Nearly two months into my internship at On Target Digital Marketing, my expectations on what I would do and what I actually have done are significantly contradictory. As a senior majoring in Digital Media, specifically the Web Design track, I’ve experienced endless nights of coding for the strenuous classes I am taking.
I didn’t know anything about the other essential factors that really make up what digital marketing is, nor have I ever pondered upon them. So, when I became an intern at On Target Digital Marketing in Orlando, I was blown away by what an important role things like analytics and content play when developing a sound content marketing strategy. Although I initially came in with the hopes of just web design, I’ve focused mainly on the content production side, and it’s really made a difference on how I view digital marketing.
Social Media: I’ve never thought for a second on how important social media is for the clients of On Target. Sure, I’ve have heard in my classes at UCF about the growing number of businesses using it, but that was it. I’ve seen statistics, yet never fully understood the reasons people use it as a powerful marketing tool. As I began to write what seemed like endless social media posts, I realized how useful these posts can actually be. I began to see relationships being established with the customers and information being shared. Within the last month and a half, I’ve researched more information than ever before, and in doing so, I’ve gained an understanding on what these clients do and how I could help get their message to their customers.
Blogs: When I’m not researching and coming up with ideas for social media posts, I’m writing blogs. Never before have I written blogs, nor had the necessity to do so. Unsurprisingly, I was a bit taken back and nervous when I was asked to write them. The first thing I noticed was that every single one of our clients had a blog link. What is interesting is that not just our clients use blogs in their marketing strategy, but nearly all of our client’s potential competitors found on Google did as well. As I discovered the usage of meta data and keywords, I began to enjoy writing these blogs. No longer was I feeling forced to do it, but I felt time flying by as I wanted to challenge myself on how I can write the best blogs to really help increase web traffic for the clients I was writing for.
Through these last couple weeks, I can confidently say that producing relevant and engaging content is not an easy task. Yet, I can proudly say that all of the research, time, and effort that goes into it is truly worth it. Besides, content marketing isn’t just searching for repetitive facts or boring information. You really begin to find the most interesting, amusing, and sometimes just plain weird facts and news within the industries of each client and share that with their audience. Indubitably, although my time as an intern is soon coming to an end, I believe my experience here has led me to new opportunities, and content marketing will definitely be a part of those opportunities.
