Month: March 2014
Digital Marketing – One of the Best Classes I’ve Ever Taken
This quarter I took a chance and chose to take a digital marketing course. This is my last year of my graduate degree and cannot be more ecstatic to be so close to be done with school for a while. My initial thought before taking this course was “I CANNOT WAIT!” I was SO excited to take a course focused solely on marketing again! It had been a while since I had gotten this chance, so I pounced on it. Despite my excitement, I was still nervous. I had been so used to my program classmates, that I knew it would be completely different because I was the only graduate student taking the course. However, I must say, as I am reflecting on this class, it is one of the BEST classes I’ve ever taken. I have learned so much from A/B testing, growth hacking, co-creation, inbound marketing, SEO, SQL, Google Analytics, coding, and much more.
This has been such a great experience because this course was a great class to take side-by-side some of the job positions I hold currently. In one position particularly, I create online email campaigns and am working to sustain their social media presence. Concepts in this course have taught me what to do and what NOT to do (especially). Many of the articles we have read and discussed have made me more confident in my digital marketing capabilities. In thinking back on this class, I think the #1 key takeaway for me was how to effectively post content on company websites and social media sites. I always understood that it was very important what you post, but I did not know specific details on when to post, how frequent to post, how long to make your posts, how to interact with your customers on social media sites, etc. This is VERY important to know when I am about to go into the workforce.
But how important are digital marketing courses in college? At the Harvard Extension School, a Digital Marketing: Social Media and Online Strategies course is taught in order to give students with the knowledge needed to develop comprehensive digital marketing and social media plans. It is believed that in today’s rapidly changing environment, there are new opportunities and challenges for marketers to face – such as digital marketing. And how important is digital marketing in the workforce? People nowadays are consuming more digital content on a daily basis. Digital marketing is set to be the future of marketing and it is often believed that digital media will soon replace more traditional forms altogether.
In the past three months, I was tasked to write a blog – which was something I have never done before. But I must say, I have had many potential employers asking me about my blog and what inspired me to write it. I owe it all to this class. In the three months, I have had 338 views with 33 followers to my blog and an overall word count of 11,293 words. Below are my stats for this blog:
In relation to my Twitter account, although I only have 22 followers, I can admit that I can definitely pay more attention to my Twitter presence. I was also given the opportunities to become:
HootSuite Professional Certified!
AND Google Analytics Qualified!
I am ECSTATIC to be walking away from this class with so much more knowledge and certifications that will definitely help me in the future. Overall, what a great class – I learned so much about digital marketing and am so pleased to have gotten the chance to take this course.
Have you ever heard of Growth Hacking?
What is growth hacking?
Growth hacking is a marketing technique developed by technology startups which uses creativity, analytical thinking, and social metrics to sell products and gain exposure. However, do not be mistaken – a growth hacker is NOT a replacement for a marketer. A growth hacker is just different – “a growth hacker is a person whose true north is growth”. Every decision that a growth hacker makes is informed by growth. Every strategy, tactic, and initiative is attempted in hopes of growing.
In short, the five phases of growth hacking are: it begins with Product Market Fit – this can be explained by growth hacking as having marketing goals that are “driven by product instincts”. These hackers try to achieve a product that is perfectly designed to fit a specific and critical need for a well-defined audience. The following phase is to find your growth hack – hack the growth together though any means possible (e.g. A/B tests, landing pages, viral factor, email or open graph). Once you pull in your first users, the next phase is the Viral Lift – refine the product until the rate of sharing goes up. Retaining and Optimizing is the next phase with the final phase being to Start Again.
But how do you get customers without having to pay for them? Here are a few tips that have worked for others: fast site speed, social proof (e.g. testimonials, logos, customer statistics, case studies), on ramp programs (e.g. the new user experience, email drip campaigns), barebones home pages (e.g. Dropbox, Twitter, Facebook, Groupon), product integrations (e.g. where do you make your stand? Can you get out?), and viral loops.
So what do you think? Growth hacking is on the rise – using A/B testing, landing pages, viral factor, email deliverability, and Open Graph, growth hackers are able to answer the question of “How do I get customers for my product?”
Michele Leung 