Strategy with the SIM

Throughout the semester, we were required to work on a simulation called Mimic Social. We were given a mock social media marketing internship for a company called Buhi. Buhi sold different types of bags, and we were required to market them on social media. The simulation gave a vast array of information for us to use such as demographics, marketing tactics, and weekly letters from our boss. It made it seem like we were real interns. 

When I started the simulation, I thought it was very overwhelming. Social media marketing is a tedious process, and I am a perfectionist. I remember I spent almost two hours on my first round. My first simulation round only proved how much of a perfectionist I am in my work. In addition, the simulation brought out a competitive nature. As an athlete, I am naturally competitive, but I have not experienced professional competition yet. This makes me a little nervous about the lengths I will go to in my professional career to be a top dog. Simply put, I loathe being second-best.

The simulation taught me a great deal about social media marketing. I used to be oblivious to promoting posts to target audiences, but it soon became second-hand nature to me. The letters from our boss encouraged us to experiment with our tactics in marketing. It was fun to see what tactics performed well over others. Personally, I am thankful I only negotiated with sassy influencers for two rounds of the simulation. They were a total pain when we negotiated payment and content plans. It was exciting to see the growth of revenue and other analytics after I ran simulation rounds. One time, my simulation didn't load, and it said I made zero progress. I freaked out. After reloading the page, I saw the progress I actually made during the round.

I am seeing the benefits of the simulation outside of the classroom. This summer, I am working on a social media campaign for my colleague at Mary Kay, and I am assisting in running the social media pages for my basketball team at ONU. Mimic Social taught me the importance of finding a target market, posting at optimal times and working with optimal platforms. I am excited to share my experiences with social media outside of this simulation over the summer.