An Interview with Monika Raszowska

Hi Monika! Thanks for sitting down with us here at Girl Economics, tell us about your job!

I work in a Marketing Tech company which focuses on creating better ways to advertise mobile apps to users. Through this work I have gained skills in business development and sales partnership which is definitely helping me to build my own thing on the side. I started doing User Generated Content last year because I have always been interested in content creation. It has been a hobby of mine for a while to post about the things I enjoy on social media and, having studied business and marketing at university, I jump on every chance I get to monetise my hobbies! I am now going to be registering as an official company and I do think that I am constantly learning and optimising my craft through making new connections in the industry.

How have you been able to grow your business?

It is definitely a competitive market because User Generated Content (UGC) has become quite a buzzword recently. So, instead of just offering content creation services, I am exploring different avenues that can help me expand the business. For example, I offer social media marketing and I have offers that involve partnering with companies such as web development services to mobilise UGC content to attract consumers towards products that have not traditionally used this type of marketing before. In my day job working in mobile app marketing, I have acquired lots of knowledge and connections which allow me to position myself at a clear niche within the market.

Where do you see the business going?

At the moment my partner is helping me to grow the business, especially because I am in the process of changing my day job. I have received an offer for a more senior position in a new firm so there is lots of balancing going on at the moment! We have plans to continue growing the marketing side of the business with web development agencies and with mobile app marketing agencies. The plan is for me to step off the stage as a creator myself and instead take on more of a managerial role, allowing other creators to build their own platform. The plan is big and I would love to hold large events across the country because I think they are a brilliant way to share my company with others!

Why do you think that UGC has become such a buzzword?

I think there are two perspectives on this: one is the users’ perspective and the other is that of the brands who are benefitting from using this type of content. In terms of users, we live in a world in which it is harder and harder to find authenticity amongst creators, especially online. I think that UGC offers this real connection between audiences and brands, allowing users to hear about the experiences of others directly from other consumers, rather than through the mouthpiece of brands. From the brands’ perspective, UGC creatives are one of the highest performing creatives that brands can employ. This can allow them to reach larger audiences and reach people who are more likely to engage with the brand.

What advice would you give to young people thinking about a career in marketing?

I went to university and I studied business and marketing but, to be honest, the amount of resources available online means that you don’t need to have a formal education in marketing to be able to make it in the industry. I would recommend a free certificate in marketing by Google as a great introduction to the industry and to type of careers that you can take on within it. There are lots of free courses that you can access as well, including tons of YouTube videos that can teach you everything you could possibly wish to know! Also, I think that one of the most beneficial things you can do is reach out to people who are already doing interesting things within the industry. On LinkedIn you’ll be able to find plenty of people who are more than willing to share their experiences and help you build up a community. I think that being around people who have similar ambitions can allow you to learn from each other and share your goals and struggles.

What would be your advice for people wanting to start posting on LinkedIn?

The first thing that I would suggest to anyone is to anticipate the cringe. Everyone starts somewhere, everyone needs to take the time to learn, and by just starting you are already doing so much better than all of those people who are still ‘thinking’ about posting. At the start I researched the ways in which others were posting and putting themselves across. I would try to comment on people’s posts to build up a community and share my thoughts, and I think starting by commenting is a great way to bridge the gap to posting! Once I’d done 20-30 posts I was able to find my own voice.

Tell us about some of your inspirations

There are lots of people around me who I find inspiring. Some of my LinkedIn peers who are also balancing a 9-5 with their own side job are able to give me brilliant advice and motivation to keep growing my business. There are also lots of marketing agencies that have already crafted a clear brand that I can really take inspiration from. More personally, my grandma and my mother raised me in a way that put me on a very nice course for the rest of my life. I am hugely grateful to both of them! I also take inspiration from my partner’s mother who is a very senior Professor at a university in Poland, and was one of the first women to achieve the position.

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Thanks for reading! See you in the next issue - Erin McGurk