Executing Successful Campaigns 

One of the main things I completed this month was my two day Course 5: Executing Successful Campaigns. 

The course was designed to prepare us for the project report, presentation and questioning element of our End-Point Assessment (EPA). We covered strategies for planning projects, as well as the skills needed to plan, develop, implement and evaluate a complete marketing campaign across multiple channels. 

What I really enjoyed about the course was how inclusive and collaborative it was. It wasn’t one of those sessions where you sit quietly and listen to someone talk for hours. Everyone was encouraged to get involved, come onto the mic, share their experiences and contribute to discussions. 

We also went into breakout rooms, where we worked collaboratively on activities and presentations. It was great to hear how other apprentices approach marketing and to see how the topics we were learning about could be applied to completely different workplaces. 

The day started with a starter activity before we jumped straight into the learning and collaboration. We covered areas including stakeholder collaboration, time management, copywriting, data analysis and budget management. 

On the second day, we focused more on areas such as report writing and reflection. I learnt about different structures that can be used when writing a report, as well as reflective models such as Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle. 

This was particularly useful because report writing and reflection are going to be important as I move towards my EPA. It was also good practice to present my ideas and explain my thinking rather than simply writing everything down. 

I received some really positive feedback from my tutor, Liv, particularly around my engagement during the course. She highlighted that I confidently came onto the mic, shared my experiences, asked questions and made strong links between the course content and my own role. 

She also said that my participation in the group presentation activity was a real positive and that continuing to contribute confidently will help me when I reach my professional discussion during EPA. 

That was definitely nice to hear, especially because confidence is something I have been developing throughout my apprenticeship. 

Let’s Talk Social Media Campaigns 

As part of my Active Learning Task with Baltic, I created and evaluated a three day social media campaign for Skills and Education Group, Skills and Education Group Access, Skills and Education Group Awards and BIIAB. 

The idea behind the campaign was to show that Skills and Education Group isn’t simply one organisation. Instead, it is an umbrella organisation made up of different organisations that work together to support people throughout their education, skills and career journeys. 

The campaign ran across LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook from 3–5 August 2026. 

The main idea was cross-promotion. Each organisation could introduce its audience to the other organisations within the group, helping people understand how everything connects. 

To bring the campaign together, I used the hashtag #OneSkillsandEducationGroup across the content. 

Planning the campaign 

Before creating the content, I created a campaign proposal to give the project a clear direction. 

I then worked with my manager to get the proposal approved before moving on to creating the captions and graphics. These were also reviewed and approved before being scheduled. 

I used tools including Asana for project management, Canva for the graphics and SocialPilot for scheduling and publishing. 

This gave me experience of managing a campaign from the initial idea all the way through to publication and evaluation. 

It also meant I had to communicate with different people throughout the process and make sure everything was ready across multiple organisations and platforms. 

What happened? 

Overall, the campaign generated some positive results, particularly on LinkedIn. 

Across the four LinkedIn accounts, the campaign made 1,062 impressions and 65 recorded engagements. 

One of the things I was particularly pleased with was an external stakeholder reposting the Skills and Education Group Awards content. This meant the campaign wasn’t just reaching people who already followed our own channels, it was also being introduced to a new audience through an external centre. Thanks Gareth Wldman!

This showed me that engagement isn’t always about likes and comments on your own posts. External shares and stakeholder engagement can also be valuable indicators of whether your content is going beyond your existing audience. 

The campaign also gave me a much better understanding of how to evaluate social media performance. 

Rather than just looking at likes, I looked at metrics such as impressions, clicks, views, profile interactions and external stakeholder engagement. This gave me a much more complete picture of how the campaign performed. 

And finally… annual leave! 

I’ve had quite a lot of annual leave this month, which has been amazing. 

It might sound strange to include annual leave in a marketing apprentice diary, but I actually think it is important to talk about. 

When you’re doing an apprenticeship, working and completing coursework at the same time, it can sometimes feel like there is always something else you could be doing. 

But taking time away is important. 

Having a proper break gives you time to switch off, do things outside of work and come back with more energy. 

I’ve appreciated having that balance this month. Even though I’ve had lots of Learning and work to complete, I’ve also had the opportunity to step away from work and recharge. 

Looking ahead 

Overall, this month has been a really useful one. 

I’ve developed my understanding of campaign planning and evaluation, gained more experience managing a multi-platform campaign and received some really positive feedback about my confidence and participation. 

I’ve also identified some clear areas that I want to improve, particularly around SMART objectives, audience research, platform-specific content and explaining my strategic decisions. 

With the final stages of my apprenticeship getting closer, I know there is still plenty to learn but I also feel like I’m starting to see how everything I’ve learnt throughout my apprenticeship connects together. 

And after a busy month of campaigns, coursework and Active Learning, I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what the next one brings!