Waeve, Inc., Allston, MA
I had the opportunity to intern this summer at Waeve, a Black woman-owned beauty startup based in Boston. The brand was founded by three Williams alumni who, after concluding that purchasing a wig online was extremely complicated, opted to create their own company that made finding the perfect wig more accessible.
At Waeve, I worked in the Community and Marketing group along with four other women. As a member of this team, I got to see how digital marketing, social media management, and the beauty/fashion industry intersect. I wrote and designed daily emails, which were mostly used to promote specific products, special offers that week, and aspects of the website that we wanted to highlight. To create these emails, I learned how to use a marketing platform called Klaviyo. The software integrated data from our website, which allowed us to personalize subject lines and segment customers into groups based on how many times they’ve purchased an item, or which products they’ve clicked on. I also learned how to make our emails more accessible. For example, I experimented with the size and color of the font on backgrounds that made it easier to read, provided alt text for any pictures or graphics I added, and ensured that the layout of every email was equally accessible on a phone.
In addition, I created content for Waeve’s private, influencer-only Instagram account, and their public account. For the private account, the Community team would meet once a week to brainstorm potential questions that we could ask regarding improvements to our website, our products, or our social media presence. With these questions in mind, I would use Canva to design surveys and polls so that we could get feedback on various ideas before introducing them to the public. I would also reach out to the influencers and keep track of the content they generated, which I’d repost on the main Instagram account or display in our emails. I also engaged with our followers to increase brand visibility. This meant following users who I imagined would be interested in our products (i.e. if they wore wigs or were experimental with their hairstyles), commenting on their posts, and reaching out to them via direct message.
My experience at Waeve has allowed me to feel more confident in my decision to pursue a career in marketing, and I feel so fortunate to have interned for an emerging brand in an industry that I’m interested in. I loved the creative aspect of the work, from producing visually appealing content for their Instagram pages to writing amusing subject lines for emails. I also feel grateful for having worked with a team of Black women, who were all incredibly supportive and understanding.
Lastly, I would like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Case and the ’68 Center for Career Exploration for affording me this amazing opportunity!
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