Analytics: A lot Deeper Than I Thought
Hi there,
I’m Ethan, a Junior advertising major. This semester, I was provided with the opportunity to be a research and analytics intern for Temple University’s University Housing & Residential Life office. Previously, a customer service associate within the department, my current boss has seen an expanded marketing department – leaving her with the opportunity to hire more interns, one of them being me. This past semester, I declared Research & Strategy as one of my concentrations, so finding a relevant internship in the meantime has provided me with great insights to the intricacies of social media analytics, and what they can really do for a business if utilized correctly.
My day-to-day schedule is different everyday as our department is quickly expanding, we (as in the other marketing interns and I) are developing our strategy daily, and are always collaborating to come up with new and exciting content aimed at our target audience. Bi-weekly, we conduct a staff meeting with our boss to discuss our current ideas and where we are at in the social media landscape, where we want to be, and how we are going to get there. these meetings are very productive and provide insight into how an actual staff meeting runs in a traditional office space, which is a great opportunity for when I’m seeking a position in the work force post grad. One of the important tasks that our department takes under our responsibility is Experience Temple Day, which is where accepted students and parents come and get a warm introduction to the university. Our department is responsible for all of the marketing materials to be distributed amongst the toured residence halls, and our room in the student center where we do our housing presentation to those visiting Temple.
On the analytical side of things, learning the ins-and-outs of Hootsuite, Twitter Analytics, and Facebook Insights has made me very keen on the little things that can make or break a post on social media – whether it be the time of day, coloring of an image, or the language used; a lot goes into it and I never would have realized that unless if I were in this position, or my true passion for digital analytics. I’ve obtained my Google Analytics certifications as well, which is an incredibly robust and powerful system that if used, could completely change the way a company’s online presence could be, it’s quite impressive. I will take the skills I learned here to wherever I end up in the workplace, hopefully within the realm of research and digital analytics.
