My name is Erica, and I’m a Research Analyst and Social Media Strategist at Research & Marketing Strategies, Inc. (RMS). Some of our readers may know me as a project lead, a LinkedIn connection, or former colleague or classmate. Being the advocate that I am, I fully believe in the power of social media, but a few bullet points that breeze through my job description on LinkedIn is not the best way to understand my role and daily life at RMS. Let’s break it down…

Unless I have an early morning client meeting or work function, I start most days at the office by checking email. Although there’s a plethora of research that suggests NOT checking email as soon as you get to the office is best, I find it’s a great way to ease my brain into the day to come. And I keep up with my email throughout the day, so I rarely have more than 20 emails to sift through on any given morning. Once my inbox is tidy, I switch gears and put on my social media management hat. I hop on Buffer to check the social media posts that have been uploaded for the day by our fabulous Social Media Content & Panel Coordinator. We source and create most of our content in advance, so by the time I see them in Buffer, they’ve already been “approved.” Now I’m just double checking that there are no spelling/formatting errors, ensuring that links work, and graphics are displaying properly. This is also the time when I’ll post a company blog update, if we have one scheduled that day. Once that’s ready to rock and roll, the rest of my day will consist of various meetings, client communications, and project work.

As any of my colleagues past and present will tell you – I’m a morning person. Knowing that I do my absolute BEST work in the AM hours, I purposely tackle the projects and tasks that require extra brain power first. So if I have a project that is wrapping up, I’ll dive into the reporting next, and power through data analysis or weaving together an executive summary with “next step” recommendations. Other days I might draft a business proposal and cost sheet for new work, create an online survey script or in-depth interview guide, or analyze our social media performance data and update our dashboard. I’ll head out for lunch to re-energize my brain, and jump into the next task of the day. I might be scheduling and conducting a large volume of interviews for a project, updating clients on a project via email or phone, or meeting with colleagues to brainstorm about business development opportunities or a client report. I could also be drafting my next blog post; reviewing trends in social media, market research and higher education; or reviewing and updating our social media strategy. RMS is a company that truly empowers employees to have a work-life balance, so most days I’m able to leave the office on time. I’ve found over the years that this work-life balance is a key component to employee satisfaction, efficiency, and quality of work product produced. Work to live – don’t live to work! That’s life in a nutshell at RMS for a Research Analyst and Social Media Strategist. Feel free to leave a comment with any questions you may have about working in market research, in this or similar roles, or about RMS!

If you’re interested in learning more about RMS, please visit our website. If you’d like more information about the services we offer, please contact our Senior Director of Business Development & Corporate Strategy, Sandy Baker, at SandyB@RMSresults.com or by calling 315-635-9802.