Internship 2021 Report

Journalism, Public Relations, Social Media 

Orchard Lake Animal Hospital 

Ashley Abduok

INTERSHIP BACKGROUND A: Typical Day/Main Responsibilities 

• Michigan Lupus Foundation May 2021-July 2021

• West Bloomfield Lifestyle July 2021-September 2021

• Orchard Lake Animal Hospital September 2021-December 2021 

Before I dive into the main responsibilities of my internship experience, I want to touch on the two previous positions I had before taking on my position at Orchard Lake Animal Hospital. In May of 2021 I started with the Michigan Lupus Foundation as a social media and communications intern. When I accepted the position, I thought I would be working closely with their then, social media manager in creating content, scheduling content and some digital marketing, however when I went to orientation it became quickly clear that intern’s main responsibility was to send out letters and content businesses asking for donations. While this was not necessarily a bad thing, it was not what I intended on doing or signed up for. I wanted to include this because this experience showed me to ask more questions during the interview process. I kindly and respectfully reached out to the director of the Michigan Lupus Foundation and ended on very good terms and he completely understood and respected my decision, I may even volunteer in the future and I now know what to look for when it comes to internal communication tactics. 

When I left the Michigan Lupus Foundation, I accepted a position as the Social Media Intern for West Bloomfield Lifestyle Magazine. When I accepted the position the publisher and I met in person, they were excited about my journalism background as it could be opportunity to write for the magazine. After a month or so of solely doing social media content creation with little communication, I reached out asking for more direction and opportunities. More time past with little communication and I decided once again that it would be best to end my time with them as well. I reached out once again as I did to the Michigan Lupus Foundation, and the response back taught me exactly what not to do in a situation like that. Their response was very unprofessional, and I chose to not respond. I wanted to include these two experiences because while I did not complete my time with either organization for a grade, I did learn valuable things from each position, even if it was how not to handle something. I think because both positions were remote due to the pandemic, it had something to do with the lack of communication, however when I reached out, I did not feel I was being taken seriously and felt like there was a disconnect in what I was told I would be doing and what I was actually doing, therefore I had to do what was best for me and my road to graduation. 

So now we are at when my internship position with Orchard Lake Animal Hospital. I have been a receptionist at the clinic for 4 ½ years and I already dabbled on our Facebook page. I occasionally posted content here and there and now with the internship position I started posting more frequently, using Facebook’s business suite to schedule weekly and daily posts, creating media kits for the posts, I also took on the responsibility of managing the hospital’s website where I wrote blog posts, upload digital content such as video and photography. Along with website and social media management I also handle client communications, whether it is through socials, email or in person/via phone calls. I also handle reputation management in talking to numerous clients and representatives. 

Day to day tasks were mainly content/media kit creating and from there I would utilize Facebook Business Suite to schedule the posts. Posts included infographics, data, learning and entertainment materials, and the occasional cute patient photo. I also manage the emails which had client communications from patients and professional clients that wanted to network with us. I also managed website content which included updating the blog weekly, updating our website in general when it came to the look of it, content, and photography/videography. With that, I made sure our links and tabs were accurate and optimized for efficient SEO. I am also working on planning an open house event, which may also be holiday themed with a hired Santa for pets and clients to take photos with. Another project I am working on is setting up a YouTube channel for the hospital.

Responsibilities

• Social Media Content Creation - writing original content, minor photography, and graphic design

• Social Media Planning and Strategizing 

• Blog Writing and Editing 

• Website Management and Content Creation - Reputation Management 

• Email Marketing Copy Writing 

INTERAL COMMUNICATION B:  

            The internal communication within Orchard Lake Animal Hospital has been very efficient. Communication within the organization is either verbal, through text or email, or through a phone call. Because this position has been in person, rather than remote the majority of communication has been handled in person with Dr. Oswald, however she is highly accessible when she is not in the office as well. I have been able to receive all and any information I needed to complete the tasks and requirements needed for this internship and what I have been expected to do has been clear and properly communicated to me and the exchanges are always friendly and professional. I have suggested new ideas for how our socials are ran and some ideas for the website and Dr. Oswald agreed with my suggestions and gave me full responsibility to do as I thought was best. Therefore, I could be self-starting and take the initiative, which has been encouraged throughout my time – even when I wasn’t sure on something all I had to do was ask and she kindly gave me her thoughts and direction on where to go next. We also utilize an employee group chat that is on every computer in the hospital if something needs to be communicated and you can’t leave the spot you are designated to – which could be because there is a client or multiple you are helping at that moment. 

EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION C: 

            Orchard Lake Animal Hospital’s target audience is mainly middle to upper class pet owners in mainly the West Bloomfield area, however we do venture out and have clients from Waterford, to Detroit, to Madison Heights, and all over the Metro-Detroit area. Our main forms of communications with clients when they are not in the office, are phone calls, e-mails and social media. Emails include promotional content for products and services, pet reminders such as wellness and health services, and reminders when upcoming appointments are scheduled or need to be scheduled. Email also comes in handy for those who would prefer to email us rather than call or stop in. On social media I interact with every person who leaves a comment whether it is leaving a reaction to their comment or directly replying. We also can contact clients via text messages which comes in handy rather than a phone call. As a lifelong dog owner and animal lover I have very much appreciated my time with Orchard Lake Animal Hospital and have not only learned a lot when it comes to animal care, but since starting my role as their Social Media Intern, I have also gained real world experience in social media content creation and reputation management, blogging, what it is like to manage a website and social media accounts for a business, and client communications.