A day in the life of...
Ever wondered what other roles at Bauer involve? Ever considered how your ‘normal’ matches up to your colleagues' normal?
In our "A Day in the Life of" series, we uncover what a typical day looks like for people in a variety of roles across our Business Areas and markets.
In this edition of "A Day in the Life of", we're excited to introduce you to the Bauer Media UK’s Audience Development Executive, Lucy Smith.
Thanks for sharing your day with us, Lucy!
...Lucy Smith
I’m a ‘snoozer’ in the mornings…
… I set my alarm for 6.40 …and usually get out of bed at 7.00am.
And then it’s a slow start…
… I need a full hour and a half to properly wake up. I have a leisurely shower, do my make-up and get dressed, and then have quite a boring brekkie – a bagel with butter – with a coffee in front of the TV (New Girl, to be specific).
My current commute is fairly quick…
… I’m currently working from home so my commute is approximately six steps across my tiny one-bed flat.
I start my day very mindfully…
… I’m such a 'tidy house, tidy mind person', so I fluff all the cushions on the sofa before I start, and then write down the three things I’m feeling in that moment into my ‘check-in’ journal. If you’ve never tried it, I find drawing your attention to the present moment to be the best way to clear your headspace, especially if you’ve got a stressful day ahead.
...And I look for quick wins to set me up for success…
… The first thing I do when I start my day is say good morning to my team on Teams and then get started on heat, Closer, Grazia, Empire, M&B and Yours’ (the brands I work across) digital traffic update for the day. I read somewhere that being able to tick something off your to-do list straightaway is a great way to start your day, so – being a very quick admin-y sort of task – it’s a good one to get going on first, especially if I’m a still a little tired.
I am responsible for spotting ‘opportunities’ for Bauer’s digital lifestyle brands that our competitors haven’t thought of yet…
… I monitor how many people are reaching the websites daily (and where they’ve come from – Facebook, Google etc.) and then try to figure out unique ways we can target new readers from those various social media/search engine platforms. This could be by finding a new angle to cover a story that lots of over brands have already beat us to, or spotting trends (e.g. Love Island reactions) as they happen and reacting quickly on our brands’ social platforms to boost likes and follows. Oh, and I run heat and Closer’s Instagram accounts – go and give them a follow!
I get to write up Closer’s ‘Love Island outfits’ piece, which is always fun…
… One of my guilty pleasures after work is actually doing a Google search to see if any of the brands’ news stories have made it to the first results page. I spotted a unique angle to cover Sammy Kimmence’s (Dani Dyer’s ex-boyfriend) prison sentence earlier this week – it was titled ‘Trolling Dani Dyer's Instagram about Sammy Kimmence's jail sentence is not only harassment, but a futile exercise’ and it made it to the top of Google’s news page within minutes. When you see your efforts actually paying off it’s such a good feeling, and I love seeing the brands reaching their targets.
I love managing heat’s Instagram too…
…it’s got such a fun, care-free energy about it and we’re really scaling our followers now, too. And I’m really proud to say that heat and Closer’s Instagram accounts gained over 1,000 followers each in the month after I started managing them.
My days are really varied…
... I have a morning conference with heat and Closer every day – it’s such a fun way to kick off my mornings because we usually chat through Love Island before Carl (Smith) assigns everyone their news. Then, each day, I do a different brand’s ‘weekly report’ where I go through the top stories and send them to their respective teams over email. I meet with each brand once a week, too, but each team uses the catch up differently. Sometimes we chat search engine optimisation, sometimes we’ll be running through how the brand is going to cover Amazon Prime Day – no two days are the same!
My least favourite part of my job is…
… Google’s algorithm updates.
I don’t think many people realise how creative you need to be in a digital role…
… It’s not just stats, Excel and digital jargon! I get to be creative every day, and I’ve had the opportunity to meet more people across the company than I ever would have anticipated.
I’m usually the first in my team to stop for lunch…
… I’m very much a head down worker, so I’ll work intensely during my hours but then I need my full lunch break to refresh before the afternoon. We all tell each other when we’re going for lunch on h + C and I’m usually first at 12! Equally, because I start at 8.30 so I can inform h + C what’s going on on Google Trends before they start pitching stories, I finish at 5, so I’m the first to head off. But we always say goodbye on Teams first. Oh, and I have a max of two coffees each day, one with breakfast and one after lunch, otherwise the caffeine goes to my head.
I’m a big fan of leftovers…
... I really like to get the most out of lunch break, and standing over a hot stove is not my idea of relaxing… Leftovers are the way forward, if you ask me. My boyfriend and I make double portions of everything we cook for dinner so every day is different! Today I’m having some chimichurri salmon with pan fried asparagus, broccoli, courgetti and red peppers. And WFH means I eat it on the sofa.
I work hard to get my work done in work time…
... I really like to finish promptly, so I usually do finish at 5, or within 10 mins. That said, if I’ve got something that needs to be done I will stay on to finish it.
A tidy home is as essential to relaxing as it is to working…
I tend to do a quick mine sweep around the flat when I finish work for the day, clearing up coffee cups and the like and then I’ll either go for a walk, go swimming or meet some friends. I really like to get out of the flat at the end of the day; sitting in the same room for 8 hours can leave me feeling quite cooped up, so I definitely need some fresh air.
Swimming is a newfound passion of mine…
… I recently joined my local lido and I’ve been going three times a week after work – it’s such a good way to decompress and chill out after a busy day.
I’d like to get to bed by 10.30pm one day…
… In a dream world, I’d be in bed by 10.30 each night but, realistically, it probably ends up being nearer 11-12. I know it’s a cliché, but I genuinely love what I do, so I’m inspired to get up for work again in the morning. At the end of the day, how many people can say they get to chat about Love Island and the best midi dresses for a living?