Welcome back to our Life at LetsGetChecked series, a sequence of features that offer insight into what it’s really like to work at LetsGetChecked.

This week, we speak with Laura Young, our Affiliate Manager.

Laura started working with LetsGetChecked as a Social Media Intern. In two short years, she has progressed to managing an entire department. Laura says; “I really believe that we are saving lives. I know it sounds like such a cliche to say but we are. Everyone has had family members that have struggled with health issues so it’s an added layer of motivation to work hard.”

What is your role title?

Affiliate Manager

How long have you worked at LetsGetChecked?

I have worked at LetsGetChecked for nearly two years now.

When I started, there were only 25 people on the team overall, the team has grown massively since I joined which is super exciting.

What did you study in college and what career path interested you most during this time?

I studied Geography and English for my Undergraduate Degree, my initial plan was to be a primary school teacher but when I finished my undergrad, I wasn’t so sure if this was the career path for me.

I decided to think about it, so I moved to Dubai for five years and worked as an air hostess. It was quite a mad time in my life!

During this time, on a flight, I met one of the Co-founders of Snapchat on my flight. He was telling me about how they got started from the investment stages to how social media has completely changed their lives.

After this conversation, I just thought, “That’s it! I really want to go into social media.” I researched for degrees and found a Masters in Social Media and Communications. I applied for the course within a week of finding it, so I accepted it and moved home.

Halfway through my Masters, I started looking for work experience and came across this great opportunity as a Social Media Intern at LetsGetChecked. I was in two minds about whether I should juggle the Masters and my internship working four days a week, or fully concentrate on my Masters. I decided to do both. Gaining that experience is so valuable. Of course, it was quite a struggle to write my Thesis while also working four days a week, being in work was almost my escape from being in college at the time.

Towards the end of my work experience, the role of Affiliate Marketing was coming into LetsGetChecked, the CMO introduced me to the channel of Affiliate Marketing with the initial goal of onboarding influencers.

You started at LetsGetChecked in an intern role and now you’re a manager of an entire department. How did this career progression happen?

I have a big interest in social media.I started as a social media intern at LetsGetChecked. In the beginning, I didn’t have a lot of experience in Affiliate Marketing, so there was a lot of trial and error, a lot of testing new campaigns, working with different types of influencers and testing out different products with different influencers. You learn from each mistake and each test that you try and work from there. There has been lots of stepping stones to here and it’s been amazing.

At the beginning, I think the most difficult thing was building on the trust factor. A lot of influencers we contacted at the beginning were quite hesitant, especially if they hadn’t heard of the brand or even the concept of home lab testing, I understand people being cautious at the start, especially if they haven’t previously heard of a service where you self-collect your own sample and put it in the mail!

Luckily there are so many influencers in the health and wellness sector and I did find that once you get on the phone with them and you explain the process, privacy and convenience of it, people get really excited.

Having that visual dashboard and knowing whether their bio-markers are within range or not is something that our influencers get really excited about. Overall, getting influencers on board was a little harder initially than it is now two years down the road.

We have built such a massive brand that today we are getting a lot of inquiries via email and Instagram from people who want to represent the product. Word about LetsGetChecked is spreading and some influencers reach out saying that they have seen another contact promoting us, they have learned more about who we are and what we do and now they want to get on board.

We have such a wide range of tests as well so there is something out there that appeals to each audience.

Do you think that influencers can have a positive impact on the healthcare industry?

Absolutely, 100%.

During my Masters, I did a specific study on how social media influencers have a positive impact in raising awareness around sexual health.

What I found from my studies is that influencers really do make an impact on their target audience. Educating young millenials about the importance of health and preventative healthcare and demonstrating to them how accessible it can be is really worthwhile.

I admire the influencers that are breaking down the stigma, this sort of content just makes certain aspects of personal health more conversational and easier to understand. It sparks the conversation and it breaks down the barriers.

We work with a lot of influencers who suffer from thyroid disorders, celiac disease or vitamin deficiencies and their audience might initially be aware of these issues. When influencers take the test and actually demonstrate the importance of regular testing to their audience, they are really making a difference on behalf of LetsGetChecked.

What is your day-to-day at LetsGetChecked like?

My day-to-day includes tracking sales and making sure we hit our targets. I manage our existing partnerships, as well as prospecting for new affiliate partners.

Within the health and wellness space, you get the opportunity to work with so many different types of affiliates, you have influencers on Instagram, bloggers, Youtubers. There’s the opportunity to branch out to pay per click (PPC), paid search, review sites and high traffic publishers like Healthline and WebMD. There are also health apps, including fertility apps such as Ovia Health, who we recently partnered with.

Affiliate marketing is definitely a two-way street, we have to ensure that our partnerships are highly engaging and that we’re providing relevant content for their audience because their main goal is to ensure that they’re providing accurate and relevant content.

What encouraged you to apply for a role at LetsGetChecked?

I have always had a strong interest and passion for health and fitness. I liked the idea of being a part of a healthcare company and even better, a healthcare company that is in the digital health space. I did a course in social media because I love technology and some of the modules included in my Masters were in Digital Marketing so I have a strong interest in this industry.

It is such an evolving world at the minute, being part making healthcare more accessible is super exciting. I came into the company as a social media intern which taught me a number of really great skills like how to write ad copy and email marketing. That has just been so valuable, it was a great time for building those initial building blocks for where you want to be in a couple of years time.

What is your favourite thing about working for LetsGetChecked?

There are so many things I love about LetsGetChecked. The people I have met along the way are one of my favourite things. I have really enjoyed growing these friendships from such a small tight knit business, to now where the company has grown so much.

During social work events, I’m looking and thinking “Oh my Lord!” So many people are joining the team which is absolutely unbelievable and I am super proud to be a part of a company that has grown so much.

I really believe that we are saving lives. I know it sounds like such a cliche to say but we are. Everyone has had family members that have struggled with health issues so it’s an added layer of motivation to work hard.

What advice would you give to someone who is hoping to apply for a position in the marketing team at LetsGetChecked?

Affiliate marketing is a crazy space! It’s so much fun though, I couldn’t actually imagine being in any other marketing department.

If you have a very keen interest in influencers, growing partnerships and different aspects of social media this is the role for you. A decent knowledge in excel is important because you’ll be managing budgets and need to keep a tight rein on the numbers but also performance marketing.

It’s a great opportunity to move into different spaces within digital advertising which is really exciting. If you’re a person who loves to travel and work with people in the global health space, then this is a great place for you.

You need to be quite an out-going talkative person, be able to put yourself out there, and push yourself out of your comfort zone.

If you are able to talk to anyone, then this is an industry that will work for you. If you can just jump into a situation and give it your best shot, then this is the job for you.

What three personality traits do you think someone needs to have to thrive in the marketing team at LetsGetChecked?

  • Outgoing
  • Organized
  • Motivated

Written by Hannah Kingston