What Does a Digital Marketing Intern Do? (Skills, Pay and How to Get One)

A digital marketing intern supports a marketing team with day-to-day work: creating content for social media, blogs and email, scheduling posts, doing basic SEO keyword research, pulling reports from tools like Google Analytics, and researching competitors and trends. Most internships last a few months, many are paid, and they are one of the fastest ways to get real experience before your first marketing job.

If you’re interested in a role in digital marketing, an internship could be the best way to launch your new career. With a digital marketing internship, you can earn the experience, skills, and insights you need to thrive in online marketing.

Ideal for fresh graduates and beginners, internships give you an easy way to explore the world of marketing, discover your passions, and network with experienced professionals.

You might even find you have a chance to build your personal brand, enhance your resume, and unlock new employment opportunities.

Here’s everything you need to know about what a digital marketing internship involves and how you can apply for an internship of your own.

What Does a Digital Marketing Intern Do?

The exact responsibilities of a digital marketing intern can vary depending on the company you apply to work with.

Some internships focus on a specific type of digital marketing, such as search engine optimization.

These roles may require you to create content, monitor performance metrics, research SEO keywords, and assist marketing leaders in creating optimization strategies.

Other marketing internships are broader and cover various aspects of digital marketing, from SEM and pay-per-click campaigns to content creation for social media channels.

If you’re looking for a way to gain as much practical knowledge and experience as possible, then it’s worth looking for an internship that can introduce you to various aspects of the digital marketing landscape.

Looking at the job descriptions posted on channels like Glassdoor, LinkedIn, and Indeed, we can see most employers are looking for interns capable of managing the following responsibilities:

• Research: Conducting market studies, learning about digital marketing opportunities, creating user personas, and identifying trends.
• Content creation: Developing social media and blog content, managing content or editorial calendars, conducting SEO keyword research, and developing materials such as event flyers or video scripts.
• Social media: Scheduling posts, writing captions, tracking engagement, and replying to comments and messages on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and LinkedIn.
• SEO: Most digital marketing interns will need a basic knowledge of SEO. You should be familiar with on-page optimization, link-building and prospecting, crawl issue analysis and resolution, and keyword research.
• Marketing strategy: You may be asked to assist with shaping content marketing and social media marketing strategies, building email campaigns, or planning and implementing marketing calendars.
• Analytics: You should have a basic understanding of how to prepare and present performance reports focused on specific marketing KPIs. Ensure you can use tools to analyze metrics and make recommendations for future campaigns.

Some digital marketing internships will also require you to be familiar with basic tools, such as MailChimp, Microsoft Office, Outlook, Hootsuite, and Excel.

Most job descriptions will include a list of software you should be able to access and use.

Benefits of a Digital Marketing Internship

Digital marketing internships come in a variety of different forms.

Some allow you to focus on a specific type of digital marketing, such as social media advertising, content creation, and SEO. Others focus on providing broader insight into the various verticals of marketing.

You can explore both paid and unpaid internships, summer and full-time internships, and even unique internship opportunities with major agencies and brands.

While the income you earn from an internship may be less than you can expect from a full digital marketing role, there are other benefits to explore, such as:

• Insights into the foundations of digital marketing: During your internship, you’ll gain insights into different tools and techniques used by marketing professionals. You’ll learn how to use different methodologies for SEM, PPC, and Social Media Marketing and experiment with a wide variety of resources.
• Access to new skills: An internship is a hands-on learning experience. You won’t just read about different marketing tactics and strategies. You’ll experiment with practical strategies yourself, creating campaigns, conducting research, and monitoring the results of your marketing efforts.
• Exploring your passions: Digital marketing is a highly versatile field with a number of different specializations to consider. During your marketing internship, you’ll be able to identify which types of marketing you’re most passionate about. This could open the door to freelancing and digital marketing career.
• Collecting feedback: Being an intern is all about learning and development. It’s an excellent time to ask questions, learn from your mistakes, and request regular feedback. The more insights you gather from other marketing professionals, the more effective you’ll be in future digital marketing roles.
• Developing confidence: Putting the theory you’ve learned from digital marketing courses and degrees into practice can be a daunting process. Internships act as a useful bridge between education and a full-time role, helping you to build your confidence and harness your skills.
• Networking opportunities: An internship in the digital marketing world gives you an excellent opportunity to meet and connect with a wide range of individuals with marketing skills. This can help you to forge relationships with people who could pave the way for new job opportunities in the future.
• A stronger resume: The experience you gain during your time in an internship will help to make you more appealing to potential employers in the future. You could find that you can access higher-paying roles and opportunities after completing an internship. You could even move straight into a full-time role with the same agency.

What Skills are Required for Digital Marketing Internship?

Digital marketing internships are designed for beginners in the marketing world. You’ll learn a lot of the skills you need for a comprehensive full-time role on the job.

However, it does pay to have some basic knowledge related to the marketing field.

There are various ways you can build the necessary skills to thrive in a digital marketing internship.

Comprehensive educational programs like the Reliablesoft Digital Marketing course can introduce you to many of the foundational skills you’ll use.

You can learn about SEO, Google Ads, content marketing, social media marketing, and email, all in the same place.

You can also explore a variety of online digital marketing courses from leading companies like Google, Meta, and HubSpot.

The core skills you’ll need to develop include:

• Basic knowledge of marketing channels and tools: While you don’t need to be an expert, you should have a basic understanding of the digital marketing channels used by major brands and the strategies used for success. Consider reading books, taking courses, or subscribing to blogs to build your knowledge.
• Soft skills: As an intern, you’ll be expected to communicate and collaborate clearly, work independently, and take initiative. It pays to work on all of these soft skills, as well as your organizational and problem-solving skills. You can develop these talents by working with teams, volunteering, or participating in group projects.
• Basic web design skills: Though you don’t need to know how to build a website or app from scratch, understanding the principles of web design can be helpful. This will ensure you can communicate clearly with other members of the digital marketing team and understand how to structure marketing campaigns.
• Writing skills: Many digital marketing roles require a good knowledge of the written word. It’s worth exploring how to improve your writing skills by reading books, following podcasts, and even creating your own blog. Your blog will give you an opportunity to experiment with content marketing and SEO.
• Knowledge of digital marketing theories: Speaking of SEO, you should also have a basic knowledge of concepts like search engine optimization, email marketing, inbound marketing, social media marketing, search engine marketing, and conversion rate optimization.

Many digital marketing courses will help you to build on these skills and even put your knowledge into practice with hands-on projects.

The projects you work on will also make it easier to develop your portfolio to improve your chances of gaining employment.

How to Find a Digital Marketing Internship Job?

Marketing is one of the most popular internship fields, so expect competition for the best roles and apply to several at once.

Before you start searching for a marketing internship role, there are a few steps you can take to improve your chances of success.

Start by creating a portfolio or website to showcase your knowledge of basic digital marketing skills. Your portfolio may not be huge, to begin with, but you can use it to show the results of any voluntary marketing campaigns you’ve worked on.

It’s also a great place to demonstrate the work you’ve completed in any digital marketing courses you’ve taken so far. Your website or portfolio can also be home to a blog, where you can experiment with content marketing and SEO skills.

Once you’ve created your portfolio, optimize your online presence by creating a LinkedIn page and other social media accounts to show endorsements and evidence of your skills. This will help you to appeal to potential recruiters.

You can then start looking for opportunities on popular job boards and websites, such as:

• Indeed: Indeed aggregates job postings from a range of other websites, making it easy to scour through various job opportunities at once. You can also filter listings based on location and keywords to narrow down your options.
• LinkedIn: LinkedIn is the top social media platform for corporations and professionals. If you want to start your internship with a specific company, you can follow them on LinkedIn and reach out to members of the marketing team.
• Glassdoor: Glassdoor is another excellent place to look for local marketing internships or specific internship opportunities. You can also use the platform to check the reviews for certain employers before you apply for a role.
• SimplyHired: Finding internships on SimplyHired is as simple as typing a couple of keywords into the search bar. You can even look for roles that allow you to work remotely if you want a more flexible career.
• Google Careers: Although Google Careers site offers more opportunities for full-time employees than internships, there are still occasional opportunities available. You can even look for roles within Google itself.
• Intern Abroad HQ: If you’re looking for an opportunity to start your internship somewhere overseas, Intern Abroad HQ is an excellent option. You can look for distant internships and remote internships. Plus, the site can even help you find accommodation and local sources of financial support.

How Much Do Digital Marketing Interns Make?

Your income as a marketing intern can vary depending on various factors. Your location, the type of digital marketing you focus on, and the company you work for can all play a part in determining your salary.

According to Indeed, the average digital marketing intern in the United States earns $19.60 per hour, with most job postings ranging from about $12 to $32 per hour.

Larger companies and high-cost cities tend to pay at the top of that range, while small businesses and startups pay less. Some internships are unpaid or pay a small stipend, often in exchange for college credit. In the US, an unpaid internship at a for-profit company is only legal when the intern, not the employer, is the primary beneficiary, so paid roles are the norm at established companies.

What to Do After Digital Marketing Internship?

A digital marketing internship is an excellent entryway into the wide and versatile world of digital marketing.

Once you’ve completed your internship, there are various steps you can take to continue building on your career and unlocking new opportunities.

Some companies will offer you the opportunity to stay on as a full-time employee after you’ve completed an internship, moving you directly into a Junior level role as a digital marketer, content creator, or SEO analyst.

Whether you decide to continue working with the same company or not, it’s worth constantly working on ways to enhance your career, such as:

1. Earning More Experience

While the experience you earn in your digital marketing internship will be fantastic for driving your career forward, more experience does give you more opportunities to grow.

Finding an entry-level digital marketing job, volunteering for new projects, or even looking for additional internships focused on a specific part of marketing can be helpful.

For instance, if you decide you want to focus your career on social media marketing, you can look into beginner-friendly roles in social media advertising.

You could also consider joining an agency and working with them on client projects.

2. Become a Freelancer

Another option is to become a digital marketing freelancer. You can join communities on Fiverr, Upwork, and similar platforms to seek contract-based opportunities.

This will give you an excellent way to expand your knowledge as a self-employed professional.

3. Experimenting with Digital Marketing Tools

As mentioned above, most companies use a variety of different digital marketing tools in their digital marketing efforts, from keyword analysis solutions like SEMrush, to social media marketing platforms like Sprout Social.

During your internship, you should have an opportunity to work with some of these tools yourself.

However, it’s worth experimenting further with any resources you think might be valuable to your future career.

Becoming proficient with solutions like Google Analytics, Google Ads, Meta Ads Manager and similar solutions will allow you to dive into entry-level positions a lot faster.

There are plenty of resources online that can guide you through the basics of using some of these tools to enhance your marketing campaigns.

4. Enriching Your Education

The world of digital marketing is constantly evolving. If you want to thrive in this industry, you’ll need to be committed to regularly updating your education and learning new skills.

Staying up to date with concepts like SEO algorithms and PPC campaigns will help you to appeal to a wider range of employers.

You can also think about applying for advanced courses and programs, which allow you to earn sought-after certifications in the marketing world.

You could look into earning a digital marketing certificate as an SEO analyst, PPC manager, or social media marketing manager.

Following industry blogs and podcasts, reading news releases about digital marketing trends, and connecting with thought leaders can be helpful too.

Some professionals even seek out digital marketing mentors on channels like LinkedIn to help them grow.

5. Expanding your Network

Who you know is almost as important as what you know in the digital marketing landscape. With that in mind, you should be constantly building out your network and meeting with new people.

Start by refining your personal brand with a strong website or portfolio and a robust LinkedIn profile.

Next, find ways to connect with other digital marketers in your space. You can join digital marketing forums like the Warrior Forum, or Growth Hackers, to learn from other professionals in your field or connect with groups on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Visiting industry events is another way to expand your network, and connect with professionals face-to-face.

The more you network, the more career opportunities you’ll unlock. Plus, you’ll be able to work on soft skills, like communication too.

6. Applying for Digital Marketing Positions

An internship should give you the initial experience and skills you need to start applying for new roles in the marketing world.

Depending on the types of marketing you’re most passionate about, you can apply for a variety of jobs.

You could look for roles like Social Media Manager or SEO Assistant. Read through the job descriptions carefully to ensure you have the skills required before you send in your application.

Remember, it’s always a good idea to tailor your application to each company.

Focus on highlighting the skills most important to your potential employer in your resume and cover letter.

Draw attention to your portfolio where possible to demonstrate your skills and share endorsements from the companies you’ve already worked with.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do digital marketing interns get paid?

Most do. Indeed's data puts the average at $19.60 per hour in the US. Some small businesses and nonprofits offer unpaid internships or a stipend, often for college credit, but at for-profit companies in the US unpaid internships are only allowed when the intern is the main beneficiary.

Is a digital marketing internship worth it?

Yes, if it gives you real work to do. The experience, portfolio pieces and references from an internship make it much easier to land an entry-level job. Before you accept, ask what projects you will work on and which tools you will use.

Can I do a digital marketing internship remotely?

Yes. Many digital marketing internships are fully remote or hybrid, because most of the work happens online. Filter for remote roles on job boards like LinkedIn and Indeed.

Do I need experience to get a digital marketing internship?

No. Internships are designed for beginners. A basic course, a certification and a few sample projects, such as a blog or a social media account you manage, will help your application stand out.

Conclusion

A digital marketing internship is a fantastic way to enter the world of advertising and promotion as a complete beginner. During your internship, you’ll gain the experience and insights you need to thrive in the digital marketing world.

Plus, you’ll have a phenomenal opportunity to connect with other professionals, build out your network, and start refining your professional brand.