there is the fun of being able to create content that goes out to our audience, and for that you must have an eye for design, and the ability to create interesting posts that align with our brand. Finally, as a member of our team, it is important that you are able to take the time to meet with the marketing team weekly, and create posts within the allotted time constraints without becoming overwhelmed by your schoolwork.
5. What are some skills you were able to improve upon since joining?
I think for me, I am more able to develop a more cohesive brand within my graphic design as well as take on new challenges with more ease. Through the many posts I have made as part of the 180 Degrees Marketing Team, I have learned to use the feedback I am given to adjust my posts to better fit our brand identity. My spot on the newsletter team also helped me to learn how to adapt to tackling a completely new situation, as I had never previously created or even encountered many email newsletters before, and I worked with my team to research and plan out our first newsletter.
6. What advice would you have for those who are looking to join 180 Degrees Consulting Waterloo in the future?
If you are interested in joining 180 Degrees Consulting, the number one piece of advice I would give you is to find what within the organization you are passionate about, and use it. it to motivate you. For me, I am passionate about the kind of work we do, helping non-profit organizations, as well as developing my marketing skills, and I used that initial interest to drive myself to excel in my role at 180 Degrees Consulting, and stay invested in the work I was doing. Whatever piques your interest at 180 Degrees Consulting, make sure you find the role within our organization that helps you to fulfill that aspect of yourself the most, and use it to get the most out of your experience at 180 Degrees Consulting.
