Photo of Joseph Scalzo

I admit that at the beginning of Summer 2024, I had never heard of the National Institute for Social Media. I had just finished my first year as a San Francisco State University graduate student and was looking to gain experience within the marketing industry. As a lifelong baseball player and continuing throughout college, my summers were always full of, you guessed it, more baseball. Taking this summer off allowed me a chance to put my marketing skills to the test in the real world. Thankfully, finding an opportunity I wanted to apply for took little time. Through a connection with Jen Radke, I received the application and immediately filled it out. After some interviews, I was offered a spot with three other individuals. We became the interns.

The Process

As a student and aspiring marketing professional, I constantly seek new learning opportunities. The internship provided just that. Throughout my internship, I have gone through the process of learning the six content domains that NISM breaks social media marketing down into. I was also studying for the Social Media Strategist certification exam. Learning the curriculum while creating content gave me many ideas and insights into what goes into cultivating a great post. On top of learning and studying, I was also designing. Every week, I would create content for six social media platforms and write a blog post. This content included infographics, short videos, and captions about the content domain we learned about that week. This process allowed me to apply what I learned firsthand, solidifying my knowledge. 

Obstacles

When I first started, I felt confident in my writing skills. Throughout school, I always excelled in essays and other forms of writing since it is a skill that I enjoy doing. I knew going in that I lacked experience in graphic design and short-form videos. It quickly became a goal of mine to get better at these aspects. While they would have never told me my graphics were not up to par, they were not up to my standards. Those around me were kind and would give me suggestions and tips to improve my graphics. To advance my skills, it took some extra hours playing around with the tools and finding different elements that worked well together. While I would not consider my graphics stunning, they have improved. I’m calling this goal a success. 

Learning short-form videos was a different battle. While the plain issue of not having experience with it was the same as graphic design, there was another aspect that was more daunting for me: filming anxiety. I have always felt comfortable interacting and meeting new people in person. However, filming myself and rewatching it has been difficult. I know the content and information are valuable, but I get anxious about having them go out (if one of my videos is published, I rarely watch it). While this is common among my peers, I have been trying to overcome it. By forcing myself to create videos and get more comfortable in front of the camera, I also reached out to some of my colleagues who create amazing videos to gather their tips and different software I can try to make my videos more visually appealing. As I write this, I have just begun using these new tips and software to make my videos. I also feel slightly more comfortable in front of the camera. As of now, I am chalking this up as a work in progress.

What I Learned

Throughout my summer at NISM, there were endless opportunities to learn and develop skills for my career and as an individual. Skills such as time management, communication, and team collaboration were emphasized and worked on in all aspects of the job. No opportunities were more beneficial than being mentored by Jen Radke and Celeste Russell. I have learned firsthand all the effort that must go on behind the scenes to ensure efficiency and value for the users. The biggest takeaway is the hard work, genuine care, and passion that goes into running a company like NISM. 

An opportunity that came to fruition quickly, I was unsure what I was getting myself into. I was nervous during the first few weeks as I did not want to mess up and needed to ensure I added value to the team. Having these concerns took away from what I had to offer. Once I started speaking up, asking questions, and not being afraid to share my thoughts, I began to flourish. For those of you in a situation similar to mine, do not be scared to be yourself and show the value that you have. We all can offer something substantial to the team, but it is only beneficial if we do not hide it! 

About the Author

Joseph Scalzo is a Social Media Strategist Intern at the National Institute for Social Media. He graduated from California Lutheran University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Marketing. He is attending San Francisco State University where he is a student-athlete playing baseball and working towards getting his second Bachelor in Communication Studies. He has also completed many courses in International Relations.