Meet The Team: Georgia Rogan
2023 marks our 5th year partnering with Swinburne University, supporting students through their Professional Placements program. This program reshapes how media internships are often run — part time and only contributing towards credit in media degrees. The Swinburne placements require students to work a paid, full-time position within a workplace for 6 to 12 months for course credit. We love how this allows students to fully get immersed in the industry and gives them the opportunity to discover different pathways.
Our current intern, Georgia Rogan, has been with us since the start of the year for a 6-month placement. We chatted to her about the experience so far and what advice she would give other students starting an internship.
1. If your internship had a theme song, what would it be and why?
Touch by Daft Punk. Unfortunately, there is no deeper meaning as to why I’ve chosen this song, other than I listen to it whenever I need to put my head down and work. I probably listen to it at least once a day, especially if I’m getting stuck into reporting or content calendars. It’s 8 minutes long and for those 8 minutes I can tune everything out and zone into whatever task I’m doing. I think the hours that I spend listening to this song on Spotify is helping to fund Daft Punk’s retirement.
2. Have there been any surprises or unexpected aspects of working in social media and content creation?
What has surprised me the most and coincidentally what I have enjoyed the most, has been the ability to work so collaboratively and across a range of different disciplines. I understood before I started that at its core, social media is a very cross-sectional industry, but working within a digital agency has allowed me to work beyond just content planning and production, and so many other teams help to inform the work we do for social. Although I love the creativity that comes with those activities, I’ve also been exposed to much more analytical and research-based tasks such as social listening reporting, digital advertising, and client meetings that delve into digital, social and above the line media. I think it has allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of the media and digital industry as a whole, and has improved my understanding of the behind the scenes work that goes into social media management.
3. Social media is known for its trends. Was there a particular viral trend or meme during your internship that caught you off guard?
I feel like it’s hard to be surprised by the things that trend on social media, especially on apps like TikTok that value original content. It leaves a lot of room for people to experiment and post anything and everything. But it always surprises me what content businesses latch onto and repurpose for their own social channels. In that sense, I think what caught me off guard was how many global, high-profile brands jumped on the “Capybara Ugly” Sound on TikTok in March. It highlights how willing big brands are to take risks in the name of content, even if the sound is obscure or doesn’t fit the brand, they’re finding ways to make it work in order to engage with new audiences.
4. During your internship, you've had the opportunity to work with various tools and software. Has there been a specific tool or app that you've found exceptionally helpful?
I’m still learning a lot about the different software and tools available, and there are a million different ways to collate social media metrics. AI has also become extremely popular since I started my internship, and already these tools have become a big part of my daily routine. However, I have found that Monday.com has been really useful as a digital workspace/noticeboard and is a lot more functional than other digital spaces I’ve been using so far. I’m also starting to create lo-fi production videos, so I’m looking forward to trying the different editing tools and in-app functions as I progress.
5. If you had to give one piece of advice to future media and communications interns, what would it be?
My biggest piece of advice would be to never stop asking questions, and always use those around you. The best and most helpful things I have learnt have been from chatting to people in the office, or reaching out to new people via Slack when I need a hand. I think starting a new job is always daunting, but starting out in the industry for the first time presents a whole other set of challenges because you’re essentially starting from scratch. With that comes a lot of fear of being afraid to ask “silly” or simple questions, but that’s the only way to develop your skillset and your industry knowledge. I’m constantly learning and growing and that’s mostly due to being supported by a great team of people who always have time to break things down or explain new concepts. It’s also a great way to get to know people who you don’t work with on a daily basis, and can make you feel more comfortable in this new environment.