Professional Writing Portfolio

Emily Minarik

Marketing Materials

My group started this project off by evaluating our target audience. Were we directing our proposal towards NICE employees, or future social media viewers? As a group, we needed to figure out a way to do both. I contributed very little to the Reddit proposal, but already having approval from NICE allowed for us to actually create that account. Reddit’s audience primarily consists of potential volunteers and donors.

However, proposing the Instagram account was a bit complicated; my group did not want to start an account without confirmation from NICE. If the organization approves our proposal, my group left instructions for NICE to make their own account. The Instagram account’s audience may include potential volunteers, donors, or followers interested in seeing what NICE does within the community. Social media accounts aside, we created a document designed for NICE employees and anyone who would update the accounts. The document explains in detail a few of ways that NICE might use their new social media accounts.

While designing our proposal, we kept simplicity in mind; an easy-to-follow proposal was essential. Due to both platforms having uniform layouts, we did not receive options win the actual design of the Reddit or Instagram accounts. As a group, we listed examples of what could be posted on the accounts. By creating a mock Instagram account on Photoshop, we demonstrated how the pictures would appear once published. My fellow group members also posted a few messages on Reddit. Our proposal includes images of the examples stated above.

Despite the lack of freedom within designing the accounts, my group and I focused on the writing style of the proposal. We wanted our writing to be clear and direct, similar to the design. Step-by-step instructions were composed to help clarify the development and usefulness of the new social media accounts. My group specifically defined the purpose of these accounts, as well as how they could be utilized by NICE. Our proposal’s goal was to make it so NICE could start these new accounts without any questions or confusion. The clarity of our writing contributed to our success within satisfying our genre’s purpose. The genre of our writing had to cater to the needs of our readers. Clarity, consistency, and simplicity were all essential within this genre.

My contributions primarily consisted of brainstorming ideas and working with the Instagram account. While attempting to avoid starting an actual Instagram, I composed multiple lists of “How To’s” pertaining to the app. By creating a document with step-by-step directions, I illustrated how to start an Instagram account from any smartphone. I then composed specific instructions that covered how to post pictures on Instagram, as well as how to connect NICE’s Instagram to the organization’s other social media platforms. The intention was for the directions to help NICE’s workers efficiently keep up with all social media accounts. Finally, I composed a brainstormed list of things that NICE could post on Instagram.