My Digital Mums Journey

I did it! I’ve just submitted my final report for my social media manager course with Digital Mums. I can’t tell you what a relief it is to say that I’ve completed the course as it has been an intense 6 months.
The start
My journey started after a meeting with my boss whilst on maternity leave to discuss my return to work. I rocked up to the meeting ready to have a conversation about flexible hours, thinking 3 days would be ideal, but I could stretch to 4 days a week. However, to my shock, before I had even taken a sip of my tea, I was told that there was no option for flexible working. It was full time or nothing. I left that meeting feeling like I’d had the wind knocked out of me. Full time in London was just not an option, my commute was an hour and a half, at best. This would mean only seeing my son at weekends. Plus, the cost of full time childcare would mean I wouldn’t be making any money. It just wasn’t an option to go back full time.
At this point I’d already started to look into Digital Mums as I felt that my CV needed bringing into the 21st century (I’d had very little experience of social media up to this point). However, this meeting, along with a nudge from my husband, convinced me to sign-up to the course. And so, in February 2018 I became a Digital Mum. I was really nervous going into it as I wasn’t sure if my brain was up to it, and more importantly, how I would fit all the work in.
The middle
After I had navigated the first few weeks I started to get into the swing of things and really enjoyed learning again, and being able to do something for myself. The start of the course was fairly gentle, a lot of learning and a few assignments but it was all manageable. Having weekly calls with my peer group (a group of other Digital Mums) helped ease any anxiety as we were all in the same position and able to have a laugh along the way.
It was great fun designing a campaign and getting to be creative again. This was all helped by having a great Programme Partner who was just so lovely and supportive. Once the campaign started in June, the workload went through the roof. Not only are you running an actual campaign for a real business, but you’re learning on the job too.
The end
There were times when I wasn’t sure that I would get through it, and I was resenting having to sit on my laptop whilst the rest of the country basked in the summer heat wave. But I did it! I’m so proud of myself. Now that I’ve submitted my final report I’m taking a little break from social media and going on holiday. I’m not entirely sure what my next steps will be but I’m excited as I’ve got options now, which is more than I could have wished for.
The best bits
· I’ve done distance learning before and it can feel lonely, but having a peer group who you chat with weekly is invaluable. You can share concerns, bounce ideas off each other, and have fun along the way.
· The course content is delivered in a variety of ways from articles, to interactive videos, quizzes etc. which keeps it interesting. There is a lot to learn but it is delivered in bite sized chunks to make it manageable.
· Being thrown in at the deep end. This might not sound like a positive at first, but with social media you have to get stuck in. It felt dauting at first that we were going to be running a live campaign for our client, but it was the best way to learn and put the theory into practice.
The not so best bits
· Although you get access to the Mothership (a sort of intranet) where you can submit questions, you are pretty much left to your own devices. During the course you get one 1:1 session with your social media guide, which does not feel enough.
· The workload fluctuates A LOT. We had a couple of weeks where there wasn’t much to do, and then weeks when there was a ridiculous amount going on which made it difficult to plan ahead.
· I don’t feel that I’ve finished the course feeling confident at using all social platforms. My campaign was run on Twitter and Facebook, so I know them well. Although I’ve read about the other platforms, it doesn’t beat practical experience.
If you want to find out more about the course for yourself visit: www.digitalmums.com