After scrolling through Instagram one day this past summer, I came across an account for a social media and marketing agency in West Hollywood with a team consisting of all women. I immediately knew that it was a company I wanted to look into and after some research, I fell in love with all aspects of it. Their skilled team members, broad range of clients, and company-wide values blew me away; I knew I had to get involved. I saw on their Instagram stories in July that they were searching for a Fall intern, so I immediately jumped at the chance to apply and ended up landing the role after applying skills acquired in my classes and past work experiences to my interview process.    

Something Social values collaboration, so a majority of the team works in the same room in order to promote teamwork and motivation! This was taken during a team meeting.

This past semester, I have been fortunate enough to be the social media intern at Something Social LA (SSLA), a social media and marketing agency doing big things for lifestyle brands in the social and digital space. Their next-gen social smarts mix equal parts inspired strategy with creative vision to get people talking, and liking, and sharing. They describe themselves as an agency that is more than just a pretty feed, defining how your brand will live (and thrive) in the digital world. Needless to say, SSLA knows what they’re doing when it comes to growth on social, and they have an impressive team and list of clients to prove it!

One of the most beneficial aspects of my internship so far has been getting the chance to write copy for various client’s Instagram and Twitter accounts. With SSLA having such a wide range of clients, tasks like this allow me to focus on each client’s specific image and voice that they aim to portray on their different social accounts. For example, the exclusive restaurant and nightclub Delilah is going to require a very different voice and style of copy compared to Facile Skin, a unique dermatology and aesthetics boutique. Upon reflection, I believe I enjoy writing copy for various accounts because something we have spent so much time learning about in our Strategic and Corporate Communication classes is the skill of tailoring messages based on the specifically segmented target audience. Getting the chance to apply that skill to client accounts at my internship has been an invaluable experience. 

Something Social CEO Calli Cholodenko founded the company with the intention of creating a rad group of women being such bosses in the social media agency. There are currently 13 women working for Calli at SSLA!

Since I spend every Tuesday and Thursday at the office in West Hollywood, I have completed many different tasks throughout the semester. These tasks include pulling content for client Instagram feeds, searching for press quotes, scheduling posts on Hootsuite, assisting with giveaways, working in inbound and outbound engagement on various social channels, the list goes on.

My boss (C.O.O. Marissa Stahl), always takes the time to check in with me, teach me something new, and involve me with her clients so that I can get a front-row look at how she manages so many accounts. I love that she trusts my abilities and gives me tasks that she thinks I will genuinely enjoy. She is a leader that I feel comfortable to be around since I know that she is so passionate about what she does; you can tell that she gets excited to bring on interns who she can share that passion with. 

Passionate about storytelling and message design, my classes and past work experiences have taught me the importance of being an enthusiastic self-starter who values collaboration, organization, and strong social media and marketing strategies. Something Social has really been the best place for my creativity and work ethic to flow. I am forever grateful to have had the chance to be a part of Team SSLA this semester!