Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Digital Marketing Intern
💰 $15 - $25 / hour
🎯 Role Definition
The Digital Marketing Intern will support the marketing team in planning, executing, and measuring digital campaigns across paid, owned, and earned channels. You will produce and optimize content for social media, blogs, email, and landing pages; assist with paid search and social campaigns; collect and analyze performance data; and contribute to marketing experiments to improve user acquisition and engagement. This hands-on internship emphasizes practical skills—SEO, SEM, analytics, content creation, A/B testing—and prepares candidates for entry-level roles in digital marketing.
📈 Career Progression
Typical Career Path
Entry Point From:
- Undergraduate or graduate student in Marketing, Communications, Business, or related field
- Social media assistant or content creator (freelance/part-time)
- Marketing volunteer or campus marketing lead
Advancement To:
- Marketing Coordinator
- Digital Marketing Specialist
- Social Media Manager
- SEO / Content Marketing Specialist
Lateral Moves:
- Email Marketing Specialist
- PPC / Paid Media Specialist
- Content Marketing Coordinator
Core Responsibilities
Primary Functions
- Assist in the development and execution of multi-channel digital marketing campaigns (social, search, display, and video) to increase brand awareness, leads, and customer acquisition.
- Create, schedule, and publish engaging social media content across platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X/Twitter, TikTok) using best practices for each channel and supporting content calendars.
- Conduct keyword research and support on-page SEO improvements, including optimizing title tags, meta descriptions, headers, and internal linking to improve organic search rankings.
- Support paid search (Google Ads) and paid social campaign setup, including audience targeting, ad copy creation, bid strategy implementation, and daily/weekly monitoring.
- Write and edit marketing copy for blog posts, landing pages, email campaigns, ad creatives, and social captions, adhering to brand voice and SEO best practices.
- Build and optimize email campaigns and automated nurture sequences in platforms such as Mailchimp, HubSpot, or Pardot; segment lists and track deliverability and engagement metrics.
- Assist with content production—designing social graphics, image editing, short-form videos, and basic motion assets using tools like Canva, Adobe Creative Suite, or CapCut.
- Set up and maintain campaign tracking using UTM tagging, conversion pixels, and goal tracking in Google Analytics and tag management systems (e.g., Google Tag Manager).
- Monitor and analyze campaign performance data to produce weekly and monthly reports with actionable insights and clear KPI tracking (CTR, CPC, CPA, conversion rate, LTV).
- Conduct competitor analysis and market research to identify content gaps, trending topics, and opportunities for growth and differentiation.
- Support A/B testing of creative, ad copy, email subject lines, and landing page variants; document hypotheses, results, and recommended next steps.
- Assist with landing page creation and optimization in CMS platforms (WordPress, Webflow, HubSpot) focusing on UX, CTAs, and conversion flow improvements.
- Collaborate with designers, content creators, and external agencies to ensure timely delivery of campaign assets and that creative aligns with messaging and performance goals.
- Manage influencer and community partnerships by coordinating outreach, content approvals, and performance tracking of sponsored posts or collaborations.
- Help maintain the marketing asset library and content repository, tagging assets for reuse and ensuring assets meet brand standards and licensing requirements.
- Support CRM hygiene efforts by updating contact lists, tagging segments, and ensuring data accuracy for targeted campaigns and reporting.
- Participate in weekly marketing stand-ups, brainstorms, and retrospective sessions; bring ideas for growth experiments and content themes informed by data.
- Assist in producing customer-facing materials such as case studies, product one-pagers, and webinar promotions that support demand generation efforts.
- Monitor social listening, reviews, and community feedback; escalate issues and surface insights to improve messaging and product positioning.
- Help manage budgets and report on spend pacing for paid media campaigns, flagging anomalies or opportunities to reallocate budget for better ROI.
- Attend and support the execution of virtual and in-person marketing events, webinars, and trade shows, including promotional campaigns and post-event follow-up.
- Ensure all marketing activities comply with brand guidelines, privacy regulations (GDPR, CAN-SPAM), and advertising platform policies.
Secondary Functions
- Support ad-hoc data requests, performance deep-dives, and exploratory analysis for cross-functional stakeholders.
- Contribute to the development of marketing playbooks and standard operating procedures to scale campaign execution and asset production.
- Assist in the integration and maintenance of marketing toolchains (analytics, CRM, ad platforms) and ensure accurate attribution across channels.
- Help evaluate and test new marketing tools and technologies to improve team productivity and campaign effectiveness.
- Provide administrative support for marketing projects, including asset filing, vendor communications, and timeline tracking.
- Aid in audience persona refinement by compiling insights from analytics, customer feedback, and competitive research.
- Support the development of thought leadership content by researching industry topics and drafting outlines for senior stakeholders.
- Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies when marketing executes projects using iterative frameworks.
Required Skills & Competencies
Hard Skills (Technical)
- SEO: keyword research, on-page optimization, technical basics, and familiarity with tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, or Moz.
- SEM / Paid Media: Google Ads account setup, search & display campaigns, basic bidding strategies, and performance optimization.
- Analytics: Google Analytics 4 (GA4) setup and reporting, conversion tracking, funnel analysis, and UTM tracking.
- Social Media Advertising: experience with Meta Ads Manager and platform-specific ad formats and targeting.
- Email Marketing & CRM: campaign setup, segmentation, automation workflows, and basic list hygiene in HubSpot, Mailchimp, or similar.
- Content Management: experience publishing and editing content in WordPress, Webflow, or other CMS platforms.
- Data & Reporting: Excel/Google Sheets proficiency for pivot tables, formulas, and visualization; basic data interpretation.
- Creative Tools: Canva and/or Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator for social graphics; basic video editing skills (e.g., Premiere Rush, iMovie).
- Tagging & Tracking: familiarity with Google Tag Manager, pixel implementation, and event tracking concepts.
- Marketing Automation: understanding of lead scoring, drip campaigns, and nurture sequences in automation platforms.
- Basic HTML/CSS: ability to edit landing page snippets, troubleshoot simple template issues, and liaise with developers.
- A/B Testing Tools: familiarity with experimentation platforms or landing page testing methods (e.g., Optimizely, Google Optimize).
- Keyword & Content Tools: experience using content ideation and SEO tools to inform editorial calendars and topic clusters.
Soft Skills
- Strong written and verbal communication tailored to digital audiences and internal stakeholders.
- High curiosity and analytical mindset to turn data into clear recommendations and testable hypotheses.
- Creative problem-solving with an ability to propose novel content or campaign ideas grounded in user insights.
- Time management and organization to juggle multiple campaigns, deadlines, and content assets.
- Teamwork and collaboration across design, product, sales, and external partners.
- Attention to detail in copy, reporting, tagging, and compliance to avoid costly errors.
- Adaptability and comfort working in a fast-paced, iterative marketing environment.
- Growth-focused attitude with eagerness to learn new platforms, tools, and tactics.
- Customer-centric thinking to prioritize messaging and experiences that serve user needs.
- Initiative and ownership over assigned projects, with clear follow-through and accountability.
Education & Experience
Educational Background
Minimum Education:
- Currently enrolled in or recently graduated from a Bachelor’s degree program (Marketing, Communications, Business, Advertising, or related).
Preferred Education:
- Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Digital Marketing, Communications, Business Administration, Advertising, Data Analytics, or Media Studies.
- Coursework or certifications in Google Analytics, Google Ads, HubSpot Academy, or SEO courses a plus.
Relevant Fields of Study:
- Marketing
- Communications
- Business Administration
- Advertising
- Data Analytics
- Media Studies
- Information Technology (for marketing analytics focus)
Experience Requirements
Typical Experience Range:
- 0–1 year of hands-on experience; internships, campus marketing roles, freelance content creation, or volunteer digital marketing work are relevant.
Preferred:
- 3–12 months of prior internship or work experience supporting digital campaigns, content production, or analytics.
- Portfolio or samples of social content, blog posts, email campaigns, or paid media results is highly desirable.
- Demonstrated familiarity with at least two major marketing tools (e.g., GA4, Google Ads, Meta Ads Manager, HubSpot, WordPress).