Laura Wardropper is a paid social strategist at Extreme, a Yorkshire-based digital marketing agency.
She initially joined as a social media executive in 2017, before rising through the ranks to her current role in 2022.
From job challenges to entering agency land, she shares her career journey along with some words of advice…
How did you first get into your industry?
After graduating from university in 2014 with a degree in English Literature, I worked a number of internships alongside applying for full-time roles. I got my break thanks to The Juice Academy’s first graduate scheme in 2015, which helped me develop digital marketing skills and secure a role at the end of the scheme. Thanks to this, I knew social media was the discipline I wanted to pursue.
Transitioning into paid social was something that happened naturally within my first few years at Extreme. We found clients were asking for support with ads more and more frequently. A pivotal moment was taking on my first DTC client for solely paid social (in the past we’d managed organic and paid). Working on this client helped build my skills to really specialise in advertising, first on Meta and later adding TikTok to the mix. This learning curve helped build my confidence to learn more advertising platforms and take on a broader range of businesses.
What do you love about your job?
I love the variety that comes with working for an agency, meaning that I learn about many different businesses and industries. Even when clients are very different from one another, there are things you can learn from each one of them to develop new approaches to paid social strategy.
I also love that I work closely with the rest of the social team at Extreme. Working closely with organic social means that my ads feel cohesive with their work, and I still get to join in with some of the content creation, which is always fun!
Who – or what – has inspired you in your career?
Other advertisers! Seeing ads within my own social media feeds often inspires me to test new creatives, angles and hooks. This also applies to organic content, as often tapping into a trending angle or sound produces strong results.
Advertising platforms’ ‘best practices’ don’t necessarily work for every brand, so often it’s other advertisers themselves (both thought-leaders and colleagues) who offer the best insight.
What are the biggest challenges about your job?
Staying ahead of the curve! With so many changes to platforms and best practices, it’s important to stay up to date with the latest developments. Because of this, it’s important not to be afraid to try something new and continuously develop clients’ paid social strategies proactively. Which can be scary when you’re essentially handling someone else’s money!
What skills have been the most crucial to you succeeding in your career so far?
Time management, patience, and faith in myself. Working in a busy agency environment means there’s always something that needs to be done, so time management has been key to not getting overwhelmed with tasks. I’ve found patience important for ensuring I don’t micro-manage campaigns, and faith in myself so that I have courage in my convictions while navigating an ever-changing advertising landscape.
What was your first salary and what could someone getting into the industry expect to earn nowadays?
My first salary after completing my graduate scheme was around £15k for a role in central Manchester, but I will note that this was over 10 years ago and for a charity. So I’d be mindful of not only geography but also industry impacts on salary expectations.
What education or training would be most useful for someone looking to follow your career path?
I found that having a degree was vital when I applied for jobs as a graduate. I’ve also found studying English Literature has been invaluable in helping to develop my critical thinking, analytical and communication skills. However, many of the skills I use every day have been learned on the job, so there isn’t one set path for a person to follow. Having a degree definitely doesn’t seem to be as important as it was 10 years ago.
What advice would you have for someone looking to follow your path?
The most important things that have impacted my career for the better have been surrounding myself with colleagues and senior leadership who I can learn from, and having the desire and motivation to upskill myself through research and training. We’re never ‘done’ learning and with the advertising space continuing to change, having the motivation to move with the times is vital.
