Classroom Learning vs Real World Experience
This is my second installment of DSG’s intern notebook which means I’ve been experiencing agency life for about 2 months now. So far throughout my internship, I’ve noticed that while I have studied marketing in school for the past four years, there is still so much to learn that college classes can’t teach you. In my classes, we mainly learn about the “what” of things related to marketing. At DSG, I immediately got a greater sense of the “why” side of marketing.
I could learn everything in class that my school has to offer, but nothing truly compares to first hand experience at a digital marketing agency and getting my feet wet with real-life challenges and tasks. Especially as someone who is a visual learner, book knowledge can only get me so far. Having this book knowledge from school is a great start, but putting those lessons learned to the test sets me apart from other students who may have not had these real world experiences yet.
A Deep Dive Into SEO
SEO is one aspect of digital marketing that I am fascinated by. While they teach you what SEO is in school, and test you on the definitions of different terms, they don’t really teach you why SEO is so important.
Fortunately, my internship started just as DSG hired a new Paid Media Director, Travon Williams. Travon has given me and the other interns great insight into the entire process of running a campaign. Strategically, knowing exactly what our target audience wants allows us as marketers to get very specific with our keyword research. Even using very specific long-tail keywords can prove to be highly effective when you have a well-defined target audience.
Another thing Travon showed us was how to build a step by step process for each campaign. He explained how each step in the entire process is equally important. When working as a part of such a great team like DSG, everyone knowing all the steps can help the team work in sync. If someone misses a day, being able to fill that role for the day can help everyone stay as efficient as possible.
Thoughts on agency life
All in all, I think that agency life is quite fun. Being able to work directly with our clients to help drive their success is very rewarding and is a great feeling. As someone who always enjoys lending a helping hand to people, this is something I truly enjoy. I’ve always loved to see others succeed and being able to be a part of a team that helps others succeed is awesome.
Another part about life at DSG is how home-like it feels here. Everybody is always happy, fun, and spreading positive energy around the office. Even when working remotely, I never feel nervous about reaching out to anyone on the team. We are all happy to be working here, and that’s what I enjoy about working at DSG the most.