Inside Albyn: Marketing & Communications Officer

Thanks for taking the time to read Inside Albyn, where we invite you to step into the diverse world of Albyn Housing Society. Today in celebration of #ScottishHousingDay we are telling you all about Lana, our Marketing and Communications Officer.

What are your primary responsibilities and tasks?

To coordinate and deliver day-to-day communications and social media activities that support effective communications to our tenants, staff, and stakeholders.

What does a typical day look like?

I start my day by checking emails and organising my tasks for the day. I usually have several projects running at the same time so being organised is really important, as is managing my time effectively.

I then check our social media channels and respond to any questions that we’ve received, this often involves liaising with the Customer and Property Services team to make sure tenant enquiries are passed on.

After this, my day generally involves planning and creating content, whether that is written copy for the newsletter, or graphics and videos for social media. I also work closely with other teams who would like my support to develop reports, presentations and documents.

I am also responsible for keeping the website up to date. This means uploading new documents, updating pages and creating news about things that are happening such as #scottishhousingday.

Are there any unique challenges or exciting aspects?

Providing marketing support for a non-profit like Albyn is uniquely challenging because most marketing is about encouraging your audience to buy into something whether that’s an idea or a product. In housing, marketing is more focused on ensuring our tenants and stakeholders have relevant and timely information and that there are mechanisms for two-way communication.

How do you contribute to the mission and values of our organisation?

Part of our mission is to provide excellent customer service, and while this mostly comes from our frontline staff, it’s also reflected in how informed customers are about our services and how they can access advice and support.

Can you share a specific success story or memorable experience?

I had the opportunity to create a short video for our board that highlighted the challenges faced by our tenants in the cost of living crisis. I was able to speak to tenants about their rising costs and what support they had been able to access. The board were able to allocate further funding to distribute to tenants. We have since developed a tenancy sustainment team, dedicated to accessing and distributing funds, offering signposting and advice that supports tenants when they are struggling.