As I walked through the door to join the 9 Clouds marketing team on my first day as a new creative content strategist, I couldn’t help but feel every emoji on the planet.

The excited, nervous, laughing, and stressed faces were just a few of the emojis that ran through my body that day.

While it’s only been one week for me here at 9 Clouds, it’s already evident that I’ll likely experience each and every emoji while working in the ever-changing world that is digital marketing.

Blogging Like a Boss

One of the most important qualities of a creative content strategist is the ability to create relevant and interesting content for clients in the form of blog writing.

I’ve learned that here at 9 Clouds, the staff takes blogging very seriously. Blogs are planned out weeks in advance and go through multiple channels and edits before they are published.

The entire blog writing process is very intentional. The team conducts research if needed and is always thinking about the overall purpose and message of the blog before it is published in order to create the best content possible.

The work doesn’t stop after the “publish” button is pressed, either. Each blog is analyzed using Google Analytics to determine if the correct message is coming across while attracting the desired audience.

Analyzing our content, it seems, is just as important as creating it!

Happy Birthday to…ME!

I had the privilege of celebrating my birthday on my second day at 9 Clouds. I wasn’t exactly sure how this was going to go since I didn’t know the birthday protocol at this company.

When I arrived at the office that morning, I found a homemade three-layer cake (courtesy of Jenny) waiting for me in the break room.

I was so impressed that someone who had only known me for literally one day had baked me a cake!

All day long, coworkers were wishing me a happy birthday and asking me how my first few days were going, reassuring me that it’s normal to feel overwhelmed at first.

It’s nice to know that the people here care about me as a person and not just the work I produce.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Later in the evening, the 9 Clouds team, along with their friends and families, took a break from work to enjoy a Sioux Falls Canaries baseball game. (I should also mention that there was unlimited food and drink!)

This team bonding activity provided a fun and relaxed environment for me to get to know my new coworkers.

Company culture was a topic of discussion I had with our CEO, Sarah. She explained to me why company culture and providing fun activities for 9 Clouds employees is so important. When employees are happy, they are more productive in their job and actually enjoy coming to work.

We are living in a time period when unhappy employees outnumber happy employees by a ratio of two to one. But this statistic doesn’t seem to reflect the feelings of employees here at 9 Clouds.

I’m glad that 9 Clouds is working to create a positive work environment that encourages innovation, transparency, and personal wellbeing.

A Time to Learn

Learning is a skill that is heavily emphasized here at 9 Clouds.

In fact, it’s almost impossible to not learn while you work at this place. I’m convinced that since I began my position, I’ve learned at least one new thing every 10 minutes.

Because we work in an industry that is ever-evolving, it’s important to always be on the lookout for new opportunities to grow in our marketing knowledge. By displaying this personal responsibility to learn, we are able to provide outstanding service and educate others about the advantages of inbound marketing.

Even though I felt as though I was riding an emoji roller coaster during my first week at 9 Clouds, I can already see that this place is unique in a good way. These people know their stuff and are passionate about both the work they do and the relationships they build along the way.

I can’t wait to see what’s ahead for me and this amazing company!