As the world celebrates International Women's Day it is important to highlight the success stories of women who are thriving in industries that are traditionally male-dominated. Laura is our Digital Media Executive here (3 days a week) at Allett Mowers and is responsible for managing the company's digital media which includes social media, photography, videography, website SEO content and email marketing. Alongside her role at Allett Laura is a Freelance Sports Photographer so she forever has a camera in her hands. Working in a male dominated industry is no big deal for Laura after growing up playing sport and now working in sport. She can be the only female in a media room of forty men on a match day.
''I don't feel like I'm treated any differently at Allett. I have always been accepted and love the banter. Days at Allett can vary for me however the day typically starts with a big cup of tea in my Sport's Direct mug (so three cups of tea) and a quick scan of my emails. I then spend a bit of time reviewing our social media pages and responding to any comments or messages that have come in. This is monitored 24/7 and I try to respond instantly to any social media messages that come in from anywhere in the world. I believe that social media is a powerful tool for building brand awareness and engaging with customers and I take great care to ensure that the Allett Mowers social media presence is professional, informative, and engaging at all times. It is incredible how we can connect with people at the other end of the world who share the same passions as us via sociaI media. I have a great relationship with some of our Allett customers who are regularly sharing their lawn images with us. I would love to run a lawncare/demonstration day in the near future and put more faces to names.
After my social media check-in I move on to my main tasks for the day which can differ depending on the time of the year. I may be working on developing a new email campaign, creating content for the website blog or social media or analysing data to measure the success of previous marketing efforts. We have two shows a year so sometimes I am getting ready for them planning various POS etc. We may have spent a day in the garden shooting product videos so sometimes I am working on editing this content ahead of product launches etc.
I absolutely love getting out to meet customers in the spring and summer and showcasing their beautiful lawns and sports fields on the Allett social media and YouTube channels. It's incredible how you can take a 10 second video on your phone and it can reach millions of people within hours, you couldn't do this with a magazine article- times are changing. Our top viewed TIKTOK video is on 4.5 million views! That is alot of people! This is huge for a small manufacturing business in Hixon. Our mowers are great to shoot content with with their innovative features. Our engineers do a great job of making great looking mowers with world class features.
Allett customers are hugely passionate about their lawns and love sharing their images on social media so we can take great advantage of user generated content. Some of our customers are lawn influencers themselves and run their own YouTube channels to pass on their knowledge to others. This also works well for us with us getting hits to our website off the back of successful influencer videos. The Allett Creative Stripes Competition held every year at Allett is a highlight of the year and gets us incredible traffic to our website and social media. The images we generate from this inspire millions of people around the world.
I work closely with other departments within the company such as the Customer Services team (who I sit next to in the office) so we can work on making content to help customers out based on questions they ask. Any issues raised on social media are passed to our Customer Services and Aftersales team and addressed promptly and effectively.
My job is not without its challenges of course. One of the biggest challenges is staying up-to-date with the constantly evolving landscape of digital media. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are constantly introducing new features and algorithms, and I must stay on top of these changes to ensure that we are using these platforms effectively as a company. Despite these challenges I find my job incredibly rewarding. There is nothing better than reading the comments on videos we have shot and hearing customer testimonials about how they are loving their Allett mowers.
I am super passionate about digital media and enjoy the creative and analytical aspects of my job. I've been at Allett 8 years now and I take great pride in working for a British company that produces high-quality products that are used by homeowners and professionals alike.
Do you use an Allett? I would love to hear your story and/or potentially visit you this season laura.malkin@allett.co.uk
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