Four Reasons You Should Hire a Marketing Intern

Recently, I was asked a question from the media about how technology is changing so rapid, and they wanted to know my thoughts on this. WOW!  REALLY, technology is changing daily these days so what is there to say.  GET ON ABOARD OR WHAT?  So, I responded with this answer...."yes, technology is evolving rapidly and people better educate themselves regularly or be faced with adding ZERO VALUE to many companies by 2015.  Can you imagine what 2015 will look like in the United States and beyond?  Baby-boomers moving on and the younger generations up." So I continued with the conversation with "technology innovation is out of control, yes this is true, but so is marketing.  The internet has created an incredible opportunity for brands, and marketing is no longer about running an ad, TV commercial, radio spot, snail-mail, or cold calling.  It is all about search engine marketing, email campaigns, social networking, channel partners and mobile strategies.  I finished with this statement, "technology is useless without customers."

What is my point here? Hiring an intern to assist with marketing can be a cost-effective way to give your business a competitive edge.

What can a marketing intern bring to your business?


1. Social Media Savvy

If your business doesn’t have a Twitter or Facebook account, bring a marketing student on board. Social media sites are now marketing powerhouses, says Rhonda Abrams, president of The Planning Shop and author of a popular business column for USA Today. After hiring marketing interns, she has exponentially increased her social media presence, which means she can easily reach out to potential clients and keep current clients better in the loop.

Marketing students are learning how to best use social media tools in their classes. By bringing students on board, they’ll save you the time and energy of having to teach yourself these new skills. With their social media knowledge, marketing interns will have a better grasp of what strategies you should pursue online.

2. Spirit! They’ve Got Spirit! Yes, They Do

Deborah Sweeney, CEO of My Corporation, says, “An intern is actively pursuing you because they believe in the industry you’re working in, in the services that you provide. They want to help your company, not hinder it, and are willing to go the distance in extra research and attention spent on projects.”  When you hire an intern, you know that she is working with your company because it specializes in a field the intern wants to someday pursue. Your marketing intern has not accepted the position because she needs to put food on the table or pay bills. Your intern is there because she wants to be there. It’s not a stereotype that young people are more energetic and enthusiastic. They haven’t been working at the same job for the past decade, with stagnant and outdated skill sets. They’re not struggling to run a business. Marketing students have the passion that you started off with when you began your business, and that can offer a much needed injection of inspiration.

3. Word of Mouth Advertising

When your marketing intern has a positive experience at your business, he will become your brand’s advocate. He will tell his parents, friends, professors, anyone that will listen, about how great your company is. That means that you raise your profile and possibly gain more clients in the bargain.Of course, you won’t get a brand advocate if all your intern does is get coffee and file paperwork. You have to be a mentor to him and teach the skills required for success in your field—skills that the student wouldn’t learn in class. Moreover, if the internship is onsite, make sure to provide the intern with everything he will need to fulfill the duties of the position. Also, set clear goals for the internship, so everyone involved knows what they’re getting into.

4. Future Employees

Today’s marketing intern could be tomorrow’s employee. The National Association of Colleges and Employers has consistently reported that 20-25% of new hires are sourced from the employer’s own internship program. It’s a statistic that makes sense. When you bring on an intern, you choose someone with the skill set you require as well as enthusiasm for the field. You choose an employee based on the same criteria.

So, why spend the resources and effort looking for someone outside of your office when your newest employee could be staring you right in the face? Your intern has the talents you’re looking for, and she obviously wants to be in this field. Bonus: You invest less time and money training an intern-turned-employee because she is already familiar with the position and company.

To find a marketing intern, approach your local college or university’s career services department. Staff members are accustomed to dealing with such requests, and they will help you navigate the paperwork and hiring process. You and the school will decide whether the internship will be paid or for college credit.

Before you contact the career services department, take some time to write out a detailed yet concise description of the intern’s duties. If all this sounds like a great deal of work, you’re right. Finding the right marketing intern will involve an investment of effort on your part. However, bringing in a young, passionate student will be well worth it for your business.

Online Reputation: Don't Ignore This!

A Brand Is a Terrible Thing to Waste: How to Manage Your Company's Online Image

How a negative online reputation can hurt you…

How to effectively monitor mentions of your brand online…

Word-of-mouth is not what it used to be. Just 10 years ago, upset customers, or raving fans, could spread their opinion about your business only to their family, friends, neighbors, and work colleagues. Now, thanks to social networking and the infinite publishing power of the Web, customers can share their rants and raves instantly with a worldwide audience. In such a wired world, your online image is everything! And if your online image is tarnished, performing the following key business functions will become much more difficult:

Marketing. Ongoing demand generation is critical for growing your business. If your Google results are soured with negativity when prospects search for your business, you will see your lead generation pipeline dry up.

Selling. With your marketing and demand generation waning from your negative online image, your sales will start to tank as well. Prospects will not want to do business with you, and customers may get spooked and look for another company to work with.

Recruiting. You need a great team of employees on the bus for your company to be successful. If your online image is tarnished, the rock-star employment candidates may want nothing to do with you.

3 TIPS for HIGH-ROI Calls to Action

What Every Email Marketer Needs to Know...

Every email marketer knows that great calls to action don't just happen on their own. It is obvious that your offer must convey a meaningful message, and it must be timely.

So how do you craft a successful call to action email customers can't resist?

Write subject lines that multitask. Every subject line must accomplish a number of tasks: telling subscribers what they get when they open the message; making the offer sound irresistible; and doing it in a relatable, conversational voice. Do not use symbols of any kind (i.e. ! - ? - $).


Create a sense of urgency. Without a compelling reason to do what you're asking the reader to do—right this second—they'll go back to their inbox and unsubscribe. Urgent, action-oriented words are more successful than words such as 'free' in inspiring your subscribers to take action.

Keep a tight focus on your offer. Stick to just one offer with a clear path to action—unfettered by the distraction of extraneous sidebars, content, links, or discounts. A call to action button should be centered on the page—right in the reader's main area of interest.

In short... It all comes down to a little push. No single factor guarantees a successful call to action—but if you get each element just right, subscribers won't even consider the option of inaction.

Are Promoted Tweets Right for Your Small Business?

While large corporations can try promoted tweets without much risk, he notes, a smaller company might hesitate—especially if your marketer has a tight budget and less experience in paid online advertising. So does it make sense for your business?

• Highly customizable targeting. There are a number of ways to target Twitter users—whether they've visited your page or have interests similar to your existing followers. And you have the flexibility of promoting your tweet in their timelines, when they search for keywords, or at the top of your profile.
• Traffic driven to your landing page. When a user clicks on your link, they leave Twitter and go wherever you send them. In this way, it functions much like a search engine.
• Opportunities for organic (SEO) audience growth. A well-targeted campaign is bound to attract new followers, who will start to see—and hopefully retweet—the tweets you send for free.

Twitter isn't just for big business—but before you dive in, take note of potential drawbacks.  First and foremost, don't tweet just to tweet.  Your followers will start disappearing simply because you are annoying them.

Three Tips for Keeping Your Best Employees Loyal

WITH INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY EVOLVING AROUND OUR BUSINESS, IT IS ESSENTIAL FOR BUSINESSES TO HANG ON TO THEIR PRODUCERS. 

Because of the recession’s making jobs scarce and employees afraid of losing their jobs, employers have been in the driver’s seat for the past several years. So, when hiring folks, employers had a huge selection from which to choose. Even the lowest-paying jobs were attracting hundreds of applicants. Many job seekers were overqualified for the jobs they sought. They were willing to make concessions on salary and benefit requirements.

To be considered an employer of choice was as simple as not having a layoff or not cutting salaries. But those days will soon come to an end.

We’re approaching a reversal that every business leader needs to prepare for. Believe it or not, we’re about to bang our heads on a huge employee shortage by the end of this decade.  So, why should you focus attention on employee retention?

• Happy employees are one of your best sources of word-of-mouth advertising.
• Good employees keep your customers coming back.
• Being short-staffed impacts your ability to serve your customers and to keep your promises to them.
• If you have to pay a premium to get employees, that cost will get passed onto your customers, which makes it harder to stay competitive.
• Having a stable workforce increases productivity and profitability. (The longer employees stay, the better they work.)
• Happy employees attract new employees of a higher caliber.
• The big one is technology, and the training involved to run your business.

So, how can we earn our employees’ respect, appreciation, and loyalty, so that, by 2015, we are a first-rate employer?

Give employees the inside scoop. Employees are often the last to know what’s happening in the company. They don’t see the new ad campaign until it appears in the paper or online. They might not know your company has a Facebook fan page or an upcoming product launch.  Employees must understand the company’s vision and how to contribute to it. Share the company’s vision with them, and share it often. Recognize employees who are helping move you towards that vision. Make contributions to the company’s vision part of everyone’s review.

Trust your employees. If you don’t trust them with your customers or with your company secrets, fire those employees. Stop blocking websites like they’re 12-year-olds whose Internet access you have to monitor. If people want to waste time, they have options besides Facebook and Twitter.  No one wants to be in a relationship with someone who treats them like a child. Give employees responsibilities and privileges. If they prove they’re not worthy then let them go. Stop punishing 95% of your employees for the 5% who shouldn’t be there in the first place.

Give employees a piece of the pie. Giving raises just because people have worked for you for another year are a thing of the past. If your employees are doing the same caliber of work in the same job at the same level, why would you pay them more? Reward employees who add new skills, new ideas, or new customers.  Better yet, share your financial goals with every single employee. Make it worth their while to help you get there. Tie financial rewards to your company goals to get everyone pulling in the same direction.

This isn’t new stuff. Unfortunately, however, many employers have been afraid to try those tips. Other employers haven’t had to try them because they found it easier to get staff members and keep them. Those times are changing. We better change right along with them if we rely on employees to help us serve our customers.

Simple 'old school' saying - a positive workplace will produce positive results.  And trust me on this one, a negative environment will hit your P&L like a slap in the face. 

More to read if interested.  In the event you have one or more employees disgruntled with life or working at your company, here is a good 5 step article to help repair your team.  Click Here! 

Flight Park Billboard "DEAL" - Nashville, Tn

Congratulations to Eric and Vince Lowman on their new billboard stationed outside Nashville International Airport. 

Note the Code "DEAL" for passer-byers.  Then visit www.flightpark.net and enter "DEAL" in the discount code box to experience the 20% promotional rate in the itemized pricing window.  Fast, Simple and Track-able.

Good job guys, and good luck!

Facebook Hijacking Alert: BEWARE!

Preventing Facebook Hijacking

Facebook has improved protection for Facebook page administrators.  Now you can assign your fellow admin "lower rights" which can prevent them removing you as an admin.  Page admins can be assigned specific roles: The most powerful role remains "Manager", but there is also "Content Creator", "Moderator", "Advertiser" and - at the bottom rank - "Insight Analyst".  Facebook page managers have the power to send messages, view insights and create posts and adverts.  Crucially, they are also the only role which can access admin roles, and remove other administrators.

If SMC has helped or continues to help your company with Facebook,  you would be wise to check the roles used by your co-admins now - and adjust them as required.

Here's how you check who is an admin on a Facebook page that you administrate:

• Open your Page's admin panel
• Click Edit Page
• From the left column menu, click Admin Roles
• Type the names of other people you'd like to add in the open field
• Click Manager below the name to choose what kind of admin you want to add
• Click Save Changes

Giving a co-admin too much power may bite you in the bottom later, if their account is compromised or if they become mutinous and try to hijack control of the page from you.

PLEASE READ:  Hijacked Social Media and Business Accounts

Hijacked social media and business accounts are definitely the largest business reputation management problem today.  There are tons of social networks and business listing pages (or internet yellow pages | IYPs) that anyone can set up. Social media account hijackers set up impostor social media accounts for businesses and individuals.  This can cause major problems when the impostor social media account has thousands of followers and you want control.  A hijacker may try to sell you the account with the threat of deletion or defamation.  At this point it may be best to pay the hijacker’s ransom for your social media account.  If you don’t pay, you may lose all of the followers already acquired. Further, it is probably not worth the legal headache and cost of a lawsuit.

Similar to social accounts, online business listing pages are harder to hijack because there are more verification steps.  Even so, business pages get taken over by hijackers.  Most of the problems seen with business listings (IYPs) are created by existing misinformation online, aggregator websites and disgruntled ex-employees who have set up the IYPs and then don’t share access with the company. Social media companies and IYP providers have very little account support.  Deletion of either a social media or an IYP account can be devastating to a business’ rankings and clout online.