Summer Social Media Intern, Haley, sat down with her manager, Rachel, to learn a bit more about social media and the CO-OP.
Haley Vechell (HV): What is your role at Colorado HealthOP? And when did you join the team?
Rachel Moore (RM): I am the Senior Digital Media Specialist, which basically means I handle digital communications that are outgoing. I work with social media and our profiles, I work on our blog and its content, and mass email marketing. I started at the CO-OP in July of 2013 – so I’ve been here for almost a year.
Why do you feel as though your role is important to the company?
Primarily, I live in a digital world where so many people live and breathe online, everything happens online. People who need to work with us – like insured and not insured people are also online so we need to reach them through digital means like email, Facebook, or Twitter. These sites are key since we are certainly moving away from mailers and going towards sending things out instantly, which makes information more accessible. As we move towards digital marketing we will be more successful as an organization and for our members.
What departments do you work with most closely?
Marketing is the primary department, but I also work closely with Outreach and Sales. Operations is important too, since they focus on how our members are being serviced. If we need to send a notice out to members about a payment, or a website update that effects their benefits we do it through Operations.
What skills do you believe are key for your position?
Writing for sure. Being able to think big picture is key – If I send something for Outreach I have to think about how it could effect Operations. Graphic design is a big one- Obviously with being very digital we are very visual, so trying to create interesting images and videos is huge. I’d say technical savvy, too- in knowing how to access and manage the different social platforms, how to blog and add images to something, and how to segment recipient lists. Everything is very tech savvy.
Rachel is always keeping up to date on the latest social media happenings.
What is your favorite part of your job?
I love when we put something out there that gets engagement and gets people to react – either by commenting on it or sharing it with others. I feel successful with my job because something we posted made a big enough difference that they took the extra time to click and share it. To me, this means we have been successful in getting the word out. I love the instant gratification.
What is your personal favorite social media platform?
I like Twitter because it’s brief – you are really challenged in your writing to get messages out in less than 140 characters. It’s a snapshot and if you can grab someone with that brevity I think it speaks to your ability to influence people. And it’s constant, rapid fire with live updates. I really like the live feeling of it.
What to you is the biggest annoyance on social media?
When people misspell their posts, when people want to engage with us and come online to do it and rant and don’t spell correctly. Also, when people want to engage with us and we try to open up the conversation by responding back to them and try to help, then they ditch the conversation. I wish they would recognize that we reached out to them on that medium.
What advice do you have for young people trying to break into the social media industry?
I would say learn graphic design – nowadays people want the package deal in someone who can do digital communications because it makes the whole process faster. Read lots of books and read lots from current writers – if you can set yourself up to have excellent written communications on social media you can that much more easily be considered a thought leader in what you are talking about.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I like playing video games, my favorite is Mass Effect 2. I like to see independent films with my husband, and I like camping and bike riding with my kids around the neighborhood.
What is your schooling background?
I was on the multi-track, multi-school program. I finished at CSU Global, but I have a BS in BS.
Rachel Moore is the Senior Digital Media Specialist for the CO-OP and will be celebrating one year at Colorado HealthOP this summer. You can learn more about the CO-OP’s social media platforms by checking out our social profiles from the Colorado HealthOP website and ‘liking’ us!
