Bluffton University

Digital marketing

12/10/2024

Using the skills honed during his internship, Aidan Smith now manages the Bluffton men’s soccer team’s Instagram account.

More than social media management

Aidan Smith ‘25, a business administration major from Springfield, Ohio, gained experience with digital marketing and content management during his summer internship with OpenEye Studios, a video marketing company in Springfield. 

During his internship, Smith contributed to various digital projects, including creating and managing social media content and implementing strategies to enhance audience engagement. These responsibilities allowed him to develop practical skills in content creation and analytics. 

“Through this internship, I learned a lot of tools that I have already used since I finished my internship,” said Smith. “I got comfortable with social media management, and I was even able to film some of the content I was posting.” 

Smith said his classes at Bluffton prepared him for his internship and helped him discern the path of marketing he wants to take. His classes allowed him to use the knowledge he learned in class and apply them hands on at his internship. 

“Professor Brienne Sprunger’s e-commerce class opened my eyes to digital marketing,” said Smith. “The projects we completed in this class were very hands on, so this helped prepare me for my internship and find out which path of marketing I wanted to pursue.” 

Smith said through this course he was also able to complete projects that helped him gain experience in many different aspects of digital marketing.  Smith says he was able to work with and gain knowledge in the fields of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), website design and social media management. 

“Doing these projects is when it clicked for me that digital marketing is what I wanted to do,” said Smith. “Now, I can sit down and create a project from scratch, and I find enjoyment in that.” 

Smith, a member of the men’s soccer team at Bluffton, says because of the work he completed with his internship; he has been able to manage the soccer team’s Instagram account. Smith is responsible for creating and curating content that highlights team achievements, game schedules and other team activities. 

“It’s helpful being a member of the team because I can ask the team what kind of content we want to post,” said Smith.  “Obviously there’s things we have to post like game days and training camps, but we also get to post other content the team wants to see like ‘mic’d’ ups and player interviews.” 

From the moment Smith took a campus visit to Bluffton, he says he felt at home. Smith says he has enjoyed having the same professors because he is able to build relationships with them. 

After graduation, Smith hopes to find a job working with a digital marketing agency.  After he gains experience working at a company, Smith hopes to open his own digital marketing agency.