Hahn's Ponds - Social Media

Ciera Henry - Summer 2020

This year I had the opportunity to get more experience in the field of social media managing. My internship was with Hahn’s Ponds, a small business in Sanborn, New York. When I first started, my duties included coming up with new posts for their business, taking pictures of their product and maintaining their Facebook. I quickly learned the ropes and my supervisor had me doing all sorts of projects. I created an Instagram page for their business and slowly helped them to gain engagement and followers. I loved every task that I was given because it helped me learn more about the potential field I might end up in someday.

My favorite project was the photo book they wanted me to create. Hahn’s Ponds is a business that sells fish and plant care but they also install and design ponds. They wanted something to show customers that was simple and easy to understand. Creating a photo book would allow customers to see all of the different styles of pond installations they did as well as how to care for it. I was in charge of not only designing the book, but taking the photos and writing the content. I have to say this project took longer than any of my other ones this year, but it was a lot of fun and a great learning experience. I was able to improve my writing skills all while becoming more educated with different designing softwares. I took this internship because I major in communications and I have an interest in the social media marketing business. This internship exceeded my expectations, as everyone there was kind and patient with me while I learned how to succeed in new tasks. I was also asked to design and send out promotional emails and updates to customers who subscribed. I worked with mailchimp, which is a software used to create emails, announcements and much more. At first, I wasn’t sure what I was doing, but I quickly caught on and soon enough I found myself sending out every email the whole summer. I liked working with a company that was very trusting of me, a new intern. It was an exciting experience and gave me a new perspective of what I want to do in life. I came into college thinking I had a plan, but little did I know that my plans would get completely turned around.

This is the second internship I’ve had in two years and I have to say, it’s so worth it. Getting an internship, especially one like this, helps a person to grow their skills and expand their education. I even found myself taking the skills with me once the internship was over. This internship has inspired me in so many ways and I’ve considered using my new social media skills to start my own business someday. It’s not as easy and people might think it is. Maintaining social media also means keeping up with the latest trends, being creative and finding a voice for your company. A big part of capturing an audience is showing that you care and are ready to solve their problems. Before I started working with Hahn’s Ponds, I never realized how much work it is to keep up engagement and reach with all of your social media platforms. During my time here, I actually helped the companies engagement boost by over 50%. I started small and overtime I learned new techniques to help me and Hahn’s Ponds reach our goal.

I don’t have anything negative to share about my experience with this internship. I do, however, want to say that if you are considering applying for an internship, you have to have the motivation. It’s a lot of work and whatever company you end up interning for, will want to see determination. Interning, to me, is like a trial run of a potential job experience for the future. I had never considered social media managing in the past, I thought it was a boring career path to get into. This internship changed my mind completely. I now have a whole different perspective and appreciation for what social media managers do. A lot of time goes into planning a businesses next move. It’s important that you post and share unique content because reusing someone else’s can be dangerous and prevent your company from thriving. My internship was longer than a normal one might be, I started in May and finished in September. Originally my internship was going to end in the early summer, but they enjoyed my work and I mutually enjoyed being there. By August, I had almost complete control over what was being posted and sent out. I was able to respond and educate customers over Facebook as well. It was a different experience because it’s not like an actual job, but it definitely feels like it work wise.

My advice for anyone who isn’t sure about a certain internship would simply be, apply. You don’t know what you will learn or how your perspective will be broadened. I speak from experience. It’s a challenge at first because you feel as if you won’t be able to catch on. It’s important to be patient with yourself and understand that the whole point of an internship is to grow and become more educated with a specific career path. If you don’t like it, the worst that can happen is you don’t end up with a career in that field. Experience is always a good thing and I recommend internships, especially this one, to everyone studying Communications. I am appreciative of everything I was able to learn and I hope in the future I can use my new skills to help me in whatever career I end up with.