Building a Foundation: Interning for a Startup
My name is Norah Wilson, and I am a senior advertising student with concentrations in art direction and copywriting. This spring, I’m interning with PINE Philly, a small but mighty creative agency. I’m also assisting with marketing for the People, Parks & Community Foundation, a startup nonprofit organization that aims to bring funding to parks across Pennsylvania to build community development and engagement.
PINE is a very small agency, with only six full-time employees. It’s an exciting time for PINE, as they’re opening an office in Media, PA. I’ve been involved in various projects for PINE, but most of my work has been focused on the People, Parks & Community Foundation.
I’ve been given the opportunity to communicate directly with the client, which has been great practice in professional communication. Much of my chosen campaign work throughout college has been for brands that are environmentally and humanity-driven, so it has been a rewarding and meaningful experience to work with a client that has these same humanitarian values, especially during the beginning stages of their development.
This has been a unique challenge, to raise awareness for an organization that’s just getting their start. Mostly, we are working to get their name out into the world, to bring new traffic and potential grant applicants to visit their website and apply. This is my first time being fully responsible for multiple social media accounts, and it’s more of a challenge than I expected.
It’s surprisingly difficult to come up with consistently unique content and to build a following and engagement from the ground up, especially as one person. There’s a learning curve, but I’ve learned a lot. It’s important to reference analytics to determine when the prime time to post for engagement is across platforms. It’s also important to remember to use social media in the social sense, to interact with other relevant organizations and figures.
It can be discouraging starting from scratch and waiting for the accounts to take off, but consistency is key. It’s only up from here, and a solid foundation must be laid first. My best advice to others building social accounts from scratch is to simply keep posting and engaging to build momentum. As the organization grows, the social media accounts will too. It simply takes time to get off the ground, just the same as any project or business.
The advice I would give to someone starting their first internship is to take the opportunity to get to know the people around you! Your employers are experienced, and eager to share their knowledge with young people in the office who are excited to learn. Always say yes to meetings and new responsibilities. Take initiative, even if it’s your first time doing something, and you’ll be surprised at how much you learn. Ask as many questions as you have, and your curiosity will be rewarded. Skills are important, of course, but most of the time, your coworkers and bosses are happiest having an intern who wants to learn. Ask for feedback frequently and be open to suggestions. After all, an internship is about learning, gaining experience, and figuring out what you’re good at.
I’m very grateful for the opportunity to intern for PINE and the People, Parks & Community Foundation. My boss, Steve, who was first my intro to copywriting professor, has been endlessly supportive and encouraging throughout the semester. I’ve had other internships before, but this is my first at an agency. It’s an exciting and rewarding experience to work on a variety of projects and watch them take off. I’m inspired by the vision and drive of the people I’ve had the pleasure of working with, and I’m thankful for all that I’ve learned along the way.
