tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80659267162342518992024-03-19T00:02:21.460-05:00New Interactive Marketing UpdatesBy Dr. Debra Zahay-Blatz, Professor of Digital Marketing at Aurora University, Aurora, IL, Co-author of the book Internet Marketing: Integrating Online and Offline Strategies, with MaryLou Roberts, Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing. Debra provides her insights from the classroom and beyond on the status of Interactive Marketing and Data-Driven Digital Marketing Strategy.Debra Zahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074218865198573970noreply@blogger.comBlogger135125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8065926716234251899.post-29771157698602788362014-09-15T12:24:00.000-05:002014-09-15T12:24:53.085-05:00Kyle Larson Reveals I-Mix Summer Program Secrets<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<h3>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:DoNotOptimizeForBrowser/>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Aurora University Student Attends Marketing EDGE's I-Mix Program</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> </span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">My guest blogger this week is Kyle Larson, He is a senior graduating in December 2014 from Aurora University
with a major in Marketing and a minor in Digital Marketing. He was fortunate
enough to be selected to attend Marketing Edge’s annual Summer I-Mix Program, held this year in Los
Angeles, California. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Kyle writes: "This program was a great opportunity to learn more about marketing
specifically as it related to direct marketing. The Summer I-Mix program brings students all over the
country together who are currently interested in marketing and then immerses
them in an interactive, hands-on experience that is nothing like what you could
receive in a classroom. Each year the I-Mix program goes to another marketing
company and this year we worked very closely with Guthy-Renker, the owners of
Proactive, Wen hair products and Meaningful Beauty by Cindy Crawford to name a
few. Although many of the students were from larger Universities across the country, I felt as though I was well-prepared by Aurora and was able to meet the challenges of the program and more than hold my own.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhywQSaW2w_ZmiQHXXk8p9b4q-q81IQ-WLMymIYzWSiH0QUL1oKOJo_i_VlnNGjkKdObzsUKkXweHPOO9jQKrZJXOQW5EO7fnOKTAa7oBF66_vR2dSMpYzeck1ykOOIZ4FwkhBy6NJDF3k/s1600/I-MIX+2014+-+Group+Photo+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="I-Mix, Marketing EDGE, Digital Marketing, Direct Marketing" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhywQSaW2w_ZmiQHXXk8p9b4q-q81IQ-WLMymIYzWSiH0QUL1oKOJo_i_VlnNGjkKdObzsUKkXweHPOO9jQKrZJXOQW5EO7fnOKTAa7oBF66_vR2dSMpYzeck1ykOOIZ4FwkhBy6NJDF3k/s1600/I-MIX+2014+-+Group+Photo+(1).jpg" height="301" title="Summer I-Mix" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kyle Larson, Far Right, Third Row, Attends Marketing EDGE's Summer I-Mix Program</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Guthy-Renker has passionate staff, involves students</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> </span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The company has done a phenomenal job when it comes to direct marketing and have
an incredible staff that is passionate about what they do and that were eager
to help the I-Mix students learn more about the field and the different
components that go into it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During these
presentations we were offered opportunities to ask questions and gain
perspective on how a direct marketing company works. This was a great
opportunity that you can only get outside of the classroom and allowed for some
great networking opportunities as well as insight. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> </span>
<br />
<h3 class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Students worked in teams on project; presented professionally</span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">this program we were all assigned to groups of 5
to work on an actual marketing plan for Guthy-Renker for their X-Out product
(a version of proactive for teenagers and young adults). This was a great
project that allowed us to put to test everything that we had been learning
throughout the week and then work with our fellow team to come up with the best
plan. We also presented our work in front of a panel of 3 judges two of which
were actually from Guthy-Renker. This gave an excellent opportunity to
practice presenting and getting more comfortable doing so in front of marketing
professionals. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"></span>We also did some other great exercises one of which was a
resume workshop where we got some great insight into what interviewees and job
recruiters are looking for in applicants and how to make yourself look the best
that you can on a piece of paper. We also worked with an improv team, which was
a great way to loosen up and get creative ideas flowing better. It was also a
fun way to get to know everyone better. I developed friendships with other students from across the country. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h3 class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"></span>Funding was provided which made program affordable</span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The program was affordable and Marketing Edge helps
with the cost of transportation as well as hotel and food. I also received a scholarship from my local AMA student chapter which helped defray costs. We stayed in a
Courtyard Marriott right outside of Los Angeles in Culver City. It was a
beautiful hotel with all the accommodations you would look for or expect.
Generally you receive a roommate but due to uneven numbers I had my own room,
complete with couch and mini kitchen and king size bed! We also got to see
a little bit of the surrounding area. One of the nights we went to Santa Monica
Pier, where we ate dinner and got wristbands to ride the rides. We were able to
walk on the beach and see a little bit of California. We also had our evenings
free so we were able to go explore and see the different part of Los Angeles. I would recommend this program to anyone interested in a career in direct and digital marketing."</span></div>
Debra Zahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074218865198573970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8065926716234251899.post-83129579910697845382014-05-03T10:01:00.001-05:002014-05-03T10:08:31.877-05:00Three Key Findings from Recent Research in Social Media MarketingThis spring at the <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/100360167597080807503" target="_blank">+Marketing Management Association</a> Conference March 26-28 at the Palmer House Hilton, The conference featured several sessions on social media marketing. Researchers looked at a social media networks and social media marketing's influence on brand equity, compared usage of social media sites by large brands and explored how particular brands appeal to their female customers on social media. This post explores the highlights from each presentation.<br />
<h3>
<br />
Attitude toward Social Networking Pages are Related to Brand Equity</h3>
<br />
The first presentation at the Friday 9:30 am session was titled, “Exploring the Impact of Social Networking Sites on Brand Equity. The presentation was made by researchers <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/101091294850042496974" target="_blank">+Tiffany Machado Blanchflower</a> and Kittchai Watchravesringkan from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. Not surprisingly, using the hierarchy of effects models and studying brand relationships across firms on Facebook, the researchers demonstrated that (just as attitude toward the brand influences brand equity) attitude toward the brand page in social media also influences brand equity. The aspects of brand equity affected in particular are brand awareness, perceptions of quality and brand loyalty. <br />
<br />
Customers on social media also like to be entertained which is also related to a positive attitude toward both the social networking site and the brand page. New forms of media can provide both information and entertainment. The positive consumer attitudes that result from this activity can have a long term effect on brand equity. As indicated from the research, brand pages really help reinforce brand relationships but may not be the best place to build a brand relationship. In addition, while new forms of media can influence attitudes toward a brand and long term value, once brand equity is lost it can be difficult to maintain.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCoFLtdyf6zlYv0kAshc78AhYjtZ7Bf0kM8a2eGtgi6OUyNfDonn8aIdo6lXz2xZkgpbEItQPwPLOb7sQG-2JgRvd8alSFCK8YFKPOTN3M5JBDdfGcLW8-LUtIwhLWanOmTUEMtkvU-VQ/s1600/socialmediasitesbrandsjpeg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Social media marketing, brand equity." border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCoFLtdyf6zlYv0kAshc78AhYjtZ7Bf0kM8a2eGtgi6OUyNfDonn8aIdo6lXz2xZkgpbEItQPwPLOb7sQG-2JgRvd8alSFCK8YFKPOTN3M5JBDdfGcLW8-LUtIwhLWanOmTUEMtkvU-VQ/s1600/socialmediasitesbrandsjpeg.jpg" height="300" title="Social Media Brand Equity" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Social Media' Marketing's Relationship to Brand Equity</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<h3>
<br />
Coke vs. Pepsi: Who Wins on Social Media?</h3>
<br />
Another set of researchers, Ainswoth Bailey and Colleen Slattery from the University of Toledo, compared the usage of both Coke and Pepsi in terms of social media sites. These are both high involvement brands that have younger consumers in their target market. Baileyand Slattery found that Pepsi lags behind Coke in social media usage.<br />
<br />
A comparative analysis of Coke and Pepsi's social media usage as part of its communications strategy showed Coke is doing a better job of engaging and getting customers to their social media sites. Coca-Cola is brand people have rallied around. The brand is more communal. Pepsi might be another type of brand that is perhaps more disengaged. <br />
<br />
For example, Coca-Cola reached out to consumers who started a brand page on Facebook and incorporated that page into their social media strategy, in a clear signal that the consumer is in charge of brand conversations. Not only is Coca Cola known for its community of fans pushing messages, but Coke wants to have a strong content marketing strategy based on brand stories that are <a href="http://adage.com/article/special-report-digital-conference/coca-cola-s-wendy-clark-liquid-linked-key/226836/">'liquid and linked' </a>together. I teach in my social media class that Coca-Cola wants to have stories that can be shared easily and that have a lasting impact. The stories are liquid because they are constantly changing and linked because they are related to brand strategy.<br />
<br />
This research showed that although Pepsi is supposed to be targeting the youth market, the firm is not using social media to its advantage in the beverage market. For other products, such as Doritos, social media has been quite effective for the company. Perhaps this result indicates just how strong the fan base must be to energize a social media campaign. You can't force 'buzz.'<br />
<h3>
<br />
'Instamarketing' Toward Women and the Impulse Buy </h3>
<br />
Another researcher, Areej Hassan from Minnesota State University-Mankato, studied 'instamarketing', comparing the usage of Instagram in marketing in brands targeted toward women up to 49 years of age such as Zara, and Forever, 21. She analyzed persuasive messages in Instagram from brands targeted to younger women versus brand with a larger audience. Messages in brands that targeted these women tended to be more emotional and persuasive than other brands. The research found that companies that target women use a different social media approach than the general population. These messages to women tend to target specific purchases, encouraging impulse purchases and also use celebrities in the images. Women seem to want to engage more than men on social media and may be more prone to impulse buys.<br />
<h3>
<br />
What we can Take-Away</h3>
<br />
In summary, the key take-aways from these talks were:<br />
1) Social media usage can enhance brand equity and build customer relationships but is not necessarily suited to building brand awareness.<br />
2) Customers drive social media efforts, as evidenced by Coke vs. Pepsi.<br />
3) In social media, women appear to respond to emotional appeals targeted at impulse purchases.<br />
<br />
We have a lot of research to conduct in social media but these three presentations made an excellent start in helping practitioners understand what can be effective on these platforms.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">By Debra Zahay-Blatz.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">You can find <a href="http://www.aurora.edu/academics/undergraduate/marketing/debra-zahay-blatz.html">Debra</a> on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/110836523846801914852?rel=author" rel="author" target="_blank">Google+</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zahay" target="_blank">Twitter</a> as well as <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/drzahay">LinkedIn</a>.</span>Debra Zahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074218865198573970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8065926716234251899.post-59585097578628843152014-03-26T07:28:00.001-05:002014-03-26T13:02:35.894-05:00Three Tips for Finding the Ideal Digital Marketing Internship<h3>
Digital Marketing Internships Can Lead to Full Time Employment</h3>
In a prior blog post I wrote about how companies can hire an intern for Digital Marketing. Equally important as a topic is how to find a good Digital Marketing Internship. Internships can be critical to future employment in the digital field. Many students take full time employment with their internship company as the intern-to-hire model takes hold. At <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/106809982392868251287" target="_blank">+Aurora University</a> we require an internship for the Marketing Major. Here are the top three tips that I can give based on years of watching students and coaching them to develop their internship plans and successfully parlay internships into jobs.:<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilZKAiaKrb3F1khe2nBEPueFtnxeR6d0FzHwp_CsgXojWji-ZG5932Ttmcp5BdWlRE993e9s8zZuU7N-MpWd_Hy9guzgK9iwcyBg7WhaKY_8-OsR39IceYF8eY8JXmbVfkEWQX1IpD_f0/s1600/top100jpeg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Digital Marketing, Internships" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilZKAiaKrb3F1khe2nBEPueFtnxeR6d0FzHwp_CsgXojWji-ZG5932Ttmcp5BdWlRE993e9s8zZuU7N-MpWd_Hy9guzgK9iwcyBg7WhaKY_8-OsR39IceYF8eY8JXmbVfkEWQX1IpD_f0/s1600/top100jpeg.jpg" height="300" title="Digital Marketing, Internships" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>BuiltInChicago is One Site Listing Digital Marketing Jobs/Internships</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>1) Start early:</b> Internships that provide the type of experience you want might require some extra looking. I would start in the Spring for the Following Fall and the Fall for the Spring/Summer. At AU we require an internship and there is also paperwork that needs to be filed.<br />
<br />
<b>2) Fish Where the Fish Are: </b> Most students in past years have taken internships in search, social media, email and website/design usability. I also notice employers wanting some facility with excel or other familiarity with a program to help analyze data such as SPSS or Google Analytics. Look at the job descriptions of several internships and make sure you develop popular skills before you apply.<br />
<br />
<b>3) Take Advantage of Resources: </b>Your local University will have a job/career site. Many of us in the area has noticed Indeed.com has a lot of jobs in the digital area. BuiltInChicago.org highlights jobs for tech companies in Chicago. According to their <a href="http://bit.ly/OU2KxQ">list of Top 100 Digital Companies in Chicago</a>, there are 1500 plus digital companies in the area, employing 40,000 plus people. The web site regularly posts <a href="http://www.builtinchicago.org/jobs?page=3&tid=82&title=">marketing positions.</a> <a href="http://digitalmktganalytics.blogspot.com/2014/01/what-you-wish-you-knew-about-linkedin.html">Fill out your profile completely in LinkedIn</a> to receive relevant job postings. Stay active on social media to keep up-to-date on local job trends.<br />
<br />
These are just a few hints for finding a meaningful internship in the digital area. Of course, most jobs are not posted and found by networking. You should contact your professor and those working in the area to see if they can point you in the right direction.
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">By Debra Zahay-Blatz.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">You can find <a href="http://www.aurora.edu/academics/undergraduate/marketing/debra-zahay-blatz.html">Debra</a> on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/110836523846801914852?rel=author" rel="author" target="_blank">Google+</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zahay" target="_blank">Twitter</a> as well as <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/drzahay">LinkedIn</a>.</span>Debra Zahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074218865198573970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8065926716234251899.post-59188289883377028422014-03-08T15:07:00.000-06:002014-03-08T15:07:40.759-06:00Five Steps to Hiring a Great Summer Intern<h3>
How to hire the perfect intern</h3>
<br />
I am a Professor of Marketing at <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/106809982392868251287" target="_blank">+Aurora University</a> teaching in our Digital Marketing Minor and all of our Marketing students must have an internship to graduate. I get a lot of requests from people in industry looking to hire interns this time of year. Of course, we want to match our students to a great internship and the companies want to have a good experience too. Therefore, I am offering these simple tips for hiring a great summer intern.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRxH1WPTu_eOeAcpx1XLLZm0VSX7-pK24jECxvR1lnSagl5AhEF86Yz-RvxkAMTe3YEisqLkwFgO7gvNq-Y-CFXg1iMXu1K-zZYjhlqu98GxSFHjwb4Gz1fL7b9mefZ2rbELuPI0mU1k4/s1600/nowhiring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="summer interns" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRxH1WPTu_eOeAcpx1XLLZm0VSX7-pK24jECxvR1lnSagl5AhEF86Yz-RvxkAMTe3YEisqLkwFgO7gvNq-Y-CFXg1iMXu1K-zZYjhlqu98GxSFHjwb4Gz1fL7b9mefZ2rbELuPI0mU1k4/s1600/nowhiring.jpg" height="266" title="internships, hiring interns" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<h3>
Steps to Success</h3>
<b><br /></b>
<b>1) Start early.</b> Unlike Grammar and High School, most University terms end in late April, early May. I receive many requests in June for someone to hire 'for the summer,' by which time most of our students are gone and have summer employment. The most sought-after students looking for summer internships will be gone by Spring Break, which is typically sometime in March. For a Fall Internship, start looking now. For January or Summer, start in the Fall.<br />
<br />
<b>2) Understand the academic schedule. </b> Make sure you understand the academic schedule at the Universities you are interested in hiring from and, again, get started early enough. For internships for academic credit, students will want something for the Fall, Spring or Summer. Most students won't want to start a new job toward the end of the semester if you want them to start in March and the paperwork won't be able to get done properly. Think of start times as starting in August/September, January or May/June. You may have to adjust your expectations of start date to find the best intern, even though you may have a pressing project.<br />
<br />
<b>3) Be clear in your description/objectives. </b> Spend time on your job description and objectives of the position. Don't just send an email saying "I want to hire an intern; can you send some over?" Most students want to know what skills are required to perform the job and what skills will be develped, what the hours are, rate of pay, location, if there is any flexibility for telecommuting, etc.<br />
<br />
<b>4) Don't rely on professors to be job screeners for you.</b> Professors are teaching classes and are close to the students but they don't know your company and what might be the best fit. Professors won't also know EVERY student at the University, just those in their classes.<br />
<br />
At most places, Equal Opportunity extends to recruiting and internships and jobs must be posted to all students. At Aurora University, we have a listserv that reaches 200 plus graduates and current students. Like most Universities, we also have a <a href="http://bit.ly/19tlV7c">careers job site </a>where internships and full-time jobs can be listed. Students apply online and all students at the University have access.<br />
<br />
<b>5) Pay your interns. </b> While it is true your job might provide a 'great experience' for someone, there are other companies willing to pay their interns. These firms recognize that the intern is providing a valuable experience. Most students today face high costs of education and rely on their work outside of the classroom to get them through the University experience. Many students will have several offers and will most likely gravitate toward paid experiences.<br />
<br />
If you follow this simple advice I am sure you will find the 'perfect' intern for your firm! Good luck and thanks for providing this valuable experience to our students.
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">By Debra Zahay-Blatz.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">You can find <a href="http://www.aurora.edu/academics/undergraduate/marketing/debra-zahay-blatz.html">Debra</a> on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/110836523846801914852?rel=author" rel="author" target="_blank">Google+</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zahay" target="_blank">Twitter</a> as well as <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/drzahay">LinkedIn</a>.</span>Debra Zahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074218865198573970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8065926716234251899.post-4169372412780831322014-02-22T04:29:00.004-06:002014-02-22T04:29:45.954-06:005 Steps to Living a Recommendable Life<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is Your Life Recommendable?</span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Emily Bader, EVP <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/116401753787135503170" target="_blank">+Zócalo Group</a> presented the keynote address focused on social media marketing and personal branding at the 14<sup>th</sup> annual <a href="http://www.cadmef.org/okner-symposium.html">Okner Symposium</a> Friday, February 21 at Loyola University, Chicago, IL. The event is targeted for
students interested in direct and digital marketing and sponsored by the Educational Foundation of the Chicago Association of Direct Marketing, CADMEF and a generous gift from Seymour "Sy" Okner and his family. Fourteen students from the Dunham School of Business <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/106809982392868251287" target="_blank">+Aurora University</a> attended the event, accompanied by Marketing Professor Dr. <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/110836523846801914852" target="_blank">+Debra Zahay-Blatz</a>. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTbTHIh-BMuMG5I5oeuNhJzOSH-BYnwZYtw8ODc3naHpVH6sB0qkNl6e0bpAx6XueTZx2ukR3wbnB19puM6WdQbC8276paN1Vr3kdUkKz4SKhIv4mOrTcI_4j_PChTkKm-uCKsCAbjfaI/s1600/Oknerpic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Social media marketing, digitial Marketing" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTbTHIh-BMuMG5I5oeuNhJzOSH-BYnwZYtw8ODc3naHpVH6sB0qkNl6e0bpAx6XueTZx2ukR3wbnB19puM6WdQbC8276paN1Vr3kdUkKz4SKhIv4mOrTcI_4j_PChTkKm-uCKsCAbjfaI/s1600/Oknerpic.jpg" height="300" title="Social media marketing, digitial Marketing" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">14th Annual Okner Symposium, Loyola University Chicago, February 21, 2014</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A social media marketing expert, Ms. Bader focused on personal branding and Word of Mouth marketing. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since Ms. Bader focuses on social media marketing, which depends on recommendations, she suggested that students apply social media concepts to their personal brands. Her suggestion was "Live a recommendable life" to succeed
personally and professionally. She encouraged students to think of
themselves as a brand and to work to create an authentic online image. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ms Bader said that in study after study consumers indicate they rely on recommendations in decision making. In the most recent study by Nielson, 92% of respondents reported a positive recommendation from friend or family member was the biggest influence on their
purchase decision. The influence of personal recommendations is much higher than other forms of media. Therefore, students need to create a recommendable life, realizing that recommendations from others will play a big role in their professional growth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Living a Recommendable Life</span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ms. Bader's five steps to successfully living a recommendable life include: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1) Develop a clear and purposeful story. How do
you want to be recommended? What are the reasons to recommend you? What do you want to have people to remember
and notice? Are you creative,
prompt, hard-working, innovative, resourceful?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2) Live your brand. Be yourself and don't try to be what you are not. <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dialogue with people about creativity or whatever is your passion; create and share content on topics related to your personal brand. S</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">urround yourself with ideas relating to your interests.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3) Be human, transparent and make your own mistakes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4) Stay engaging and interesting. Use the 90/10, rule. Ninety percent of content you share be engaging to
your consumers. Engaging content is perceived as more
interesting content.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5) Regularly evaluate your persona/brand as it evolves and stay true to your core.
Create a quarterly report for yourself. Evaluate how you are you being
perceived and how your skills are helping your organization.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ms. Bader encouraged students to "go and create and share your goals." She said that y</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ou are in charge of how people perceive you online. Live a recommendable life and make sure that people know it by your unique online branding strategy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">By Debra Zahay-Blatz.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">You can find <a href="http://www.aurora.edu/academics/undergraduate/marketing/debra-zahay-blatz.html">Debra</a> on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/110836523846801914852?rel=author" rel="author" target="_blank">Google+</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zahay" target="_blank">Twitter</a> as well as <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/drzahay">LinkedIn</a>.</span>Debra Zahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074218865198573970noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8065926716234251899.post-82445140315854636162014-02-08T06:05:00.001-06:002014-02-08T06:06:40.248-06:00Four Foundations of the Digital Marketing Mix<br />
<h3>
Meeting the Challenge of Digital Marketing</h3>
Last year I reported a recent study that said only <a href="http://marketingland.com/study-only-8-of-companies-believe-marketing-team-is-strong-across-all-areas-of-digital-marketing-64404">eight percent of brands</a> thought their marketing team was strong across all digital channels. If the vast majority of companies don't think company marketing department is up to the challenge of digital marketing, I wanted to try to help simplify what can be seen as a complicated process. We traditionally think of the marketing mix as product, price, promotion and place. I think it is useful to consider the Four Foundations of Digital Marketing Mix. These Four Foundations are: Web site design/usability, Email, Search and Social Marketing. These Four Foundations are areas where the company wants to focus in developing a digital competency. These important digital communications channels are listed in the figure below.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj10ViNgvITDjjQJnqw5xaZplZna7ummPEdTk9qAj-gB362MvJ9-LKiC9Sc19iyfFC7wlB_L80mkam-jB4vPCBvLoIR4EeeQqfGN8bhbRFnyLBACxf1_GyTGF7dt-TOI3kcMJq57YQHbTY/s1600/FourFdns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="email,search, social, web design" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj10ViNgvITDjjQJnqw5xaZplZna7ummPEdTk9qAj-gB362MvJ9-LKiC9Sc19iyfFC7wlB_L80mkam-jB4vPCBvLoIR4EeeQqfGN8bhbRFnyLBACxf1_GyTGF7dt-TOI3kcMJq57YQHbTY/s1600/FourFdns.jpg" height="300" title="The Four Fouindations of the Digital Marketing Mix" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Four Foundations of the Digital Marketing Mix</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h3>
The Four Foundations Work Together</h3>
The reason that these channels are the foundations of digital marketing is that they work together to produce results. Of course, before beginning any digital marketing campaign, managers should carefully consider the overall strategy of the organization and the brand positioning strategy, i.e., the target market, the products offered, the product category and the point of differentiation. Without a strong strategic background, all marketing efforts lack focus and are less effective.<br />
<br />
Assuming the strategy is in place, the subsequent marketing campaigns that are run on digital platforms should work together. For example, the web site should be optimized for organic search in terms of the title tag and appropriate keywords and point the user to sites for social interaction. In turn, search and social media should work together also. One way to do this is to monitor social media channels to understand how to optimize paid and organic search. Email campaigns should also be<a href="http://bit.ly/1izPvvP"> integrated with social media</a><span id="goog_164510331"></span><span id="goog_164510332"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a>. Use email to send out social media updates. Once people are interacting with your firm on social media, collect email addresses for social communication. Include social media connection information on emails.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Effective Marketers Use All Four Channels</h3>
The most effective marketers look at all four channels of the Digital Marketing Mix and see how they can work together in an integrated fashion to produce results. I have used Dreamfields Pasta in our textbook <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/108692333757284771411/posts">Roberts and Zahay</a> and my class sessions here at <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/106809982392868251287" target="_blank">+Aurora University</a> as a good example of this type of integrated digital campaign across channels. The company has a high price point, a unique point of dffierence and a strong grasp of digital channel communication. Here is a <a href="http://bit.ly/1eB5PNR">video</a> describing how this one company clearly understands its unique differentiating point and leverages it across the foundation channels of the Digital Marketing Mix. By understanding its customers and which channels they use, the company created a highly effective cross-channel campaign.
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">By Debra Zahay-Blatz.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">You can find <a href="http://www.aurora.edu/academics/undergraduate/marketing/debra-zahay-blatz.html">Debra</a> on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/110836523846801914852?rel=author" rel="author" target="_blank">Google+</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zahay" target="_blank">Twitter</a> as well as <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/drzahay">LinkedIn</a>.</span>Debra Zahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074218865198573970noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8065926716234251899.post-13587534496344914602014-01-18T15:23:00.002-06:002014-01-20T08:00:16.950-06:00Where Can You Find Resources for Website Conversion?<h3>
<b>Conversion Concept Came from Direct Marketing</b></h3>
This upcoming week in Internet Marketing class at <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/106809982392868251287" target="_blank">+Aurora University</a>, we are discussing direct marketing foundations of the internet. One of the key aspects of direct marketing that has been invaluable in Internet Marketing is the concept of conversion. <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/118201243137679908810" target="_blank">+Brian Massey</a> and I gave a <a href="http://slidesha.re/14j8Lps">talk at the Chicago Conversion Conference</a> last summer that outlined some of the concepts of website optimization that came from direct marketing. For example, the concepts of A/B testing and measuring the results of direct marketing campaigns are critical to establishing a successful web site.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/UGX7FhL2nC4" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
New Toolbox Site Launched by SiteTuners </h3>
My professional colleague at <a href="http://www.sitetuners.com/">SiteTuners</a>, <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/116364341232332599799" target="_blank">+Tim Ash</a>, CEO and the author of the book Landing Page Optimization, has launched the <a href="http://conversionninjatoolbox.com/">Conversion Ninja Toolbox </a>to help marketing professionals improve their conversion rate on the web. The tool is free and includes a directory of resources for many aspects of website conversion.<br />
<br />
Some of the resources available for web marketers include:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Creation tools for wire-framing, content development, landing page development and more.</li>
<li>Diagnostic tools to identify the biggest areas for improvement of website performance and usability.</li>
<li>Engagement tools to take efforts to the next level with tools for abandonment recovery, personalization and interaction.</li>
<li>Testing and Improvement tools for large enterprises as well as no-cost tools for smaller sites.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<h3>
Site Includes Experts and Other Resources</h3>
The site also includes a list of experts and other resources for conversion optimization such as books and conferences. The site also allows users to rate and review tools. Conversion optimization can make a big difference to firms looking to maximize their web site performance. I found the list of tools to be comprehensive and plan to use this resource kit when teaching website design and usability later in the Spring. Thanks, Tim for the great resources.
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">By Debra Zahay-Blatz.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">You can find <a href="http://www.aurora.edu/academics/undergraduate/marketing/debra-zahay-blatz.html">Debra</a> on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/110836523846801914852?rel=author" rel="author" target="_blank">Google+</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zahay" target="_blank">Twitter</a> as well as <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/drzahay">LinkedIn</a>.</span>Debra Zahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074218865198573970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8065926716234251899.post-34495009592400725362013-11-09T07:00:00.000-06:002013-11-09T07:58:31.528-06:00The Power of Creativity Revealed<h3>
AU Students Visit Two Creative Companies</h3>
Today I am reporting the highlights of our two corporate visits on Friday, November 8th with the Aurora University Marketing students. We had an interesting day and learned more about the creative side of marketing. We went to <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/108868448685854457068" target="_blank">+AnswersMedia</a>, a video production company that features a high-tech facility and <a href="http://www.redfrogevents.com/">Red Frog Events</a>, an event marketing firm with a unique corporate culture. We spent about an hour and a half at each firm and the students learned about these possible careers in marketing. The firms definitely are examples of choice for those wishing to explore some of the more creative aspects of a marketing career.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-C0Zk908VtxDBYmPvZw5UFxVX9SgQp8kDPg7tpgcdMuoURKYJHOIfumVAEDRfCWgbhvRwK_OHuJHVvamexMOJdqPN3jy0jZDnBzdxj7hpi1RSm8SCmnZwatMWZxvyf-FZungNBceZsA/s1600/greenscreen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Video production, green screen" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-C0Zk908VtxDBYmPvZw5UFxVX9SgQp8kDPg7tpgcdMuoURKYJHOIfumVAEDRfCWgbhvRwK_OHuJHVvamexMOJdqPN3jy0jZDnBzdxj7hpi1RSm8SCmnZwatMWZxvyf-FZungNBceZsA/s1600/greenscreen.jpg" height="225" title="Video production, green screen" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AU Students and Dr VanderSchee on the "Green Screen"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
Answers Media: Creativity and Technology at Work</h3>
At Answers Media our host was Account Executive Katie Power. We had a tour of the studios and the control room. The company has one of the few facilities in town that can broadcast live video. We got a chance to stand in front the green screen and see ourselves with a different background on the monitor.<br />
<br />
The technology enables the company to work for large agencies, public relations firms, associations and other companies to provide video production services for commercials, music videos and television programs. The company features two kitchens for use in cooking shows and also provides integrated marketing services. AnswersMedia redesigned the LavaLamp website and also created some video advertising for them with an integrated look and feel.<br />
<br />
Answers Media has also done work for larger brands such as Doritos and Toyota. Clients have to be on a short time frame and the company often has to work quickly. There are internships available on the creative and account sides of the firm, but definitely more on the creative side. The company even employs a medical animator for working with pharmaceutical companies.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Red Frog Events: Creativity in the Workplace</h3>
In the afternoon, we visited <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/106502780975053428872" target="_blank">+Red Frog Events</a>, where we were hosted by Hannah and Lizzie. We had a complete tour of the company, including the tree houses, swings and puzzle room. The workplace theme is "Camp Red Frog."<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho6uVLV8FbI3Vr7rvckx5d2nNg9onhmTd-D5AmdItWfdPa8poNfm8f6lSpzI8CG8gdiSiJCKv8adyEY9mbW-4rWfDbtfcGAtxnE8qBDh5y6TPrtPR4AesU6jdNpJIeCFn2lu5lzg2Zsdk/s1600/usatredfrog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="event marketing, red frog events" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho6uVLV8FbI3Vr7rvckx5d2nNg9onhmTd-D5AmdItWfdPa8poNfm8f6lSpzI8CG8gdiSiJCKv8adyEY9mbW-4rWfDbtfcGAtxnE8qBDh5y6TPrtPR4AesU6jdNpJIeCFn2lu5lzg2Zsdk/s1600/usatredfrog.jpg" height="225" title="event marketing, red frog events" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AU Students and Drs. Vander Schee and Zahay-Blatz at "Camp Red Frog."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
Red Frog Invents "Active Event" Industry</h3>
The company produces unique weekend events and hires many interns as "Tadpoles" to help with these special events that have become the firm's signature. The firm looks for people who want to use their creativity and passion in the workplace and laugh along the way. Company Founder, Joe Ryan, tries to create outdoor, weekend events with a creative twist, such as the Great Urban Race, Rirefly Music Festival and Warrior Dash. The company virtually created the 'active event' industry. Tadpoles work hard but enjoy the company perks such as free lunches workout facilities and unlimited vacation days. Theme days such as Jersey Thursday and Pajama Day break up the work week and help compensate for long hours on the job when working events.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Competition for Jobs is Intense</h3>
Red Frog is listed on Inc. Magazine's <a href="http://www.inc.com/inc5000/list/2013">"Fastest Growing Companies List"</a> and is consistently listed as one of the best places to work, particularly for the Millennial Generation. Those who seek to work at Red Frog must go through a long interview process and commit to live the Red Frog principles, such as live with passion, anticipate challenges, be an ideal teammate, embrace change and do exceptional work. Students can also volunteer at events to get an idea of what it would be like to work for the firm. <br />
<br />
The company is always looking for new interns and those seeking a fun and fast-paced environment should consider this firm. Those who make it past "Tadpole" status become "Frogs" and receive full-time positions. Impressively, the company seeks to donate $25 million from its events to +St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for a proton therapy research center, through partnership with their events.
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Debra Zahay-Blatz.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can find <a href="http://www.aurora.edu/academics/undergraduate/marketing/debra-zahay-blatz.html">Debra</a> on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/110836523846801914852?rel=author" rel="author" target="_blank">Google+</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zahay" target="_blank">Twitter</a> as well as <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/drzahay">LinkedIn</a>.</span>Debra Zahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074218865198573970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8065926716234251899.post-33049738833690715462013-10-28T10:21:00.001-05:002013-11-07T18:43:51.433-06:00Don't Miss Out on These Social Networking Sites!I am teaching social media marketing this semester at <a class="g-profile" href="http://plus.google.com/106809982392868251287" target="_blank">+Aurora University</a> and in my day class we have just finished talking about the major social media platforms, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest/Instagram. We focused in the first half of class on using these platforms for social networking professionally and improving our personal brand image. Other forms of professional social networking are often overlooked. I wanted to describe three social networking sties that are helpful professionally in this blog post. The post will. focus on BuiltIn Chicago, Slideshare and Meetup.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA42IAVAZekze2aUK7e2yE9f4ZNN85tyXLGityT2Ors7U0htP_fiBLj7YPsAEdgJnK1AztxJFgGtOIFtUZdWGBlXullO6N4RRL0r_ZgPjgsKOzbDIbwOrMZn4WzAU2iqWnoiRSUnqlkMc/s1600/BLOGpicssmubic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA42IAVAZekze2aUK7e2yE9f4ZNN85tyXLGityT2Ors7U0htP_fiBLj7YPsAEdgJnK1AztxJFgGtOIFtUZdWGBlXullO6N4RRL0r_ZgPjgsKOzbDIbwOrMZn4WzAU2iqWnoiRSUnqlkMc/s400/BLOGpicssmubic.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<span id="goog_1476194543"></span><span id="goog_1476194544"></span><br />
<h3>
Share Slides, Learn More</h3>
Each of these three social networking tools is designed to help people develop their particular interests. <a class="g-profile" href="http://plus.google.com/109766759414898329969" target="_blank">+SlideShare Inc</a> provides is a social sharing site designed for sharing content in a user-friendly manner. I use Slideshare.net to post <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/zahayblatz/">presentations I have given</a> so that i can get the word out about what I am doing to a broader audience. I also use Slideshare when I want to find out about something new. One of my friends said you can learn brain surgery from the site! This statement is almost true, as there are presentations on nearly every subject posted. Slideshare also suggests new presentations based on what I post, so I get a lot of recommendations for CRM and customer information management.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Follow Startups in Chicago, Find Jobs</h3>
<complete id="goog_523047928"><a href="http://www.builtinchicago.org/">BuiltIn Chicago</a> </complete>is a local social sharing site that allows you to connect with people in your industry. The focus is primarily on start-up and technology companies, so I get an opportunity to see what is happening in our area. They also have live "launch" events periodically to foster in-person sharing. The site also has an active job board and an emphasis on blogging. In fact, I found several entry level jobs and internships on the site in our area of digital marketing.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Develop Your Interests, Network Locally</h3>
The final site I want to focus on in this post is Meetup.com. Meetup is a great way to find people in a particular professional field but also has groups to help develop your professional interests. I am a member of everything from bicycling groups to groups that focus on 'big data' technology. I also am a member of the local American Marketing Association group. Many people in Chicago use Meetup to connect. In fact, <a href="http://www.meetup.com/Built-in-Chicago/events/143290392/">BuiltIn Chicago also posts events on Meetup</a>. Through email updates I learn what is going on with my groups. I like the local focus as there are events in the Fox Valley I can attend and not just downtown Chicago.<br />
<br />
I would strongly recommend adding these social networking tools to your 'toolkit,' whether you are a student, recent grad or have been working a long time. If you are interested in learning more about a subject, networking with those in the area, finding a job or internship or just keeping up, you should try out these three websites: Slideshare, Meetup and BuiltInChicago.
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Debra Zahay-Blatz.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can find <a href="http://www.aurora.edu/academics/undergraduate/marketing/debra-zahay-blatz.html">Debra</a> on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/110836523846801914852?rel=author" rel="author" target="_blank">Google+</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zahay" target="_blank">Twitter</a> as well as <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/drzahay">LinkedIn</a>.</span>
Debra Zahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074218865198573970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8065926716234251899.post-46834100205910132832013-09-28T06:45:00.000-05:002013-09-28T06:45:18.219-05:00Easy Google Analytics and Other Ideas That Work for Teaching Social Media in the Classroom<div class="appHead clearfix" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 5px 0px;">
<div class="butbaralign noprint" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 0px;">
<div class="butbaralign noprint" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">At the recent MMA (Marketing Management Association) <a href="http://www.mmaglobal.org/conferences/fall-conference.html"> Conference</a> </span></span><a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/108233249742047866292" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 15px;" target="_blank">+Todd Kelsey</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"> and I described how to integrate Google Analytics into blogger to teach analytics without programming to undergraduates. Our slideshare shows these simple steps and also emphasizes the importance of establishing Google Authorship and how to do by entering those sites to which you contribute in a Google+ profile and registering the associated gmail address. I certainly wish someone had told me about Google Authorship when I was starting out in my </span></span><span style="line-height: 15px;">professional</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"> career (in fact, I wish the option were available). It is a great way to get established as an expert in a particular area and authorship will last an entire career.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="356" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/26393602" style="border-width: 1px 1px 0; border: 1px solid #CCC; margin-bottom: 5px;" width="427"> </iframe> <br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px;">
<strong> <a href="https://www.slideshare.net/zahayblatz/teaching-analyticws-through-g-and-blogger" target="_blank" title="Teaching Analytics through G+ and Blogger">Teaching Analytics through G+ and Blogger</a> </strong> from <strong><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/zahayblatz" target="_blank">Debra Zahay-Blatz</a></strong> </div>
<div class="butbaralign noprint" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="butbaralign noprint" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">It was interesting to see the approaches others have taken to teaching social media, especially to this generation of students.</span></span></div>
<div class="butbaralign noprint" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="butbaralign noprint" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">Dr. Paul Kotz from St. Mary's University in </span></span><span style="line-height: 15px;">Minnesota</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"> shared his research in reaching out to Millennial students, those from ages 11-31, born in 1982-2002. I noticed, as Paul did, that these students like structure and deadlines. So instead of having a social media plan that is due all at once, I have a different </span></span><span style="line-height: 15px;">deliverable</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"> every week that the students should be working on to effectively deliver the plan at the end of the stated time.</span></span></div>
<div class="butbaralign noprint" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="butbaralign noprint" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">Dr. <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/103174982573050081025" target="_blank">+Jenna Drenten</a> from John Carroll </span></span><span style="line-height: 15px;">University</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"> shared what she is doing with Pinterest in the classroom. The students used a private board in Pinterest to share their ideas about a marketing competition in which they participated. Since it was a national competition, the groups did not want others to see their results. I did not realize that Pinterest allowed at least up to three private boards, so that might be a good way to share classroom information in the future. I have taught Pinterest in class and, like the presenter, found that the men in the class are more reluctant to use the tool. They perceive the tool as more for women and don’t ‘get’ the interface as readily as the women in the class. </span></span></div>
<div class="butbaralign noprint" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="butbaralign noprint" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">Professors <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/117152640912310206549" target="_blank">+Alisa Agozzino</a> and Kathie Fleck, Ohio Northern University, talked about their social media marketing minor which includes the history of social media, personal branding, strategies and a campaign management class. Their program, which was in conjunction with the communications school, so this curriculum looks like a good choice for them. </span></span></div>
<div class="butbaralign noprint" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="butbaralign noprint" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">In our program,at Aurora University, the social media class is where the students have an introduction to social media analytics. They develop both a personal social media campaign for themselves and one for a corporation or NGO. Our </span></span><span style="line-height: 15px;">Digital</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"> Marketing students also Internet marketing where they will run an AdWords campaign with the option of a corporate social media campaign. Personal branding is covered in depth in our social media class and IMC, Social Media and Internet all cover strategic concepts and history of the medium.</span></span></div>
<div class="butbaralign noprint" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 0px;">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
<br />
By Debra Zahay-Blatz.<br />
You can find <a href="http://about.me/dzahayblatz">Debra</a> on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/110836523846801914852?rel=author" rel="author" target="_blank">Google+</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zahay" target="_blank">Twitter</a> as well as <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/drzahay">LinkedIn</a>.Debra Zahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074218865198573970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8065926716234251899.post-12456904163287968032013-08-26T06:42:00.000-05:002013-09-12T15:07:14.198-05:00Three Things You May Not Know About Social Media Marketing at Aurora University<h2>
</h2>
<h3>
Social Media Marketing Can Be Taught</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
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. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
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 <a href="http://bit.ly/1cWQ1V8.">here.</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTC4Lh2yTolzD2UQwibmWvYXd-mvYK8ShBNx4aR8Unqk04XOSn6np4Ugyo6cWdkSJc5v1azeSGCwrnXP6kOMO0d5llf6oQMkf2W3HMn9zw43AGhiON2ZKJsWfQobNsMzTzoaq6dO5bTig/s1600/social+media+images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Social Media Marketing" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTC4Lh2yTolzD2UQwibmWvYXd-mvYK8ShBNx4aR8Unqk04XOSn6np4Ugyo6cWdkSJc5v1azeSGCwrnXP6kOMO0d5llf6oQMkf2W3HMn9zw43AGhiON2ZKJsWfQobNsMzTzoaq6dO5bTig/s1600/social+media+images.jpg" title="Social Media Marketing" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Social Media Marketing Has Many Sides</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Everyone reading this post may be familiar with and able to post to one of the major Social Media Platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter.<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> We are goin</span>g 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.</div>
<div>
<br />
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 <a href="http://slidesha.re/1aggLLz">slideshare</a>, 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.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
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!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
You Can Still Enroll</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">If what you read is interesting to you, there are still spots left in Social Media Marketing. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="text-align: center;">BUS 4610 01 Social
Media Marketing meets </span><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">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 </span>friends<span style="font-size: small;"> follow the progress of the course in this blog.</span></span></span></div>
<br />
By Debra Zahay-Blatz.<br />
You can find <a href="http://about.me/dzahayblatz">Debra</a> on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/110836523846801914852?rel=author" rel="author" target="_blank">Google+</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zahay" target="_blank">Twitter</a> as well as <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/drzahay">LinkedIn</a>.Debra Zahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074218865198573970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8065926716234251899.post-44609130871750195952013-08-05T08:44:00.001-05:002013-10-01T14:31:41.980-05:00Interactive Marketing Graduate Tells All: Search Guru Mike Glassberg<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Comments from Recent Grad Mike Glassberg:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>"Who am I?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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 <a href="http://www.modernmarketingpartners.com/">Modern Marketing Partners</a>
where I provide SEO and social media services to clients. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOX9D0BUtxNc_OW4jNLaiEL_eeQKzfiOCii0pHaHVOml_PkUqzoi21VDOrVxGq9M9GW8-ISSyW91L4xWde5UQOvbjE3c9ogZzvtuZJQ_WX2c0PNvlt9j06h5z-8E2lLb2B6W_LvBSbMS4/s1600/mikeandme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Mike Glassberg, Debra Zahay-Blatz, SEO, social media" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOX9D0BUtxNc_OW4jNLaiEL_eeQKzfiOCii0pHaHVOml_PkUqzoi21VDOrVxGq9M9GW8-ISSyW91L4xWde5UQOvbjE3c9ogZzvtuZJQ_WX2c0PNvlt9j06h5z-8E2lLb2B6W_LvBSbMS4/s1600/mikeandme.jpg" height="320" title="Mike Glassberg and Debra Zahay-Blatz" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Practicing What They Preach: Glassberg and Zahay-Blatz<br /> at networking event at Modern Marketing Partners<br /> in Naperville earlier this Summer.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>How did the
Interactive Program help me in my current job?<o:p></o:p></b><br />
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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 <i>still </i>don’t
offer specialized education in “interactive” or 2-way marketing. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>What about some advice for current students?<o:p></o:p></b><br />
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>What are three ways to
find an awesome job outside of NIU’s career fairs?<o:p></o:p></b><br />
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1.) <i>Networking</i> –
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.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2.) <i>LinkedIn – </i>The
2<sup>nd</sup> best way to find a job is through LinkedIn, but <i>only</i> 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.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3.) <a href="http://www.gethired.niu.edu/careerservices/huskiesgethired/"><i>Huskies Get Hired</i></a><i> – </i>This was consistently one of the most
underutilized resources when I was a student. There’s a job board online with
employers <i>actively looking for students
that go to NIU.</i> Take advantage of that while you can.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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." <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
You can follow <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/116069180918920039533" target="_blank">+Mike Glassberg</a> on G+ or Twitter at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/mglassberg2">@mglassberg2</a>. 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.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
By Debra Zahay-Blatz.<br />
You can find <a href="http://www.cob.niu.edu/personnel/PersonnelDetails.asp?id=m70dlz1">Debra</a> on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/110836523846801914852?rel=author" rel="author" target="_blank">Google+</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zahay" target="_blank">Twitter</a> as well as <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/drzahay">LinkedIn</a>.Debra Zahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074218865198573970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8065926716234251899.post-85633898801410069322013-07-13T06:46:00.000-05:002013-08-27T16:19:10.510-05:00How to Tell Your Story through Content Marketing and Still Have a Life<h2>
Content Marketing Makes Social Media make Sense</h2>
At my talk at Kishwaukee College yesterday I reiterated my theme from a <a href="http://bit.ly/YB0Ww9">prior blog post on content marketing</a> that content marketing makes social media make sense. I defined content marketing and content creation, explained the role of strategy in the process and then went on to give some examples of how to re-purpose content to get the kind of growth that we need.<br />
<br />
<h2>
What is Content Marketing?</h2>
Content marketing is a series of steps and processes as related to the media owned by a company, whereby that media is used to attract and retain customers. We often speak of content 'curation,' which indicates that content is developed and managed 'by hand,' instead of spun by machines or just regurgitated in another format. Content should be carefully prepared to reinforce the company 'story' or brand image.<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="400" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/24170516" width="476"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
<h2>
Steps for Content Marketing</h2>
The process for good content marketing is as follows:<br />
1) Start with a brand story.<br />
2) Figure out meaningful message and associated content related to that story.<br />
3) Dissseminate that content where your audience is likely to be so they can consume the content, react to it and co-create content.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Self-Knowledge is the Key</h2>
Understanding your company strategy and why you are creating the content is a useful exercise in content creation marketing, and, as I explained in a <a href="http://bit.ly/YB0Ww9">prior blog post,</a> the first step in content marketing. The company strategy can be translated into the story for the brand using the simple format for a positioning statement that I use in class. <br />
<br />
The format is to the Target Customer, the Product Name is the Product Category that Point of Difference. For example, Colgate's WISP product for brushing your teeth on the go might have used this format for the positioning statement.<br />
<br />
"To the on-the-go college student or urban professional, ages 18 to 25, both male and female, WISP is the mini-disposable toothbrush that makes you Be More Kissable." The company target is Generation Y and the idea is that if your teeth are fresh, no matter how busy you are, you will be more attractive to the opposite sex. This simple positioning statement then provided the brand story, which lead to an active social media campaign. The company chose various forms of social media, including some clever YouTube videos, to convey its message because that is where its audience resides.<br />
<br />
<h2>
My Story as an Example</h2>
I gave the example that as a marketing professor I wanted to reach marketers who would view our program as a thought leader and potentially hire our students. With that in mind, my social media journey really began with LinkedIn, since that is a social media site devoted to business leaders. I now have over 2,000 connections on LinkedIn and am in the top 1% of those on the system.<br />
<br />
At the same time I posted on LinkedIn, I also worked to increase my Twitter following, within a targeted group. However, things did not really take off for me in terms of social media until I started posting meaningful content on a daily basis. Like many professionals, I have a job other than creating content for social media (teaching, research, service), so I rely on disseminating the content of others as well. <br />
<br />
I try to blog weekly and invariably the most comments I get are on the content I create myself. So one strategy is to add value to re-posted content, not just send it out again in a different form, but really provide another aspect of the content and insight from what is written. I pose a question or interpretation or comment when I re-post the comments of others, thereby making the content part of the stream of content people see on a regular basis.<br />
<br />
I also make the most of my own content by thoughtful re-purposing. For example, I recently gave a talk at Conversion Conference with Brian Massey on how direct marketing lessons can be used in website conversion. We took that material and made a Slideshare with audio and then I referred to that material on my own blog, giving a recap of direct marketing principles as used for paid search. I am also a guest blogger for Exact Target and I was able to create a blog post for them on the psychological background behind our talk, still linking back to that original blog post. <br />
<br />
So now with the same talk as a basis, I created three different perspectives on the material, all of which contributed to a spike in pageviews for my blog. When I started posting meaningful content five times a week, I went from 400 pageviews per month to almost 5,000. <br />
<br />
Remember, your customer will respond to a good story and good content to tell that story. If you want to see the slides from my talk on this subject, you can access the Slideshare above. Let me know if you have any questions.
<br />
<br />
By Debra Zahay-Blatz.<br />
You can find <a href="http://www.cob.niu.edu/personnel/PersonnelDetails.asp?id=m70dlz1">Debra</a> on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/110836523846801914852?rel=author" rel="author" target="_blank">Google+</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zahay" target="_blank">Twitter</a> as well as <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/drzahay">LinkedIn</a>.Debra Zahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074218865198573970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8065926716234251899.post-50356099890639026632013-06-22T08:38:00.002-05:002013-06-22T08:42:50.251-05:00How Secrets of the Past Can Optimize Conversion Today<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw4LLbuFMosirWfkVo65MkjU0_rcoKN6RnV1M1bnYwwx2k-MjGyPecKnp5QwIku5kgXY9Y-CdR22nA_iLywCsjgbh-sZ-jHtvwJjN3Zl8LRuDssj-9_9czGMM5gTz9H3MQldNMwMUQneo/s1600/Conversion+Brian1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw4LLbuFMosirWfkVo65MkjU0_rcoKN6RnV1M1bnYwwx2k-MjGyPecKnp5QwIku5kgXY9Y-CdR22nA_iLywCsjgbh-sZ-jHtvwJjN3Zl8LRuDssj-9_9czGMM5gTz9H3MQldNMwMUQneo/s1600/Conversion+Brian1.jpg" height="221" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
At <a href="http://bit.ly/11clHAN">Conversion Conference in Chicago</a>, <a class="g-profile" href="http://plus.google.com/118201243137679908810" target="_blank">+Brian Massey</a> (the Conversion Scientist) and I (the
Professor) gave a talk on how CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) principles
really had their roots in Direct Marketing Response Principles. We talked about the discipline of
conversion’s roots in direct marketing and how these principles have been used
in traditional direct mail and can be applied to the web. We Introduced some of
the names in the direct marketing and advertising field that you may not know
and to shared some of their wisdom.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">Our talk was called, “Everything I Needed to Know about
CRO I Learned from Direct Marketing,” based on these principles. We talked about their roots in direct
marketing and how these principles have been used in traditional direct mail
and can be applied to the web. We hailed
back to David Ogilvy, Jim Kobs and Murray Rafael, who applied persuasive
principles in the testing environment of direct marketing. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">Using Direct Marketing Principles for Paid Search</span></h2>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I noted results some classroom examples from paid search
campaigns. For example, just by adding
to word “free” to an offer, using the principle of reciprocity (buy something
and who will get something back from me for ‘free’) dramatically increased
results in a paid search ad. Using the
scarcity principle “act now while supplies last” also dramatically improved
click through rates, which was our conversion measure. If you missed our talk, catch the slides and
the audio on <a href="http://slidesha.re/14j8Lps">Slideshare</a>.<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h2>
<span lang="EN" style="font-size: large;">Why and How Direct Response Principles Work on the Web</span></h2>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">Brian explained how the human brain works and how we need
to get past the area in the brain that automatically filters out messages. Human beings respond to persuasive principles
because the brain is ‘hard-wired’ to recognize certain types of communications
and respond to them. Brian presented
some excellent examples of online marketing that uses direct marketing
principles. One of these principles is
long form copy. Long form copy is based
on the principle of commitment or escalating involvement. As the prospect or customer reads first an
offer, then information in other forms, he or she becomes more committed to our
product. The self-programming thermostat,
The Nest uses these direct response techniques online. Even though we hear that people don’t read or
want to read on the web, if information is presented the right way, consumers
will respond.</span><br />
<span lang="EN"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h2>
<span lang="EN" style="font-size: large;">Remember the Customer</span></h2>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">We also talked about how response really depends on the customer
and where they are in the purchase process or in awareness of your
product. .Years ago advertising legend
Eugene Swartz suggested “Five Levels of Awareness” and that we need to tailor
our messages to customer awareness levels.
If the prospect is aware of our product, then discounts and deals are
most effective. If unaware, then stories
and secrets help to build awareness. We
showed examples of different web sites and offers that were targeted to
different levels of awareness. We also
stressed the importance of testing, so easy to do with today’s technology.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
Thanks to <a class="g-profile" href="http://plus.google.com/116364341232332599799" target="_blank">+Tim Ash</a> and <a class="g-profile" href="http://plus.google.com/117418314163515581738" target="_blank">+Casey Murphy</a> for a great conference and for allowing us the chance to speak.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN"><b>P. S.
Reminder: If you missed our
talk, catch the slides and the audio on<a href="http://slidesha.re/14j8Lps"> Slideshare.</a></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
By Debra Zahay-Blatz.<br />
You can find <a href="http://www.cob.niu.edu/personnel/PersonnelDetails.asp?id=m70dlz1">Debra</a> on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/110836523846801914852?rel=author" rel="author" target="_blank">Google+</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zahay" target="_blank">Twitter</a> as well as <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/drzahay">LinkedIn</a>.Debra Zahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074218865198573970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8065926716234251899.post-82322041772033929732013-06-08T08:26:00.001-05:002013-06-22T08:30:41.587-05:00Everything I Learned about CRO I Learned from Direct Response Marketing<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd0pkkwyWEVw_xLtBYEG5DuosZdh_WHWVoudRP5P0C9UZYc5AP-OtZcW0VCy5Zan7nPE4s5NbtuWfwesy28XgXzt6fNR_eHy3f54B2occLe_DBZl-bvbDPcNlQmxNopLNmBY6clh8pzaU/s1600/Everything+I+Needed+to+Know+About+CRO+I.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd0pkkwyWEVw_xLtBYEG5DuosZdh_WHWVoudRP5P0C9UZYc5AP-OtZcW0VCy5Zan7nPE4s5NbtuWfwesy28XgXzt6fNR_eHy3f54B2occLe_DBZl-bvbDPcNlQmxNopLNmBY6clh8pzaU/s400/Everything+I+Needed+to+Know+About+CRO+I.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<h3>
Direct Response Roots of Conversion Rate Optimization Revealed</h3>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">Next week at the <a href="http://bit.ly/11clHAN">Conversion Conference</a> in Chicago, <a class="g-profile" href="http://plus.google.com/118201243137679908810" target="_blank">+Brian Massey</a> </span> and I will
give a talk on how CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) principles really had
their roots in Direct Marketing Response.
We will talk about the discipline of conversion’s roots in direct
marketing and how these principles have been used in traditional direct mail and
can be applied to the web. We plan to introduce you to some of the names in the
direct marketing and advertising field that you may not know and to share some
of their wisdom. I use this wisdom in my classes and will share some of my
examples of how to apply these techniques effectively.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">This semester my students were creating paid search ads for real
companies. Usually about halfway through
the exercise, they would say to me, “We have the right keywords and lots of
impressions, why aren’t we getting any clicks?”
The answer of course is that the ads were not well-written, not
compelling and did not encourage response.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">Just by adding to word “free” to an offer, using the principle of
reciprocity, dramatically increased results.
Using the scarcity principle “act now while supplies last” also
dramatically improved click through rates, which was our conversion
measure. So if you want to see and hear
more examples and words from the wisest in direct response, come hear our talk
on Tuesday at 10:30 am at the <a class="g-profile" href="http://plus.google.com/110030290390446530247" target="_blank">+Hyatt Regency McCormick Place</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
By Debra Zahay-Blatz.<br />
You can find <a href="http://www.cob.niu.edu/personnel/PersonnelDetails.asp?id=m70dlz1">Debra</a> on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/110836523846801914852?rel=author" rel="author" target="_blank">Google+</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zahay" target="_blank">Twitter</a> as well as <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/drzahay">LinkedIn</a>.Debra Zahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074218865198573970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8065926716234251899.post-41621835001463240052013-06-03T09:06:00.000-05:002013-06-03T09:06:55.463-05:00Act Now Before All the May Grads are Taken!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL0Tt8ABH1nRAcV-f2dpxEPlr1EuN4UNXuR-i_P8nyzD4GivyBAqDxSVOriVe15aRdHyZFtjZNg4rIcOs6S0mfOy9_KuMucDWJwjckjiDeA2jFopSG1ozMIpJGJV5f-KFsCNLNbcV2bj0/s1600/simon+JPEG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL0Tt8ABH1nRAcV-f2dpxEPlr1EuN4UNXuR-i_P8nyzD4GivyBAqDxSVOriVe15aRdHyZFtjZNg4rIcOs6S0mfOy9_KuMucDWJwjckjiDeA2jFopSG1ozMIpJGJV5f-KFsCNLNbcV2bj0/s1600/simon+JPEG.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">May Interactive Grads Doing Well in the Marketplace </span></h2>
<br />
This is the happy time of year when my students are reporting daily that they are accepting jobs and internships with interactive agencies and client companies. <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/113763798632003000422" target="_blank">+Rebecca Mensing</a> is going to work at Resolution Media and both <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/116678114706340134328" target="_blank">+Taylor Staus</a> and <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/101326737643724947293" target="_blank">+Brittany Sarkisian</a> were accepted into the Dotomi management rotation program.Thanks to board member <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/105410261619161966823" target="_blank">+Neil Brown</a> for hiring former IMB student board President <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/116069180918920039533" target="_blank">+Mike Glassberg</a> for an internship. <br />
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">Post Your Job on Huskies Get Hired</span></h2>
Sorry there is not time to mention everyone. If you are still looking for an intern-to-hire or a full time grad versed in social media, SEO and SEM, and other aspects of direct and digital marketing, check out the Interactive Marketing Portfolio on the NIU <a href="http://bit.ly/SJjm6F">Huskies Get Hired </a>web site. You can post your jobs there as well. Since the semester has ended, this is the best way to reach out to recent graduates and the close to 300 program graduates we have.<br />
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">Spotlight on Kevin Simon: Interactive Generalist with Psychology Minor</span></h2>
One student still seeking a job with the best fit is this week's guest blogger, <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/106776713037768903938" target="_blank">+Kevin Simon</a> . Kevin writes that he just received "a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing, a certificate in interactive marketing and a minor in psychology from Northern Illinois University. I was accepted in the Marketing Honor Society last semester which was a great honor.<br />
<br />
In addition to my academic studies, I have been a member of the Sigma Nu Fraternity for four years. I have held three positions within the fraternity, one on the Executive Board for the past two years. These leadership roles allow me to communicate with other members on a daily basis and improve my charisma and delegating abilities. I held the alumni relations chair position for two years maintaining a database of almost 500 alumni, designing and editing semi-annual newsletters, and updating our website.<br />
<br />
I also just stepped down as the treasurer of the Circle K International community service organization which has allowed me to learn money management skills as well as earn over fifty hours in community service not including opportunities with the fraternity. I have also had many opportunities to work with other groups on campus including the Campus Activities Board, Financial Management Society, as well as many intramural sports. These diverse and well rounded roles have helped me develop excellent communication and teamwork skills." <br />
<br />
Kevin is seeking a full-time position in the interactive marketing field after graduating. His Interactive Marketing classes have helped targeting specific areas he finds most interesting. He would like to find a generalist position in interactive marketing where he could use his psychology minor and his leadership and planning skills. Good fits would be online marketing research, social media management, website usability and testing.<br />
<br />
By Debra Zahay-Blatz.<br />
You can find <a href="http://www.cob.niu.edu/personnel/PersonnelDetails.asp?id=m70dlz1">Debra</a> on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/110836523846801914852?rel=author" rel="author" target="_blank">Google+</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zahay" target="_blank">Twitter</a> as well as <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/drzahay">LinkedIn</a>.Debra Zahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074218865198573970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8065926716234251899.post-4547851591751204842013-05-28T10:00:00.001-05:002013-05-28T10:03:18.754-05:00Yes, We DO Teach Database Marketing at the Undergraduate Level<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwtYeVDTpdo33bACM7WA9JWJXp1SWNoaysczuG6i4vCGbwsm1sgY6fHrjqV-jJGcB9XrNaamYaQ1xCitswIOA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
If you have heard of "Big Data" you may be interested in taking Database Marketing or hiring some of our grads for your company. "Big Data" technically refers to databases that are so large they can't be analyzed using standard statistical techniques. However, all companies today are benefiting from data analysis and Database Marketing can help you understand how this is done and build the foundation for an entry-level job in the industry. Together with Google Analytics from Marketing 470, students graduation from the IM program have a sound foundation in data analytics.<br />
<br />
This video describes what we do in Database Marketing 455 at Northern Illinois University. Students work with real-life company data that has been cleansed for teaching purposes. They use basic statistical techniques in IBM SPSS such as t-tests, cross-tabs and regression to analyze a company's internal customer information, augmented with outside data and predict who the best customers will be and what will most likely make them profitable. We them move on to segmentation techniques and logistics regression to predict response. Finally we look at some non-statistical data mining techniques such as CHAID and Neural Networking using IBM SPSS Modeler. We compare three different predictive response models and analyze lifts, gains, and profitability.<br />
<br />
Thanks to <a class="g-profile" href="http://plus.google.com/117404935978649096285" target="_blank">+Nicole Gault</a> and <a class="g-profile" href="http://plus.google.com/116069180918920039533" target="_blank">+Mike Glassberg</a> for putting this information together.<br />
<br />
Congratulations to them both and to all our Spring 2013 Interactive Marketing graduates!<br />
<br />
By Debra Zahay-Blatz.<br />
You can find <a href="http://www.cob.niu.edu/personnel/PersonnelDetails.asp?id=m70dlz1">Debra</a> on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/110836523846801914852?rel=author" rel="author" target="_blank">Google+</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zahay" target="_blank">Twitter</a> as well as <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/drzahay">LinkedIn</a>.Debra Zahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074218865198573970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8065926716234251899.post-22723407236324102902013-05-06T07:57:00.000-05:002013-05-06T08:19:19.142-05:00How to Have Fun While Learning Marketing Technology<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyzlwmoXlgmYCYw0JY1oQGML9WjcNgfkToDCd0ROgKVHc0oZOQ5OuqgkhZPgpUnZR8BPPl5-i0VtrEzkwOr5g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
This video describes what we do in Marketing Technology 470 at Northern Illinois University. It is the advanced course in our sequence, the 'capstone.' Students plan, implement and measure a paid search campaign using Google AdWords and Analytics and also developed a personal social media campaign. This semester we also did a a corporate social media marketing plan for the companies we have been working with all semester. These firms are Ideosity and AllWorld. Thanks to <a class="g-profile" href="http://plus.google.com/117404935978649096285" target="_blank">+Nicole Gault</a> and <a class="g-profile" href="http://plus.google.com/116069180918920039533" target="_blank">+Mike Glassberg</a> for putting this information together.
<br />
<br />
Congratulations to them both and to all our Spring 2013 Interactive Marketing graduates!<br />
<br />
By Debra Zahay-Blatz.<br />
You can find <a href="http://www.cob.niu.edu/personnel/PersonnelDetails.asp?id=m70dlz1">Debra</a> on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/110836523846801914852?rel=author" rel="author" target="_blank">Google+</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zahay" target="_blank">Twitter</a> as well as <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/drzahay">LinkedIn</a>.Debra Zahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074218865198573970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8065926716234251899.post-24524523945687726902013-05-06T04:20:00.001-05:002013-05-06T08:24:59.415-05:00Everything I Learned About Social Media I Learned from My Students<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihQz00qEvu4Cp3IFrb-y7joo-sm7cFYLfLCcCRoAqb_TnSrUsrjAbvSgToGPUDTdy3keF4TjtxUfh0r-CjpRHX9HBGOustCtw06v5HmgrwovQXwLWlz48Tq5Kbyj_Y7ipMigzgvQE_E3Y/s1600/Social+media+24665_586216888055633_1971991473_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihQz00qEvu4Cp3IFrb-y7joo-sm7cFYLfLCcCRoAqb_TnSrUsrjAbvSgToGPUDTdy3keF4TjtxUfh0r-CjpRHX9HBGOustCtw06v5HmgrwovQXwLWlz48Tq5Kbyj_Y7ipMigzgvQE_E3Y/s400/Social+media+24665_586216888055633_1971991473_n.jpg" width="365" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
This post shows how you can develop your brand, connect and contribute on social media networks and in a short time change how you are perceived and create value online. We just finished our social media module in Marketing Technology at Northern Illinois University I gave them a basic structure to start building a personal social media plan using the top five platforms of LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, G+ and Pinterest. There was no time to have them develop videos but we discussed the importance of YouTube and video in general in improving search engine results and web site engagement.<br />
<br />
Teaching this class is like teaching in a Petri dish, a big sloppy experiment in various aspects of digital marketing. I can observe the results of marketing campaigns that we deploy, see which PPC approaches work best and how online and offline strategies interact. In this case, I made some simple suggestions for each of the five social media platforms and then sat back and watch the results come back. I already noted in a <a href="http://bit.ly/YB0Ww9">prior blog post</a> that making simple profile changes to LinkedIn resulted in more targeted job opportunities within twenty-four hours. <br />
<br />
What I noticed was that my students were able to get results quite quickly from simple changes that they made to their approach to social media. When we started the project, few of them had an organized approach to their personal social media plan. I just finished reading their reflection papers on the subject and want to share some insights as to what worked for them and can work for you.<br />
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">You can change how you are perceived online</span></h2>
Just by following my advice and fleshing out their Google+ profiles, when they were logged in to Gmail they could see a more professional appearance online. Their LinkedIn, blogs and other online information showed up first in search results and helped them to present a more professional appearance. This all happened in a few weeks time and many of them had online profile to begin with that reflected their personal rather that their professional lives. Social media marketing helped them develop their personal brand image.<br />
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">You can connect to just about anyone</span></h2>
The students were asked to connect to people where they might want to find a job or just find out more about the interactive marketing field and this approach was effective. Students were able to find people at key interactive companies and connect to them. I recommended having some sort of relationship before connecting, i.e., having met them at a seminar or participated in a group discussion or webinar with them, before making the connection. The students have the added advantage of being students. Everyone loves to help students (I know I do). I told them make these connections now while they are in the student role.<br />
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">Everyone can contribute something online</span></h2>
Sometimes students think because they are students they can't contribute. They don't realize being in an Interactive Marketing program like ours gives them and advantage in terms of knowledge and understanding in the area. But everyone has something to contribute online. The students learned that they could take a blog post or something we had learned in class, put a twist on it or make a comment and create value for those reading the information. Witness the graphical approach to taking notes in class above by <a class="g-profile" href="http://plus.google.com/107231161784635950271" target="_blank">+Felicia Aguillon</a>. Her summary of our last day of class on social media was well-received not just by me but other social media outlets where it was posted.<br />
<br />
So this post shows you can develop your brand, connect and contribute on social media networks and in a short time change how you are perceived and create value online. It only took a few weeks to change perceptions. The students changed how they were perceived online and also how they were perceived by others.<br />
<br />
By Debra Zahay-Blatz.<br />
You can find <a href="http://www.cob.niu.edu/personnel/PersonnelDetails.asp?id=m70dlz1">Debra</a> on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/110836523846801914852?rel=author" rel="author" target="_blank">Google+</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zahay" target="_blank">Twitter</a> as well as <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/drzahay">LinkedIn</a>.Debra Zahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074218865198573970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8065926716234251899.post-45139001483288766862013-04-29T05:58:00.001-05:002013-04-29T05:58:53.421-05:00Google Authorship Made Easy<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6yQp4kCUi-qxP4mE3WkDAjpV53tDW7WbbxMqDBwLkiZQN0m8xQSkU4ra7YxH5cn9r2qIMh3C5eZXcFb7RM9A8uot6RfS63vtBwidlTz-I6yxNcXgS7_wwJjWLN_prXyW-yXe8drk_XPA/s1600/shocking+truthfor+blog+postjpeg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6yQp4kCUi-qxP4mE3WkDAjpV53tDW7WbbxMqDBwLkiZQN0m8xQSkU4ra7YxH5cn9r2qIMh3C5eZXcFb7RM9A8uot6RfS63vtBwidlTz-I6yxNcXgS7_wwJjWLN_prXyW-yXe8drk_XPA/s400/shocking+truthfor+blog+postjpeg.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Establishing Google Authorship Can Be Easy</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This post summarizes how to create Google Authorship on your blog posts and other content. There has been a lot of talk about Google Authorship and I have read some excellent posts about how to be credited in search results on Google. I have shown an example above of how my blog shows up on Google when I am logged in to Gmail in the above screen shot. I am shown with my picture, my name as shown on my G+ profile and the number of my G+ Circles. This type of display is the goal. <a class="g-profile" href="http://plus.google.com/113272929328812128697" target="_blank">+Andy Crestodina</a> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> helped me establish this authorship in </span>search<span style="font-family: inherit;"> I followed the instructions that he presented at the January Chicago AMA Meet the Experts Night. It took a few weeks but everything is showing up in search </span>quite<span style="font-family: inherit;"> nicely now. Even in my <a href="http://bit.ly/ZvJVVV">econsultancy.com blog </a>authorship shows up after I followed these steps.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I think the key is to understand that there is a way to do this even if you are not blogging on a domain where you have an email on that same domain. In my classes we use publicly available tools like WordPress or Blogger so we needed a way to link authorship without the verifiable email address.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Briefly, you need the following:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1) Put a nice head shot on your G+ Profile</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2) Use the same name on your profile as your byline, i.e., "By Debra Zahay-Blatz"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">3) Copy and past HTML code into your blog that establishes the link. Some code is on my slideshare </span>presentation<span style="font-family: inherit;"> on this subject and on<a href="http://blog.kissmetrics.com/google-authorship/"> Andy's blog</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I also think it is important to set up your G+ profile properly with links to everything to which you contribute so these items can all show up in search as well. Good luck </span>establishing<span style="font-family: inherit;"> authorship and don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. My <a href="http://slidesha.re/16bgzh8">slideshare presentation</a> also shows how to link Google Analytics to your blog, which is extremely helpful in tracking activity and seeing </span>information<span style="font-family: inherit;"> who you are reaching and how long they stay on the page. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The <a href="http://slidesha.re/16bgzh8">slideshare</a> also covers assessing your online presence, Filling out your Google+ Profile, Pursuisng Authorship and how to link </span>your<span style="font-family: inherit;"> blog to Google </span>Analytics<span style="font-family: inherit;">. The byline from the code is shown below.</span><br />
<br />
By Debra Zahay-Blatz.<br />
You can find <a href="http://www.cob.niu.edu/personnel/PersonnelDetails.asp?id=m70dlz1">Debra</a> on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/110836523846801914852?rel=author" rel="author" target="_blank">Google+</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zahay" target="_blank">Twitter</a> as well as <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/drzahay">LinkedIn</a>.Debra Zahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074218865198573970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8065926716234251899.post-30899837806652536062013-04-20T07:49:00.003-05:002013-04-21T12:53:37.321-05:00Scholarship Awards Ceremony Honors Interactive Marketing Students<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZil_bz9krda85iEaeawcAzQaWNFvK5jEt7nfnnaUAfx1O6JNRRvIN8eOMAj0Z7cwCaI4WK5yty_dpp9T6MsHFFFUPluI-O_GiL_z3z1kwHDFL1VcuTRfQsxsUN5QpCNABAF9hOJMDnA0/s1600/Awards+Ceremony+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZil_bz9krda85iEaeawcAzQaWNFvK5jEt7nfnnaUAfx1O6JNRRvIN8eOMAj0Z7cwCaI4WK5yty_dpp9T6MsHFFFUPluI-O_GiL_z3z1kwHDFL1VcuTRfQsxsUN5QpCNABAF9hOJMDnA0/s400/Awards+Ceremony+(2).jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
At our Scholarship Awards Ceremony last Saturday, April 13, 2013 at Barsema Hall at Northern Illinois University, we honored a number of graduates in our Interactive Marketing program. Recipients of the Interactive Marketing Board Awards were <a class="g-profile" href="http://plus.google.com/114933027049434635339" target="_blank">+Sarah Harant</a> and <a class="g-profile" href="http://plus.google.com/117404935978649096285" target="_blank">+Nicole Gault</a> (shown above with <a class="g-profile" href="http://plus.google.com/107927268419854265847" target="_blank">+Dave Henkel</a> and <a class="g-profile" href="http://plus.google.com/110836523846801914852" target="_blank">+Debra Zahay-Blatz</a>. The Zahay-Blatz Family Award went to <a class="g-profile" href="http://plus.google.com/117882995678121904615" target="_blank">+Sekou Noriega</a>. Joe Glaser from Glaser Direct presented his award, targeted for those interested in B2B, to <a class="g-profile" href="http://plus.google.com/118005522302793545711" target="_blank">+Nick Kochetta</a>. The Johnson & Quin Award was presented by President <a class="g-profile" href="http://plus.google.com/107927268419854265847" target="_blank">+Dave Henkel</a> to <a class="g-profile" href="http://plus.google.com/114182429050887307418" target="_blank">+Amanda Forneck</a>, who will be beginning a full-time position at Johnson & Quin in the Fall. Thanks to the generosity of our <a href="http://bit.ly/Sxc4p1">Corporate Advisory Board</a> members for these Awards. <br />
<br />
These awards were given for scholarship and dedication to the Interactive Marketing Field. Look for these talented graduates to make substantive contributions to careers in Search (SEO and SEM), Social Media, Email, Website Usability and Testing and other areas that are a focus for our <a href="http://bit.ly/VDJcKe">Interactive Marketing Program.</a><br />
<br />
Interactive Marketing students also receiving scholarships were <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/108821541922244236035" target="_blank">+Jason Conklin</a> and Allison Greco, recipients of the Michael T. McSweeney Endowed Direct Marketing Scholarship. Interactive Marketing Student Board President <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/116069180918920039533" target="_blank">+Mike Glassberg</a> received both the Marketing Achievement Award sponsored by the Department of Marketing Faculty and the Top Marketing Achiever Award. Student board member <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/111966693069920870170" target="_blank">+Antonio Garay</a> received the Always be Contributing Award.<br />
<br />
A highlight for me was the fact we honored <a class="g-profile" href="http://plus.google.com/107927268419854265847" target="_blank">+Dave Henkel</a> as an honorary Alumnus of the Department of Marketing at Northern Illinois University Dave's company, Johnson & Quin, has recruited on campus most years out of the last 20 and has hired closed to 30 people out of the IM program and it's predecessor program in Direct Marketing. Dave said the association with NIU is a good fit because our students are hard-working and come in well prepared. <a href="http://bit.ly/Sxc4p1">Program graduates</a> don't have to be taught the basic vocabulary of the direct and interactive business because they have already learned in in their Marketing classes and Interactive Marketing classes in particular. Dave has been a corporate board member for almost ten years and this award was well-deserved. Thanks to Dave for his service to NIU and the IM program and congratulations to all on their awards.
<br />
By Debra Zahay-Blatz.<br />
You can find <a href="http://www.cob.niu.edu/personnel/PersonnelDetails.asp?id=m70dlz1">Debra</a> on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/110836523846801914852?rel=author" rel="author" target="_blank">Google+</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zahay" target="_blank">Twitter</a> as well as <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/drzahay">LinkedIn</a>.Debra Zahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074218865198573970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8065926716234251899.post-42906484367218524022013-04-13T10:23:00.001-05:002013-04-13T10:42:42.500-05:00The Shocking Truth About Content Marketing<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioCGFuBmTUlEb94USquPXuNhKyS8XAxucMwycBVAZa-nvi9R9OduDMR4SxNx5P25pis6cw_-njX0u436Ha0svrut2brujsrKnF5Kx8-aQmxEzAn6fRrFMZp66J6UYh7MlfEud6VyEOSME/s1600/For+blog+post2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioCGFuBmTUlEb94USquPXuNhKyS8XAxucMwycBVAZa-nvi9R9OduDMR4SxNx5P25pis6cw_-njX0u436Ha0svrut2brujsrKnF5Kx8-aQmxEzAn6fRrFMZp66J6UYh7MlfEud6VyEOSME/s400/For+blog+post2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Who Are You?</span></h2>
We are in the middle of a seven week social media module in my Marketing Technology Class. I wanted to share some of the learnings from our class, particularly on branding and strategy and how they relate to content marketing. Even a personal social media plan, which is one of our projects, can relate to how a company does business because you can't 'tweet' without self-knowledge.<br />
<br />
<br />
Let's work backwards to illustrate this point. Content marketing, <a href="http://bit.ly/XhVewS">as I mentioned in this blog previously</a>, makes sense of social media marketing because it puts it all together. The company (or individual creates content, as show in the figure above, and then puts it out through multiple communications outlets, social media or otherwise. So a white paper I might write on how to hire students in interactive marketing could be transformed into a few blog posts, a couple of tweets, an article in the college magazine. We might say content marketing is also another way to think of integrated marketing communications, where our visual message but also our content message is consistent across channels.<br />
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">What is Your Story?</span></h2>
This approach is all great but the biggest challenge for students (and companies) not what to create as appropriate content but what basic story they have to tell. I have challenged them to think about their professional passion, what they are good at and their story (their personal brand). That thought process is the hard work. Once they defined themselves, they were able to create solid profiles on LinkedIn using key search terms relating to their areas of interest. One student, <a class="g-profile" href="http://plus.google.com/108376744792513210312" target="_blank">+Megan Meyers</a>, said she<a href="http://bit.ly/ZBSA9k"> improved her LinkedIn profile</a> by expressing her career interests in social media marketing and within a day was receiving jobs from LinkedIn that were targeted to her personal interests.<br />
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">How Should Customers Think About Your Brand?</span></h2>
So the shocking, or maybe not so shocking, truth is that content marketing really comes down to telling a story. Content marketing is the work of creating the story, aka the brand image, that is the most difficult part of marketing. I often walk into potential consulting projects and the client thinks they need a new web site design. However, when we talk, we find out what they really need first is something to put on the web site that demonstrates a solid brand positioning. Good branding requires self-knowledge and a knowledge of their target market. <br />
<br />
Things are going well in class. The students are all complaining that they suddenly have to manage all their new social media interactions. I tell them that engagement is good and that is the goal of creating a powerful branding story that we can distribute through a content marketing program.<br />
<br />
So YOUR assignment for the upcoming week is to think about your brand story. Who are you and who is your audience and how do they want you to think about them? Then and only then can you create your content marketing program.
<br />
<br />
By Debra Zahay-Blatz.<br />
You can find <a href="http://www.cob.niu.edu/personnel/PersonnelDetails.asp?id=m70dlz1">Debra</a> on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/110836523846801914852?rel=author" rel="author" target="_blank">Google+</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zahay" target="_blank">Twitter</a> as well as <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/drzahay">LinkedIn</a>.Debra Zahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074218865198573970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8065926716234251899.post-82936703696931762002013-04-08T06:37:00.001-05:002013-04-08T08:01:23.745-05:00New Media Secrets from the Chicago Blackhawks<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm-6h_yWBaIZlR-E3pRSIfZFvH9BbCBCTMshbfLDrArb2QVyeW7Q_icyXZMk2WSnVon5z0Vksk2b9qNeO0E4VT-XM7UVw-Fuk9m0oN2BKRuJEsW3eZuJ49rzGTEOSJDQ9TJ9PjV1rAtDY/s1600/558900_578846442126011_165374642_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm-6h_yWBaIZlR-E3pRSIfZFvH9BbCBCTMshbfLDrArb2QVyeW7Q_icyXZMk2WSnVon5z0Vksk2b9qNeO0E4VT-XM7UVw-Fuk9m0oN2BKRuJEsW3eZuJ49rzGTEOSJDQ9TJ9PjV1rAtDY/s400/558900_578846442126011_165374642_n.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">Adam Kempenaar, Senior Creative Director of New Media <br />& Creative Services at the Chicago Blackhawks with our IM Student Board</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">Chicago Blackhawks Come to Campus</span></h2>
Adam Kempenaar, Senior Creative Director of New Media and Creative Services for the <a class="g-profile" href="http://plus.google.com/117633559760743884398" target="_blank">+Chicago Blackhawks</a> visited our University last Wednesday April 3. He spoke to a packed room of about 100 students, many of them interested in sports marketing, many of them in our Interactive Marketing <a href="http://bit.ly/I9iXKd">Certificate Program</a> and nearly all of them sporting red NIU shirts or Blackhawks gear. That's our Interactive Advisory Board in the picture above with Adam at the Center. Board President <a class="g-profile" href="http://plus.google.com/116069180918920039533" target="_blank">+Mike Glassberg</a>, who spearheaded this effort to bring the BlackHawks to campus, is two people to the left of Adam. The board presented him with a personalized NIU hockey jersey after his talk. Below is a summary of advice on social media marketing and how to find a fulfilling career.<br />
<br />
<h2>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">It All Started with Video</span></b></h2>
As you can imagine, for an exiting game like hockey, video is an extremely important part of the marketing communications mix. Adam started out with a communications and radio background and his first job at the Hawks was to record and produce videos. The Blackhawks post a lot of videos on their site and also stream the morning skate and other events. The team has branched out into YouTube but really wants people on their own official <a href="http://blackhawks.nhl.com/">web site</a>. Adam said, as we teach in our classes, the website is still the best way to communicate to fans and the first place people go to learn about their team. Video and photos provide a way to give rare behind-the-scenes access to fans.<br />
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">
Social Media Exploded with the Team's Success</span></h2>
Social media did not exist in 2002 when Adam started with the Hawks, but now the team makes extensive use of social media and was voted the best brand on Twitter in 2009. Adam said it just happened that as the team was really getting 'hot' there was a great new way to get the news out to fans in the form of social media. The team seeks not to just push content but to engage its fans and answers tweets from fans. Adam wants to engage customers and not just sell t-shirts and tickets.<br />
<br />
The team has 1.3 million Facebook fans, 300.000 Twitter followers and is in about 73,000 G+ circles and connects with 54,000 fans on Instagram. It views Facebook as a way to push out content but the other social media networks as a way to be more engaged.<br />
<br />
Adam said his job is to get content out to the world and his department is the gatekeeper. He appreciates the emphasis on quality that the team has and credits the recent management team with contributing to the team's success not only on the ice but also in communicating with its fan base. It takes a real commitment to make it all happen and the team work together. Adam has a relatively small team of professionals and interns that work nearly nonstop during the hockey season to communicate with fans.<br />
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">
Students Need to Find their Own Professional Passion</span></h2>
At the end of the talk, Adam spoke to students on their careers. He spoke of his own career path and gave three pieces of advice:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li><b>Find your passion:</b> Adam had a good job doing something else that he did not feel passionate about, but when the Blackhawks opportunity came up, he knew he had found his dream job and went for it. To his surprise, he was just what the Hawks were looking for and got the job.</li>
<li><b>Communicate:</b> Write well and opportunities will come to you. Adam had the chance to write a key letter for an executive early in his career that that success opened up doors for him.</li>
<li><b>Just 'do it':</b> If you want to be in social media, start a blog, create and disseminate content. You have to show that your really are interested in this field.</li>
</ol>
<div>
We all thank Adam for taking the time to speak to our class. We teachers thank him for reiterating the things we say in class about finding your passion and job hunting, writing well and creating content. Go Blackhawks and good luck!</div>
<br />
By Debra Zahay-Blatz.<br />
You can find <a href="http://www.cob.niu.edu/personnel/PersonnelDetails.asp?id=m70dlz1">Debra</a> on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/110836523846801914852?rel=author" rel="author" target="_blank">Google+</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zahay" target="_blank">Twitter</a> as well as <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/drzahay">LinkedIn</a>.Debra Zahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074218865198573970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8065926716234251899.post-66435010513563281512013-04-01T23:03:00.006-05:002013-04-10T11:59:59.170-05:00JRIM Special Issue: The Past, Present and Future of Interactive Marketing<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5KcSQ_asVO3tt0O2mENp45qERBGAELEH2yeuDoOKaXwPCcj8MKWGcZiEMK7Z1kEYZE-_u_FvYzOtT2aNBntgtZq6aTGijfAvIrjAjuwAcUX69TQ39bSnBGiygYbDHj64wuNQCUuhRawA/s1600/PPFUTURE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5KcSQ_asVO3tt0O2mENp45qERBGAELEH2yeuDoOKaXwPCcj8MKWGcZiEMK7Z1kEYZE-_u_FvYzOtT2aNBntgtZq6aTGijfAvIrjAjuwAcUX69TQ39bSnBGiygYbDHj64wuNQCUuhRawA/s400/PPFUTURE.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">
Special Issue Announced</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17.77777862548828px;">As Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, I am pleased to announce that we have established a partnership with the organizers of the Direct and Interactive Marketing Research Summit. The Conference is in Chicago, October 12th and 13th of 2013, and is sponsored by the DMEF (Direct Marketing Educational Foundation). JRIM is to provide a $500 award for the best research paper submitted to the conference. If you are not familiar with the conference, it is a two for one opportunity. Not only do participants get a specialized academic conference in our area of direct and interactive marketing, but the first academic registrants also may attend the annual DMA conference and have access to top-notch practitioner presentations and the exhibit floor.</span><br />
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; line-height: 17.77777862548828px;">Cash Award Available</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="line-height: 17.77777862548828px;">Speaking of a two for one opportunity, there is something different this year. While last year we also offered a cash prize for best Research paper, this year the top papers submitted to the Research Summit will be given consideration for publication in a special issue of our Journal on The Past, Present and Future of Interactive Marketing. The process is twofold. Submit papers for the conference <a href="http://bit.ly/YO1OvS">here</a>. After receiving feedback from the conference, please then submit papers to our special issue on The Past, Present and Future of Interactive Marketing<a href="http://bit.ly/Z3D02T"> here</a>. The paper deadline is August 30, 2013.</span></span><br />
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; line-height: 17.77777862548828px;">Suggested Topics</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17.77777862548828px;">Topics for the special issue may include but are not limited to:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17.77777862548828px;">Branding challenges and opportunities</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17.77777862548828px;">Business to business marketing developments</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17.77777862548828px;">Communications and new media channels</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17.77777862548828px;">Consumer behavior theories and applications</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17.77777862548828px;">Educational issues/challenges</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17.77777862548828px;">Internet strategy formation/implementation</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17.77777862548828px;">Linguistic issues related to the changing vocabulary of marketing</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17.77777862548828px;">Mobile marketing implications</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17.77777862548828px;">Marketing communications channels</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17.77777862548828px;">Measurement and attribution issues</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17.77777862548828px;">Other managerial aspects of internet marketing, such as product, distribution and pricing</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17.77777862548828px;">Organizational aspects of interactive marketing</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17.77777862548828px;">Political/legal issues and agendas</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17.77777862548828px;">Social network marketing.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 17.77777862548828px;">We are open to these and other topics as well. A lot has happened in interactive marketing in the last twenty years but the field is still in its infancy. We are looking for thought leaders to help define where the field is and should be headed. Please see me for any questions at zahay@niu.edu or contact <a class="g-profile" href="http://plus.google.com/112064979861281320313" target="_blank">+Lauren Labrecque</a> <a class="g-profile" href="http://plus.google.com/105593251004174723918" target="_blank">+Andy Rohm</a> or <a class="g-profile" href="http://plus.google.com/111639598347564782754" target="_blank">+George Milne</a> who are organizing the acdemic conference. We hope to see you at the DMA/DMEF in Chicago in October!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.77777862548828px;"><br /></span></span>
By Debra Zahay-Blatz.
You can find <a href="http://www.cob.niu.edu/personnel/PersonnelDetails.asp?id=m70dlz1">Debra</a> on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/110836523846801914852?rel=author" rel="author" target="_blank">Google+</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zahay" target="_blank">Twitter</a> as well as <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/drzahay">LinkedIn</a>.
Debra Zahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074218865198573970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8065926716234251899.post-54010439366091711172013-03-23T04:53:00.000-05:002013-03-27T04:30:30.881-05:00Tips & Best Practices for Paid Search<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr0NLZjLTxO6nCaVZBVk1bjJ1MPBGHQYkXqxanLkZs4Brv5KVyWonj_Vmn7OfN7i3t38PVrZpotlWTMTq_3UTFN__3WdAz-CgLipRESUaXP9OYvfvMfS9R-5Sgb9Sd7YkM-5mwHS7fgt4/s1600/LeapfrogNIU+SEM+Presentation+one+slide+jpeg.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr0NLZjLTxO6nCaVZBVk1bjJ1MPBGHQYkXqxanLkZs4Brv5KVyWonj_Vmn7OfN7i3t38PVrZpotlWTMTq_3UTFN__3WdAz-CgLipRESUaXP9OYvfvMfS9R-5Sgb9Sd7YkM-5mwHS7fgt4/s320/LeapfrogNIU+SEM+Presentation+one+slide+jpeg.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702397905945952658" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
+<a class="Sg Ob Tc" href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/111908310567151745569" oid="111908310567151745569" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.218s; background-color: white; color: #222222; cursor: pointer; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;"><b>Thorne Washington</b></a>, a recent grad from Northern's IM program, and Brad Hawk, both from board member company <a href="http://www.leapfrogonline.com/">Leapfrog Online</a>, have been coming to my classes to share their experiences and tips on Paid Search. The duo helped students prepared for the Google Online Marketing Challenge last year and for their <a href="http://bit.ly/14jrt3M">Paid Search consulting project this year using Google AdWords and Analytics </a>. The two consultants have a great framework, listed above, for analyzing, implementing and measuring a paid search campaign.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We really appreciated Brad and Thorne's clear approach to the problem at hand. They suggested a framework for the project that they use for their own work. As shown above, they suggested that the best way to approach paid search is to Research, Build, Launch and then Analyze/Report. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I agree that planning is key to effective Search Engine Marketing (SEM). If you don't understand the customer and the keywords they are searching for it is not even useful to start a campaign. Google provides many useful analysis tools to research initially and then modify the campaign once it has been launched. We use Google Trends and the AdWords keyword tool for our initial and ongoing research. Sometimes we found that the terms the company thought defined its business were not highly searched for by potential customers and had to make adjustments.<br />
<br />
Building and Launching a paid search campaign, the students found, was an ongoing, iterative exercise. +<a class="Sg Ob qm" href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/101326737643724947293" oid="101326737643724947293" rel="nofollow" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.218s; background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #222222; cursor: pointer; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;"><b>Brittany Sarkisian</b></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">,</span> who is in the class right now, said that the class is interactive and allowed her to apply the concepts we have been learning in the real world. The students monitored their campaigns over a three week time frame, often not finding an effective ad/keyword/call to action combination until late in the campaign.<br />
<br />
Some other helpful tips from Thorne and Brad included bidding 1.5 or 2 times more than the suggested initial bid in AdWords to get a high ranking and improve your click-through rate, setting the geographic area of the search, limiting the campaign to the hours of operation of the business and using Exact match when you have a small budget. Since mobile ads are more expensive than desktop ads, the students also limited the devices on which their ads were displayed (although we may not have this choice in the future). Thanks to both Brad and Thorne for coming out and sharing their expertise.<br />
<span class="Fw" style="background-color: #f8f8f8; display: inline; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: static; right: 0px; top: 0px;"><span class="N7 lP" style="float: right;"></span></span><br />
By Debra Zahay-Blatz.<br />
You can find <a href="http://www.cob.niu.edu/personnel/PersonnelDetails.asp?id=m70dlz1">Debra</a> on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/110836523846801914852?rel=author" rel="author" target="_blank">Google+</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zahay" target="_blank">Twitter</a> as well as <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/drzahay">LinkedIn</a>.
</div>
Debra Zahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11074218865198573970noreply@blogger.com0