# data[].attributes.headline
Cheat Sheet: Who to Hire for Outsourced Marketing Needs

# data[].attributes.subject
Cheat Sheet: Who to Hire for Outsourced Marketing Needs

# data[].attributes.body
Blog Post Written for Blue Spec Marketing

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cheat Sheet: Who to Hire for Outsourced Marketing Needs

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Cheat Sheet: Who to Hire for Outsourced Marketing Needs Outsourced marketing tasks is becoming the new normal. In 2020, 84% of B2B marketers in the United States work with outside content creators. There are plenty of options when it comes to outsourcing marketing tasks whether

# data[].attributes.body
Blog Post Written for Blue Spec Marketing

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
For businesses without an in-house marketing team or for those who want to expand their marketing capabilities, outsourcing is a great option. By leveraging the talent of marketing experts who specialize in exactly what you're looking for, you can crank out powerful marketing campaigns without spending a fortune.

But how do you know when it's time to outsource your marketing ? Maybe you're feeling burnt out and exhausted because you're not doing what you love. Maybe marketing feels overwhelming, or you're just not sure what step to take next with your business. Or maybe you know exactly what you want to do but are nervous about finding the right person or agency to execute your vision.

Finding the right consultant, agency, or company to outsource your marketing to is a big decision that will require time and money. But don't let that stop you. In fact, slightly less than two-thirds of B2B companies outsourced their marketing in 2019. If they can do it, so can you.

Let's look at the benefits of outsourcing, when to do it, and what qualities to look for in your partner so you can feel confident about your decision when the time comes.

Outsourcing relieves stress, alleviates burnout, and provides you with more time and energy to do what you love.

A word of warning: outsourcing will require putting trust into someone else or another team. You may have to let go of certain elements of control. It's going to require time and money. Don't be too nervous though, the benefits tend to outweigh the costs, especially if you devote enough time before hiring to set up a successful partnership.

Benefit 1: Save Time and Energy by Outsourcing Marketing

Outsourcing can save you time and energy, allowing you to do more of what you do best . Imagine the extra time you'd have with family, friends, and pets. Or, let's be real, fewer stress-filled workdays.

The specific amount of time saved with outsourcing depends on the business and the style of outsourcing such as hiring for a specific task or hiring for a large number of projects.

For example, you could hire a copywriter to generate social media captions instead of staring at the keyboard pondering what to write for 30 minutes. A skilled copywriter could write a week's worth of captions in that amount of time.

Another bonus to outsourcing is fewer meetings. Often, in-house time gets eaten away by meetings so not as much work gets done. The average American spends 4.5 hours a week in meetings and 4.6 hours a week preparing for those meetings according to a Clarizen/Harris Poll . That's at least 8 hours a week taken up by meetings. With the right consultant, there's less of a need for meetings leaving more time for work.

Benefit 2: Direct Access to Marketing Experts

Perhaps the biggest benefit of outsourcing your marketing is that you can work with an expert. No more having to master web development, Google Ads, and copywriting on top of your full-time job. Let someone who specializes in your area of need do it for you.

When you partner with a true marketing expert, they're able to save you time and get the job done right. They'll free you up to focus on your own business "to do" list and sometimes can even help expand your business offerings.

"Where the work can be done outside better than it can be done inside, we should do it" says Alphonso Jackson, former U.S. politician and vice chairman at JPMorgan Chase. We have to agree. As the cliche goes, "Work smarter, not harder." You're an expert at what you do. Find someone who can do what you can't and let them fill in that piece of your puzzle.

Benefit 3: Spend Your Marketing Budget - Smarter

It may sound counterintuitive to hire someone to save money but with outsourcing specific marketing tasks, it's possible. On average, organizations report outsourcing results in a 15 - 33% cost reduction .

For example, you'll save on payroll by outsourcing for specific projects rather than paying a full-time employee with benefits, vacation, overtime, and more. An in-house marketing manager salary ranges from $97,000 to $186,000 a year. When you hire a marketing consultant, you'll probably pay by the hour or by the project. (We charge by the project so everyone is on the same page about the cost from the get-go.) Because you're not paying your outsourced talent's vacation or benefits, you can save tens of thousands of dollars every year.

Another example of saving money by outsourcing stems from the costs involved with training new employees and finding those new employees. The costs involved in finding a new employee are estimated at approximately $4,100 per new hire. Skip all that when you outsource.

Now that you know the three major benefits of outsourcing, let's talk about when to outsource and if it's practical for your business.

Alright, so you know outsourcing is a great option when you want to power up your marketing efforts. But when is the right time to pull the trigger?

Sign 1: You Need Marketing Advice

Perhaps you're not sure of the next step to take in your business or unsure of how to perform a specific task such as updating your landing page or sending a welcome email. This is a sign it may be time to outsource your marketing.

To start, determine in what area you need the most help. Make this your starting point. Don't overwhelm yourself with the thought that you need to fix all areas of your business in one swing. Once you've determined your largest problem area, start the hunt for a virtual consultant or a group located near your area. Also, asking your business peers for recommendations is always a great place to start.

Sign 2: Hiring a FTE Isn't an Option

Hiring full-time employees doesn't always make sense. If your business only needs two blog posts a month, outsourcing is far more budget-friendly than hiring internally.

Outsourcing allows you to work with a wide range of talent and expertise for more thought diversity in your team. Areas you could outsource within marketing include strategy, digital marketing, content marketing , SEO, automation, and graphic design.

Sign 3: You're Running Behind

If you're having a tough time staying on top of projects, this is another sign it could be beneficial to outsource your marketing.

There's no shame in needing to outsource. In fact, t he global outsourcing market is estimated to be worth around $90 billion. Within that, businesses of all sizes are outsourcing the work of marketing, accounts, IT, HR, and other departments.

Identify where your "time sucks" are and outsource those problem areas. Perhaps you need a content management system to speed up your buyers' journey. Or maybe social media turns into an endless void. Whenever you have a recurring task that eats up more time than you're willing to give, outsource that task.

Sign 4: You Need a Comprehensive Marketing Strategy

Even if you already have a marketing strategy in place, a consultant can take it to the next level by bringing in their expertise and another set of eyes. If you don't have a strategy, consultants will be there to aid in developing processes to reach your goals and serve your clients in the best ways possible.

Sign 5: You're Not Happy with Your Current Marketing Results.

Finally, maybe you're just not satisfied with your current business results. Outsourcing your marketing could be the trick to getting results and achieving your goals quickly. Not to mention, these experts can provide new suggestions to get better results.

Consider setting up a few consultations with different marketing consultants to determine the best fit for your business. See what the different consultants have to offer and how they would help you reach your ideal results.

If one or more of these signs resonated with you it's a good indicator your business could benefit from outsourcing. Keep reading to see what characteristics to look for when outsourcing your marketing.

When it comes to outsourcing, there are countless options to choose from. From virtual assistants to freelance writers to consulting groups and marketing agencies, the choices can feel overwhelming.

More and more companies are popping up with so-called content marketplaces. Unfortunately, many of these companies offer on-demand content for around 10 cents per word or less. The deal sounds great but there are a few problems with only choosing writers based on the lowest cost.

First, experts charge more than a few cents per word. In fact, they don't charge by the word at all because word quantity is never a measure of quality.

Second, a couple of cents per word is not a liveable wage, anywhere in the world. Please pay your contractors enough for them to feed their families.

Third, these on-demand content companies will likely end up harming your brand image due to poor quality content.

Just because it's getting easier to outsource writing (or any marketing project) doesn't mean you should choose the cheapest option. Look for quality over quantity when it comes to marketing for your business.

Instead, Look for Expertise

When outsourcing it's important to find consultants to help you achieve your desired business goals. Go into the search process ready to shop around. Finding the right freelancers or group to outsource work to will require consultations which are often free or discounted for the first one or interviewing potential candidates.

There's no need to select the first person you find. Ask a lot of quality questions. Find out about their past work experience and communication styles.
Check out these general questions to start with:

1. What certifications or training have they completed?

2. What does their past work look like?

3. Are they capable of helping you achieve your business goals?

4. What would communication look like? Weekly check-ins? Email communication?

5. Are they knowledgeable in your industry of work?

6. Would they be willing to share work samples?

Next, it's important to see what others have to say about the potential candidates.

Check Reviews

Check the reviews of the candidates you'd be outsourcing. Put your exploring hat on and take a look at their website, social media pages, and client work. Search their name in Google. View their LinkedIn page to check out reviews.
General questions to scope out:

1. Do others speak highly of them?

2. Do they have reviews on LinkedIn or credible websites?

3. Do they have any client testimonials?

Lastly Look at the Cost

Finally, it all comes down to cost. You'll need to budget out how much you can afford to outsource.

Rates will vary per candidate, task, and project length. As mentioned earlier, the majority of freelancers or consultants charge hourly or by the project.
Contact us today for a free consultation. We're here to help you every step of the way on your marketing journey.
***

Author: Grace Steinhagen, Blue Spec Marketing Content Specialist, 2021

Grace Steinhagen is a multi-passionate student studying communications and business at the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University. She's interested in pursuing a career in content marketing. Aside from school, she's often listing to podcasts, reading books on personal development, or engaging with one of her many hobbies.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
3 Reasons to Outsource Your Marketing For businesses without an in-house marketing team or for those who want to expand their marketing capabilities, outsourcing is a great option. By leveraging the talent of marketing experts who specialize in exactly what you're looking for, you can crank out powerful marketing campaigns without spending a fortune.

# data[].attributes.body
Blog Post Written for Blue Spec Marketing

# data[].attributes.headline
5 Ways to Organically Grow Your Social Media

# data[].attributes.subject
5 Ways to Organically Grow Your Social Media

# data[].attributes.body
Blog Post Written for Blue Spec Marketing

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Why the rules of content marketing apply to social media

When we hear the words "marketing" and "social media," in the same sentence most of us jump to advertising. However, it is possible to grow your fans on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter without spending your entire advertising budget. Instead, by sharing quality organic content, you can grow your followers by sharing content they find valuable such as industry news, educational articles, and fun posts.
The best part about taking the organic route on social media is that it's more cost-effective than paid ads. In fact, up to 80% of customers ignore paid ads in their newsfeeds.
Now, growing your followers organically may take longer than paid ads but the people who do follow your brand will be more loyal and more likely to engage with your content. But how do you build out content that they like?

You need an organic social media strategy. Read on to learn more and how to apply the principles of content marketing to your social accounts.

First, a refresher on what content marketing is.

Content marketing is a strategic approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience. In other words, it's knowing what your customers like to read and view, and providing it to them.

When content marketing and social media strategies are combined to create organic posts, it can increase engagement, brand awareness, and drive profitable customers to take the action you want them to take, like buying your service or product.
Content marketing and social media are a perfect match.
Social media channels are a natural platform to promote your content because that's where your audience, regardless of industry, spends a good portion of their spare time. The average person spends two-and-a-half hours on social media every day. About half of that is spent of Facebook and Instagram each.

To start creating an organic social media strategy, follow our 5 easy steps.

Step 1: Get to Know Your Audience

The first step to organically building your social media following is deeply understanding who your audience is. It sounds simple enough but the truth is that it's a never-ending commitment. Listening to what your customers want to know will guide your social media strategy and content creation efforts.

Fortunately, there are a few ways to make this process easier without spending thousands and thousands of dollars.

Before we dive into our "get to know your customer" best practices, let's take a look at a fictional example.

Example: Which brand will succeed on social media?

One brand, let's call them "Toothbrush, Inc." sells... wait for it... toothbrushes. They post articles on their Facebook page about dental hygiene, songs to brush your teeth to so you're brushing long enough, and sometimes offer giveaways. They are also posting customer reviews to mimic word-of-mouth referrals for added clout.

Their competitor, BizzyTeeth, posts about how their brushes' bristles are cutting-edge tech, how their handles are ergonomic, and keep their audience updated about promotions.
Whose posts will get more engagement?
The hard truth is that it doesn't matter whose toothbrush is better. BizzyTeeth is only posting self-promotional content. It might get them some followers, especially if their photos are good but their content isn't engaging. No one really buys a toothbrush because of how great the handle is. They're certainly not interested in their Facebook feed being filled with pictures of toothbrush handles. But Toothbrush, Inc. has taken it to the next level. Fun song suggestions? Check. I like good recommendations so I'd give them a follow.

Now that you have a taste for what the end result could look like, let's head back to the planning stages, starting with a customer analysis.

What is a customer analysis and how do I do one?

Because the goal of organic marketing is to establish a relationship with your audience and boost engagement, we recommend conducting a customer analysis in which you look at data surrounding your ideal client to make decisions for your business. Follow these steps to learn more about your customer:

1. First, the demographics.

Age - Do you sell to youths? Are grandparents your go-to buyers? Age is important because it shows us how to talk to our customers and indicates the type of content they're most interested in seeing.

Gender - Who uses your product or service? Knowing the gender of your audience can inform the images and verbiage you use. But be careful not to make assumptions. When in doubt, assume people of all genders, including non-binary and trans people, use your products. Always be inclusive.

Location - Where is your audience? Going local has become more important as it demonstrates to your customers that you understand their day-to-day lives. Share content that feels personal. It's also helpful to know their time zones to determine what time of day to share content for best engagement.

Occupation - What does your audience do? Knowing your audience's occupations will give you ideas for content to share based on their needs and skill levels. For example, if your audience is mainly self-employed they could benefit from content with marketing advice.

Education - What does your audience already know? For example, if you're selling microscopes to microbiologists, you don't need to explain what a cell is. But if it's for third-graders, maybe you do. Consider the context you need to share with your content.

2. Next, get feedback from your customers by asking them questions like:

What questions do you have about my service?

This addresses concerns customers may have about your business and inspire content ideas. For instance, this blog post was born from Blue Spec Marketing's clients asking if they should focus on organic or paid social media.

How do you feel about my services?

Gather all of their feelings about your business, services, their lives, their work, etc. Get the good, the bad, and the ugly. It is great to hear about the good, but it is also important to learn if there's anything that frustrates them about your business. Feedback is important for growth and is another way to demonstrate you understand where they're coming from.

What problems are your customers facing?

Ask your customers about their pain points. Are they seeking solutions for their finances? Productivity? Do they need better customer support? Ask them about specific challenges to learn how you can position your offering to be a complete solution for their problem.

What do you like to see from brands you follow on social media?

Don't be afraid to ask obvious questions. Their answers may confirm what you already know and be good validation, or they may surprise you and you'll learn something new.

Consider conducting surveys and customer interviews with your followers and clients to obtain answers to these questions. Don't forget to check out your competitors as well.

Choosing the right channels. (Hint: it's not all of them.)

There's an overwhelming number of social media channels available, but you don't need to be on every one of them. We recommend choosing 2-3 channels to actively engage with. Here are our tips to help you decide.

1. Look into your industry. What channels are your competitors using?

2. Are you already on multiple social media platforms? Check out your analytics and determine which channels get the most engagement. Focus your time and effort into your most popular channels.

3. Review the content you will be posting. For example , if you post a lot of links consider Facebook and Twitter. If you're sharing company news consider LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter. For videos consider Instagram and YouTube. For pictures consider Instagram and Pinterest. For example, in Blue Spec's area of business (marketing), 91% of B2B and 71% of B2C content marketers use LinkedIn to share content .

Focus on platforms that are utilized by your audience and that will work for your business. Don't exhaust yourself trying to stay up to date on all the new and many social platforms. If your goal is to share content with senior citizens about dentures, you likely don't need to share content on TikTok but might consider Facebook.

How do I connect with my audience?

Social media that stands out requires blending market strategy, storytelling, and customer analysis to create a digital presence that connects with your audience. It's more than sales. It's about respecting what your audience wants to know about your product, service, and industry and giving them fun, educational, and useful content that stops them in their scrolling. Sharing this type of content on social media often leads to increased levels of engagement, signaling a high level of trust between that business and their customers.

Next, let's learn about creating valuable content to share with your audience on your top social media channels.

Step 2: Offer Valuable Content

Share content that stops your audience in their scroll. Think about your own social media use. How often are you bored and flip right past someone's post? Capture your audience's attention by posting content that's educational, fun, or otherwise valuable. The consistency in content will build trust with your followers as they'll quickly learn that they can trust your content to answer their questions. But what does valuable content look like? And how do you establish a strategy that works for you and your customers?

First, an example of what valuable content could look like.

Remember the toothbrush companies we talked about earlier? The posts from Toothbrush, Inc. stood out because instead of offering self-promotional content and regular pictures of toothbrushes, they shared songs and tips for brushing teeth, which ultimately boosted their social media following. Most people understand what a toothbrush is so they don't have to educate their base about their product. By focusing on content that could enhance the tooth-brushing experience, they're differentiating themselves from the competition while offering valuable and unique content.
CAUTION: Beware of self-promotional content.
The main reason companies fail in organic marketing is that they're too self-promotional. Content with a sales pitch automatically loses credibility by 29% . Ads are a prime example of this. We're all sick of our news feeds being filled with brands promoting why their features are better than others or how this person helped this other person make $1,000,000 in one day. Stand out from the crowd by focusing on organic content with some "oomph" such as , videos, or customer testimonials.

Make content planning easier by keeping track of content you find.

Do you ever find an article you think your audience would like but it's not the right timing? Did a blog post you read spark an idea for a social media post? Did your favorite subscription email share a great tip?

Create a content library for your business. Having a go-to place with your helpful articles eases the process of content creation. If you are new to content creation or starting your business, we recommend subscribing to a few credible newsletters or educational resources to share with your audience and keep up to date on current trends by following industry leaders on social media.
Grab your free social media calendar template from Blue Spec Marketing here.
Don't forget to engage WITH your audience.

Your followers can with your content by liking, following, commenting, or sharing posts. You should engage with them too. We all want to talk with real people and business relationships are still relationships, we get what we put into them. Welcome people to your page and encourage conversation by utilizing the comments, direct messages (dms), and sharing others' posts when appropriate. This type of engagement leads to greater brand awareness, increased leads, and greater customer feedback because your customers get to know you on a deeper level and customer trust is increased.
Here are a few tips for engaging with your audience:

Ask questions in your posts. Asking people to share your content if they liked it, or share polls.

Respond to comments. Be sure your audience knows there is a real person behind your brand by putting a face with the logo.

Send (and respond to) direct messages. When people take the time to message you, be sure to respond. Also, don't hesitate to reach out to a follower through direct message. This is a simple way to build connections and gain potential clients.

Like and comment on posts. It's not all about you. Be sure to engage with other pages as well. This is a great way to expose your page. Engaging with other posts also helps with the algorithm on many social media platforms so more people will see your posts.

Step 3: Stay On-Brand

Staying on-brand with your social media content shows authenticity, connection, and empathy, which enhances trust with your audience. If, for example, our toothbrush company, Toothbrush, Inc. were to post content relating to money, we would be confused. We visit their Facebook page for advice on brushing our teeth, not for information on financial literacy.

But how do you stay on-brand?

Audit your social media channels.

If you're not sure if your content is on-brand, use this audit to check.

Are you using a consistent logo, color palette, biography, and handle across all of your social media channels?

Stay consistent with your visual branding.

Create a branding guide with colors, fonts, images, graphics, and videos to build templates that you can use over and over to establish a consistent visual identity.

Keep your brand's voice and tone the same.

Decide on a personality for your brand. For example, will you use the term client or customer in your content? Is your brand serious or witty? Are you writing for academics or athletes? To use contractions or not to use contractions? Choose an informal or formal tone and stick with it. Infuse personality or "voice" when you can.

Step 4: Post Consistently

Align your content and social media marketing strategies to create brand recognition on social media . Post consistently to show your followers that you are reliable and invested. Consistency is key, especially on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. If you are not posting consistently on Instagram, for example, people are likely not even seeing your posts when you do share content. The algorithm works in a way that the more you post, the more engagement you're likely to see. Having organized and well-thought-out posts also leads to less stress and more cohesion helping you to stay on-brand and engaging your customers.
Why do I need a strategy? Can't I just post articles every day?
Strategies don't have to be complicated to be effective. But without a guiding vision, you risk wasting time and effort. Having a social media marketing strategy helps your business stay on-brand and organized, leading to greater audience engagement and sales. Unfortunately, only 46% of enterprise-level organizations report they actually have a documented content marketing strategy .

If it's your first time creating a social media strategy, start small. Maybe your first step is making a plan to get a feel for it.

Here's a simple plan to get you started.

1. Use a social media calendar. Download our free social media calendar template here.

2. Decide how often you want to post, the type of content you want to share, and set goals.

3. Write the copy and save any links you plan to share with your audience.

4. Add an appealing image, chart, or infographic that relates to your copy.

5. Post it.

If this feels overwhelming, start slow. One post per week is better than none. Trying to post every day can lead to burn out or low-quality posts that will hurt your brand more than a few days' break between them.

Most importantly, post high quality content consistently. Know your audience and share content that appeals to them. Stay on-brand and tell your story. Remember, organic social media growth takes time. Continue putting in the work and the results will come.
Contact us today for a free consultation.
If you want to talk about your marketing efforts, especially in today's world of social media marketing and the importance of organic content, we'd love to chat!

Author: Grace Steinhagen, Blue Spec Marketing Intern 2020

Grace Steinhagen is a multi-passionate student studying communications and business at the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University. She's interested in pursuing a career in content marketing. Aside from school, she's often listing to podcasts, reading books on personal development, or engaging with one of her many hobbies.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
5 Ways to Organically Grow Your Social Media

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
5 Ways to Organically Grow Your Social Media Why the rules of content marketing apply to social media When we hear the words "marketing" and "social media," in the same sentence most of us jump to advertising. However, it is possible to grow your fans on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter without spending your entire advertising budget.

# data[].attributes.body
News Release, Social Media Post, Email, and Web Page Sample

# data[].attributes.body
Blog Post Reflection of Micro-Internship Experience

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

By: Grace Steinhagen

A micro-internship is a short-term paid or unpaid, project-based remote opportunity for college students or recent grads to work on short-term assignments with an employer. The experience is similar to the work of an independent contractor but geared toward college-aged students.

Micro-internships benefit both employers and students. They allow for flexibility between employers and students. Tasks can be completed remotely or in-office. The program allows students to gain a variety of experience on projects that can last anywhere from 10 hours total to 40 hours per week. It is great for students who are interested in career exploration and professional development. Employers benefit from micro-internships too. They receive help from interns on defined projects, without having to plan a full-day schedule for an intern.

When COVID-19 approached this spring, I was worried about securing a summer internship. I received countless emails about summer program cancellations as workplaces shifted to remote offices.

Near the end of my school year, Maddie at Blue Spec Marketing reached out to me with an offer to work on a project for her and to help build my portfolio. After our initial meeting, this small project led to a summer micro-internship.
Remote internship opportunity
The projects I worked on for Blue Spec were able to be completed from my computer in the comfort of my home. This worked out well due to the COVID-19 pandemic and stay at home orders that were in place for much of the summer.
Flexibility between employer and student
The micro-internship allowed for flexibility in my schedule. Aside from a one-hour weekly meeting, I was able to complete projects on my own time, which allowed me to work additional jobs and spend time with family and friends. It also allowed Maddie, my employer, greater availability to work with her clients.
Career exploration
The short-term element of the micro-internship gave me a glimpse of a potential career path in content marketing and what it could look like to own my own business. I was able to ease my way into the projects assigned to me and learn along the way by conducting research and receiving guidance from Maddie.
What does Blue Spec Marketing do?
Blue Spec Marketing is a content marketing agency in Minnesota that offers consulting through services such as strategy, writing, and social media.
5 Lessons from my Micro-internship
It's only fitting that discipline is my top Clifton Strength's Finder result. A micro-internship requires effective time-management skills to complete projects on time, without constant reminders.

2. Communication Skills

Each week, I met with Maddie via Zoom, for a one-hour meeting. These meetings set me up with the information I needed for the week. At the end of each week, I sent Maddie updates with my accomplishments and questions from the week. I also learned to effectively communicate and ask for help, as needed throughout the week.

3. Content Marketing

Before my internship, I knew the basics of marketing and communication from my liberal arts education at the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University. Through my experience with Maddie, I expanded my knowledge in writing for social media captions, blog posts, and emails. With the projects I completed, I also learned effective copy and editing tips.

4. Career Exploration

This experience was a great way for me to discover my passion for writing, strategy, and communicating with others. Through working on a variety of small projects, I was able to discover what I loved about content marketing and opportunities in that field. It also helped me identify my strengths such as organization, strategic thinking, and thoughtful planning.

5. Writing for the Real World

A large portion of my internship involved writing. I learned that writing for business is more than writing a simple five-paragraph essay with an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. I discovered how to write with empathy to connect with my intended audience. Less is more in the content marketing world. Short, sweet, and to the point.
Projects I Completed

1. Social Media Calendar

2. Wrote Social Posts for Two Months

3. Blog on "5 Ways to Organically Grow Your Social Media"

4. Blog on "5 Steps to Diverse Marketing"

5. Outlined Blog on "How to Write a Successful Email"

6. Co-Created Blue Spec Book List

7. Diversity Audit Checklist

8. Content Library Template

9. Research on a variety of marketing-related topics

10. Competitive Analysis

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Take-Aways from my First Micro-Internship

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com By: Grace Steinhagen What is a micro-internship? A micro-internshipis a short-term paid or unpaid, project-based remote opportunity for college students or recent grads to work on short-term assignments with an employer. The experience is similar to the work of an independent contractor but geared toward college-aged students.