In my experience, college courses aren’t the best source of skill building. Particularly as a person that learns in a hands-on environment. I’ve often felt like I was completing assignments more than actually learning. So, why is this class different?  

This course taught me the fundamentals of digital marketing, hitting all the main characteristics. Furthermore, putting an emphasis on how to make skills functional. Throughout this course, I have advanced my digital marketing knowledge. Obviously, that is the main reason for taking college courses. Although, I want to showcase my value in the workplace beyond the textbook. Specifically, I have expanded my knowledge in highlighting my progress, processes used to better a business, and how to efficiently use digital marketing tools.

In efforts to make this learning possible for me, the course is made up of various assignments that include:

• Website Building
• Customer Persona Creation
• SEO Keyword Research
• AI-assisted Content Creation
• Writing Social Media Posts
• Review Analysis
• Website Analysis

Over the past 16 weeks, I have learned practical and real-world applications. I didn’t do random online platform learning. Unlike other courses, I built my own website and selected companies in my area. The companies I used to complete assignments on are Riddles Jewelry and Black Hills Federal Credit Union. I used a combination of primary and secondary sources to gather information that could be helpful. In the completion of these assignments, I learned valuable skills.

The most notable skills I have obtained are:

• Website management
• Email automation
• Google analytics
• Content creation
• Analytics interpretation

To obtain these skills, I was introduced to various tools like Google analytics. I analyzed website traffic, engagement, and user behavior to understand content performance and improve strategy. Although, I didn’t get much traffic. I am aware of how to dissect the data through the practices of this course. I had 145 total users, 171 sessions, and 48 engaged sessions on my website.

As society develops digitally, I find it important to update my skills accordingly. Traditionally artificial intelligence through the eyes of a university is taboo. Honestly, the general population has mixed emotions too. While in this course we used it for visuals, review analysis, and to aid in keyword optimization. An equally important skill with the use of artificial intelligence, is transparency.

With the use of these skills and tools, I came up with proposals for the two companies I selected. First, I would like to share what I think Riddles Jewelry could benefit from. Based appon my review analysis, Riddles finds success with in person interactions. Simultaneously receiving negativity based upon their in-person interactions. Ensuring customer service is friendly and not pressuring plays a huge key. Furthermore, making guidelines that employees must follow to guarantee a universal experience. Customers want someone they can trust to guide them through the process. If that employee to customer relationship is ruined, Riddles doesn’t have an advantage over more convenient options. In my customer persona, the ideal customer shops around (online and other jewelry stores). In order to secure a sale, personal relationships are the definer.  Overall, building consistency and continuing to build on positive interactions is key for Riddles Jewelry.  

Black Hills Federal Credit Union follows the same pattern as Riddles Jewelry. The interactions aren’t consistent. While a lot of their business has shifted towards the use of technology, it is still important to create relationships with customers. Also, their range of demographics is large, so creating consistent interactions is more difficult. The older generations still prioritize in person banking. While younger generations prioritize productivity and technology. Then the decline of employees mixed with an increase in technology is not a good equation. People find it almost impossible to communicate with employees at any age demographic according to the reviews. So, what is the happy medium? Regardless relationships are huge for BHFCU because they have people’s lively hoods in their hands. I propose that BHFCU interacts with the community outside of the banking world to gain trust back. I think it would be smart to set up workshops around money, staff volunteer days, school events, and provide useful content on practical money tips. My last idea would make policies clearer from the start. This also enforces trust because customers don’t feel like they are being taken advantage of.  

Another advantage of this course is that we get to promote our personal skills. With guidance from our class instructor: Dr. Sangbong Lee. We used LinkedIn and the tagging feature to gain direct attention from the companies we picked. To be honest, I did not get great results from LinkedIn. I didn’t have any engagement, but I did make 4 new connections!

Personally, I am studying Business Administration and concentrating on marketing. Additionally, I am minoring in finance and economics. Which offers me a creative but critical thinking mindset. I chose to get into the world of Marketing because I can use my strengths. I love designing and making ideas more tangible. At the same time, I love to challenge my mind through problem solving and reading data. With the application of life outside of the textbook that this course offered me. I believe I have acquired skills to get me one step closer to joining the marketing world. Not only do I want to enter the marketing world, but I also want to use the skills from this course to really engage with an audience. I want to obtain clear communication between brands and consumers.

I plan to apply the skills I’ve learned at future internships and career opportunities in marketing. I want to continue developing my skills in content creation, analytics, and website management. Additionally, expanding my skill set in the digital marketing realm. All while gaining real-world experience in a professional setting. I’ve become more confident in my abilities, more comfortable using digital tools, and more motivated to pursue a career in marketing.

---