4 Lessons I Learned from my Internship at Social Ape

Written by Sara Ellis Pearce, Fall 2016 Intern

Social Ape Marketing offers students and young professionals the opportunity to learn about social media marketing and public relations through flexible internships offered in both the fall and spring. I was lucky enough to interview for the Fall 2016 internship and was ultimately offered the position. This internship has given me so much insight about marketing, social media and client relationships and has been an invaluable experience for me. This position gave me a chance to experience first-hand what working in a smaller, hands-on agency is like and because of the tight-knit culture of Social Ape, I was able to learn so much from my experience. While there are countless lessons that I’ve learned through my time at Social Ape, here are a few that I know will stick with me through all of my future positions.

1. It’s all in the details

   Some people are more detail oriented while others are not so inclined. While both of these traits are great in their own way, in the world of social media marketing, details couldn’t be more important. When creating a tweet, blog post or a Snapchat filter, ensuring that every detail is perfect is critical to success. Most people may not realize how much work goes into creating just a perfect tweet, but they will certainly notice a spelling error, low quality image or a link that doesn’t work. Spending the extra time to ensure that a social media post is perfect is worth it in order to create the best content. At Social Ape, we have the responsibility of maintaining social media marketing for our clients, and even a small error can make quite a difference for a company trying to grow their social media presence. The little details make all of the difference in marketing.

2. Client relationships mean everything

   Social Ape is lucky enough to have a founder like April Smith who understands the importance of client relationships. While business relationships with clients can be maintained easily through emails and occasional meetings, April has made sure that each of Social Ape’s clients know how to reach her at any time and she takes a personal interest in their business, their employees and their success. This is one of the biggest things I have learned from my time here, is how much success can come from having caring and personal client relationships, especially in an agency where communication is everything.

3. Planning is vital in social media (and everything else)

   Some people are just not good planners, but in social media marketing being organized and planning ahead is an absolute must. Not only does planning and scheduling posts and campaigns in advance help with time management, but it also allows the client to give valuable feedback if needed. This is a really beneficial step in working towards strong client relationships as well! Part of my responsibility as an intern was creating social media posts and I’ve learned how helpful it can be and also provides you with the time to check your work as well! Some people don’t realize how much planning and work go into social media marketing and this internship helped me learn the importance of that.

4. Co-workers are the best part

   My internship at Social Ape has been a wonderful experience in every way, but has only been bettered by the relationships that I have formed with founder, April Smith, and Social Media Specialist, Jerome Simeon. They have offered me a huge amount of support, guidance and expertise that I know I will carry with me into my career in the future. Working alongside such wonderful people who are flexible, understanding and truly just wanted me to learn the ropes is exactly what I needed in this position. They have entrusted me with responsibility while still always being available for advice and support. Additionally, the creative environment has also been great because of the coworking space, Hygge, (you’ll figure out how to pronounce it eventually) and the great colleagues that work in this creative office culture.

My internship at Social Ape has been a learning experience that I wouldn’t trade for anything and has taught me so much about the world of marketing, social media and PR. Additionally, it’s taught me lessons that I know I’ll take with me even if I were to take a completely different direction with my career including working with clients, planning and working in a creative work environment. I’m so appreciative for this opportunity and know that Social Ape will continue to prosper because of the wonderful team and quality of service.