A year as Sixothree’s Marketing Apprentice

After one year in my role at Sixothree, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on my growth, what I’ve learned so far and what I get up to on a day-to-day basis. I must say though, that no day is ever the same at Sixothree (which I love!) so that might be a difficult one to cover in a blog. Let’s get into it…

Last Summer, I was straight out of university and in the midst of the post-uni “what now?” frame of mind. All I knew was that I wanted to get into the world of marketing, and digital marketing in particular. I already had some knowledge of the field having had one or two side jobs in social media whilst at uni and a keen interest for what makes marketing campaigns just work, almost effortlessly! I guess that’s where my Psychology degree comes in handy!

Anyway, digital marketing was where I wanted to be, and the next step was figuring out how to get qualified, whilst earning a wage and gaining valuable experience. That’s when I realised that an apprenticeship was the ultimate no-brainer and in September of 2021 I landed my apprenticeship with Sixothree as their Digital Marketing Assistant and started studying for my Junior Content Producer qualification.

New beginnings

From the get-go, the team made me feel so comfortable and instilled a high level of confidence in my abilities. After my carefully curated induction week, I was handed responsibility for various tasks, which was fantastic and made me feel very valued. Some of those jobs still stand as part of my tasks now, and its crazy to look back and see my growth from then to now.

Since I started at Sixothree, I have continued to ask questions, show interest in what I’m doing and ask when I need assistance. I have always done this, and there is no shame in asking about things when you don’t know the answer! After all, I am working as an apprentice to gain knowledge and learn as I go. I work closely with Jess, Sixothree’s talented Marketing Executive, who always ensures I’m comfortable with the task in hand, whilst also challenging me to push myself out of my comfort zone. I have experienced the positive and supportive environment since day one.

Apprentice duties

My key role revolves around researching, creating and scheduling content for our clients, along with managing their brand image across a range of social media platforms. I write blogs, optimise them using special SEO techniques, drive traffic to and update websites, grow platform followings through engagement best-practices and much more. Recently, I’ve made effort to stay on top of the Instagram reel trends, so head to our Instagram to catch me in full actress mode! I am always learning new things and enjoy working through tasks our clients require. Something I love about the role is how rewarding it is when you have watched a client grow, land more bookings, build their platform and ultimately become more successful. You genuinely feel part of the client’s team, and they value your expertise.

Once a fortnight, I attend a training session at The Juice Academy HQ in Castlefield, Manchester. This time is used to teach us apprentices a rigorous, and technical training programme, to bring all apprentices in my cohort up to speed with the latest best practices, tools and techniques to excel in the world of digital marketing and content producing. My repertoire of useful programmes and industry-recognised software has grown immensely, and my monthly set tasks help to cement this knowledge. I can apply my skills in my daily role at Sixothree and I’m given plenty of freedom when it comes to this. I’m trusted to design and share new ideas to clients and update their image. Now I’m 12 months into my apprenticeship, I’m starting the assessment phase of the programme, and hope to score a distinction in my final grade. I’ve made some great friends and connections with industry professionals there, which has been great. My training days and Sixothree work days all fit together seamlessly, and there is time to fit everything in. The support from my team has been amazing and I can’t thank them enough. Here’s to being a Junior Content Producer!

Awards and opportunities

This year I’ve had the opportunity to provide the live coverage of the annual Made in Manchester Awards. The evening was a great chance to challenge myself to produce content under time-pressure, as well as keeping all the posts exciting and engaging throughout the night. I would recommend this to anyone who has the chance to do it.

To top this, I recently received the exciting news of making the finalists of the MPA Inspiration Awards, in the Apprentice of the Year category. My team nominated me for the award and couldn’t contain their excitement when we found out I’d made the final stage. I feel extremely proud to have made it this far in the judgement process and I look forward to the award ceremony in October. Fingers crossed!

Salford’s finest

Working at MediaCityUK is a great part of the job, and makes our office days that much better. It’s a great, central location for travelling to on-site client visits, as well as hosting meetings in our in-house meeting rooms. These meeting rooms are also where I’ve pitched my own ideas to my colleagues for moving the business forward, along with strategic (strictly confidential 👀) marketing brainstorms.

One last thing…

And to finish, if you’re unsure about starting an apprenticeship, whether that’s because you think you’re ‘too old’ (whatever that means!), ‘not skilled enough’ or even because you have a skewed view of what they involve, switch up your mindset and… do it!