Content Marketing Internships: A New Way to Use Your Journalism Degree

Hey recent college graduates in journalism! Are you using that journalism degree that you worked so hard for?

The outlook for new journalists is pretty bleak. Newspapers are in decline as the web rises in popularity. A look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics website reveals that the median pay for a reporter/correspondent/broadcast news analyst is just $37,090, and the outlook for number of jobs in the next few years is set to decline 13%.

Ouch.

But did you know that there’s a way to put that journalism degree to work, get paid more than your fellow journalism grads while still doing the things you love?

If you’re on social media at all, you’ve probably heard about content marketing. You see, companies all across the world are thirsty for good writing that tells their brand story, helps them rank better in search engines, while giving their customers access to information they never had access to before.

All this to say that you should consider a content marketing internship.

Lest you not be convinced that content marketing is like journalism, let’s take a look at the similarities and differences between “traditional” journalism and content marketing.

Content Marketing and Traditional Journalism Are Related

• As a content marketer, you are writing “brand journalism” – articles that tell a company’s story. This can be anything from press releases to blogs about industry topics to guides, even video.


• Just like in traditional journalism, content marketers conduct interviews. The interviews are with subject matter experts inside a company. The idea behind the interview is to help subject matter experts share information that their potential customers are looking for, but in a way that’s easy for a person outside the company to understand.


• You write news stories as a traditional journalist, but we write blogs that help attract the right visitors to a company’s website.


• As a traditional journalist, you’re pretty good at using the web to check your sources. As a content marketer, you’re using the web for research, too. You’d use the web to see what a company’s competitor is talking about, monitoring social media and finding new story lines to write about.


• Journalists today are well versed in social media. You get the opportunity to use social media and email to promote blogs and other content, so you’ll get experience writing short headlines and phrases as well as longer articles.


• Unlike traditional journalism, there are ways to see what headlines and topics actually generate interest. You’ll get to use your analytical skills to satisfy your curiosity about what actually works.


• As a traditional journalist, you’re keeping your reader informed. As a content marketer, you’re helping your client’s audience stay informed about what matters to them.

There’s an added benefit to content marketing. You’ll be helping a company earn new business while doing what you love.

So come on, you’ve got the skills companies like ours are looking for. Will you put them to good use?

photo credit

Source: B2C_Business

Content Marketing Internships: A New Way to Use Your Journalism Degree