How to Become a “Social” Genius

It didn’t take getting a virtual job for me to learn that we live in a virtual world. Brands have been flocking to the internet space now more than ever, clawing over each other for a precious second of your attention. I did learn, however, that there is a method to the seeming madness. And by accepting this job, I was officially on a mission to perfect it.

My name is Rebekah Santos, but people call me “Bekah.” I’m a current senior with a double major in Advertising: Copywriting as well as Media Studies and Production: Analysis. This semester (Fall 2021) I scored an internship with ChatterBlast Media, which is an ad agency that specializes in social posting, as a remote copywriting intern.

This was my first internship at an agency. I will say, my interview with them went rather swimmingly and I knew we were going to get along just fine. But I’ll admit, I was a little nervous to start. Turns out they knew me better than I thought already. Knowing what I know now, they probably noticed that anxiety, and that’s why they had me hit the ground running on my very first day. I wasn’t sure how working remotely was going to affect my work ethic, and I wanted to do a good job, but there was no time to think about that. All there was, was to do. And turns out, that’s exactly what I needed to strengthen my writing.

I’ve worked on a number of different accounts with this agency including but not limited to Suburban Square, Aqua, Pennsylvania Prison Society, and so on. I’ve had the opportunity to write hundreds of social posts for different brand voices, as well as some long form work like blogs that require a bit more time and attention to detail. I’ve learned about tagging, hashtagging, and everything a social media person needs in their tool belt in order to boost engagement. I can’t say it’s my passion, but it’s a skill I will certainly boast about on my resume.

This opportunity has been all about writing, getting feedback, and rewriting. It’s a process that feels almost seamless to me at this point, which has helped ease a lot of the nerves I had at the start of the internship. It’s made me a stronger writer, and I am confident that I can reach even higher now with the amount of practices I have gotten from my assignments. They even offered for me to come back next semester and I accepted!

All and all, the most important thing I gained is perspective. I know what my options are in this space now, and I’m ready to conquer it being a stronger writer, and more knowledgeable about office etiquette.