If your agency is lacking the means to hire an employee who can invest substantial time into social media channels, consider hiring college interns. Paid, or unpaid, internships can provide your agency with the means to be aggressive with social media marketing, without long term costs or investments such as health coverage or benefits.

Interns in an agency setting can take on many roles. Having young, passionate, and driven people in your agency to share perspectives and skills on digital marketing and social media is invaluable.

While summer is just getting started, it is a perfect time to think about filling fall internship opportunities. Students, while out on break, are already planning their fall schedules and expect to go through the interview/hiring process for internships, and start applying early.

Structuring the Opportunity

The most crucial factor in an intern’s success at your agency is having someone be in charge of their day-to-day responsibilities. If your team has someone overseeing marketing, it makes the most logical sense to have him or her supervise the intern’s tasks. If your agency is small, an office staffer or administrative assistant can take on this role.

If you lack social media accounts altogether, a college intern with marketing or business knowledge should be capable of setting them up and creating graphics and images that align with your agency’s brand. If your agency has accounts set up, having an intern do an analysis of past performance would be a good place to start. What’s working for your agency? What isn’t? Once you have had time to reflect on previous approaches, a basic plan for growth should be created. Do you have an editorial calendar to track content? How often are you posting? Do you have the right systems in place to check for interactions and respond?

How to Fill the Position?

Almost all colleges and universities have structured programs in place for businesses to post internship opportunities. These institutions are always looking to create partnerships with local businesses, as many require internships of students before graduation. Promoting opportunities directly through college or university websites will place your internship in front of qualified students. Also, utilize LinkedIn and job posting sites such as Indeed to promote the opportunity. Find a candidate with passion, personality, and a creative mind.