Internship
Megan
Experience Information
Employer: Grand Rapids After Hours
Job Title: Social Media Intern
Major: Advertising & Public Relations
Received Credit: Yes
Paid: No
Abroad: No
Description of the Organization
Grand Rapids After Hours is an intern ran, non-profit organization designed to provide information, build the community, and increase awareness of Grand Rapids must-see restaurants, venues, hotels, and more.
Description of the Tasks/Projects Completed
As a Social Media Intern for Grand Rapids After Hours (GRAH), I was in charge of four different venues which included the following: Van Andel Arena, the Intersection, the Downtown Market, and the Tin Can. With those four venues, I was responsible for collecting information on every event that they host(ed) from January to July, and entering that data into our GRAH website for the community to access. I was also in charge of taking my own professional photographs of my venues to add a visually pleasing appeal to the website. Along with my venues, each week I was expected to find 2-3 events in the downtown Grand Rapids area to attend and cover on our three social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. On top of posting on our social medias, blogging before or after events was expected in order to better resonate with the community and develop our relationship with our growing network list.
Skills/Knowledge Gained Through The Experience
I learned the importance of social media, and with that the importance of being timely and on top of the latest trends. In order for companies to be successful, it's important to not be naive when it comes to societies constant changes and consumers various demands.
Favorite Part of the Experience
My favorite part of this internship was the perks that it offered. Although it was not paid, getting tickets to concerts and free passes to games and other events definitely made it pay off. Playing the roll of being the head communicator of GRAH when covering events made me feel very skilled and professional, and I look forward to the future when that's a daily feeling.
How the Experience Influenced Future Career Goals
I have always wanted to go into music or sports. The events that I mainly covered in this internship all had something to do with music and sports, so it reinforced the idea that social media is so important in those two specialties. I look forward to furthering my skills when it comes to worthy posts and when to post them, so that they benefit my future company in the best way.