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Internet Marketing Campaign Development

The time has come! I can’t believe how fast this past year flew by and now I will be receiving my Master’s Degree!

At the beginning of this degree program my Mastery Journey goals were as follows:

Creating a successful marketing campaign  

Learn how to fine tune an audience analysis

Pinpoint target markets to gain a necessary edge in the marketing field

In order to succeed in the above objectives, my initial strategies were as follows:

Utilize Hubspot Training Academy https://academy.hubspot.com/

Utilize Lynda.com and the many marketing campaign videos https://www.lynda.com/search?q=creating+marketing+campaigns

Network within community marketing organizations

Throughout the courses, I have been introduced to so many amazing tools, articles, networks, and guides! It is so valuable to have an abundant amount of resources upon exiting school and entering a career. I have explored Lynda.com and HubSpot on many occasions and look forward to networking in the community as well. I do believe that I successfully created a marketing campaign that both fine tuned an audience analysis and pinpointed target markets among many other attributes of a successful campaign. My key take-aways from this course:

A movement isn't about creating ads and having people passively watch. It’s about creating the tools so people take action.

How to develop and use a strategic plan that utilizes new media, mobile functionality, website interactivity, and functional design.

The different consumer roles and why they matter.

The importance of creating original content that captures and captivates an audience in the process, with innovative marketing techniques.

How to implement marketing strategies

How to pitch a great campaign

As I’ve said before, the tried-and-true foundations of advertising remain the same, but the digital sphere offers us more opportunities than ever before to get content in front of our target audiences. Exploring these innovative components will help me discover avenues that are best fit for my current and future brands. It is safe to say that I am well equipped and ready to execute future marketing campaigns that ignite the brand and customer experience. The instruction at Full Sail has been amazing and I am thankful for the encouraged creativity and real world experience. It’s been one for the books.

Thank you!

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Internet & The Law

At the beginning of my grad studies, my Mastery Journey Goals for Internet & The Law were as follows:

1. Learn pertinent Internet Law

2. Learn the research methods to make sure I am abiding by the law

3. Have successful marketing campaigns that correspond with the law

In order to do the above, the following were my initial strategies:

Read "The Age of the Human Billboard: Endorsement Disclosures in New Millennia Media Marketing" from the Full Sail Library Database.

Watch the Lynda.com video: Introduction to Copyright Law https://www.lynda.com/Business-Skills-tutorials/Introduction-copyright-law/365065/423255-4.html

Utilize Google search to research law trends and copyrights

It’s been quite a learning experience this month as I had no experience whatsoever in law, let alone Internet law. I have not gotten a chance to check out the Lynda.com video but have saved it for future reference as the many articles shared by the professor and the book alone was plenty for an introduction to Copyright law.

I’d say that the most impact in this course came from jurisdiction, copyright, and spam. Discussing copyright via podcast was a lot of fun and very informative. I had assumed that most music was off limits to use and had no idea you could contact high end artists to try to obtain permissions. I am relieved that a website like Creative Commons exists! Previous to this class, I was not aware that you could use a Creative Commons protected work (copyrightuser.org, n.d., para 2) or that the best work to use needed to be protected by an attribution license CC BY, which lets others do whatever they want with the work as long as you credit the artist for the original creation (Creativecommons.org/licenses, para 8).

Looking at spam as a tool was not something I had ever done before as well. It was also surprising to discover the fines for spam are now over $40k per email if not abided by the CAN-SPAM Act. I definitely appreciate learning how to develop a marketing strategy to be legal, ethical, and profitable!

Utilizing the basic Internet law taught in this class and utlizing outside sources to stay updated, it is certain that I will be successful in creating marketing campaigns that correspond with the law.

Thank you for a great class and entertaining live sessions recordings with Rose!

Reference:

Creative Commons. (n.d.). About the licenses. Retrieved from https://creativecommons.org/licenses/

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Web Analytics & Optimization

At the beginning of my grad studies, my Mastery Journey Goals for Web Analytics & Optimization were as follows:

Understand how to use web metrics and analyze its data to plan future marketing growth.

Learn to craft reports

Use the information to make actionable results with my own company.

In order to do the above, the following were my initial strategies:

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­Follow the Google Analytics Blog http://analytics.blogspot.com/

­Utilize Hubspot Training to gain more insight https://academy.hubspot.com/

­Take the Lynda.com course: Google Analytics Essential Training https://www.lynda.com/Google-Analytics-tutorials/Google-Analytics-Essential-Training/574707-2.html

I am looking forward to gaining more insights from the Hubspot training but haven’t gotten a chance to dive in this month. However, I did do all the Google Analytics training and although it is still a new platform to me, with a lot of capabilities that I’m still learning, I did pass the test with a high score!  

My biggest takeaway from this course was most definitely more precisely setting goals and seeing what that looks like from a database standpoint. The optimization plan was a fantastic layout and example to continue using going forward to plan SMART goals and KPI’s. It was so beneficial to actually write out action items, challenges, and solutions. By using SMART Goals and KPIs to create action items, any business can create an optimal website and in return, exponentially increase revenue.

In addition, it was eye opening to see all the different KPI options and which were best to utilize per goal. There were many that I didn’t even realize should be tracked and analyzed. I especially enjoyed learning about path performance to conversion and the controversies of social media analytics.

Thank you for another great class!

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Strategic Internet Public Relations

At the beginning of my grad studies, my Mastery Journey Goals for Public Relations were as follows:

Gain insights on handling online communities.

Learning positive public communication techniques.

Prepare for a successful Mastery Journey in the online arena.

I can say that these goals were successfully reached!

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In PR, it is important to influence not only your customer, but your employees as well.  It is about creating a favorable environment for the organization’s survival. It is a support role that focuses on communication in order to build trust more than exposure, with third - party validation from the media. One of my biggest takeaways of how to influence both was the distribution strategy for a press release and internal surveys. My background and undergraduate degree is in Technical Communications so writing and research are embedded in me but building relationships and reputation is a skill I am fine-tuning.

With these new skills, I can build upon this class with some strategic initiatives as follows:

Release 2-3 press releases a year to announce company news (notable new hires, competition placements, charity events, weightless challenges, new program offerings, etc)

Have weekly calls and monthly newsletters for internal PR efforts and employee engagement. It is important to also have monthly or bi-monthly outings with the team to establish a community atmosphere.

Make connections with at least two social media influencers, charity organizers, and local news journalists to help promote the brand.

Increase customer perception of Arc by monitoring engagement and gain positive company reviews and testimonials that reinforce the brand’s image.

Using the skills, knowledge and the technology tools gained in this class, I can do the following to achieve the above objectives:

Using a distribution strategy, work with the team to research content keywords via Google Adwords or various keyword tools that relate to each event. Doing research and having a list of industry influencers, local journalists, and charities is crucial as well. Once all research is done and content is created, start reaching out to the list of influencers, etc via their contact information and make sure each communication attempt is catered towards that individual’s interests.

Use Zoom and MailChimp for Internal PR Efforts as well as iPhone Text Groups and Facebook event invites.

To make connections, it is important to become active on all their social channels and attend all their events, network, etc. Also, Search local events on Google or use Facebook’s event search tool. You can also search events on events.com or on the local Chamber of Commerce websites. The possibilities are limitless for finding events to attend and network, choose which events are most beneficial to your cause. Doing this will put your company at the front and show you actively take part in your community.

Hootesuite, Feedly, and Google Alerts can help Arc monitor their brand awareness. With these tools, Arc can monitor social media channels for mentions of the brand, competitors, product, and any other ideas or themes that are relevant to the business. They can then analyze that information for actionable insights. Having someone around to put out any fires by monitoring with these tools daily is also key to positive PR.

Some other tactics that would be useful:

Brainstorm and make a list of EVERY SINGLE influential spokesperson, affiliate, investor, etc in the local area

Email or Press Release to all area bloggers/news sources/influencers

Become active in key influencer’s posts

Reach out to current investors, clients, employees, businesses connected to clients/employees and make connections.

Reach out to current relationships to thank them, reward them, and ask for participation in upcoming initiatives

Have a team in place to counteract any negative publicity

Share education that boosts the brand’s reputation

All tools I believe will help:

Hootesuite

RSS Readers

Hubspot (CRM)

Klout/Facebook Grader

All Social Media

Special Events

Things to Measure:

As I explained in a class discussion, Breakenridge states that “you often need to compare the metrics you find in social media and analyze them against other data (web analytics, sales, number of customer service complaints, number of service calls, and so on)…For example, if spikes are in the daily volume of conversations or your Share of Voice (SOV), which is the amount of mentions in various platforms, you would also look to see if spikes are in traffic to a specific area of the website (2012).He suggests a 6-step process and my key takeaways for measurement were:

Review Sentiment metrics on a weekly basis

Compare SOV metrics with Competitors and see which communities engaged with your campaign message the most

Monitor Klout and Facebook Grader along and tie back to program activity.

All of these tools, discoveries, and tactics will greatly impact my IMP and I thank the professor for such an insightful class!

Reference:

Breakenridge, D. (2012). Social media and public relations: eight new practices for the PR professional. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

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Advanced Search Engine Optimization

At the beginning of this Advanced SEO course, my Mastery Journey Goals were as follows:

Gain insights in advanced SEO.

Learn strategic approaches and tactics for search engine marketing.

Gain real-world experience by putting SEO tactics to use.

The Strategies I originally suggested were the following:

Take the Lynda.com course: Advanced SEO: Developing an SEO friendly website https://www.lynda.com/Marketing-tutorials/Advanced-SEO-Developing-SEO-Friendly-Website/572155-2.html

Follow the blog: SEO Book from the Internet Marketing resource guide http://www.seobook.com/blog

Use SEO tactics on my own client's websites with Noga Digital

I am still working on getting to the Lynda.com courses but I have started following the SEO blog and am thoroughly soaking up everything I can! The chapters, articles, videos, and discussions in this class were so valuable! My key takeaways were how to:

Optimize Local Search w/ Citations

Link Build from Quality Sources

Pitch Campaign Costs/ROI

Use SpyFu.com and Moz.com to Watch Competitors and Personal Rankings

Utilize Keyword Research Tools

I cannot stress how valuable the resources in this class were! The Adwords and SEO Factors videos were phenomenal and will be great resources going forward. I will look into how to access them to save as well. It is impressive how you can learn so much by being more hands on and diving into tools and research platforms. I feel so much more comfortable and confident in my keyword research and SEO tactics after taking this course. Thank you for the amazing instruction Jake!

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Advanced Internet Marketing Strategies

At the beginning of this Advanced Internet Marketing Strategies course, my initial goals were as follows:

Learn to effectively navigate through the various forms of Internet marketing.

Gain insights on affiliate, email, social media, search engine, and global marketing.

Put these practices into use with my clients at Noga Digital and Arc Fitness Community.

The strategies I initially suggested were as follows:

Take the Lynda.com course: Social Media Promotion: https://www.lynda.com/Audio-Music-tutorials/Social-Media-Promotion-Musicians-Artists-Engineers/573605-2.html?autocompleteMovieId=602344

Download the Ebook: Copyblogger – Become a Smarter Online Marketer e-book series http://my.copyblogger.com/free-membership/

Practice on my own client's websites with Noga Digital and Arc Fitness Community

Although I have not gotten a chance to review the above courses or blogs, I believe this has by far been the most engaging class thus far. I have learned so much and really appreciate Timi’s thorough grading and instruction on how to do things properly. I had no previous knowledge on media kits and rate cards or how they worked, so that is one key takeaway. I also had never used SimilarWeb.com so I’m excited to continue using this tool! The following are some touch points on what I found most valuable from the course:

Metrics Overview

ROI/Budgets

Targeted vs Broad vs Intention Based

Email Sponsorships

I always focused on SEO and online ads via social media and never really thought about display ads for print, email, or other websites, as I assumed they were a dying breed. They most definitely are not! I am effectively using these new ideas and tools to help Arc Fitness Community further their marketing goals as well. We have installed Google Analytics on their website and have discussed media kits with local fitness magazines and monthly newsletters. Very excited to put this class to use!

References:

Lynda.com. (2017). Social media promotion for musicians, artists, and engineers. Retrieved from the Lynda.com website https://www.lynda.com/Audio-Music-tutorials/Social-Media-Promotion-Musicians-Artists-Engineers/573605-2.html?autocompleteMovieId=602344

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New Media Marketing

At the beginning of this New Media Marketing course, my initial goals were as follows:

Learn to navigate new and exciting marketing techniques.

Learn techniques to adapt to new technologies.

Connect with my audience via the various online platforms.

The strategies I initially suggested were as follows:

Interview Kevin Seminski at Salesforce to see how he gages new media technologies.

Utilize Blogs like Hubspot and Seth Godin to research new trends.

Take the Lynda.com course: Marketing Foundations: Integrated Marketing Strategies https://www.lynda.com/Marketing-tutorials/Marketing-Foundations-Integrated-Marketing-Strategies/594447-2.html

I reached out to Kevin Seminski at the beginning of the course, but unfortunately, I have yet to receive a response. The many articles and chapters provided in this course via Hubspot, Social Media Examiner, Mark Collier, and A Beginner's Guide to Mobile Marketing have been amazing resources! I will take the Lynda.com course when I have more time outside of work and school, as it looks to be a very helpful tool for the future. 

The main reason I chose to pursue my graduate degree was because I didn’t know much about analytics and ROI. I needed and wanted to learn concepts and strategies to actually see plans in action and learn how to track metrics and progress. This class has been the most relevant to my needs as a marketer thus far! The most important thing I took note of was that “You need to track the time spent, cost of ads, etc., as well as the activities and campaigns you launch as part of your social media marketing. There are a variety of tools you can use to do this (Eckerling, 2014).”

I really appreciated the tools highlighted throughout each article or live webinar that marketers can use to track all types of metrics during a campaign or in every day action. Many of these tools and platforms I had no previous knowledge of and this opens up an entire world of possibilities for me!

Thank you for a great class!

References:

Eckerling, D. (2014). How to measure social media ROI. Social Media Examiner. Retrieved from https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/measure-social-media-roi/

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Web Design & Usability

Upon starting my Web Design and Usability course, my Mastery Journey Goals were as follows:

1. Understand online interface strategies and principles to use to improve a user’s online experience and drive sales. 2. Learn to analyze web standards and usability that will be key in achieving advertising objectives. 3. Strengthen my web building skills.

In order to reach these goals, the following were the strategies I had set in place:  1. Complete Lynda.com course: Creating a Responsive Web Design - https://www.lynda.com/CSS-tutorials/Creating-Responsive-Web-Design/424046-2.html 2. Research best practices for improving a user's online experience 3. Use sites like Wix.com or programs like Dreamweaver to practice and learn web building.

I have not completed the full Lynda.com course but I have gained tremendous knowledge from the various articles provided in class. My Safari Books platform is not working correctly so I will have to go back and read the assigned chapters again once it is fixed. This class has helped me to understand findability (which I have never heard of) and how it relates to every component of web design and usability. 

I enjoyed getting some real time experience via usability testing and analyzing user tasks for my company’s website. The knowledge gained will make it much easier to implement in every project from content to SEO to navigation and beyond. 

Thank you for a great overview of web design and usability!

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Internet Consumer Behavior & Analysis

Coming into Internet Consumer Behavior and Analysis, my Mastery Journey Goals were as follows:

• Learn how to motivate an audience • Learn how to analyze other marketing campaigns • Gain insight on future marketing plans

In order to meet these goals, my strategies were to do the following:

• Use the Full Sail Library to further research trends. Read Consumer Information Search Behavior and the Internet, found in the Business Source Complete Database. • Use data from my own company, Noga Digital, to apply real world experience. • Find and follow marketing blogs catering to consumer analysis

Over the last month, I did not get a chance to read the above article but I did learn a lot from the many articles provided each week. It has been interesting to learn the different methods available to generate consumer marketing and analysis. I have quite a bit of experience in survey creation and email campaigns so this aspect was a nice review and practice. I did not have any previous experience with UVP creation or advanced techniques for consumer generated content so this was a very valuable segment of the class.

I think the most valuable lesson was learning the six stages in the consumer decision-making/buying process as: Unaware of Need > Aware of Need > Supplier Search > Evaluate and Select > Purchase > Post-Purchase Evaluation and Feedback. I can use this process in order to evaluate current and future marketing plans.

Thank you for a great class!

References: Peterson, Robert A. and Maria C. Merino. (2013). "Consumer Information Search Behavior and the Internet." Psychology & Marketing, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 99-121. Retrieved from EBSCOhost, doi:10.1002/mar.10062.

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Digital Storytelling & Branding

Coming into Digital Storytelling and Branding, my Mastery Journey Goals were as follows:

1. Understanding the importance of keeping a consistent voice and branding persona. 2. Learn to connect with customers with meaningful branding that they can relate to. 3. Develop my own brand identity

In order to meet these goals, my strategies were to do the following:

• Read Putting Sense of Place at the Centre of Place Brand Development found in the Full Sail Library

• Read Internal Marketing and Internal Branding in the 21st Century Organization from the Full Sail Library

• Take the Lynda.com course: Branding Foundations https://www.lynda.com/Enterprise-Marketing-tutorials/Branding-Fundamentals/171053-2.html

Over the last 30 days, I didn’t get a chance to read the above articles that I initially set out as goals but I have had the benefit of reading the many articles provided in the class. These articles gave in depth insights on branding strategy, creating mission statements, brand archetypes, target markets, and creating brand stories. I have gotten more familiar with Keynote and iMovie and thoroughly enjoyed creating projects with these programs. I have bookmarked so many pages and articles for future reads as well.

I did not know about resources like Creative Commons, KayePutname.com, or the proper way to cite images, video, and audio before this class. This skill will be extremely valuable to my future classes and mastery journey goals.

I think the most valuable lesson was learning to center a branding strategy around the customer needs rather than what the brand offers, and how to pinpoint differentiators outside of price, quality, and customer service aspects.

Overall, I am very pleased with what this class has taught me and excited to continue expanding my personal brand as I expand my company’s brand!

Resources:

François Lecompte, Agnès, et al. (2017). "Putting Sense of Place at the Centre of Place Brand Development." Journal of Marketing Management, vol. 33, no. 5/6, pp. 400-420. Retrieved from EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/0267257X.2017.1307872.

Kaplan, R. S. W. (2017). "Internal Marketing and Internal Branding in the 21St Century Organization." IUP Journal of Brand Management, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 7-22. Retrieved from EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=123727549&site=ehost-live.

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Internet Marketing Fundamentals

Coming into Internet Marketing Fundamentals, my Mastery Journey Goals were as follows:

1. Learn the fundamental knowledge of creating campaigns that are successful.

2. Learn key techniques and platforms to be able to mix my technical writing skills with promoting, advertising, and selling to a product market.

3. Gain an overall understanding of SEO and other marketing best practices.

In order to meet these goals, my strategies were to do the following:

Check out SEOmoz: The Beginner’s Guide to SEO listed on the IM Resource Guide

Use Lynda.com to advance my knowledge in key platforms

Read FUNDAMENTAL AND APPLIED RESEARCH IN MARKETING found in the Full Sail Library Business Source Complete Database

Over the course of the last month, I have gained a great deal of fundamental understanding of how internet marketing works and what tools are crucial to every marketing mix. Although I have a long way to go, this class gave me the tools needed to learn and grow. Lynda.com is an amazing resource with so much information! The many articles and published studies that we have access to has given me a broad perspective and serves as a great guideline for all my future courses.

Exploring tools like Hootsuite, Google Adwords, SEMrush, Yarvy, and MarketingGrader has given me valuable information that I will carry with me forever. Thank you for instructing such a resourceful class!

Resource:

Anshen, Melvin. (n.d.) "Fundamental and Applied Research in Marketing." Journal of Marketing, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 233-243.  Retrieved from the EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=6740025&site=ehost-live.

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My Mastery Journey Timeline

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This article is great! In the recent video, Greene (2013), talks about Negative Capability, which is the fear and anxiety that play a role in the difference between masters and those who cannot master. When we are frightened our minds narrow their focus, and the same happens in the intellectual realm. When we start a new project, we are unconsciously plagued by insecurities and anxieties as unfamiliar situations make us uneasy. We try to quickly find an answer to soothe our anxiety (Talks at Google, 2013). In this article, Breuning (2016) touches on this, explaining that although “it’s natural to have a survival-threat feeling when your efforts fail to bring immediate visible rewards, you can remind yourself that your survival is not actually threatened. Most human achievement came from efforts that did not bring immediate visible rewards” (Breuning, 2016). I am learning how to stimulate my own positive outlook even when my anxiety gets the best of me in unfamiliar situations. Since moving from Indiana to Florida and starting grad school, I have noticed a tremendous flareup of insecurities that are not normally present, causing a great deal of anxiety. Learning this trait and control of the conscious mind with undoubtedly strengthen my mastery journey. 

References:

Breuning, L. (2016). How to train your brain to go positive instead of negative. ForbesWoman, 1-2. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/womensmedia/2016/12/21/how-to-train-your-brain-to-go-positive-instead-of-negative/2/#37a005835e55

Talks at Google. (2013). Robert Greene: "Mastery" | Talks at Google [Video file]. Retrieved September 23, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4v_34RRCeE

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The past two weeks have been, let’s be honest, just awful. Hurricane Irma has impacted so many lives and has caused massive chaos in my neck of the woods. You do not realize how truly blessed you are until you are boiling water before you can drink it, aren't allowed outside after 9pm, have no power for weeks, and no wifi or signal to call out. We also have no produce or meat at the grocery store, limited access to gas, the National Guard is handing out water, and we have sewage backing up into our homes so our water supply has been cut off. It makes you stop and realize that many people live this reality every day. I'm full of anxiety and on the verge of a breakdown after almost two weeks and everyone would understand if I just gave up and flew back home to Indiana. 

It is during this time that true strength comes through for all of us and Greene (2012) emphasizes the need to control these overwhelming emotions in Mastery. “Throughout your life you will encounter tedious situations, and you must cultivate the ability to handle them with discipline" (p. 60). Although I am being tested, I will overcome these emotions and carry on.

Greene, R. (2012). Mastery. New York, NY: Viking Penguin.

Quote originally posted by wolfielupusbloodpaw 

“Anyone can give up. It’s the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that’s true strength.”

-Unknown

I found this quote somewhere and the source was not given but this quote really resonated with me especially with results day not going how I had hoped for it to and it weighing very heavily on me.

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My Personal Logo :)

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My LinkedIn Profile :) https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberlycurry88/ 

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My Feedly Account :)