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Technology is something we cannot wish away. Every field has taken a shift toward technological innovations, and marketing is no exception. Therefore, it is time for institutions to help students learn how to use digital marketing platforms constructively.
Marketing students, in particular, would benefit from added instruction featuring digital marketing platforms. After all, they are venturing into a job market that is more inclined toward digital marketing. In order to help students make good use of digital platforms, the following key topics should be included in degree programs.
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Digital Marketing Analytics
Analyzing data is key for successful digital marketing. Students must learn to translate customer behavior into useful data that will help a business market its operations. Marketers can use digital and web analytics to examine the online platforms their clients utilize.
For example, if a business has a website, then marketers can use cookies to track user interaction and make relevant recommendations. Introducing such topics to students provides them skills to calculate things such as bounce rates and interactions per visit. Thus, students are ready to evaluate and provide guidance for business owners to improve their online presence.
Social Media Relationships
For any business to succeed, it must maintain a good relationship between clients and the service provider. Regardless of the size of the company, one needs to know how to build lasting relationships that would benefit the business. The reputation of a business depends on such relationships.
The growth of social media demands that companies engage with potential clients via digital marketing. For this reason, students must learn how to build and maintain online relationships with clients. Additionally, with the large number of businesses operating online, students must understand how to market to large, but specific, audiences.
Search Engine Optimization
In order for any business to thrive, its potential customers must first be able to find it. In the online world, this means that a business must be searchable. For instance, when one wants to buy an essay online, there is a high chance they would buy from a site that would appear on the first page of search results.
Google processes over 3.5 billion searches in a single day. People are turning to the Internet to research what they need, make purchases, or even review a product they have bought. Therefore, marketers should know how to target the audience most likely to need their company’s product or service.
Teaching students search engine optimization (SEO) will not only help them gain knowledge, but they will also become capable of working independently. While traditional marketing topics and methods are still relevant, it is clear that students need to be enlightened on the newer strategies of digital marketing. Additionally, a more robust education in digital marketing will allow students to run projects independently, even as freelancers.
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E-Mail Marketing
Email is among the oldest digital marketing strategies. It involves sending well-structured e-mails to prospective customers and existing customers to build an ongoing relationship. Marketing e-mails may include newsletters updating clients on the company’s services or offering promotional deals.
This technique makes it easy to send a targeted message to group of clients at a very low cost. For example, a restaurant may send an e-mail to customers for birthday discounts. The discount encourages the recipient to visit the restaurant again, thereby generating another sale and customer loyalty.
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E-mail marketing helps in the growth of small and medium enterprises. So educators ought to consider incorporating an e-mail marketing course for students. It would be beneficial to teach a topic that focuses on how to create subject lines and e-mails that can attract clients.
Institutions can also include case studies on successful companies that have been using e-mail marketing strategies to attract customers. Such a course would teach students how to utilize this type of advertising. Finally, teaching e-mail marketing will boost students’ communication and creativity skills.
The Rapid Evolution of Digital Marketing
Technology is evolving daily and so is digital marketing. However, there is a huge gap between the skills taught in school and the skills required currently in the marketing world. Therefore, the majority of marketers carrying out online marketing are self-taught.
With online marketing skills, students are empowered to create their own client base among businesses, locally and globally. In short, institutions must broaden curricula to include digital marketing in order to best prepare their students for the marketing world.
