Wrapping up the Upright Communications intern series, I can safely say it’s been a semester for the books! Over the past fourteen weeks, I’ve been able to further build out my knowledge in the digital marketing industry, witness ongoing agency and client relationships, and obtain a strong sense of what an Account Manager position entails.
As the semester comes to a close and I say my goodbyes to the team, I’ve discovered three crucial skill sets I will need to bring with me into other internships and jobs.
Do Your Research
Whether you’re pitching to a potential client, preparing to re-design your website, or even writing content for your website, you need to perform necessary research. Nobody is going to buy into your sales pitch if you aren’t even willing to appropriately prepare yourself.
Thanks to the power of the internet, there is a myriad of resources available to us every single day. Research what your competitors are posting to social media, how they are designing their website, promotions they’re offering, and even how they respond to community member reviews.
Stay Informed
In such a fast-paced industry with many moving parts, there will always be the threat of becoming obsolete. Thankfully, there are resources! And not just from Google. There are websites you can subscribe to such as Local U, Search Engine Land, and BrightLocal that will send out crucial industry information and updates.
It’s so crucial to stay “in the know” because as Google’s algorithms change, this impacts website and page rankings. While Google does not disclose ranking factors, it is still essential to be aware of new algorithms so that you are able to track whether or not it is influencing your website’s performance. If you are noticing negative changes, then it is time to rethink your website and overall digital marketing strategy.
Go Above and Beyond
As a digital marketing agency, your clients are everything. It is crucial that the ongoing relationship between the agency and the client is maintained. As a Junior Account Manager Intern, I was able to get a glance at this.
If your clients are successful, you will become successful in turn. It’s as basic as that! As an agency, it is your job to help the client find gaps in the market and leverage their unique value proposition. In addition, it is important to be transparent, because odds are, they are handing their entire digital marketing strategy over to you. When it comes to going “above and beyond” this includes everything from updating them on industry trends, finding new ways to improve SEO/PPC efforts, and even educating on competitor behaviors.
Simply put, make your clients happy, and the business will take care of itself.
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Thank you, thank you, thank you to the Upright Team! I’ve had a wonderful time meeting all of you and appreciate your investment in my development as a young professional. I will certainly walk away from this internship experience with a strong understanding of the digital marketing industry and tangible, hard skills that I can certainly speak to.
Interested in internship opportunities with Upright Communications? Check ‘em out here..