I can’t believe it’s already been a year since the start of my placement at Rawnet!
The time has absolutely flown by, and looking back, it’s amazing just how much I have been able to achieve in that time! So as I begin looking forward to my final year at Loughborough University, it feels only right to reflect on the last year and share my experience.
What Attracted You to Work at Rawnet?
With a background in social media marketing, I had a keen interest in pursuing a marketing placement. While researching placement opportunities, I heard about Rawnet and after taking a look at their website and reading all their amazing case studies it was clear that Rawnet was the sort of company I would like to be part of and learn from.
What Was Your Role at Rawnet?
As part of my role as a Marketing Executive, I worked with the sales and marketing team to help raise brand awareness and help bring in new leads for Rawnet. My main responsibilities included managing Rawnet’s social media platforms, creating content such as articles, whitepapers and case study material, deploying email marketing campaigns and assisting in the management of the rawnet.com website.
During my placement year, I also got the opportunity to work with the Paid Social Specialist, Nadine Smith, for one day a week over a 3 month period. I got to learn how to use Facebook Ads Manager and created paid ad campaigns for a variety of clients, including Hornby and Healios. Having only primarily worked in organic socials in the past I found this particularly interesting, learning about different audience filters and the best practice when developing paid ads.
I also got the opportunity to work with Rawnet’s Optimisation Strategist, Georgie Wells. This was one of my favourite parts of my placement; having had no experience in optimisation prior to my placement, there was a lot to learn, but Georgie didn’t hold back and was an amazing mentor. She taught me Rawnet’s optimisation process and gave me lots of opportunities to get involved in optimising some of our client's websites, for example Digntiy and Hornby. She also taught me how to use software such as Mouseflow, Google Analytics and Convert to analyse websites which I could apply to my job and make changes to the Rawnet site. This opportunity has definitely stuck with me and is something I’d consider as a career in the future.
What Are Some of the Key Projects You Worked On?
I was involved in so many projects whilst being at Rawnet it’s easy to lose track! But here are a couple that stand out to me:
Copy Writing
I’ve never seen myself as much of a writer (I hated English at school!) but I had to put that behind me when I was tasked with writing Rawnet’s 2023 Trend Report, this was definitely a challenge, requiring lots of research and interviews with the Rawnet team to gather their insights on what trends they predicted to see in 2023 but after lots of hard work it was published onto the site and used as a lead magnet for Rawnet on LinkedIn! I also had the responsibility of writing lots of blogs and articles for the Rawnet site, social media and PR entries, helping me develop my copywriting skills and learn a vast amount about digital concepts.
LinkedIn Campaigns
I assisted in the management of ad campaigns on LinkedIn, learning how to use LinkedIn Campaign Manager to push whitepapers such as the trend report and gamification report for lead capture.
Social Media Management
I was actively responsible for running Rawnet’s social media accounts, developing a content calendar which aligned with Rawnet’s goals and planning posts accordingly. I worked with Rawnet’s designers to develop content to boost engagement and brand awareness in the last couple of months. I was working at Rawnet, I advocated for more video content, knowing this is the type of content which I prefer to consume, and after a trial run, we just started pushing this content live; these all performed really well, increasing impressions and helping Rawnet achieve 5000 followers on LinkedIn.
Email Marketing
I was responsible for Rawnet’s email marketing campaigns, creating monthly emailers on Active Campaign, summarising Rawnet’s latest insights, company news and case studies. Using what I had learnt from my time with the optimisation strategist, I actively optimised the emails, continually improving them and increasing the open rate from 7.03% to 23.59%!
Website Content Management
As part of my role, I was responsible for adding content such as case studies and insights, creating new landing pages and making continuous improvements to the Rawnet site. Through this experience, I developed a comprehensive understanding of Concrete5 CMS, something which I had no previous experience with.
Rawnet Repositioning
In the last couple of months of my placement, I was involved in the repositioning of Rawnet, working with key stakeholders of the company and Creative Strategist Andrew Lester to develop a new brand proposition and plan the redevelopment of the Rawnet site. It was really interesting to work alongside the team to develop wireframes for the future Rawnet site and write the copy which reflects the new positioning of Rawnet, which focuses on partnerships - I’m only sad I wasn’t here long enough to see the new Rawnet site go live!
Charity Events
During my time at Rawnet, I also ran two different charity events- a challenge of getting the Rawnet team to walk the length of the UK and a charity raffle; both of these events were really successful, raising £665 for our chosen charity, CSSEF!
What is The Company Culture Like at Rawnet?
The company culture at Rawnet was amazing, from my very first day everyone was always so welcoming and friendly. I was never treated as an intern but instead as a recognised member of the team with key responsibilities, and my questions and input in meetings always being answered and listened to.
In my year at Rawnet, I was very lucky to attend a variety of different work events, for example…
- The Summer Social 2022 at Royal Ascot where everyone dressed to impress and I realised I had no luck when it came to betting on horses!
- The 20 year Client party, where we celebrated 20 years at Rawnet with all our clients!
- Quarterly Bangers - I attended lots of smaller events where we celebrated the previous quarter's achievements. From office quizzes to visits to The Stag, Rawnet definitely know how to celebrate!
- Castlenau event- I attended the Castlenau event which gave me an opportunity to learn a little more about the Rawnet acquisition and all about Rawnet’s group clients!
- Christmas party - another amazing event where everyone got together to enjoy some good food and drinks!
- Summer Social 2023- we all headed out to Ascot Racecourse to enjoy the sunshine and try our hand at betting.
. 
Final Thought? Advice for Future Students?
To say I enjoyed my placement year would be an understatement, I truly feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to work at Rawnet and learn from so many experts in the digital field! I have learnt so much and come away with not just extended knowledge but also so many friends who I’d love to come back and work with again in the future!
Rawnet far exceeded my expectations, going above and beyond to give me opportunities to learn and I would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has taught me so much over the last year and put up with my awful singing in the office when a good song comes on!
My advice for future students is to believe in yourself; putting yourself out there can be terrifying, but it is also the most rewarding. I have noticeably grown in confidence, especially when sharing my thoughts or ideas, and this placement has definitely played a big part in that. If you’re considering a placement at Rawnet, just go for it- you won’t be as supported or be given as many opportunities to learn anywhere else!
