Our two-day series of entry-level seminars was created to familiarize small-business owners with digital marketing strategies, and provide resources for building a cohesive brand identity. Marketing industry veterans, who are seeking to adapt to this rapidly changing landscape, will also benefit from a survey of digital marketing platforms and practices.
Schedule
With both lectures and interactive exercises, our expert instructors will guide students through the latest digital marketing and social media platforms, strategies and trends. Students will also have the opportunity to present real-life scenarios, and network with local industry leaders.
Workshops
Intro to Digital Marketing & Marketing Technology
In today's always-on, digital, mobile society, breaking through the noise to modern consumers is more difficult than it's ever been. On top of this, consumer expectations of your marketing and advertising are higher than they've ever been. In this introductory session, we will be covering the modern digital landscape, and discussing the rapidly changing face of digital marketing and advertising.
Additionally, we will be addressing the fact that it's simply no longer possible to gain consumer attention, engage your customer base, and compete at scale, without the use of marketing technology to create and disseminate your message.
We'll be "going under the hood," to gain an understanding of the various tools that are powering today's modern marketing and advertising efforts. We will be teaching you how to create a marketing technology blueprint that will ensure you are using the right products, both for your budget and your goals. It's not necessarily the coolest part of marketing, but in today's economy, it's a critical component for success!
Social Media
Whether it's the incumbents like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn; or, the newer players like Snapchat and Instagram, your customers are there, and you should be too. In this seminar, we'll be discussing how to determine the right channels for your target audience, as well as, how to leverage social media for marketing, advertising, customer care and reputation management.
Content Creation
Engaging content attracts repeated website visits, populates social media channels, and drives search engine traffic. In this seminar, students will learn how to grow their business through developing a content-focused online strategy.
Search Engine Optimization
It's possible that no other field in digital marketing has changed more over the past 5 years than search engine optimization (SEO). It's possibly the least understood, and potentially the most difficult to master due to the hundreds of annual algorithm changes that Google alone makes. In this session, we will be covering a high-level over view of the technical elements of SEO, which haven't changed all that much, and still remain critical to organic search success. We will also cover what inbound marketing is, and how it's also critical for success.
Pay-Per-Click Marketing
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Marketing is generally considered the gold standard for direct response online marketing. While there are numerous channels that offer a PPC model, it is most commonly associated with search engine marketing. In this seminar, students will learn how to leverage Google AdWords, the most widely used PPC marketing platform.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is an exhaustive source of consumer data; monitoring website behavior. In this seminar, students will learn how to use this data to make better marketing decisions.
Instructors
- Rivers Pearce, Facilitator, Digital Marketing, SEO
- Tina Arnoldi, Google Analytics
- Ashley T. Caldwell, Social Media
- Chris Cousins, Pay-Per-Click/Google Adwords
- Holly Fisher, Content, Blogs, and Catchy Titles
- Zack Hanebrink, SEO/Marketing Technology
Rivers Pearce is the Director of Digital Strategy for BoomTown, an online real estate marketing and sales platform, based in Charleston, SC. He has over 8 years experience in the online marketing and advertising space, working with numerous Fortune 500 companies across the e-commerce, travel and real estate verticals. Pearce has deep expertise in paid search, search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, digital lead generation, holistic digital strategy, and marketing/advertising technology.
Tina Arnoldi helps clients develop and manage their internet strategy through her company, 360 Internet Strategy. She holds B.A. in Psychology from Caldin College, a Masters in Psychology from Fuller Theological Seminary, and a Certificate in Computer Technology from Trident Technical College.
Arnoldi has also obtained certification in Google Analytics and Google AdWords, and is part of the Google Partners program. She was recognized by the Charleston Business Journal in 2007 with a “Forty Under 40″ award, and again in 2011 as an “Influential Woman in Business.”
Ashley Caldwell is the founder and CEO of The Modern Connection, a boutique firm focused on connecting businesses and customers online.
She holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado and formerly worked in sales, marketing and TV & print journalism.
Caldwell was honored as one of the Charleston Regional Business Journal's 40 Under 40 in 2013 and was a finalist at the Center for Women's Most Influential Women in Business recognition ceremony in the Entrepreneur category in 2016. She can be heard weekly on The Bridge at 105.5's morning show, during the Web Wednesday segment.
A graduate of the University of Kentucky, Chris Cousins entered the digital marketing space in 2011. Gravitating toward the data driven side of marketing he found himself immersed in paid media and web analytics. Cousins now manages a team of search engine marketing professionals, and over $13M in annual ad spend.
Holly A. Fisher is the owner of communications firm H.A.F. Creative. A former newspaper journalist, Fisher freelances for several publications along with providing copywriting, blogging and editing services for businesses. She also works with local nonprofits and small businesses on public relations, social media and email marketing. Fisher holds a degree in journalism from Ohio University and a master of mass communication from the University of South Carolina. She is the current president of the Charleston AMA chapter.
Zack Hanebrink is Co-Founder of HookLead, a marketing agency in Charleston, SC. He has over 10 years experience in digital marketing, helping businesses improve their marketing and sales practices.