So finally part 1 of my DCU practicum / thesis is complete. The team submitted a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Report, a Social Media Marketing Report, a Digital Advertising Report and a Digital Marketing Strategy document to DCU and to our client – HRLocker.
I think that I enjoyed doing the SEO the most, as keyword analysis reveals so much about what people are looking for and gives great insights on things to consider when creating marketing messages and site content. SEO also highlights the importance of proper organization within a website – from source code construction and technical instructions to text content and visual layout. Looking at a website through the lens of Google Analytics can tell you exactly what is performing well and what isn’t. However, SEO is ongoing process and not a quick fix, but a very worthwhile exercise for any business, as long term attentive management can yield high organic search engine rankings.
Our Social Media Marketing report delved into the top 12 social media platforms and how to use them from a commercial business perspective. We gave examples of how we used the platforms on behalf of our client and offered tips on how to make the most of your own youtube channel to participating in LinkedIn groups, as well as demonstrating the power of Blogs versus the reach of twitter.
For the Digital Advertising report, a couple of different methods of online advertising were examined. This ranged from online sponsorship to Google adwords to Direct Ads on LinkedIn. We constructed examples of ads for both Google Adwords and LinkedIn DirectAds, refining the messages to suit different target audience segments.
The Digital Marketing Strategy document contained an overview of our online activities and recommendations, the competitive and economic environment in which our client operates (our focus was UK and Ireland – Software as Service industry), research findings from face to face interviews with HR managers and focus groups that we held with Plato business network groups and future strategic recommendations. It was a lot of work – but it was a great opportunity to really get up close and in depth with digital marketing and its commercial application.
So now I’m starting on part 2 of my practicum / thesis and next step is to present our findings to three different audiences;
- Our client – HRLocker
- A DCU Academic panel
- To our peers within the class.
The goal here will be to to make sure that all the information we gathered is distilled into its clearest and most concise form – so that all three groups we are presenting to will get something out of it.
Find out more about Derval Concannon on LinkedIn
Tags: Blogs, DCU, derval concannon, Digital Advertising, Digital Marketing Strategy, firecracker, Google Adwords, LinkedIn, marketing, marketing masters, SEO, Thesis, twitter, youtube
August 5, 2010 at 2:17 pm |
Great work Derval, good to chat with you and your group at the Link Networking event.
Fran