The Post: Content Editor and Copywriter, ProfileTree Content Marketing Agency, Innovation Factory, Belfast
The Post Holder: Conor Johnston
Conor Johnston’s role as a content editor fuses together his writing and digital skills.
Give a brief outline of your career to date.
I was a weekly newspaper reporter many years ago, then a public sector press officer and manager, working on various events, campaigns and public awareness projects. My favourite part of any job by a long shot was writing as it didn’t seem like work, so I wanted to find a way to do as much of it as possible.
The digital marketing world seemed a good path to do this, so I had a career change. I worked for two years as a Digital Marketing Executive for a car finance company and dealership, while taking a Digital Marketing Diploma at Belfast Met part-time. The job was a great path to ProfileTree, a local content marketing company based at Innovation Factory, as I could work hands-on across so many forms of digital marketing content and copy.
What was your favourite subject at school?
Not surprisingly, English! My only A grades. Maths, however, was a very, very different story.
Did you go on to further/ higher education, if so what did you study and where?
I took a National Diploma in Media in the ‘tech’ in Ballymoney, one of the best decisions I ever made. It meant a huge range of experience and taster of so many different areas of work. I’ve since added the Digital Marketing Diploma, taught by some very talented people at Belfast Met, and a management qualification as well as countless work courses along the way.
How did you get into your area of work?
Ciaran Connolly, a founding ProfileTree Director, saw the content I’d been writing and told me about a job he was advertising. We chatted about the need to edit and organise written content for ProfileTree’s clients and for the company itself. I’ve loved every minute of the variety and challenge ever since. It’s hugely rewarding to help clients explain what they are about more clearly, and engage their audience better, then tie this in with SEO, as well as our video and web and social people, to produce the end product the client needs.
Is this what you always wanted to do?
Definitely, yes, I’d been looking for a way into full-time writing again for many years.
Were there any particular essential qualifications or experience needed?
Yes, hands-on Digital Marketing experience ideally.
Are there alternative routes into the job?
It’s hard to beat broad experience as a great employer like Ciaran has a skill for spotting and developing ability for the digital world once the basics are in place.
What are the main personal skills your job requires?
I’ve talked a lot about copywriting but, in truth, much of the job involves working with colleagues to keep an eye firmly on new technology and how things like AI, voice search and new devices that will change what we do. Adaptability is a constant theme.
We are based at Innovation Factory in West Belfast which is full of hi-tech small businesses and a great place to bounce new ideas off like-minded, forward thinking people. The staff are enormously helpful in providing key advice and information and producing an atmosphere where innovation and creativity can flow freely.
What does a typical day entail?
I wish I knew! ProfileTree is a small business, so part of the excitement is the unpredictability of pitching in whenever and however it helps. But that aside, I could be writing content for a client website, helping a customer with their blog, meeting with our social specialist, developer or videographers about a project, or helping with in-house brands like Connolly Cove (a tourism website run by ProfileTree to promote the local industry and demonstrate how content marketing works).
What are the best and most challenging aspects of the job?
We take complex businesses and help them talk ‘with’ rather than `at’ their potential customers in a clear and engaging way. It can be as difficult as it is incredibly enjoyable to find just the right way to do this.
Why is what you do important?
I believe ProfileTree directors Michelle Connolly and Ciaran Connolly have built something unique for their clients; they use an in-house team across web, video, SEO and strategy to really help companies grow through content. The business itself is, meanwhile, growing very fast (from two to 11 employees in two years) so being part of this, and the success of the companies we help, is a pleasure.
What advice would you give anyone looking to follow a similar career path?
Sample as much of digital marketing as a broad skill as possible and go from there.
If you weren’t doing this what would you like to do?
I genuinely can’t think of anything… which must be a good sign. I’d love to write a nonfiction book someday, but even this could fit around work.
What is the one piece of advice you would give to yourself on your first day?
Love what you do and it will show in your work. Describe your ideal day off. A day with my fiancée and family, plus a little spare-time writing is all I need. I also love movies as well as enjoying modern Belfast and all its changes.
And finally, what’s the key to any successful job search?
I’ve found the process used by a company to recruit their team speaks volumes about their culture and can be a clue to finding just the right fit.