hannazee

[hannazee]

Seminar Journal #3

Several weeks ago, my colleagues and I were fortunate to hear Richard Nathans’s inspirational presentation on his career as a digital sales and business development executive.  Before his current role at Quebecor, he has been part of large organizations such as Kijiji and Sun Media. Tasked with driving growth for the organizations he works for, he has a deep understanding of the digital space. As he was presenting to soon-to-be graduates in digital marketing, he focused the majority of the seminar on how to succeed in today’s ever-changing marketing world.

Soon after Richard graduated from George Brown College, he landed a Co-Op position at Grand National Apparel, and this role paved the way for his career. I’m currently in the process of paving my own career and trying to figure out which roles I see myself working in.

“What does it mean to be a marketer in today’s world?”

When Richard asked us this question, it opened my eyes and got me thinking about my own career and experience. Since the digital marketing industry is ever changing, being a marketer in today’s world is constantly changing too. With new trends and tools emerging daily, it is no wonder why I had difficulty answering this question! Living in a pandemic has also changed the way we view the marketing world today: from communicating with colleagues and attending conferences via Zoom, to interviewing with potential employees via Google Chat, the world is changing and will not go back to “normal” anytime soon.

I appreciated his level of transparency with our class. Not only did he talk about his success, but he also spoke about how it is perfectly okay to fail since failure allows you to grow and learn from your mistakes. Richard suggested to really get ourselves out there, develop an excellent work ethic and work hard to make our dreams come true.  

“Listen to your gut.”

Listening to my gut is especially important now, and I thank Richard for pushing me to contemplate this. As I’m applying to jobs and internships, I used to have the mindset of wanting to apply to any job that is hiring, as long as it is relevant to my field. Now, however, I ensure that my values align with the values of the organization to which I am applying. I do value the importance of listening to my gut and trusting myself, and applying that to every facet in my life.  

Richard’s presentation was empowering and motivating. Not only did he give my colleagues and I a glimpse into his life, but he offered us excellent advice on how to take our careers to the next step.

[hannazee]

How to Jazz Up Your Digital Marketing Plan

Before you gently usher your customers through the consumer decision journey, you might be wondering where to begin. When I first got into the digital marketing field, it was a little bit daunting. There are so many different strategies to chose from, and it could get overwhelming! The best advice I can give you is to know your brand and customers. Every action that you carry throughout your digital marketing efforts must be aligned with your brand’s story and values.

Set SMART Objectives

The very first thing you should do when beginning a marketing plan is to set SMART objectives. Every marketing objective you have must be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Without these, it will be nearly impossible for your brand to succeed because they will help motivate you and will give you and your team a sense of purpose.

Specific: Your goal should be as specific as possible! Use a numeric value to help you achieve your goal with more purpose.

Measurable: you should find a quantifiable way to track your marketing efforts. Doing so will help you identify when it has been reached.

Achievable: your goal should be challenging yet entirely realistic. If it is set too high, it can cause unnecessary stress on you and your colleagues. If it is set too low, you will not be challenged enough.

Relevant: your goal must be critical to the organization and its values.

Time-bound: you should clearly define a start and finish date

Example of a SMART objective: “To increase sales of bikes by 15% within 4 months.”

Determine your target customer

Knowing who you are selling to can make or break your brand. Not only will it cut down on your ad spend, but you will be more likely to weed out those who are uninterested in your brand and can focus your resources elsewhere. To figure out who your target market is, you will need to use demographic, geographic, psychographic, and behavioural information of the type of prospect you want to sell to.

Demographic: age, gender, education, occupation, etc.

Geographic: region, city, country, etc.

Psychographic: lifestyle, activities, interests, etc.

Behavioural: Usage rate, degree of brand loyalty, etc.

You and your marketing team can have a lot of fun with this! Use Xtensio’s templates for user personas here: https://xtensio.com/user-persona/

But you’re not finished yet! Customer targeting is an iterative process that requires testing, testing, and more testing. As the market shifts, and your consumers are demanding new things daily, you need to be able to accommodate that by changing your user persona frequently.

Choosing the right digital ad

Since there is a myriad of ad formats out there, it could be a bit tricky to get started. My advice: put yourself in your target customer’s shoes and ask the right questions. For example, “If I were a 21-year-old university student and city-dweller who enjoys avocado toast, which social media platform would I use the most?”

If you have a large ad budget, then by all means, go crazy and use different types of ads! But, if you are a small-sized company with a limited budget, you will have to be more selective with your choices.  Depending on where on the funnel you are targeting, you will need to use a combination of different ads.

There are many ad types to choose from, but I will only discuss social media ads because those are my favourite.

Why use social media ads?

Since social media users have persistent logins, you can identify and retarget individuals using multiple and shared devices. According to Nielson Ad Ratings, targeting via Facebook is 85% accurate, while targeting via Display Ads are 65% accurate. There are a variety of ad formats you can choose for Facebook and Instagram, including:

· Single image: perfect for spreading awareness, consideration and conversion

· Carousel: you can show a maximum of 10 images in a single ad, and it is also perfect for awareness, consideration and conversion

· Collection: use this ad format to tell your brand’s story

Setting SMART objectives, knowing your target customers and choosing the right digital ad are all critical factors to a successful digital marketing plan. It is completely okay (and even recommended) to continuously optimize every step of the way until you find something that works for you. So, go ahead – get out there and draft an awesome marketing plan!

[hannazee]

My Mobile Day

My day typically begins with waking up at 9 AM, hitting the snooze button repeatedly, and checking the social channels on my Android. Although some mobile apps are used for serious purposes (such as using LinkedIn for my current job search or checking the weather to see what my day will look like), I’m a huge sucker for using social media for entertainment.

What are my top 5 apps?

1)  Instagram

Insta is by far my most favourite app – I use it for posting the latest Trump memes on my story (seriously – they’re hilarious), following my favourite influencers, and hearing the latest news on the Kardashians (like, duh).  Like a typical millennial, I have zero shame in posting photos of overpriced avocado toast (if I capture the toast from different angles, it counts as a unique perspective – right?)

2)  Facebook

Oh, Facebook. I remember when I was 13 years old, and it was the hot new app. Although I don’t post photos and statuses as often as I used to (all thanks to my dear mother, who friended me and made sure my content is PG-13), I still use this app for group chats and connecting with old friends.

3)  LinkedIn

This is currently my most widely-used app. As a soon-to-be graduate, I check this app often for jobs and to network with like-minded professionals.

4)  Snapchat

I love this app – it is unique in that there is a never-ending stream of filters that one can use for any occasion (call me old-fashioned, but I still use the tongue-sticking-out puppy filter).

5)  Twitter

Although it’s my least-used app, I do use it weekly to catch up on news and global events.

Micro-moments

Every day, I typically find several ads on Instagram Stories that capture my attention. Yesterday, I saw an advertisement at home that prompted me to buy Glossier’s new ‘Super Pure’ product. By using direct targeting, Glossier knew precisely the type of product that I wanted and needed. Of course, I purchased one of their products, and I cannot wait to try it out and see results.

Another micro-moment that occurred at home several days ago was an I-want-to-go moment. I was craving charcoal ice cream (I know, I know – how millennial of me) and decided to Google new restaurants in my area. I was delighted when I saw a plethora of new options when I searched for “near me” restaurants.  

Mobile Friction:

Something that bugs me in the mobile world is slow.loading.pages. Like most people, I cannot stay on a page longer than 2 seconds because my mind immediately wanders someplace else. I also heavily dislike poorly-advertised landing pages. If a brand is trying to sell me a product on Instagram and its landing page doesn’t match what they’re trying to sell me, I’m immediately frustrated. 

What if I read this from a marketer’s perspective?

From a marketer’s perspective, I would immediately tell my team to ensure that all pages are up to speed and updated. This will, of course, involve some cross-functional collaboration, as coders will be responsible for this. But, it is so important to know what your customers want and need in this ever-changing industry!

[hannazee]

Marketing Seminar - Kareem Perez

In last week’s marketing seminar, Kareem Perez gave an enthralling presentation based on his life and career experience. He is a results-oriented marketer who is focused on growth and strategic insights, and he specializes in SEO, SEM, social media, mobile, and email. His passions include career coaching, volunteering, and public speaking. In his current role at “The Tech Effect”, he provides learning and coaching opportunities for marketing professionals and students.

Kareem offered many valuable insights throughout his presentation, such as encouraging curiosity and having a “growth” mindset. These really stuck with me after the presentation because it made me think about my personal mindset and inspired me to ask questions and continually learn new skills. Taking examples from his life, he told us that when he started working at his first job, he took an entry-level position and worked his way up to success. His career journey took several major shifts along the way, from working for advertising firms, to public speaking, and now career coaching.

A quote that really stood out for me during his presentation was when he said: “Nobody is interested in everything but everyone is interested in something.” This means that everyone can find their niche, and it is important to follow our interests and do what we love. As students, it is critical to be open-minded towards finding our dream career and dabble into many things that we enjoy doing. This quote also offered me a unique viewpoint, which is that you do not have to know your career aspiration at a certain age; rather, there is no rush to get to where you want to be.

The most important key takeaway from Kareem’s presentation was that lifelong learning is vital. He stressed the importance of curiosity, networking, and reaching for the stars. He also emphasized the importance of standing out from the crowd and being marketable in today’s competitive society.

I am grateful for Kareem’s presentation, and I am looking forward to the speakers for the rest of the semester!    

[hannazee]

Journal #1

In last week’s Marketing Seminar, I had the pleasure of listening to three George Brown alumni discuss their chosen career paths. As an aspiring digital marketer, I was looking forward to hearing advice from young professionals and learning about their day-to-day lives in the marketing industry. Although the three of them came from unique backgrounds, they had one paradigm in common: 

leveraging online resources is key to achieving lifelong learning.

Asta spoke about her success with intertwining graphic design and marketing to suit her current role writing RFP’s. Hearing her explain that she got her current job by creating a mock social media account for her company showed me the importance of creativity and going the extra mile when applying for jobs. Following the standard resume and cover letter templates shouldn’t necessarily be your first choice, depending on the position you are applying for. 

Natasha has extensive experience in SEO and Content Marketing. In her current role, she manages B2B and B2C clients from various agencies. I was pleasantly surprised when she informed us that she made a career change from being a teacher to a digital marketer. I always believed that a career change in anyone’s life (regardless of age!) shows adaptability and passion.    

Jordan is a Social Media Marketer with experience in the hospitality industry. He graduated from the Digital Media Marketing program from GBC and currently works at Starcom, where he develops Social Media and SEO strategies. He offered sound advice about how vital it is to keep up-to-date with the marketing industry (e.g. by reading articles and listening to podcasts), as it is an ever-changing industry with new digital trends emerging on a daily basis.

It came to no surprise that all three speakers emphasized the importance of educating oneself about the digital marketing industry using external sources, such as eMarketer and MarketingProfs. Following their advice, I subscribed to these newsletters and I am looking forward to learning new things about my industry.

Asta, Natasha and Jordan inspired me to be resourceful, make connections, and not be afraid to take risks (seriously - what’s the worst that can happen if I fail? I’ll just get up and try again).  

I am super grateful for last week’s speakers, and I cannot wait for the rest of the speakers we have lined up for this semester!