1. CAREER SPOTLIGHT
Connect and
Social media is changing the face of online marketing.
ÉL i • .
W^L • ext time you're selling a produa for a
B ^ ^ I school fund-raiser, think like a mar-
I ^ ^ I keting professional. Who would be
I ^ ^ J most interested in the product? Whar
B ^ " are the best ways to reach them?
Those are questions that people in the marketing
industry ask every day as they look for creative new
ways to promote products or services. Marketing is
everywhere—on billboards along the highway, in
concerts sponsored by soft drink companies, and on
postcards delivered to your home.
With the growing number of people online, a new
field of marketing has emerged. E-marketing, or
Internet marketing, encompasses everything a busi-
ness does to promote itself online.
"Nearly every company, if it has a Web site, is involved
in Internet marketing," says Carly Desmet. She's director of
marketing at Oneupweb, an online marketing firm in
Traverse City, Mich. Desmet's firm handles online
marketing campaigns for all sorts of businesses—
from pet hospitals to large corporations.
E-marketing isn't just about having a nice
Web site, though. Online display ads and
banner ads linking to a company's home
page need to be placed on sites that are most
likely to reach the target audience. E-mail cam-
paigns promote a company by sending messages directly to a
potential customer's in-box.
Another important tool in online marketing is search engine
optimization, or SEO. It's the process used to improve a Web site's
ranking on search engines, such as Yahoo! and Google. When
someone googles a term—steak restaurant or eye doctor, for exam-
ple—the Web sites that pop up first are determined hy SEO. So
if you are marketing a business online, it's important to use words
in the Web site's text that match the words a person would use
to search for it.
2 6 CAREERWORLD February/March 2010

2. ProrToote By Natalia Maldonado

3. But as the ways people use the
Internet evolve, so does Internet mar-
keting. The industry's most powerful
HOT TOOLS IN
Eools, and how businesses use them,
may surprise you. You may fmd that
ONLINE MARKETING
you already have some experience Online marketing changes every day
with this field. as technologies are introduced or
used in new ways. Here are three
Putting In Some Face Time marketing tools to keep an eye on-if
If youVe ever logged on to Facebook you go into this field, you may be
using them.
and become a "fan" of a company, such
as Apple, or a charity organization,
such as the Humane Society of the
United States, you've seen the social
media aspect of e-marketing in action.
C People want to
connect with real Video: Strong visuals and sound are
a key part of communication, and
people, and that's video is a great combination of both.
Following the success of YouTube,
what I think makes more and more companies are
expected to integrate video onto
social media so fun their Web sites. The idea is to engage
and so intriguing visitors' interest not only with text,
but with images too.
for marketers.
-Lisa Goddard
Augmented reality: This type of
virtual reality combines what you
"Social media has absolutely, 100 see on your computer screen with
percent changed online marketing," information about your surrounding
Desmet says. "It's really opened up a environment. Sponsors can create a
two-way line of communication." virtual enhancement of reality on
At Desmet's company, social media your computer screen.
plays such an imponant role that an
entire department is devoted to it. Smart phone applications: Phones
aren't just for talking and texting any-
Each social media campaign is tai-
more. Companies in all industries
lored to a company's needs and audi-
offer software that lets you check
ence. A corporation wanting to
information, such as the weather,
promote itself to other companie.s movie times, and sports scores from
may choose a busin ess-minded out- your phone. Those apps are easily
let, such as Linkedin, while a dance downloaded, so marketers can be
company may use YouTube to post sure you're carrying their brand name
videos of performances. User interac- with you-even after you've stepped
tion—the ability to post comments, away from a computer.
send friend requests, and to join a
28 CAREERWORLD February/March 2010

4. network—connects businesses and ence. Information online spreads at a she'll meet with event teams to
organizations to peopie. fantastic rate. It's as easy as forward- brainstorm ways to promote an
"People want to connect with real ing an e-mai!, re-tweeting a message, upcoming event.
people, and that's what 1 think makes or suggesting a page to your Facebook Along with creativity and excellent
social media so fun and so intriguing friends. writing skills, Goddard says, being
for marketers," says Lisa Goddard, able to work well in a team is essen-
advocacy and online marketing direc- The Wide World of tial to her job. "In all of the jobs I've
tor at the Capital Area Food Bank of Internet Marketing had in marketing, I've never worked
Texas in Austin. Goddard uses social For someone entering the field of alone." From its inception to its exe-
media tools, such as Facebook, the Internet marketing, the opportunities cution, an online marketing cam-
Food Banks blog, and Twitter, to pro- are vast. Most marketing profession- paign can involve a number of
mote awareness of hunger issues in als have a bachelor's degree in some people—managers. Web designers,
her community. area of communication, such as writers, and account executives, to
advertising, marketing, or English. name a few.
"You can get very specialized." Once an online campaign goes
Today's students Desmet says. "You could work for live, its results need to be measured.
basically any company because these That is where strong math skills come
have an advantage: days almost every business has a mar- into play.
Growing up with keting department." A search ad—in which a business
pays for its ad to appear when a cer-
Sports teams need marketing
the Internet gives departments to keep their image and tain keyword is put into a search
brand in the public eye. Hospitals use engine—may yield a certain number
^hem a keen marketing to create awareness of their of sales. A percentage of people who
understanding achievements and support for their view a video on YouTube will click a
community's needs. All businesses link to visit the sponsoring company's
of social media's need to promote themselves, so site. Internet marketers track those
figures to see what's working in their
role in people's there's a marketing position out there
to suit nearly any interest. For those campaigns—and what's not.
-^ay-to-day lives. having difficulty picking just one spe- "We need to be able to measure
cialty, there are marketing firms that and analyze the success of every cam-
work with clients across a number of paign. That definitely helps internet
industries. markeung continue to grow," Desmet
Her online efforts, even those writ- "The foundation for [marketing] is says, adding that the field is changing
ten in 140 characters or less, have that you have to be an excellent com- every day at an incredibly fast pace.
yielded real-world results. When a municator, whatever your specialty Today's students have an advantage:
representative from Tyson Foods read may be," Desmet says. "Marketing for Growing up with the Internet gives
one of Goddards tweets on Twitter, the most part requires a creative them a keen understanding of social
he offered to help. Together, they approach. You always have to be com- media's role in people's day-to-day
launched an online antihunger cam- ing up with fresh ideas." lives. "They have a wonderful oppor-
paign: For every re-tweet or comment tunity to take social media to the next
posted on the Food Bank's blog, Creativity, Leadership level," Goddard says. "Wherever that
Tyson would donate a chicken. In less Skills and... Math? next level may be." C W
than 24 hours, the Food Bank had On any given day ar the Food Bank,
»UTIT
enough chickens to fill a truck. Goddard might work with a graphic •nt to start a new
Social media sites help nonprofit designer on a banner ad for the )l tutoring service. How
organizations like Goddard's create Internet, then start writing a post for might you use soda! media to
market and promote it?
awareness across an enormous audi- the organization's blog. Sometimes
February/March 2010 CAREERWDRLD 2 9

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