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Inside the Avocado Grove: From Canada to Germany and the Digital Marketing of Avocados
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
My name is Laura, and I am responsible for digital marketing here at ArangoDB.
In the following post, I will dive into my own experience working at ArangoDB and how I ended up from Northern Ontario, Canada to work in Germany at a native multi-model graph database company. Are you interested in learning more about working abroad, working remotely, or diving into a new industry? This post covers all of the above topics.
Who am I? The short version:
- I am 24 years old and have lived in Germany for almost two and a half years now.
- I am originally from a small city in Northern Ontario, Canada.
- Recently I received my Masters Degree in North American Studies from the University of Cologne.
- My passions include coffee, art, sports, and social media.
From Canada to Germany
Recently I completed my studies at the University of Cologne in Germany, where I received my Masters in North American Studies. Previously I completed my Bachelor’s degree in Media and Communications at Brock University, located just next to Niagara Falls, Canada. While I was receiving my bachelor’s degree, I decided to study abroad for a year, which ended up being in Sweden. During my time in Sweden, I was fortunate enough to travel across Europe, which led to 4 or 5 different visits to Germany. Each time I was in Germany, I fell in love with the country, leading to my eventual decision to apply and move here for my graduate degree.
When I had applied for my graduate degree, It was vital for me to keep my doors open career-wise. I was unsure what I hoped to do after graduating and felt the best decision was to pick a degree that allowed me to continue exploring my interests and opened more doors for myself. This led to my decision to study North American Studies. The degree allowed me to continue to explore different forms of media and gave me a better theoretical and historical understanding of the American market.
My degree also allowed me to explore social media through a historical lens and focus on social media as a tool for discourse and spreading information. While studying, I came across a job post on LinkedIn (thank you LinkedIn) regarding a working student position in social media marketing for ArangoDB. Before coming across this listing, I had never really considered working in a software-focused market.
How Did I End Up at ArangoDB?
While I had always been a bit obsessed with new product releases and intrigued by the latest news in technology, I never really considered working in a technology field. That being said, I was very intrigued when I saw the job listing and took a look at the ArangoDB website. After looking through the website and checking out different media platforms for ArangoDB, I decided to apply for the position. Since social media was (still is) a huge passion of mine, I thought, why not give it a chance and see what happens. Fortunately enough, I was given the opportunity to begin working as a working student in marketing. For those who aren’t sure what a working student position is, it is a job within a field, a particular area of study that allows students to gain work experience related to their studies.
Working Student in Marketing
On my first day at ArangoDB, my knowledge within the database industry was the basic understanding of a database. Over time, my knowledge began to expand. That is the coolest part about ArangoDB. Our product transcends sectors and is used by different organizations for a wide variety of case studies. In addition, different-sized corporations use ArangoDB across other fields of work – it is not just large enterprises that use ArangoDB. Since the software is open source, many small businesses and projects have used ArangoDB to solve data storage concerns.
Some major corporations that utilize ArangoDB include Barclays, Cisco, Refinitiv, Mentor: A Siemens Business, Opentext, and Kabbage. On the ArangoDB website, case studies are accessible to interested customers to hear how ArangoDB was used to solve different issues companies were having. Other clients with written case studies include Refinitiv, Innoplexus, Actify, Kaseware, Privacy Perfect, Liaison, and About You. Case Studies are a great tool because they allow potential customers to read the problems companies had before acquiring our product. Following the implementation of ArangoDB, they were able to develop a solution that was beneficial for all parties involved.
As a working student at ArangoDB, I had guidance from a terrific marketing team. The team helped me go from completing basic marketing tasks to running all of ArangoDB’s social media channels by the end of my time as a working student. This opportunity enabled me to learn about ArangoDB and also allowed me to have a broader perspective on Marketing and experience in both online and offline marketing techniques. While I was working at ArangoDB and studying, I continued to tailor my education to be applicable in my knowledge of the role of media on a specific target group and demographic.
A Day In The Life of a Digital Marketing Manager
As a 24-year-old, it is a surreal feeling to be fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work so closely with different department heads and to be gaining so much work experience in digital marketing. This allows for insight into the decision-making that goes on between various departments and how they build off each other. Each department takes the time to explain the decision-making process or give a better understanding of a particular part of the product. When creating social content, the engineering team is great at answering questions and explaining content to someone who does not have the same technical background.
A typical day in my life as the digital marketing manager at ArangoDB starts with me chugging a cup of coffee at 7:30/8:00 am and checking all of our social media networks to stay up-to-date on how our posts did and if there is any engagement for us to respond to. I am also responsible to check our WordPress and YouTube channel to see if there are any comments that need to be responded to.
Following the social media check, I go through the social media overview to confirm we have posts scheduled for the upcoming week and see if anything needs to be checked over. Afterward, I message the appropriate team member to check it out and make sure the correct information is presented on our social media channels. I will also go and check to see if our web pages are up-to-date and if anything is missing or has to be updated or added to our blog.
Projects and Tasks
After I go over social media scheduling, the tasks for the day can differ depending on what is upcoming and what specific projects I have on my plate. A recent project I have been working on through our social media networks is sharing different avocado-based recipes in order to engage with our community and share some of our team’s favorite ways to eat avocado. This project has been particularly entertaining as it has allowed the community to engage with us on a more personal level and discuss a topic that everyone loves: food (and of course, ArangoDB).
Another task I am responsible for is organizing and executing our lunch break ‘Graph and Beyond’ sessions. This has been another task that I have really enjoyed as it has allowed me to dive even deeper into the inner workings of ArangoDB and be able to create digestible content based on specific parts of ArangoDB that the community is interested in.
If we have any conferences or webinars that are upcoming, I make sure that everyone is aware of who is speaking, and if any organization has to be done, it is taken care of. If there is a Lunch Session, I will make sure that the email sent out is set up and that the next few weeks are scheduled. This involves selecting upcoming topics and managing who will host the forthcoming lunch sessions.
End of the Day
I usually take a moment in a day to do some housekeeping tasks, such as organizing our Google Drive or putting together t-shirt and other fun swag to send out. During this time, I also work on my 80/20 project and take a moment to reset. I will also have one or two meetings in the afternoon to discuss social media and different upcoming content for our blog.
Usually, I wrap up around 5:00 or 5:30 pm. Before signing off for the day, I clear my emails and check if I have last-minute tasks that need to be completed. I also sync up with other marketing team members to see if I can do anything in the morning, as I am usually the first to start since I am a morning person.
Future Goals
Working at ArangoDB has introduced me to a new target market that has allowed me to grow on a personal and professional level. Being part of a smaller marketing team has also let me learn about different types of marketing and join calls outside of digital marketing, including case studies and other aspects of PR. As I progress with my career, I hope one day that I am able to lead a group and give the same knowledge and experience to members of the marketing team that I have been fortunate enough to get early on in my own career.
Overall Experience
On a personal level, I have immensely enjoyed working with the ArangoDB team. It is not often that you find a work environment as welcoming and encouraging as the Avocado family. Rather than helping to solve a technical issue or helping rewrite a post for social, the team comes together and supports each other in a way that never leaves someone feeling uncertain on who to turn to. It also allows team members to try new things and grow in a healthy work environment, which is essential for anyone no matter which stage of their work career they may be in.
What I hope to accomplish as I continue to work at ArangoDB is to host different events and engage more with the ArangoDB community – both online and offline. I hope to be a voice in the community and to reach out to new prospective users, who may also be unfamiliar with the world of graph databases and encourage them to give ArangoDB a try, just like I did.
Interested in joining Team Avocado? We are currently expanding our Marketing team and are actively searching for new team members! For more details, check out our career page here.
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