Monday, August 26, 2013

Three Things You May Not Know About Social Media Marketing at Aurora University

Social Media Marketing Can Be Taught


First, you may not know that we teach Social Media Marketing at Aurora University.  The Social Media Marketing course I am teaching is new this semester.   I recently accepted a position as Full Professor of Marketing at AU and will be teaching in the Marketing Department.  Next Fall we are launching a new Digital Marketing Undergraduate Minor.  However, you can take Social Media Marketing as part of the current Undergraduate program in Interactive Marketing, earning either a minor or a concentration. 

I have been teaching Internet Marketing for almost fifteen years and many former students are working in social media. This area of marketing has strong employment potential, something I am always aware of when deciding what material to cover in class.  You can read more about my background and teaching philosophy and find how where to find me on social media here.


Social Media Marketing


Social Media Marketing Has Many Sides


Everyone reading this post may be familiar with and able to post to one of the major Social Media Platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter.  We are going to learn how to create a personal social media plan, including a LinkedIn profile that will get you noticed in searches.  In the course of this plan we will learn the major social media platforms and how to use them to get noticed by potential employers and others in the field.  Along the way we will learn about Google Authorship, effective blogging techniques and how to write for social media.

We will also learn the structure and discipline of a corporate social media plan and how it fits into a digital marketing strategy.  In every marketing discipline we need to learn how to plan, implement and measure our programs.  Social Media Marketing is no different.  As I have previously stated in this blog and on slideshare, I view social media as integral to content marketing.  In fact content marketing 'makes sense' of the seemingly disparate forms of social media depicted by the above graphic.

Your work products from this class will be both the Personal Social Media Plan as well as a corporate plan.  In addition, you will know how to build a presence on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+ and YouTube.  The course has lots of lab time and is interactive and collaborative.  You won't be bored---I hope!

You Can Still Enroll


If what you read is interesting to you, there are still spots left in Social Media Marketing.  
BUS 4610 01 Social Media Marketing meets Tuesday & Thursday  1:15 pm to 2:30 pm, DH 102. I hope to see you there.  For those who can't fit the course into their schedule and for my corporate friends  follow the progress of the course in this blog.

By Debra Zahay-Blatz.
You can find Debra on  and Twitter as well as LinkedIn.

Monday, August 5, 2013

Interactive Marketing Graduate Tells All: Search Guru Mike Glassberg

Comments from Recent Grad Mike Glassberg:

"Who am I?
Hey everyone! My name is Mike Glassberg, I’m a proud graduate of NIU’s (outstanding!) Interactive Marketing program put together by Dr. Zahay-Blatz. I recently started an internship at Modern Marketing Partners where I provide SEO and social media services to clients.


Mike Glassberg, Debra Zahay-Blatz, SEO, social media
Practicing What They Preach: Glassberg and Zahay-Blatz
 at networking event at Modern Marketing Partners
 in Naperville earlier this Summer.


How did the Interactive Program help me in my current job?

Wow – not until I talked to my colleagues at MMP (who have all graduated within the last few years) did I realize how superior our program was. To start, most other schools still don’t offer specialized education in “interactive” or 2-way marketing.

Our class did a paid search campaign using Google Adwords with real companies, a search and social campaign, and since day on on the job, I’ve been able to speak the lingo: Alt tags, Bounce rate, stickiness, etc. One of the things that really helped in my current job is learning the Wordpress and Google+ ecosystem. As an SEO consultant, it is my job to be able to optimize a website for tags, and the hands-on experience I had as a student was invaluable going into my current position.

What about some advice for current students?

Don’t limit yourself to the jobs at career fairs. I saw so many students get down on themselves because they didn’t get an internship or job offer at the bi-annual NIU career fairs. The opportunities for employment outside of NIU are virtually limitless.

The only reason I received my job is because I went to a networking event with Dr. Zahay-Blatz. My boss wasn’t actively looking for an employee, but after a brief conversation, he (presumably) saw something he liked and went with his gut feeling.

What are three ways to find an awesome job outside of NIU’s career fairs?

1.) Networking – Dr. Zahay-Blatz has a number of events per semester that she invites students to. Step out of your comfort zone and go to one. You’ll meet industry professionals, learn an incredibly amount, and start building your network.
2.) LinkedIn – The 2nd best way to find a job is through LinkedIn, but only if you’ve done step 1 first. The more meaningful connections you have, the more likely you are to find someone, who knows someone, who can land you an interview.
3.) Huskies Get HiredThis was consistently one of the most underutilized resources when I was a student. There’s a job board online with employers actively looking for students that go to NIU. Take advantage of that while you can.
Thank you for reading; I hope this post provided you with some insight. If you have any questions for me, feel free to reach out anytime, I’m pretty quick at responding through any medium." 

You can follow +Mike Glassberg on G+ or Twitter at @mglassberg2.  I wasn't surprised he has done so well right after graduation as he was active in networking, LinkedIn and Huskies Get Hired.  Most jobs are not advertised so networking is key.

By Debra Zahay-Blatz.
You can find Debra on  and Twitter as well as LinkedIn.