During the course of the Summer semester, I continued my marketing internship at BestCoast.tv, a digital marketing agency in Newport Beach. BestCoast focuses on marketing for a variety of exciting businesses in Southern California through the creation and promotion of original video content. The content is then promoted on various social media platforms through the use of paid ads in Facebook Ads and Google Adwords, and organic growth through interesting content. I have been interning at BestCoast since February, and have learned an incredible amount in regards to digital marketing. This internship was my first real look into the professional world of marketing. My previous internships have both been in sales and neither sparked that burning passion in me. Deciding to start at BestCoast inspired my passion for marketing.

My co-worker Nicole, from our night at the Atomic Creamery social media influencers night in Fashion Island, Newport. We spent the night securing our relationship with the owner, as well as networking with big social media foodie influencers.

When I first began at BestCoast, I was more of an assistant to our founder than anything else. While this may seem boring, it was nothing of the sort. Though the initial job description included a lot of administrative tasks, I got to shadow the founder of an agency. That meant I assisted him in all of his daily tasks like drafting proposals, attending meetings with potential clients, and implementing campaigns. This opportunity afforded me a unique look into all aspects of working in digital marketing and solidified my passion for this career.

Over the course of the Spring semester, I proved that I was able to do more than the position of assistant entailed. I showed my boss, through hard work and determination, that I had learned a lot and was ready for more responsibility. This Summer, I have been working as the manager of social media for BestCoast. I manage our company’s various social media pages, but my main responsibility is managing the paid social media advertisements for our campaigns. I work with our clients and our founder to select their target demographic and work to target them on Facebook and Instagram through Facebook Ads, as well as through Youtube with Google Adwords. While the campaign is being implemented, I have to monitor and keep track of engagement and, in some cases, make adjustments in order to maximize the results.

The best perk of working at a marketing agency focused on the restaurant industry is the free food! I snapped this when we were filming a promotional video for Descanso in Costa Mesa.

I have enjoyed my time at BestCoast, mainly because I feel I have grown so much. I had to take on real-life responsibility where company growth and reputations are on the line. In addition, I have learned an incredible amount about digital marketing and, most importantly, what I enjoy doing. My plan for the Fall is to move to Sweden to pursue a career in international marketing, and I believe that this internship has prepared me for my plans.