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Internet Marketing Campaign Development

Completing my Masters in Internet Marketing at Full Sail University was a great decision to help me improve and move my career forward in the internet marketing department especially in the search engine optimization group. I enjoyed learning in-depth information on web analytics and optimization, paid search, social media and brand engagement. These are key factors in running a successful marketing strategy for any size company or business. Internet marketing can be expensive but knowing the advanced targeting options will make it easier for me to only advertise to the individuals who would be interested in my client’s products and services. I will waste less money on marketing to individuals who are unlikely to ever respond to my client’s promotions, email campaigns or CTAs. The advanced search engine optimization class a more in-depth understanding of content marketing, copywriting, SEO, and keyword research. I also enjoyed the web design and usability course that has helped improve my client’s websites. By creating an overall better user experience for my client’s visitors through a well-made website will help promote their products, as well as, greater user engagement, meaning my client’s website will be more successful in driving traffic and generating leads. I know understand digital marketing and consumer behavior. The digital storytelling and branding class taught me that we are now in the age of digital brand engagement, where brands need to participate in, and inspire, a two-way conversation with their purchasers. This could be through email campaigns, social media platforms, customer service or a simple chat box on their website.

-Kristina McCarthy

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Web Analytics & Optimization

Web Analytics can be an extremely powerful tool for measuring and maximizing the value of any business. In this recent class I have learned how to approach different web analytics situations and take data analysis to a whole new level from case studies and examples. This class has taught me how to write proper business reports explaining to potential clients the story behind their data. And by using their data we can create a better website which will increase traffic, leads and sales. I have also learned that a website that is properly set up by being user friendly and that provides just enough info for customers to be interested can go a long way. Having eye catching photos, CTAS and unique content will create more leads and traffic. I can now use knowledge from this class to improve the ROI on my future client websites because I now know what to look for within the data and the website.

Best, Kristina McCarthy

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Internet & Law

As we all know, the Internet is developing faster than the laws that currently govern it. The legal world faces a multitude of questions linked to the Internet and many legal individuals do not know the answers or how to handle a certain online legal situation. The current laws that apply to the Internet have been established either by legislation or the courts. The past four weeks I have learned about the development of copyright laws, privacy issues, proper internet jurisdiction for blogging, cyber-crime, and how to handle email spam. This class had a focus on persuasion which will help me communicate with future clients. The copyright law regarding music/video downloading and peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing will continue to be an issue in the music industry. The law does need to change but in what direction and who will it end up benefitting? Adults and kids are stalked and bullied online just about every day (Downey, 2017). Not enough criminals are paying time for what they have done. The Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act needs to change and this cyber bullying is not just in the United States but a worldwide problem. Email spam is an effective marketing strategy if done correctly with the right links and credentials allowing the user to opt out of the email.

Greg Downey. Internet and the Law. Syllabus. 2017 

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Web Analytics and Optimization

This class has taught me real-world experience in the field of web analytics as it relates to my current position as a SEO Content Strategist for a marketing agency. I now understand the in-depth analysis of Google Analytics has well as Google AdWords. I will hopefully now bring in more revenue from my clients’ websites, increase web traffic and their overall marketing campaigns. I now understand how to properly construct an effective and thorough business report while pairing the client’s business needs with the proper web measurements and long term business goals. Optimization is part of my current role and I am happy to now understand it better. 

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Strategic Internet PR

This class has taught me that Public Relations is evolving into a digital marketing practice and is much more then helping companies push a product or service but is rather supporting character to construct brand authenticity in the media realm for the trickle-down tactic to attracting more consumers. I now have a huge interest in Digital PR. This class has taught me how to construct a proper, eye catching press release.  A press release is part of content marketing and should be optimized appropriately. I currently optimize content for 15+ automotive clients and this course has been extremely helpful. I now understand how to properly spin a negative review and correctly partner with a trusted brand to build my client’s credibility. There are certain rules and guidelines that all publicist should follow accurately. Public relations is also very helpful within a company by building brand ambassadors within. To do this a public relations specialist must understand how write a proper message and distribute it in a unique and understanding way to the target audience. In today’s day in age, bad reviews are bound to pop up online and companies must know how to properly respond to negative comments. A digital PR campaign can simply flood the search engine outcomes with optimistic content and conceal negative content, if done appropriately. I am excited to take the PR practices I have learned from this class and intertwine them into my content strategies for upcoming clients.

ESI. (2017, February 24). 3 Traditional PR Tactics Translated for a Digital PR Strategy. Retrieved July 30, 2017, from http://www.eversparkinteractive.com/3-traditional-pr-tactics-translated-digital-pr-strategy/

Newton, E. (2017, June 07). SEO for PR and press releases. Retrieved July 28, 2017, from https://www.brightedge.com/blog/best-practices-seo-pr-together/ 

Best, Kristina McCarthy

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Advanced SEO

This Advanced SEO has taught me many different SEO techniques, which could help me in the future increase the rank of a targeted website on Google and other search engines. This Advanced SEO class has also improved my overall internet marketing skills. The professor provided me with a deeper understanding of SEO techniques and what skills would work better for different types of companies. By having current SEO skills now I can simply develop a client’s website visibility on search engine results. I now understand that if a website does not have a high search ranking for related keywords its online existence will be too low to cause sufficient customer awareness. 

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Advanced Internet Marketing Strategies

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New Media Marketing

This class has taught me the power of brand advocacy by cultivating a greater relationship with BarkBox’s most loyal dog consumers, turning them into brand influencers who will help BarkBox grow their brand and achieve future marketing goals. I now understand the differences between BarkBox’s consumers, influencers and fans. I now know how to address negative comments on all social media channels. I can change those negative comments into a marketing strategy. By quickly responding to consumer’s comments and questions, BarkBox will earn their consumers trust. The consumers will then share the BarkBox brand. At the end of the day, the success of BarkBox depends not on what one of their consumers say – but rather on what BarkBox does, how BarkBox decides to respond and what kind of approach they take when addressing their consumer’s concerns and issues. Marketing success looks different for each company and brand. As content is digitized, it becomes reachable from a numerous of devices, including radio, television, personal computer and, perhaps most importantly, the mobile phone, which is now the dominant platform for delivering marketing content of all brands and styles. Depending on who your consumers, influencers and fans are you have to tailor your marketing strategy and make it unique for your brand. I now understand the advantages and disadvantages of new media marketing.

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Web Design & Usability

This class has taught me that usability matters on all websites. If an online user cannot achieve their goals proficiently, successfully and in a suitable matter, they are likely to pursue a different solution to reach their user goals. Usability is the result of a user-centered design practice. That is a practice which surveys how and why an online user will accept a product. I enjoyed reading and learning from Steve Krug’s book Don’t Make Me Think. This book explained to me briefly and concisely everything that I need to know about getting started with web usability. Krug taught me that a web page should be self-evident. The back button is the most-used feature on a website. The website should also provide a Home Button. Always provide a search box for search-dominant users. This class has also taught me that SEO is a key part of web design as it impacts the code used behind any web scene as well as the content users see on the web page. The Google SEO Starter Guide explained that creating unique, accurate page titles. The page title’s contents are displayed in the search results. The unique title tag tells both users and all search engines what the topic of your page is.

Google. SEO Starter Guide. Page 4. Retrieved from https://static.googleusercontent.com/media/www.google.com/en//webmasters/docs/search-engine-optimization-starter-guide.pdf

Horrocks, R. (2009, July 7). 10 Usability Lessons from Steve Krug's Don't Make Me Think | UX Booth. Retrieved March 29, 2017, from http://www.uxbooth.com/articles/10-usability-lessons-from-steve-krugs-dont-make-me-think/

Interaction Design Foundation. (2016, August). An Introduction to Usability. Retrieved March 29, 2017, from https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/an-introduction-to-usability

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Digital Storytelling & Branding Online

In this class I discovered how to write a personal brand statement for myself. This helped me to reinvent my personal brand online. To complete this task, I learned about the 7 Key Elements of a Great Personal Branding Statement by Arnie Fertig. This class has taught me how to create a company brand story that consumers can connect with and that would help them make an easy purchase choice. Target and Walmart differentiates themselves by how their consumers are influenced to make purchases through their different strategic branding plans. Knowing your company’s archetype is key in building a marketing strategy and understanding which consumers to target. I had to dig a little deeper to understand why my brand company BarkBox matters to my customers. I had to think and view the BarkBox product as a customer to understand and answer the “why does it matter question” from The Brand Gap. This class has taught me more of the latest innovative digital marketing strategies. The way to influence the buyer into buying your product is to get their attention with a touching story. Understanding the value of these different brand’s channels and techniques will set me apart from other marketing professionals in my area and guide me towards being digital marketing expert. I am hoping to use my analytical and storytelling skills from this class to help grow and develop new opportunities for start-up brands and brands that are a little behind in the digital realm. This class most importantly has taught me how to communicate a brand through a compelling story and how to engage with a certain target audience.

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Internet Consumer Behavior and Analysis - Online

For any company, acquiring new customers and retaining loyal customers is always an importance. The online consumer must have a problem, want, or desire for a service or product to follow through with a purchase. I have learned in this class that any company can improve their internet marketing tactics to help their productive online consumer’s decision-making (Irfan). Without knowing your target market, a company can't accurately expect their industry to survive against their competitors. I have learned about consumers’ segmentation marketing, which can define consumers by age, demographic and economic and social factors (Suttle). I enjoyed conducting research and linking my company’s (BarkBox) UVP to the analysis of their target audience and primary consumer segments that involve their target market. Target audience data is important to any digital marketing strategy; it helps to determine which consumers they want to target ads and promotional campaigns at.  Understanding how to identify target audiences of consumers, a company has a better chance of convincing investors to support their product or service (Richards). I also enjoyed understanding behavioral targeting as a marketing technique. A technique that is used by advertisers and marketers to develop a web user’s prior web browsing behavior to customize the kinds of ads they are shown. Companies also need to consider consumer generated marketing campaigns. Consumers don’t use companies’ advertisements to support their decisions whether to buy their products or services as much as they used to. Individuals base their decision to buy a product or service on what other buyers say (Rohit). 

Bark & Co. BarkBox. Retrieved on January 29, 2017 from https://barkbox.com/

Irfan Ghafoor. Consumer Behavior - Influence of internet marketing on Consumer behavior in online shopping. Retrieved on January 29, 2016 from https://www.scribd.com/doc/116026823/Influence-of-internet-marketing-on-consumer-behavior#scribd

Leigh Richards. What Are the Basis of Segmenting Consumer Markets? Retrieved on January 29, 2017 from  http://smallbusiness.chron.com/basis-segmenting-consumer-markets-1417.html

Rick Suttle. What Is Demographics in Marketing? Retrieved on January 29, 2017 from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/demographics-marketing-22008.html

Rohit Bhargava. July 14, 2010. 5 Types of Consumer Generated Marketing CGM. Retrieved on January 29, 2017 from http://www.rohitbhargava.com/2010/07/5-types-of-consumer-generated-marketing-cgm-campaigns-.html

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Brand You

As a Marketing Manager, Kristina McCarthy is a passionate and results-driven digital marketer. She is known as a digital strategist with agency experience and specialization in social media, content creation, community management and social analytics. She collaborates with cross-functional disciplines to identify and present new ways to integrate social media into client business strategies and marketing campaigns. Kristina firmly believes in the strength of teams and is at her best when empowering those around her. She builds strong relationships in the workplace that translate into quality output for her company’s clients.

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Mastery Reflection - Brand Story

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Mastery Reflection Assignment

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At this point in my career and schooling, it has come apparent that personal branding is important. It provides a clear focus for personal growth while establishing myself as a leader. 

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https://prezi.com/rtjj2aosz4h7/internet-marketing-mastery-journey-kamccarthy/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy 

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I have learned over the years that patience is vital to success and that I should put a lot of energy into mastering this skill.