Is an Acadium Apprenticeship Worthwhile?
Emily and I started out 2020 with our social media mojo workin! We had three months of posts scheduled and were regularly jamming out blog posts of quality content.
But then COVID hit, followed by George Floyd's murder and the BLM protests several months later, which coincided with the beginning of a hot and humid summer here in the Washington DC area.
What was going on in the world and right here at home was so much bigger than anything we could write about in a meaningful way.
Blogging about branding and websites when people are living out desperate lives didn't feel right. We decided to take a breather.
As September quickly rolled in, we were still wary yet knew we had to persevere with our content marketing but we needed some outside inspiration. Several regular graphic design clients had not needed our services because of COVID cancellations, so we didn't have the budget to hire a full-time social media person.
What is Acadium exactly?
I'd learned of Acadium a couple of years ago when it was still called Gen M. In 2019, Gen M rebranded to Acadium and launched a new platform.
They also incorporated a different pricing structure that felt doable. I was intrigued but admittedly, stilled hemmed and hawed. Would this be a worthwhile endeavor or just a time suck?
Acadium pricing structure.
Acadium is an apprenticeship platform where for three months, apprentices help mentor’s business projects unpaid as part of their own training. In exchange, the mentor provides feedback and guidance to help them improve.
These are the types of experiences the apprentices are looking for: Social Media, Digital Marketing, SEO, Content Marketing, Marketing, Analytics, Paid Advertising, Email Marketing, Website Design, Graphic Design, Public Relations, Copywriting, Shopify Development, Video Editing, and Marketing Automation.
These are industries listed: Marketing, E-commerce, Advertising, Business services, Tech startup, Tourism and Travel, Communications, Computer software, Entertainment, Health & Wellness, Fashion, Food, Beauty products, Internet, Education, Art, Real Estate, Fitness, Non-profit, Finance, Photography, Coaching, Bars & restaurants, Books, Games, Podcasts, Retail, Environment, Electronics, Movies, Banking, Cosmetics, HR & Recruitment, Music Production, Human Rights, Nutrition, Accounting, Airlines, Hotels, Journalism, Professional Sports, Venture capital, Private Equity & Investment Firms, Automotive, Agriculture, Energy & Natural Resources, Live Entertainment, Alternative energy, Politics, Television, LGBTQ Rights, Architecture, Aerospace, Medicine, Alternative Medicine, Lawyers, Insurance, Phone Companies, Gas & Oil, Franchising, Transportation, Construction, Farming, Hardware, Cruise Lines, Dentistry, Religious Organizations, Radio, Textiles, Hedge funds, Newspaper, Gambling & Casinos, Utilities, Chiropractors, Casinos, Defense, Lobbyists, Forestry, Firearms, Tobacco, Unions, Livestock, Coal Mining, Railroads
These are the interests to filter from: Marketing, Business, Travel, Technology, Entrepreneurship, Problem-Solving, Music, Leadership, Investing, Fitness, Movies, Writing, Art, Fashion, Sports, Psychology, Education, Photography, Animals, Beauty, Real estate, Finance, Comedy, DIY, Programming, Nature, Spirituality, Economics, Health Care, Science, Interior Design, Philosophy, Cities, Nutrition, Fiction, Books, Yoga, History, Gender Equality, Non-Fiction Books, Running, Gardening, Martial arts, Space, Exploration, Politics, Architecture, Journalism, Energy, Chess, Religion, Law, Medicine, Celebrity Gossip, Hunting.
And finally, the software(s) a mentor can choose from: Microsoft Office, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Canva, Google Sheets, WordPress, Adobe Photoshop, Google Analytics, Facebook Ads, Google Adwords, Instagram Insights, Wix, Shopify, Adobe Illustrator, Mailchimp, iMovie, Adobe Premiere, Hootsuite, SEM Rush, SquareSpace, HubSpot, Final cut pro, Moz, Buffer, Sketch, Groove Digital, Kissmetrics, Sendgrid.
Finding the right candidate
The apprentice has weekly meetings with the Acadium advisor and gets training in their field of study and interest. The mentor receives weekly emails from the advisor as well and there is a way to give feedback and to get advice.
I selected candidates from the US and Canada only but there are candidates from all over the world. I didn't want to navigate a significant time difference or a language barrier.
Also since social media is primarily written content and we're marketing to English-speakers it's kind of a no-brainer requirement.
After posting our desired needs, I interviewed three candidates. Each one had the abilities and attributes that were attractive. The Acadium platform makes it very easy to have chats with the candidates and to schedule meetings. Two of the candidates wound up NOT choosing us and one of the candidates we interviewed we later decided would not be a good fit.
Our apprentice Jose
Then we talked with Jose Frausto. His background, personality, and interests aligned perfectly with ours. We plotted out what we wanted to focus on and how often we wanted to post.
We had been using Later to schedule posts to Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest, but switched to Buffer to give us more functionality with our Linkedin business page.
Each week we had a 90-minute zoom meeting to discuss the goals for the upcoming week and communicated through our team Slack channel.
Jose also has some graphic design skills which we put to good use. He generated graphics in Illustrator and Adobe Creative Cloud Express then scheduled them to Instagram.
It was very helpful that he was a self-starter and didn't mind digging deep to bring insights that we didn't consider. He also had a lot of training through Acadium, his current full-time job and his past education and experience.
Overall working with Jose WAS worthwhile.
We organically grew our Instagram by 140 followers. We built out our Design Powers Linkedin business page with content and gained 113 followers (we hadn't had one prior too) and finally added much-needed content to our Facebook page.
Jose also gave Emily and me the needed inspiration that I mentioned we so sorely needed. That might have been the best benefit of all.
We're going to miss Jose. He's seeking more opportunities to flex his digital marketing and paid traffic acumen. Perhaps we'll get to that point but we're not there yet.
I asked Jose if he'd write about his apprenticeship. Keep reading below and thank you Jose!
In Jose's Own Words
My name is Jose Frausto, a BA Multimedia graduate, who has a passion for digital marketing. While studying at Acadium, we were connected with mentors who were in need of a digital marketing apprentice, and that is how I began my 90-day apprenticeship with Design Powers.
I was tasked with social media growth (organic and paid) across a multitude of social media platforms Linkedin, Instagram, and Facebook. While we did not get to the paid section of our talks. I was able to get a taste of what it takes to be a social media coordinator assistant.
I created a social media content calendar to consistently curate content that will nurture their growth and establish Design Powers as an expert in their field of web design and digital strategy and bring in organic traffic to their social media channels.
What can I say about my mentors Evelyn and Emily... I am thankful for the opportunity to be able to work with this wonderful duo. They were very receptive to my ideas and provided me with insight into how things would work from a design and marketing standpoint.
I was able to see the bridge of my design experience with my newly found passion for digital marketing in a nurturing environment and for that, I am thankful for this awesome learning experience.
I'm also thankful to the Acadium for creating a platform that connects inspiring digital marketers with mentors like Design Powers to cultivate and allow us to gain meaningful experience. While my time working with Design Powers has come to an end, my journey into the digital marketing world has just begun!
