Summer 2013
I began my internship for Schurz Communication this week in beautiful Petoskey, Michigan. This marks my 6th internship in 4 years of university! As the new media intern, I work for the “Simple Digital Media” department which is affiliated with the Northern Michigan Review. Schurz Communication is the umbrella that holds newspaper, radio and digital media companies under one roof.
Living Arrangement:
The first day at my new summer location was intense. I arrived at the perfect time in Petoskey, Mich – the summer season (yachts, art festivals, big money, vacations). I checked into my campus residence hall at North Central Michigan College. Shortly after checking in, my room was moved to the hall which hosts the Michigan State student group, much better living arrangement. I have never lived in dorms.. and I needed to have the best! I even brought my pup later on. It was cheap.. which is what I needed to save money before going back to Ferris State University.
The Team:
The digital team hosted a conference meeting with our business colleagues, Guarantee Digital, who came over on the ferry from Wisconsin. Guaranteed Digital worked with many media partners across the platform of mass communication. These companies ranged in Newsprint, Radio, Media Group and the list continues. On the agenda for today, my digital team held a conference that outlines that value of newsprint with digital services.
In this meeting, I jotted down valuable points for small business owners to increase their social media status, website optimization and e-commerce. The trick is to ‘wear many hats!’ Leverage different tasks to reach the business goals while developing a niche in the digital media market.
There are three buckets:
1. Visibility
2. Social Media
3. Targeting
Visibility can be forms of Search Engine Optimization, which is the keyword analysis. There are two types of SEO – on-page which is what you do to the website, the meta data, title and keyword descriptions OR off-page which are simple backlinks. Research: what are the top 5 keywords?
Increase company branding using social media platforms. It doesn’t hurt to put yourself out there on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Google+, Foursquare, LinkedIn, and the list goes on. Set up a blog, email campaign and text alerts.
The news site homepage receives 100,000,000 impressions per month. And with search retargeting, following the audience around the web. These users are much more likely to be in the market because they are searching.
After a short break, our team was given a homework assignment. The objective was to jot down visibility essentials from the presentation that would be applicable to a small business owner. I will share a few of my features:
– Claim your listing on Google to lock in your business address, phone number and main page.
– Use the phone guide online so users are able to easily call your business
– Create a YouTube channel, visual thumbnails on page 1 of Google are hot hits
– Print logo in the newspaper – cross media platform is a great way to increase business sales
– Social Media Auditing – monitor the visitors on your social media pages
This conference wraps up day 1 on the internship site. Shortly after working a long day in the office, it was finally time to move into the new place. I came into thinking resident life was going to be terrible, because I have never lived on campus.. But I was enjoying the spacious room, large bathroom, closet space (which is a must) and—are you ready for this? A doorbell.. my dorm room has a doorbell AND automatic door opener like a garage door. So bossy!
I made friends quick, especially on the first day. Everyone in the residence halls hang out in the lounge area, it’s the only place for WiFi. Since I share a hallway with MSU students, I am constantly with friendly faces.
Making News In 2 Weeks
Update on this blog – Within 2 weeks of my internship in Petoskey… I made headlines news at the newspaper. Boom — just shows that anything is possible with a focused mindset, time and hard work.
I cannot wait to explore this new area, meet new friends and learn a bit about myself along the way. My boyfriend came up for a visit a few times.. we are making notice to come every summer for a weekend. We love Petoskey! Until next time!
