By: Asja Dupanović
Martina Gršković is the senior account manager and head of social media department at Zagreb’s agency 404. She leads a team of 11 people and the most complex clients, such as Hrvatski Telecom.
Somo Borac awards declared her Community Manager of the Year, and her colleagues say her most striking characteristics are very pleasant character and calmness even in the most difficult situations.
MM: Why the communications industry? What attracted you the most to these waters?
Martina Gršković: Somehow it seems to me that the industry chose me. Quite by chance, seven or eight years ago, I came across a job ad for a junior community manager, and I applied for it without much thinking. I knew what this position implies – lots of communication on social media – and that was my favorite hobby. Since I am extremely communicative, I had to “end up” in the communications industry.
MM: You lead projects for some of the agency’s biggest clients. What were your beginnings like and how big is the responsibility for a young person to lead a team of 11 people and manage clients’ budgets?
Martina Gršković: I started from the junior position, communicating on social media and gradually upgrading my knowledge. I toured various workshops, meetups and trainings, meeting people and clients. I’ve invested a lot of time to understand the market and I’ve learned to grow together with it. I gained my work experience in the agency, and I believe this was crucial because there’s nothing you can’t learn in an agency. First of all, you learn about responsibility – for a client, a colleague, a team, a project – and, of course, you learn that this responsibility is huge. I don’t think my age is an obstacle to that process. You have to decide for yourself – you want it or you don’t. If you do, then you have to love it.
MM: You hold two positions in the agency. What does that actually mean in your every day? What does an average working day look like for you?
Martina Gršković: I’m running one of the largest social media departments in the region, which means I’m at the same time responsible for the development of the team as well as all the projects coming out of our agency. Parallel to that, I’m also the account manager, which means that I provide solutions to clients for any problem. The market is constantly changing and it is important that we develop according to these changes, so it is necessary to keep track of what’s going on in order to improve the processes, the business that our department does, the solutions we offer… Working day starts at 8:00 am and lasts as long as it takes to cross out all the items on my to-do list. Every day comes with at least several meetings, but the thing I love the most is that, even after five years, I’m still learning from my fellow creatives, communicators, analysts, programmers… That’s what drives me.
MM: How big is the importance of social media in today’s media industry? What is their greatest advantage?
Martina Gršković: Their biggest advantage is definitely the reach to the end user and the direct communication, within which you can be extremely creative. When I say creative, I’m not just thinking about creative content, but being creative and brave in using tactics to achieve goals more successfully.
MM: What are the strategies you use to presentat content in social media?
Martina Gršković: The most important thing, before any kind of strategy, is to get to know the user and set the goals. Only then can we set up a strategy which will help us achieve these goals through communication in social media.
MM: Have social media been given the importance they deserve in clients’ communication? Do clients give them the attention they deserve?
Martina Gršković: Absolutely. In the past, campaigns lived only offline. Today, we have campaigns with great production of content that only live in social media or start there. Communication in social media has long past the point when it was just a single cool post with a couple of bucks for the boost. The users are more demanding, it is becoming more difficult to engage them, so all the content we create must be brilliantly thought-out and produced.
MM: What was the most successful post you’ve ever made with your team?
Martina Gršković: The most successful post is the one which achieves its goal, regardless of the metrics it shows. For example, we recently had a post which had an organic reach of one and a half million users. This is a really superb result, because everyone who works with social media can attest to organic reach being almost nonexistent…
MM: What would you advise your peers – to join you in this industry or try to find a better job?
Martina Gršković: Phew. Such advice comes with quite a big responsibility. I would say that in any job (no matter what you do), you should find something that motivates you and pushes you forward. It’s hard to do this job if it doesn’t “turn you on”.
MM: What do you consider the most valuable lesson you’ve learned in all these years you’ve been living the agency life?
Martina Gršković: If you do the job you love, you must learn to cope with the parts of the job you dislike. Oh, and one more thing – organization.
MM: How much free time do you have and how do you like to spend it?
Martina Gršković: Free time isn’t necessarily just the time after work. During the working day, I find some time to spend socializing with my colleagues, surfing some guilty pleasure content, and after work I devote myself to my family – I go for a walk with my husband and my dog in the forest. Or do they walk me…
