Why Hiring an Intern Won’t Solve your Marketing Problems!

Marketing is an increasingly complex business and it’s vital for any business owner to get it right to grow their business. Whether its big business or a small company, hiring an intern is a popular way of filling a gap without a huge outlay, especially for startups and small businesses in Ireland today. This can be fine in many departments, but marketing really is too crucial to be left to somebody who is working for you while learning and gaining experience in a hands-on manner.

Hiring an intern is a two-way transaction

Your business benefits from free/cheaper labour and the intern benefits from an opportunity to experience the reality of work and practical, on-the-job learning. An intern will lack the deep understanding of the marketing environment to produce success for your brand – if they had the necessary knowledge and experience, they would already be employed in this field, not learning the ropes.

Marketing is a long game

Furthermore, a marketing strategy is ongoing and needs continuity whereas an internship usually lasts between 3 and 6 months – hardly enough time to manage a successful marketing process.

Social media marketing involves networking, making connections and developing relationships, all of which takes time and experience. Effective marketers will already have a network and relationships to bring to the table, unlike an intern who will be just beginning in this field. These relationships create bonds with the brand, with colleagues and with the audience so continuity is vital for this type of marketing.

Interns are Short Term

One of the responsibilities taken on board when hiring an intern is to train that person – you can’t expect an intern to know how to run an effective marketing campaign. The intern is working for you in the expectation of learning how to do this! Training takes time, your time. Training takes direction, are you qualified to give this direction?

Marketing matters and it really is best when it’s carried out by an experienced professional or outsourced to an agency that specialises in marketing and has the knowledge and experience (and connections) to do an outstanding job.

We can help

If you’re serious about your business, then you’ll know that you need to be serious about investing in its future by hiring the best. Why not give us a call and speak to one of our experts about developing your marketing campaign?

 

Richard Coen

With over 21 years of experience in Digital Marketing, 31 years in sales and 25 years in business development, Richard assists companies to develop key growth strategies on a local or international basis. He can assist marketers to achieve balance in their approach to key areas affected by the growth in digital marketing.