By: Wil Molineaux
This spring, I was fortunate to receive the opportunity to work as a content intern for Vuepoint Advertising in Louisville, Colorado. Vuepoint’s mission as a performance marketing agency is to drive value for their clients and readers by increasing revenue, growth, and progress in their communities.
I thought my technical and analytical writing skills as an English Literature major would come into play. I quickly learned that professional, marketing-driven writing requires a whole lot more than what I was used to doing. I was assigned various tasks that involved new writing techniques, including:
- Social media marketing
- B2B and B2C marketing
- Blog writing
After interviewing with the team and being accepted into the position, I eagerly awaited my first day. My initial task working with a client’s social media was engaging and educational. I learned how to structure social content calendars, varying post topics week by week, how to design graphics, and how to produce meaningful captions that engage viewers. From there, I created brand-sponsored posts for Instagram and Facebook. Similarly, I was exposed to B2B and B2C marketing techniques. I learned the importance of using keywords to improve SEO and the value of producing informational video content.
I also wrote several blog posts for Vuepoint and its clients. Generating blog content for an actual brand was exciting as it was the first time my writing was published. Short-breathed, advertising-based writing is much different than the in-depth analyses I was used to completing for my degree. The transitional challenge taught me to write in a more concise and accessible manner. Seeing my writing on clients’ websites put life behind my work and felt rewarding.
I also worked with one of Vuepoint’s clients to develop ideas for potential Tik Tok content based on his pre-existing YouTube channel. By searching for memorable topics throughout his videos, we came up with many possible ideas for interesting, shorter-length videos we used to expand viewership. We also utilized the client’s YouTube channel to come up with different merchandise ideas to market in a tournament-style competition and sell to their fanbase.
The Vuepoint professionals provided me with an incredibly useful skill set to pursue a digital marketing career. They also opened my eyes to several advertising field intricacies, including social post planning, content focus, and specialized writing styles. The amount of manpower required to run a successful marketing campaign is actually pretty shocking. For example, a shorter-length blog post between 500-700 words required around two or three hours of writing time and another hour of editing before its initial appearance to the client. Depending upon availability, one blog post could take several days before it is finalized and published! Turns out, the majority of the advertising work isn’t automated artificially. It takes talented designers, writers, and editors to effectively advertise to a target audience and develop meaningful, lasting relationships with customers.
An advertising internship for any communications, business, or language-based major is an advantageous first step into the corporate world. Although your internship may not directly follow your major’s expectations, experience in a professional setting will improve your skills across various subject matters. Working an internship is a critical step to learning more about the ins and outs of whatever industry you’re interested in – don’t waste an opportunity to get ahead of the competition!
