“Substance is a place to thrive and display your individuality” – Elisha Brown, Substance Global

Elisha Brown, social media account manager at Substance Global, talks about her work, the opportunities for progression and the importance of curiosity

What is your job role and how would you describe your typical day at work?

I work at Substance Global as a social media account manager and I’ve been working here for four years. Substance is a Digital Marketing agency which specialise in creative marketing & strategy in films, TV and video games.

My role consists of everything from community management and organising social media campaigns to managing influencers and big client pitches.

Within my team I’m the gaming lead, which has seen me work on The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan, Hitman, LEGO titles and more recently Mortal Kombat 11 and Persona 5 Royal. I also work on a number of film clients – theatrical and home entertainment releases such as Sonic The Hedgehog and Mission: Impossible – Fallout.

A typical day really does vary, as at an agency you’re juggling two to five (typically) releases at a time, so your workload is constantly shifting. The first thing I do in the morning is attend a team meeting, it’s always important to check everyone’s workload and make sure everyone is set for the day.

Next, I check social media (not at all surprising), this is to get a general awareness of what is going on with the client social channels and scan news websites to check the trending news.

I will then work with the team to answer any questions or comments across the channels. It’s then straight into emails and liaising with clients (this is the most varied part of my day) to start my daily tasks. This can include: creating pitch presentations, reports, creating social calendars, posting across social channels, managing an influencer activation, attending film premieres or gaming preview events, setting up or reporting on paid ads and the list goes on.

What qualifications and/or experience do you need to land this job?

I would say good writing skills, organisational ability, report building skills but most of all a sense of curiosity, communication and creativity – it is hard, there are loads of skills needed! I went down the university route (3D Modelling and Animation at Derby Uni) but changed my career path after graduating, so I gained experience through unpaid internships and entry level roles.

If you were interviewing someone for your team, what would you look for?

Substance is a place to thrive and really display your individuality, so I would say experience/qualifications and passion! As experience/qualifications comes first, a close second is a passion for the entertainment industry.

Passion is what gets you excited about upcoming projects and creatively think of ways to market them.

What opportunities are there for career progression?

Working in social media opens up a variety of different career paths. You could progress into community management, SEO, PPC, copywriting, digital comms, email marketing, content management or moving up the ladder to head of social.