Module 5 - reflection

Module 5 was a real eye-opener in terms of how much data we give away about ourselves on a daily basis when using social media and the Internet.

Our first task was to get involved in an ethical debate, looking into issues such as Facebook's privacy setting and using Amazon's Cloud service. It was good to hear other Squares debating and putting their points across in one of the lectures, it made a nice change to the usual format!

I often just tick 'yes' to things online, especially when using Facebook apps and plugins - it was therefore quite scary to think just how much data I am revealing about myself on a very regular basis.

Following on with the analsying data theme, our final task was to create an infographic. Our group was given travel as a vertical sector to design ours around.

The brief was to consider how digital is disrupting this industry so we focussed our infographic around three stages - the past, present and future. Digital has made a huge impact on travel - think back to the days when you used to go to a travel agents - nowadays people tend to just do the research themselves and book everything online.

After doing a lot of research we decided to tailor the infographic around peer-to-peer reviews, as Trip Advisor and other review sites really effect people's buying choices.

We also looked into businesses such as Air bnb who are cutting out the middle man and allowing people to advertise their own home as a holiday destination.

As I already work in digital, I already believe that this is the future and businesses who haven't already, need to step up and embrace it. And as many of our Squared lecturers repeatedly said 'don't be afraid to fail, failing is good. Fail quickly and learn fast.'

Thanks to all the Squared staff who put in their time and effort to answer people's questions and to put on some great lectures. It's been very thought-provoking at times and I have definitely widened my digital knowledge :)

Module 4 - reflection

Module 4 of Squared was all about using Google Analytics.

I am already using GA within my day job but it was good to have a bit of a refresh - although some of the video footage that was provided was slightly out of date.

The task was to identify key points within Squared's own analytics and to make recommendations on what could be done to improve conversions and traffic.

I took on the traffic element of it and it was interesting to analyse the sources of traffic to the website - as well as looking into a breakdown of devices used, such as mobile phones or tablets.

Simon Rogers - who edited and created www.guardian.co.uk/data gave a really inspiring video. It was great to have an insight into how the Guardian analyse data and create infographics and news stories from it.

Working in PR, it is very important to be able to analyse data to obtain news hooks for press releases, so I found this part of the course very useful.

Module 3 - reflection

For Module 3 we were given a new hair product that we had to put together a marketing / PR strategy for.

I enjoyed this task as not only do I have my hair dyed, meaning I was a member of the brand's target audience, but it also tied in nicely with what I do every day at work.

The only downside (well, actually it was amazing but not great for the course) was that I went to Japan for 16 days smack bang in the middle of the module.

The Squared staff, and my fellow group Squares, were really understanding about it, however it was tough trying to get everything done before I left. I also found it quite hard to catch up afterwards - but I did do it - it just took a few weekends!

My favourite video of the whole course was during this module and this was the Sir John Heggarty video. The video was amazing. He is a fabulous speaker and some of the adverts he had worked on were phenomenal. I wouldn't even call them adverts, they were a joy to watch!

In this module we were also introduced to search tools such as Ad words. For those interested in online advertising this was a very useful aspect of the course and a great introduction to PPC (pay-per-click) advertising.

Module 2 - reflection

Module 2 of the Squared Online course was all about thinking about creating an online business and how digital is disrupting the business world.

My favourite talk was from Jo Baker who discussed the benefits of Mobile. Simon Andrews also gave an interesting talk - it was quite eye-opening to see how brands are still choosing to put their advertising budgets into print and not mobile, despite the fact most audiences are on mobile and aren't reading print as much.

We put forward our idea of 'Graze for Pets' and received a great mark for it - 8.2 / 10. Our idea was quite simple, it was what it says on the tin, but we thoroughly researched the competitive market and realised that there was a gap that could be filled for pet owners and 'disrupt' the concept of shopping for pet products in supermarkets - in a way that was not only more fun, but quicker and easier too.

Module 1 - reflection

I enjoyed module 1 and felt it was a good introduction to the Squared course.

Although I already have video and social media skills, it was great to watch other people's videos and get to know our fellow course mates.

I found the lectures to be interesting, although at times they were a little basic for me, I'm sure they were really useful for those who had never done video before!

One lecture that really stood out to me was the talk by Malcom Bell who founded the fitness wear Zaggora, it was very inspirational and he was really engaging. 

My video for the assignment is below - I hope you enjoy it.

We were also asked to put together a slide of our 'Digital Life' - this was quite a thought-provoking task, as I really had to think about how much digital I use every day. The results were quite shocking, I pretty much use digital for almost everything! My slide is below - it's worth taking a few minutes to think what yours might be like, you might be surprised too!

Becoming A Square

Hello!

My name is Beth and I recently became a Square...a Google Square to be exact!

I currently work at Leeds-based Shackleton PR as a Social Media & PR Executive, striving to become an Account Manager.

The opportunity to become Google Squared appeared in the form of an email from the Head of Talent at Epiphany - the search marketing agency that Shackleton is a part of. The email stated that there would be a total of 20 places available for people employed by the Epiphany Group to help their learning and development - starting with the first 5 in January.

As reported by The Drum, Epiphany were the first UK agency to sign up to the Google Squared initiative and after putting my name down on the list of people interested in taking part, I was delighted to have been chosen as part of the first 5 to take part in what has been described as 'Google's UK Graduate Scheme'!

My job requires a lot of creative thinking, as well as being commercially aware and able to develop strategies and produce great results.

Although I am already very familiar with using social media and also creating video for clients, I am looking to develop my skills using Google's tools such as analytics and ad words - to add depth to my current knowledge and give myself a more rounded skill set - something I have now come to think of as being 'T' shaped*.

I am especially looking forward to working on the online business project and finding out more about optimisation, as one of our main business objectives is to optimise our clients' brand awareness. Due to the group work nature of the course, I'm also excited to meet other marketers and learn from their experiences too!

As part of the course, I am required to blog about my experience - hence the creation of 'bethisasquare' - so watch this space to find out more about my squared experience!

To chat about #squaredonline please follow me on Twitter @SocialMediaBeth!

:)

*'T' shaped - a concept I have learnt from my squared lectures which is the idea that we need a broad skill set with a defined specialism.