The first thing I did when coming aboard with MMG is I created a list of SMART goals to focus on throughout the duration of my internship at Multimedia Marketing Group. I chose many of these goals after looking at Digital Marketing jobs on career sites such as LinkedIn and Indeed. To make myself more desirable in the job market after graduation, I tailored my objectives to meet job qualifications. 

My first SMART goal was to have a vast knowledge and skillset surrounding digital signage by the end of my internship. I believe I have met this objective because I can comfortably speak about digital signage as well know how to create content for it. For MMG and our clients, I participated in several projects. For a client we established a Digital TV Channel on their website. They were already utilizing their installed digital signage screens in their housing, so for this project we found a way to stream what was published on the screens, onto the website. Writing the copy for the Digital TV Channel webpage and writing news updates about the channel are examples of some of the work that I have done. I also learned how to create content that would appear on the digital signage stream. The content would include information about programs, news updates, celebrating holidays, COVID-19 information, etc. After doing lots of research on digital signage through articles and attending webinars, I again wrote copy about digital signage to provide on MMG’s new Digital Signage web page. I wrote about the uses of digital signage within several industries (hospitality, entertainment & events, nonprofits, etc.) and how MMG can provide digital signage installation and content curation for clients. I then created social media and blog posts to direct the consumer to MMG’s digital signage page. 

For my second SMART goal, I wanted to further my knowledge base and skillset surrounding social media’s metrics and insights. I believe this objective was met to the best of its ability. I learned how to analyze metrics on Hootsuite, a content management system we use to schedule all our social media, and on Google Analytics. I learned how to curate content based on what was receiving the most engagement and I am very confident in my content creation skills now. 

For my third SMART goal, I wanted to learn different writing styles and when to apply them. I believe I have met this goal because I have written a lot of different pieces for MMG. I now have experience writing press releases for clients, copy for webpages for both MMG and clients, blogs for MMG, news articles for clients, and social media posts for MMG and clients. Sometimes I would struggle writing from a business standpoint because I am very personable and passionate about certain topics so having to write “professionally” and more generalized was something I had to adapt to. For example, when writing a blog, I would get too personal and opinionated, but for MMG, the blogs need to be reflecting their expertise and their services.

My fourth SMART goal was to learn more about Content Management Systems, such as WordPress and be able to create a website. This objective is halfway met. I have used WordPress to upload several blogs and update copy on webpages. I have become very comfortable with the site, but now I am preparing to build a website for a client within the week. I have prepared by watching many tutorials on WordPress and their editing add-on, Elementor on YouTube. 

This internship was very interesting to say the least. Not only was my internship completely virtual which is a bit difficult for my learning style, but there was so many outside factors that completely altered my state of mind. What made that easier was that MMG is very empathetic and understanding that my mental health comes first and that it was okay to take personal time if needed. Unfortunately, mental health isn’t taken as seriously as physical health all the time so by having MMG understand that was truly everything to me. Even though it was virtual, I still knew the people I was working with, they were more than just a face on a screen. 

I think the hardest part of the internship was the fact that it was completely virtual. Before COVID, I was used to being in a team setting in person all the time, so having to adapt to a completely virtual setting with a lot of independence was a big adjustment for me. Because of those factors alone, I grew my time management skills and learned how to truly hold myself accountable to be on-task and complete projects. 

I think my favorite part was going to Champaign, even though it was a long drive, and meeting the HACC clients. Being virtual you can only understand so much, but to speak to Lily at HACC, meet the students in the YouthBuild Program and witness it all in person, gave me such a better insight to the core of who these clients are and the difference we are making to their lives. I am very grateful for my time at MMG as they have taught me such a wide range of skills that I can now use throughout my marketing career.