And so it all began. Not only was it my first day as an intern, but my first day as an intern at Swim Creative. A real marketing agency. I was ecstatic to start but also a giant bundle of nerves. I had no idea what to expect, but I did have a few goals for the summer.
That was over a month ago, but my mix of emotions on my first day are still fresh. And so are my goals. But before we get into those, let’s step back a moment.
I’m sure you’re wondering who I am and what I do, so before I get too carried away, I’ll tell you a little about myself! My name is Danielle Enga, and I’m a digital intern at Swim. I’m 22 years old and heading into my fifth year and last semester at the University of Minnesota Duluth. I am double majoring in Marketing & Retail Marketing Analytics, which led me to Swim Creative. They were the perfect fit for what I wanted to get out of an internship.
Goal #1: Learn, learn, learn
I want to take away a lot of new knowledge and experiences from this internship. In the past month, I have been working on becoming a Certified Google Partner. This entails passing two exams, one of which is a Google Adwords Fundamentals exam, and a second of your choice. I have decided to take the search advertising exam as my second. I am already learning so much from these two courses alone.
Goal #2: Become an essential asset to clients
A large priority of mine is to understand Google AdWords & Google Analytics in depth. So much so, that I would be able to help a potential client improve their ads or website immensely. Writing effective performance reports is also another thing I would like to learn more about. Such as, what are certain KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) that should always be included in a report? What are some possible reasons why an ad may not be doing as well as the company had hoped, and what are some recommendations for this? In analytics, it is very important to give helpful recommendations instead of simply throwing the data at your client.
Goal #3: Become a Socialista
Another area I want to gain more experience with is digital marketing. I am very familiar with my own personal social media, but not as familiar with the business side of social media. Since June, I have already learned a lot about Facebook, Twitter and Instagram ads, and I am excited to learn more. It is essential for marketers to understand how to create and maintain an effective ad. It is also important to understand who your target audience is and how you can target your ads to these specific people. Understanding digital marketing is a key to accomplishing all of these things.
Goal #4: Gain confidence
Don’t get me wrong, as a person, I have a lot of confidence, but when dealing with business problems, presenting data and giving recommendations, I’ve got some work ahead of me. I believe the number one reason for this is a lack of any real-world experience, and I am hoping this internship helps me present my ideas and recommendations better to clients.
While I’m still working toward my goals every day, so far this has been a great experience. I have learned a ton about the marketing world, but there’s still a month and a half left. And just like my very first day, I’m not sure what to expect. But I’m excited to find out.