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Internet Marketing Campaign Development

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The last twelve months have been the best months of my time as a student. I have spent every month learning things that not only intrigue me but also excite me. At the beginning of this master's degree, I had been concerned about how well the degree would fit me. I knew I wanted a degree in marketing, but my work experience in that field has been so minimal that I was concerned I was romanticizing the idea of pursuing this degree. Thankfully, every course I have taken has shown me just how right this path is for me. 

Full Sail University and the professors there have helped me grow in ways I couldn't have anywhere else. I have met some brilliant role models and the knowledge they've imparted is readily applicable to a position in digital marketing. The program content has given provided a solid basis on which to build my career. I find myself comfortable with concepts that were completely foreign to me twelve months ago and that seasoned digital marketers had to learn the hard way.

I look forward to the ever-changing digital marketing industry. I am ready to jump in and use these skills I have learned in any way I can and make a career out of helping others succeed in their business ventures. I can truly say that this degree has been a blessing, and one of the best decisions I have made regarding my professional life. This is just the beginning of a life spent doing something I am passionate about.

The video below is an audit of my personal brand, any suggestions regarding how to improve online presence are welcome! 

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Internet and the Law

IMK672-O This course was month eleven of twelve months in the Master of Science in Internet Marketing program. Because this is so close to the end, it was a course I was really looking forward to.  What I didn’t realize before starting the course was how important the things learned would be during a career in Internet Marketing. 

Original Three Objectives & How the Course Met These

The original three objectives for this course were:Know the different laws including intellectual property, copyright, domain names, trademark issues, and the First Amendment.

During Week One we learned about copyright & the internet and the very complicated jurisdiction law when pertaining to the internet. There have been many other important terms we have learned throughout the course. Concepts that are invaluable are anti-spam laws and the difference between clickwraps and browserwraps. 

Know what legal considerations presented can affect a developing marketing strategy and how to avoid legal problems which might arise.

The course has completely met this objective. It is amazing how important internet law is when creating a marketing strategy. It would be a detriment to run a website with zero knowledge of internet law. This month has made me extremely aware of how necessary it is to work with an expert in the law field before going too far into developing a large campaign.

Understand regulatory issues concerning the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC), among others. 

This was another objective met by this course. Each week I spent a lot of time browsing through information provided by the FTC and FCC. These resources are now bookmarked on my browser, so I can quickly reference them in case any legal questions may arise. 

What I Learned

I truly have learned so much this month. From privacy policies to the validity of terms and conditions as legally binding contracts, I have learned concepts that I didn’t previously consider when preparing a strategy. I also learned that blogging can be relatively tricky when it comes to legal issues regarding defamation. I would have happily taken this course for another two months because I do feel like there is a lot more information that would be useful to know in a career as a digital marketer. 

Applying Information in Professional Endeavors

As a professional, I will continue to study internet law that may be related to whatever campaign I will be working on. The one thing I will immediately put to use is my new knowledge about anti-spam laws. I am currently working an internship that involves a lot of email campaigning. Having a greater understanding of anti-spam laws will be extremely helpful in creating successful email campaigns. Below is a fictitious mockup of an email campaign that would successfully make it through a spam filter by meeting CANSPAM rules. This was part of an assignment in week two of the course:

For the specific rules, you can read this excerpt from The IT/digital Legal Companion (2008):

“Here are CANSPAM rules that apply to commercial e-mail messages:

Header Information—The Act forbids false or misleading header information. E-mail’s “From,” “To,” and routing information—including the originating domain name and e-mail address—must be accurate and identify the person or organization who initiated the e-mail.

Subject Lines—The Act prohibits deceptive subject lines. The subject line cannot mislead the recipient about the contents or subject matter of the message.

Opt-Out—The Act requires that the e-mails give recipients an opt-out method. It can be a return e-mail or a Web-based mechanism. There can be other options presented to the user aside from stopping mail, but there must be a simple way to stop all commercial e-mail messages from the sender. The opt-out opportunity provided must be good for at least 30 days after the email data. When the sender receives an opt-out request, it has a maximum of 10 business days to stop sending e-mail to the requestor’s e-mail address.

Transfer Restrictions—Once a person has opted out, the sender cannot have or assist another sender to contact the same e-mail address. It is illegal to transfer or sell e-mail addresses of persons who opt-out (even if they are on a pre-existing mailing list).

Identification—The commercial e-mail must be identified, with a clear and conspicuous notice, as an advertisement, and it must include the sender’s valid physical postal address. Your message must tell the recipient that he or she may opt-out of receiving more commercial e-mail.

Sanctions—Each violation can lead to a fine of up to $11,000.”

(Landy, Mastrobattista. 2008)

In conclusion, I would have loved more time in this course. It covered so many concepts that are important to marketers that I would have loved to have it as a two-part course.

Reference:

Landy, G. K., & Mastrobattista, A. J. (2008). The IT/digital legal companion a comprehensive business guide to software, Internet, and IP law: Includes contracts and web forms. Amsterdam: Syngress/Elsevier.

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Web Analytics & Optimization

IMK662-O This month I have learned invaluable skills when it comes to Web Analytics and marketing. Understanding the real-world applications of concepts, I have studied throughout the program has been eye-opening and exciting. My favorite thing about this month is the fact that we were given the incredible opportunity to become GAIQ certified (Google Analytics Individual Qualification). Learning about the Google Analytics software has given me a deeper understanding of how to measure the success of campaigns while also showing me that thinking out of the box in how I approach the data is a must.

Aside from the GAIQ, I also learned more about the value of using SMART goals and KPIs in an Analytics Optimization Plan. The following is an example of a SMART goal & KPI:

B2C SMART Goal 2: Increase E-commerce Underclass Photo Sales  

SMART Goal: Increase the sales of photos via the website by 10% a month within the first six months.

Goal Summary: 10% more parents use the website to purchase photos instead of using the photo sales packet, eventually eliminating the need for the printed form. They will be incentivized with a “Go Green” discount of 5% off the order if they make purchases online. Refer to Figure 1 for details on current sales metrics. 

KPIs:

Purchases Made via Packet vs. E-commerce: Work closely with customer service team to track the number of purchases made through the traditional sales packet vs. online. 

Track Discount Code: Another metric used to ensure the success of the transition from paper to e-commerce will be to track the discount code provided to parents for their online purchases. If the code is not being used, appropriate changes will be made. 

Figure 1: Current sales made through e-commerce vs. sales packet

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Strategic Internet Public Relations

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This was a challenging course because my case study company, Dean Stewart Photography, is relatively small and is not very involved in community events. It is really hard to write a press release for a company with very few newsworthy things going on. Throughout the course, I found myself really understanding how poor brand recognition is when a business is not running any public relations campaigns. If I were put in charge of the company’s PR efforts, I would likely focus on the following campaign efforts:

We would start by sponsoring three events a year. These events would vary between local charity organization events and DSP’s own food drives for local families, etc.

Each event would have a press release that would be submitted to local media outlets. These would be tracked to ensure they are being read, this can be done by using a wire service like Newswire.com.

One person would be assigned to monitoring the DSP brand on social media each day. A simple search on FB can provide insight regarding the sentiment surrounding the company at any given time. It is important that someone is available to represent the company in any problem that may be encountered online. An example of this would be to come across an unhappy customer that is trying to get the company’s attention by tagging them in a post. The person in charge of monitoring the brand would be responsible for responding to this customer in the most professional manner possible.  

These are basic measures that could be easily taken to improve the relationship DSP has with the public. They could also increase brand recognition, which is essential in order to really grow as a company when your competitor is Lifetouch. Although this course was challenging and not really within my comfort zone, I did enjoy learning more about the public relations trade.

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Advanced Search Engine Optimization

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This course has been incredibly insightful. Although the name of the course is Advanced SEO, there was definitely information that went beyond SEO and could be considered more general SEM. I am relatively knowledgeable about user experience and web design, but I realized there is so much I need to learn about the different SEO methods and constant algorithm changes. Although this month has been a great step towards growing my knowledge and capabilities at ranking optimization. Aside from the technical aspects of SEO, I was also able to write a pitch for selling a PPC Campaign.

The following is a short example of a proposed campaign budget:

Note: Proposed campaign budget & revenue chart.  

As you can see, the table is broken into three campaign types and the budget/revenue estimated for each.

Another important lesson taught in this course is the importance of local search optimization. Although this seems like a no-brainer, it seems as though many companies have not properly optimized for local searches. One thing that really surprised me was how many local businesses do not have a Google My Business account. This is such an easy solution to improving local search ranking, and yet many people don’t even know what it is. By keeping information in Google My Business consistent with information on the website, the company can gain credibility. (Lindteigen, 2014)

Reference:

Lindteigen, R. (2014, December 19). Google Maps, Yelp & Local SEO In 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2018, from https://searchengineland.com/google-maps-yelp-local-seo-2015-210846

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Advanced Internet Marketing Strategies

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February 2018

What I learned this month is that there is a lot I still don’t know about Internet Marketing. Fortunately, there are still several classes I need to take before completing my MS in July. Although this month was conceptually challenging for me, the feedback I received and the projects that were completed have broadened my understanding of the different ad campaign strategies that are available. The most important lesson this month has been understanding how to calculate the budgets for four different types of campaigns (broad market, targeted market, intention-based paid, email sponsorships). I also learned about different test types for landing page optimization, multivariate & A/B testing. Before this class, I was not aware of the testing methods, and can definitely appreciate how useful they will be when I am able to apply them to my campaigns.

In this reflection, I want to share the project we worked on. Each week we worked on different aspects of an Internet Marketing Action Plan (IMAP) for the company we chose as a case study. My company, as you know by now, is dsp-photo.com. The IMAP is made up of three parts:

Personas & target audience definitions.

The four campaign strategies mentioned above and the ad plans/incentives for each.

Plan to optimize the landing page so that consumers complete the journey through our marketing funnel (segment, captivate, convert, maintain).

This presentation would be what I would submit to a company executive group, creative team, or content specialists. With this post is

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NEW MEDIA MARKETING

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January 2018

There is something very special about new media marketing. As someone who aspires to have a career in marketing, it is quite frustrating to get negative reactions from people who ask about ‘who I want to be when I grow up’. What is forgotten is that marketing is literally in everything we do. Everywhere we go we are exposed to marketing tactics. The difference between new media marketing and more traditional marketing is that now the consumer has the choice to start the conversation with the brand (inbound marketing). Although I have yet to use a Twitter account, I am beginning to see the incredible potential it holds for growing brands. There is no question that social media is an incredible tool for growth and brand-consumer relations.

In NMM, I learned that it takes a team to successfully complete an influencer marketing campaign. Details within the campaign are the keys to success. Providing influencers with the right content, creating trackable links, and deciding the best strategies in order to achieve your brand’s micro and macro goals are just a small part of designing the perfect campaign.

So what are the basic steps to creating a successful influencer campaign?

Understand your target audience (who do you want your influencers to reach?). What are your target audience’s demographics, psychographics, sociographics?

Research the influencers that would work best for your brand. Take your time and get to know them. Follow their pages, see the type of content they post, and look at the type of interactions they have with their followers.

Reach out to them with a proposal. Provide them with a detailed concept of the campaign and a plan for their compensation once they have responded to initial contact.

Get to work! Track, track, track. Stay on top of your metrics and figure out what is and isn’t working throughout the campaign. If changes need to be made, don’t be afraid to make them. The most important thing at the end of this campaign is to see a clear ROI. 

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Web Design and Usability

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When I first read the description of this class, I thought it would be different than what it was. I am happy to say that I am glad this class turned out to be focused on aspects of web design I was not very familiar with. My main takeaways from this course are the importance of paying close attention to every detail in the code of a website and the need to take advantage of usability testing. The images linked to this post are a mockup of a possible look for the dsp-photo website. The video by Steve Krug “Rocket Surgery Made Easy” provides a basic layout for effective usability testing. 

I have learned many important concepts this month. Aside from usability testing, I was also made aware of the difference between SEO and findabiity. Understanding how detrimental strong information scent, that leads to no answer, can be to your website credibility.

Reference

Krug, S. (2010, February 10). Retrieved December 17, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QckIzHC99Xc

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Internet Consumer Behavior and Analysis

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November 2017

Consumer Behavior and Analysis (CBA) is a topic that I thoroughly enjoy. I realized, during my time taking this course, that a lot of what I researched was very easy for me to grasp. When I was putting together my Mastery Journal Timeline, I had three goals for this course. The following is a breakdown of how this course has helped me achieve each goal.

Goals:

G. Achieve a better understanding of what motivates consumers to purchase products and services.

G. Develop internet marketing plans through incorporating consumer behavioral analysis.

G. Be able to identify the specific internet marketing campaigns used by websites I visit as a consumer.

The online marketplace is vast and full of competing competing companies, all vying for the attention of their target audiences. There are certain steps marketers need to take into account when creating digital marketing campaigns. Dave Chaffey (Chaffey), CEO of Smart Insights, has a slideshow online which details the six step process consumers follow when browsing for products online.

Unaware of Need - 2. Aware of Need - 3. Supplier Search

4. Evaluation and Selection - 5. Purchase - 6. Post-Purchase Eval and Selection

Each step requires the marketer to make the create the best strategy that will drive the consumer all the way to step six (post-purchase evaluation and selection). This flowchart explains each step a little more in-depth, and the strategies that could be used to apply it to my Case Study company, DSP.. I highly recommend taking a look at Chaffey’s slideshow. It is full of fantastic information.

Although I did learn a lot about the different campaigns, there is one in particular that intrigued me. Being an online shopper, I have experienced behavioral targeting often. If I am honest, It has become something I rely on. What I have not thought about is using applying it myself because I have seen the unease it brings people. After discussing this strategy with classmates and reading research on both sides of the argument “is it an invasion of privacy”, I have concluded that providing an clear way for the consumer to opt-in/out is the best way to apply this in a campaign.

References:

Chaffey, D. (2011, February 03). Online marketplace analysis - Smart insights - dave chaffey. Retrieved October 29, 2017, from https://www.slideshare.net/DaveChaffey/online-marketplace-analysis-smart-insights-dave-chaffey

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Mastery Journal Timeline: Digital Storytelling and Branding

Digital Storytelling and Branding

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October 2017

This month’s course has been extremely eye-opening. The course was thought-provoking and opened my eyes to the intricacies involved in storytelling within a brand. Because I am a creative, it seems like something that would come easy. My misconception came from the idea that branding is appearance rather than essence. But branding is not about appearance, it is about the soul of a company. And understanding the soul is a lot harder than you can imagine when analyzing a business which is not your own.

When I began my studies, my timeline for this involved doing a little research on key concepts of this course. Brand touchpoint was something I immediately had an interest in learning more about. What I have come to realize, after the research done throughout the course, is that this is a key element in which your brand can show its personality. Starbucks, for example, has great incentives for their customers which are easily accessed through their app. As a brand which can be considered a “lover” archetype, their personality shines when they have deals like “buy one drink and get the second free so you can share with a friend”. They give their customers an experience, like great conversation and coffee. Their social media accounts reflect an interest in social causes and charities. These are just a few ways they connect with their customers at an intimate level.

Another concept which I learned was storytelling for a brand through the eyes of a customer. This is an exercise which should be for any business plan or brand strategy. It really allows you to understand what the message is that you want to send. For my assignment, I created a video which depicted a story about two high schoolers as they were entering their junior and then their senior years. The story ended in a marriage between the two along with a family. I had limited time for the production because the access to the studio was just a few short hours, but with a project like this and with the appropriate amount of time you can create a very valuable asset to understand what the foundation of your company is.

There is so much I have learned and will apply in the future. There is so much more to a business plan than just the concept. A well thought out business should have personality, a story, and a purpose. Without those three, no amount of money in the world will secure longevity for a company. There has to be a heart, otherwise, the business is just a shell.

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Mastery Journal Timeline: Internet Marketing Fundamentals

Mastery Journal Timeline

Internet Marketing Fundamentals

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September 2017

     It is safe to say it has been a strange month. I live in Florida and moved here from Puerto Rico. Hurricane Irma hit both places and Puerto Rico has been completely devastated by Hurricane Maria. It is safe to say that it has been hard to concentrate and push through the month. I look at the timeline and it seems rather funny how you never really know what obstacles the future will hold. Irma was a physical obstacle since we lost power for several days and Maria has been purely mental. Puerto Rico is basically in the dark and not hearing from my grandparents was eating at my brain. I did finally hear that they are okay and although there were no details, my mind has been put at ease for the moment. So here I am.

     When I decided to pursue a Master of Science in Internet Marketing, I had literally on that same day graduated from my Bachelor of Science in Graphic Design. It is safe to say that my knowledge is limited and comes from common sense, some marketing work experience, and articles I read in technology magazines. Internet Marketing Fundamentals has been instrumental in allowing me to better understand what it means to be in this field. The following are three goals I had before entering the course and what came from them:

1.     Understand strategic methods for success.

There is so much to understand in Internet marketing that it is hard to condense it into a month. One thing I wasn’t widely aware of was click fraud.  Once I began doing research, I realized click-fraud could completely destroy a campaign budget. This would completely ruin any chance of profit from the campaign. Implementing web-based or in-house strategies against click fraud can make for a successful campaign and happy customer.  

2.     Understand digital marketing influence.

Digital marketing influence is everywhere. Net Neutrality is important for this to continue to be the case. By losing Net Neutrality, small businesses would be no competition to larger and more established businesses.

3.     Understand successful vs. unsuccessful IM methods.

I will leave you with this info graphic I created for class.

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Deliberation. If I could illustrate how deliberating feels times, this would be exactly what it would appear as. Mario Sánchez Nevado captures the feelings that course inside of all who feel extreme anxiety while deliberating (or existing in general). Although this image might not seem inspiring, it portrays the fire and passion that courses through the bodies of those who spend most of their time thinking, stressing, planning.. What I find the most inspiring about this illustration is the idea that, although things get hard, we as artists can push through the pain and create something beautiful from it.

Sánchez Nevado, M. (n.d.). Deliberation [Painting]. Retrieved August 27, 2017, from https://www.posterarthouse.com/deliberation-by-mario-sanchez-nevado.html

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My Mastery Journey Timeline

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My inspiration for tonight is M2H Agency’s website. M2H is a digital production agency focusing on branding, web & mobile development. I am a huge fan of creative ways of bringing content in a page to life. The hierarchy of their site is extremely attractive and the use of moving images is modern and clean. I love the flat, one page layout which allows potential clients to get up and close to details. Overall, this is an eye catching and easy to navigate page. Absolutely beautiful! 

Enjoy! 

References:

Branding, Web & Mobile. (n.d.). Retrieved August 20, 2017, from        http://m2hagency.com/

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Follow Me on LinkedIn!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/biancamschulte/

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