- Sep 29, 2021

My Summer Social Media Internship Experience!

As the 2021 Spring semester wrapped up, I was excited to finally spend some time away from my computer. Given that I took 17+ course units on top of working two jobs, one can only imagine just how much I was looking forward to summer vacation. During the final months of the semester, I remember writing in my planner about all the places I wanted to visit and things to do over the break as the sky was the limit. These plans ultimately came to a halt when I finally realized that I only had one semester left. Although this was exciting, it was scary, given that I had no experience within the marketing industry. I knew that my summer plans had to be put on the back burner, and I quickly pivoted from a summer-focused mindset to an internship-focused mindset and got to work.

After about one week dedicated to updating my LinkedIn profile, revising my resume, and searching for local internships via Handshake, I sent out my resume to about 25 companies. Unfortunately, I was turned down by many companies given my non-existent experience within the marketing industry...but I knew I had to keep trying. A week later, I landed an interview with a company called Olivo Amigo and was hired as their Public Relations/ Influencer Marketing Intern. I remember feeling so accomplished yet so excited to finally gain some hands-on marketing experience to apply knowledge learned in school. I even teared up a little bit because I was elated that someone out there saw potential in me.

My experience with Olivo Amigo was great! To start, this company is fantastic. Olivo Amigo is an Extra-Virgin Olive Oil company from Spain that entered the United States olive oil market in May 2021. The company differentiates itself on its extra-virgin olive oil’s quality, taste, region, and harvest period. My responsibilities included researching influencer’s analytics on Instagram, creating content for their social media platforms, and reaching out to brands and influencers to partner with. I found that my responsibilities were fun! I enjoyed researching brands and influencers every day and understanding key analytics such as likes, comments, followers, and overall engagement.

My favorite moment as Olivo Amigo’s Public Relations/ Influencer Marketing Intern was creating content for their Instagram page. At the end of July, I met the team in Newport Beach for a picnic-themed photo shoot. The setup of this picnic was stunning and I will never forget it! During this photoshoot, I, along with two other interns, took photos of the companies two products: Joy and Vitality. I loved this event the most because after learning about Olivo Amigo’s brand voice, mission, image, and purpose, I could style and stage photos that reflected these essential aspects. Again, I walked away from this event feeling accomplished, seen, and confident that I chose the right career path.

Overall, I ended my internship feeling convinced that I gained relevant insight within the marketing industry and felt confident that the education that I have obtained thus far at CSUSM supplemented this rewarding experience.