To teach or not teach SEO -- it's seems that is the question...

Thanks Google. Really. Without you my job might be boring or at least mundane.  I might actually be able to take content that I'm teaching and "set it and forget it". But no. You have to keep evolving and offering up nifty little tools that create these interesting dialogues out on the intertubes.

The current plethora of "predictions" posts have spawned a particularly interesting debate that actually has a big impact on my lessons plans for my Spring semester Internet Marketing course -- does SEO matter anymore?

Back in the day when I first started teaching Internet Marketing I went over the different search sites and directories describing to my students how to get your site listed. We would talk about Yahoo! and Microsoft and Google and DMoz and DogPile.  We'd explore who acquired whom and the changes in the rules.  White Hat and Black Hat. Link Farms. Meta Tags, Keywords, Key phrases, Alt-tags...OH MY.

Now, we talk about content, content, content. There is discussion about what you have control over and what you don't. We focus on top properties with the most traffic, emphasize conversion and the importance of analytics in understanding which search properties garner you the best leads. We talk about inbound and outbound. We talk about tags, and keywords and relevance. We've been talking more and more about the impact of social media on SEO as well.

But, if I listen to Robert Scoble in his recent post: 2010: The Year SEO Isn't Important Anymore I can just get rid of that whole focus on SEO. Ok, well not really. His point is that things are changing so fast between Google and Bing that the small business can't really keep up (frankly not many people can) and that so many search results are served up now based on personal search behavior and location that well...you just don't need to focus so much on making your site SEO friendly because they'll find you anyway. Of course his real message is that anyone engaged in utilizing online tools to market their business must look at a holistic approach. This is probably the most important part of his message.

Enter in Danny Sullivan (without whom I could NOT teach my class anything about Search. Danny, you might not know this, but you have been in my class since 2000 when I first started teaching!). Danny wrote a great post today over at SearchEngineLand in response to the Scoble POV. His post, entitled, "Is SEO Dead? 1997 Prediction, Meet 2009 Reality" shows just how challenging these "predictions" can be -- SEO is not "dead" says Sullivan.  As a matter of fact it, just like everything else on the web, is evolving, and more importantly if you are talking about a holistic approach to your online marketing strategy you must consider the important aspects of SEO -- regardless of what Google and Bing roll out tomorrow. Another post by Lisa Barone of Outspoken Media entitled "Ignore Robert Scoble, SEO Still Matters for SMBs points out that for the small business it's vital that they be found when people are looking for them.  Ignore SEO at your own peril because " ...search engine optimization will remain important to your site until the days that people stop searching."

What's a simple College Prof. supposed to make of all this debate (insert what's a simple SMB, or student, or agency...)? Well from my perspective I think they are all right.

Ain't that just like a professor!

Scoble highlights the holistic approach and addresses the key changes that are influencing search results.  We MUST be aware of these as consumers and as marketers. They will continue to influence search results and most importantly how people search.  But Sullivan and Barone are also right. They point out how important SEO is and continues to be because of people's reliance on the search engines to find what they are looking for.  You MUST be there and you must be aware of ways in which you can get found on the terms that are most relevant in order to provide your customer with the most valuable experience.

So will I keep teaching SEO in my class in the spring? Ayup. Will I bring up both POVs in class?  Ayup.

And I'm sure my students and I will have great debate about the whole thing as well.

Posted via email from Elaine's Posterous

Here we go! Google Launches Real-Time Search

via mashable.com

Wow. I knew it was coming. But seeing the video and waiting for it to actually get turned on really brings home how very important this will be for brands.

I used to say, don't hop onto Twitter, etc until you are really ready. Well, I still say that...BUT...you can't wait now either. Batten down the hatches folks and get your strategy ready for real time social search.

Oh, and for those of us consuming information...yeah. Good luck with that.

Thank GOODNESS it is the end of the semester. It gives me a few weeks to figure out how to incorporate THIS into my class in the Spring.

Posted via web from Elaine's Posterous

This look into my classroom brought to you by my students and TWITTER

Yes I use Twitter in the classroom. I even ask and expect that my students will Tweet during class.

Today was a special day though. We covered a lot of ground. Turns out now all you have to do is go to the Twitters to find out what we did!

It started here....

JamieMarieHenry:
RT @EricaViscio: Just got my first look at augmented reality in #MKT250. Ho-ly crap.

Then here...

EricaViscio:

Do you know about the Graffiti Geo?" "No." "OH MY GOD I KNOW SOMETHING YOU DON'T KNOW." Conversation between @ryanfitz124 and @ejyoung67

And then it went here....

BrewBetterWorld

- Student @ryanfitz124 takes over @ejyoung67 's #mkt250 class

And then here...

gracespain

love #mkt250 and our prof... @ejyoung67 "i am so playing world of warcraft, in front of you, IN CLASS."

And then...

KWamser

@ejyoung67 is playing WOW in class, ohh man this school #campchamp #mkt250

So now you know that in my class today we looked at Augmented Reality, a student took over the class and I played WoW.

Typical day in Internet Marketing.

Posted via email from Elaine's Posterous

Will you hire me?

The biggest challenge I face as a college professor who teaches online marketing is staying current.  I read a lot.  I engage a lot. I try to get my hands dirty but I'm not always successful.

Big changes have been happening over the past few months in the online space -- connections, new services, continued growth of mobile -- and if I am going to do my job and get students ready for what's out there, it has become quite clear that I have to get out there too.

So, with that in mind ... will you hire me this summer? Or, if you cannot would you pass this on to someone who might?
 

College professor who teaches Marketing, Internet Marketing and Online Communication Strategies seeks opportunity with Burlington, VT based Communication Firm. Requirements include fast-paced environment where there is ample opportunity to work on Analytics, CPC Campaigns, Social Media Strategy and Online Branding. Big plus if there is mobile, augmented reality and social gaming in the mix.

 

Salary Requirements: NONE. I work for free.

 

Availability: Summer 2010: June 1, 2010 - July 30, 2010.

 

My skills can be seen at http://www.linkedin.com/in/elainejyoung. References are available on request. Contact me at eyoung@champlain.edu or on twitter at @ejyoung67.

I don't take up too much space and I actually do have work experience. I can even bring my own lunch.

Now that's a bargain!

Posted via email from Elaine's Posterous

How To Sell Social Media To Your Client Or Boss - Twitter

via slideshare.net

A great video from Danny Brown (@DannyBrown on Twitter) that shows WHY a business should use a tool like Twitter. Emphasizes the importance of starting with a TARGET MARKET audit -- is your audience using Twitter? If they are, what are your next steps?

The integration with your call center, using Twitter as a customer service tool, helping drive sales opportunities, getting feedback on new products, engaging with sponsored tweets and then there's the HR options -- asking for recommendations, cross promote your business, use your Twitter contacts. Finally focus on using Twitter as a research tool to connect with experts, ask questions, monitor trending topics and LISTEN (brand sentiment).

Thanks Danny for another GREAT information piece!

Posted via web from Elaine's Posterous

The Tweet that Broke Me

I follow @breakingnews on Twitter.

I've followed them since they first started Tweeting.

I LOVE BREAKING NEWS.

Why?  Because they have been, what in my opinion is a TRUE NEWS ORGANIZATION.  They were global, only sent Tweets when there was news and didn't bother me with silly things that don't really matter.

This all changed on Tuesday, December 1st.  That was yesterday.

Yesterday the @breakingnews feed was taken over by MSNBC.

Today I UNFOLLOWED @breakingnews.

Why?

Because the value to me in following @breakingnews has disappeared.  Sorry folks, but I don't care about Tiger Woods, John Gotti, White House Gate Crashers, That Obama has Landed, That He Waved, or left the building to "Jaunty band music", nor that there are ecstacy pills in the shape of Obama.

In the past 24 hours, a news channel that provided information on earthquakes, world events, H1N1, politics has become everything I can't stand about main stream media. All fluff and no focus. Too U.S. centric. Hey, I get that Tiger Woods being in a crash is news.  And yes, @breakingnews DID send out that tweet when it happened.  But, the follow up tweets are just too much.  I had planned on giving them a week and then last night I saw this tweet:

Another woman surfaces in Tiger Woods kerfuffle http://bit.ly/6NSeD0

That was when I started to get frustrated.  Today, this is the tweet that broke me:
 

A traffic stop in S. Texas yields illegal drugs including Ecstasy pills in the shape of President Obama - AP

So now to find another news outlet to follow on Twitter besides @shaytotten who is local and ROCKS!  Um...Shay...how about widening your scope a bit?

Posted via email from Elaine's Posterous

Social Marketing vs. Social Media Marketing

I had a recent Twitter exchange with @rnadworny and @mjayliebs about Social Marketing that has prompted me to write this thought post about Social Marketing vs. Social Media Marketing.

Rich kicked it off with this tweet: Interesting distinction RT @tedrubin: Social Media is what you call the platforms, Social Marketing is how it is leveraged by brands.

As I read that in my Twitter Stream I had a quick reaction so I (of course) fired of a reply to Rich:

@rnadworny Except that "Social Marketing" already has a definition: it's about behavior change NOT social media tools: http://bit.ly/4uP1go
@ejyoung67 That looks like an old definition. Time to dust it off and modernize perhaps. Oral rehydration?
@rnadworny disagree. There's a whole field for social marketing -- all about making behavior change. I teach a class in it ;-)

Which then prompted @mjayliebs to post his thoughts in posterous. His final point in that post was, "Social Marketing, IMHO is simply Marketing using Social Media through a Social Network Service."

I then wrote: Well @mjayliebs and @rnadworny, you might want to check out @nedra 's blog: http://www.social-marketing.com/blog/ I have used her book. AND  @rnadworny @mjayliebs Social Mkting happens today. Hospitals, non-profits, governments. It's marketing for social good. Not same as soc med.

Rich then posed this question: @ejyoung67 @mjayliebs Does the social business use social marketing? This definition predates social media, so does it need an update?

So what follows is my response to that question -- What is Social Marketing and is a definition that was set forth in the 1970s now out of date because of a new type of technology communication toolset -- namely "Social Media"?

According to Nedra Kline Weinreich, author of "Hands On Social Marketing", a text I have used in my Non-Profit and Social Marketing class,

Social marketing was "born" as a discipline in the 1970s, when Philip Kotler and Gerald Zaltman realized that the same marketing principles that were being used to sell products to consumers could be used to "sell" ideas, attitudes and behaviors. Kotler and Andreasen define social marketing as "differing from other areas of marketing only with respect to the objectives of the marketer and his or her organization. Social marketing seeks to influence social behaviors not to benefit the marketer, but to benefit the target audience and the general society." (What is Social Marketing?: http://www.social-marketing.com/Whatis.html) 

Time may have gone by, but I'm still a strong believer in this definition. Social media is about making CHANGE.  Positive change.  Change for social good.  It's using corporate marketing techniques in a way that moves away from profit to the improvement of society.  Would I use social media to help me in my social marketing? Yep I would. Check out Network for Good (an organization where the author of another book I use in my class, Robin Hood Marketing by Katya Andresen, works) to see how they are leveraging a host of online tools to help them accomplish what they do.

I really like how Nedra breaks it down over at her Social Marketing Squidoo:

What social marketing is not:
- Viral marketing
- Word of mouth marketing
- Dating or matchmaking services
- Public service announcements
- Focus groups
- Cause marketing (companies adopting a cause to improve their image and get more sales)

What social marketing is:
- A process that uses commercial marketing techniques to promote the adoption of positive health or social behaviors
- An approach that benefits the people who are adopting the behaviors or society as a whole, rather than the organization doing the marketing
- It may include some of the items in the "not" column above (okay, not the dating service) but those activities in and of themselves are not social marketing.

As the tools we use in Marketing and Communication have changed due to technological innovation and the advent of so-called "social" networks, I am seeing more and more people us the term social marketing when what they really mean is social media marketing -- in other words they are using social media tools as part of their marketing strategy.

Take a look at some of these amazing Social Marketing campaigns:

• The Montana Meth Project: http://www.montanameth.org/
• Go Red for Women: http://www.goredforwomen.org/
• The Truth Campaign: http://www.thetruth.com/
• The Population Media Center and their Soap Operas for change: http://www.populationmedia.org/
  

There are so many others where a myriad of communication tools, from Radio, TV and Print, to social networking, blogging, and tweeting have all made a difference and helped people to make positive changes in their behaviors.

Finally, Beth Kanter who writes a blog on Non-profit marketing has provided a guiding definition of social media that I believe fits well within the context of this post.  She wrote that,

"Social media is … a way of using the Internet to instantly collaborate, share information, or have a conversation ideas or causes we care about. It’s a world where anyone can be a publisher, a reporter, an artist, a filmmaker, a photographer or pundit …. Even an activist or citizen philanthropist!”  (Institute for Sustainable Communities, Social Media Tools http://tools.iscvt.org/tech_tools/socialmedia_tools/start)

There you have it. A clear definition for Social Marketing and a clear definition for Social Media. So no folks, it's not time to change the definition of Social Marketing -- it's time for marketing professionals to re-acquaint themselves with the term and what it really means. Social media tools have provided a huge opportunity for all marketers to connect, engage and empower -- for Social Marketers these tools have added even more power to their messages of making positive changes in society. Let's not confuse a tool (social media) with a well grounded marketing process that has stood the test of time and made a difference in people's lives.

Do you have other examples of great and meaningful Social Marketing campaigns that may or may not have utilized social media?  Send them my way.

Posted via email from Elaine's Posterous

Coming full circle

I'm very excited that Grace Boyle a former Champlain Alum (graduated May '08) was able to come into my Internet Marketing class today. Grace (her bio is still on the Champlain Website) was an outstanding student who was very focused in what she wanted to accomplish.  She was a "go-getter" who didn't wait for opportunities to come to her, she aggressively went after internships and projects with an eye on the end goal: experience and getting a job.

She brought that passion into our classroom today talking about blogging and how it actually helped her to get noticed where she is working now, Lijit.com out of Boulder, CO. Her personal blog, Small Hands, Big Ideas is a wealth of information that highlights her experiences, things she has learned and trends she is interested in.

Her points today in class were great. She told all my students to blog, that they should blog about anything they care about and that they should consider an editorial calendar (now that is a good idea!).

What I hope my students took away from Grace today was that they have a huge opportunity today to build their digital footprint, to be ready for when they graduate and to be engaged with the many different communication tools that are available to them.  Also, there is hope.  They too, will graduate soon and they too, will get jobs and maybe one day come back to my class to tell my future students about ways in which they can get noticed.

Grace can be found on twitter: @gracekboyle.  If you aren't following her, you should be.  I learn a great deal from her, and that my friends is what makes my job the COOLEST in the world!

Posted via email from Elaine's Posterous

Great things going on at Champlain College in the Marketing Program

I just had to post these.  I've asked marketing majors here at Champlain College to post their thoughts on what they are learning in the marketing curriculum, what makes Champlain College a great place to get an education and what they have gained through their experiences here.  Former students as well as current Seniors, Juniors, Sophomores and First year students are responding and providing not only a wealth of praise (I'm biased, and have to admit I'm PSYCHED!) but also a great deal of information for current majors as well as students considering a college education.  Some great advice follows.

Lindsay
As a Senior Marketing Major I have really enjoyed how the program allows you to personalize the major. I am in the management track, but I wanted to get into event marketing/planning and I was able to get waved into two hospitality event marketing/management classes as electives. Another aspect that has been extremely beneficial is working with actual clients and companies. Just one example would be while I was abroad in Ireland, I took the Social and Non Profit marketing class and was able to work with Barnardos, a child advocacy organization, in creating a new fresh marketing campaign. Staff is always really helpful and even if you don’t care for some you will love others! 

Dan 
As a an Alum from the Class of 2009, I am very thankful for the Champlain College Marketing Program. I was among a handful of students from the Class of 2009 who started and ended as a Marketing Major. Over my 4 years at Champlain, I watched the program grow as students began switching majors to pursue marketing.... The professors teach from their industry experience, rather than just studying to become a professor. They not only helped me establish connections but taught me how to put myself out there and establish connections on my own. Over the years I had internships with Kelliher Samets Volk, who I later worked for in the Public Relations department and Stowe Mountain Resort, in which I helped coordinate, plan and promote events during the winter season. I also had several course-related opportunities to help some Vermont companies with their marketing efforts, namely Sugarbush Resort and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. The marketing program at Champlain helped me become well rounded and well versed in all aspects or Marketing and business practices. As a result, I was offered a Sales Position in Burlington at 800response the day before Graduation. I took this position and continued to expand upon my knowledge acquired at Champlain. I was hired along with 4 other recent graduates, 3 of which were also from Champlain. After several months, I decided it was time for a big change, so I moved to Boulder, Colorado where I currently work for Filtrbox, a company that specializes in real-time social media monitoring, allowing companies to listen and engage in the conversations occurring around their brand. At Filtrbox, I am expanding upon the knowledge of social networking and social media engagement that I also learned in the Champlain Marketing program. I am extremely grateful for my background from the Champlain, especially from the Marketing program within the Business Division. I highly recommend the program and would always be more than happy to share my experiences and encourage others to take advantage of all that Champlain Marketing has to offer. Please feel more than welcome to contact me with any questions about Champlain College and it's remarkable Marketing program.

Tricia 
As a junior marketing major at Champlain I have already had an internship, and have worked with over 5 businesses (Midlife-Unlimited, Vemma, RehabGym, WRCC, PIEmatrix) getting hands-on experience. I'm only 20 years old and feel very comfortable talking and interacting with professionals in the field. The professional marketing professors know what they are talking about and bring their experience to the classroom.
 
Nick 
As a recent graduate of Champlain College's marketing program, many of the benefits of attending Champlain have come to light. Champlain focuses on preparing you for the "real world." I know this seems like a typical response, but in fact it has given me a leg up on other recent graduates. The teacher to student ratio ...allows for a great learning atmosphere while focusing on real world applications. Over my four years, I have worked on projects for a variety of local business such as Stowe Area Association, VSECU, and Able Paint and Glass to name a few. These projects are great learning experiences and allow for networking possibilities. I also have to give Champlain a hand for their internship program. This was key in learning/fine tuning my skills while establishing a strong resume. Take advantage of the opportunities that are presented, you will be rewarded later on in your career. I cannot possibly write all the things that I have learned at Champlain, so feel free to contact me! 

Angelica 
I had great hands on experience in my Internet-Based Marking class. I worked with three classmates to develop a marketing campaign for Kids Fly Safe, a business that develops safety harnesses for children when flying. We developed a break-down of Internet tools the business should consider and others they should disregard. We also reviewed the website and made recommendations, and presented a report to the management of Kids Fly Safe.
 
John 
In my first semester as a First Year student, I have already seen the incredible benefits and support from Champlain's Marketing program. I started a blog because of inspiration from a marketing professor and it has since become my passion. In addition to receiving much help and advice from countless sources, my "business" has even been incorporated into several class projects for myself and even other students. What larger schools would neglect to even notice, Champlain has seen this as a real-life application to learning about business and marketing and moving beyond the classroom in its life lessons.
 
Kathleen
As a senior in the Marketing Program I've really come to appreciate all the opportunities Champlain has offered me through the years. There is always a real life aspect to the projects we work on, which has helped me to build connections in the community. I have worked with great organizations and businesses through classes and have lots of hands on experience here. All this plus the amazing teachers in the program leaves me feeling confident in my skills and knowledge and given me a passion to go out into the work force and succeed!
 
Kristan
The Marketing program at Champlain College is great. You have a lot of hands on projects and work a lot with local business. Right now in Internet Based Marketing my group and I are working with The Lang House for the semester and helping them with their marketing. The marketing program is very hands on and the teachers are always willing to help and are very friendly.

Posted via email from Elaine's Posterous

Teaching the Facebook Generation - BusinessWeek

Teaching the Facebook Generation

Young people may seem like social media mavens, and employers may expect them to be, but students need to learn how to exploit digital tools

By Dr. Elaine Young

Our goal as college professors is to open students’ minds to new experiences so they can grow intellectually while they mature through the traditional four-year process. But we are also challenged to give students the immediate skills they will need once they graduate so that they can begin their professional careers and move away from the fry-o-later to the cubicle and beyond.

Over the past decade, there has been a sea change in the marketplace demands for graduates. Whereas broad skills used to be sufficient, now our students must demonstrate a set of concrete skills that not long ago were required only of those in highly technical majors. Nowhere has this change created a greater shift than in fields such as marketing and public relations, which traditionally have been viewed as nontechnical but are now demanding a technological competency that is astounding.

When I began teaching nearly 10 years ago, marketing and PR majors were expected to be stellar communicators, know the Four P's (Product, Promotion, Price, Place), have a good head on their shoulders, and have passion. Employers gobbled them up and trained them on specifics of the job.

Our traditional curriculum emphasized marketing, advertising, sales, research, and consumer behavior for the marketing major. For the PR major, writing, media relations, and campaign management were enough.

A Lot to Know

Today, marketing students also need to know basic HTML, design software such as the Adobe Suite, how to run a Google adwords campaign, how to optimize a Web site for search engines, how to analyze Web analytics data, develop a keyword strategy, and manage e-mail marketing campaigns. A basic knowledge of how social media including sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Tumblr, and Twitter can be used to leverage a marketing message isn't optional—it's a requirement.

Students also must be familiar with online gaming and trends in mobile communication technologies. PR students must now write news releases that are search-engine friendly, pitch bloggers, "listen" to a continual flood of consumer-generated content on multiple social sites from YouTube to Facebook to Twitter, generate social media news releases, and engage with blogs, Facebook fans and multiple other sites. As this is happening, these two professions, one in business and one that is often located in communication schools, are becoming more and more integrated and reliant on the other. One cannot talk about social media without considering both the marketing and PR implications.

Business school curricula mostly do not prepare students for this new digital world. Institutions recognize this, and many are catching up by offering courses and curricula in Internet marketing, digital media and new-media marketing. But the vast majority are not integrating these skills throughout. It's much easier to create a standalone course than it is to take the Introduction to Marketing class and change it so that it integrates analytics into the research or finance portion, or search engine optimization (SEO) into the writing/communication section.

The reality is that many businesses are struggling to wrap their arms around these developments as well. They actually are looking to new graduates to help them manage their digital strategies for them, with the assumption that because they are young they are familiar with the social media world. But our students cannot know how to leverage these tools professionally unless we teach them how. They must learn the difference in writing a news release, a blog post, a Twitter update, or generating content for a Facebook fan page. They have to know which metrics should be tracked on a Web site.

A Leg Up for Students

Why is all this important? Because the businesses that don't know how to respond to and use social media are filling knowledge gaps in staff by hiring students with these skills fresh from college. In the lean organizations of 2009, students will not simply learn on the job; they will be asked to implement these tools strategically because no one else knows how.

If we can bring social media into existing curricula, our students will learn not only how but why they should be used within an overall communication strategy. Our mission hasn't changed, but we must bring these tools into the classroom and show our students how they are used in business today and will be used tomorrow.

The challenge for faculty in all business functions—and all disciplines across higher education for that matter—is staying on top of these changes and knowing what to teach in the classroom. More than ever, we must be life-long learners to stay fresh and understand these tools. From professional networking in learning communities with colleagues across the country, to seminars and conferences and building relationships with local businesses that have expertise in these areas, we have many resources at our disposal.

Professors need to lead students by example by knowing the mechanics of social media and showing our students how to use them strategically for the good of their employers.

Dr. Elaine Young is an associate professor of marketing at Champlain College.

via businessweek.com

I was asked to write an "opinion" piece for Business Week last month that focused on what I saw as some of the challenges in preparing Business students for the workplace. As I thought about it and reflected on the changes in the demands of the workplace over the past few years it was clear to me that I needed to emphasize several major points. First, that so-called "digital natives" may like to play with tech tools (many don't by the way), but when it comes to applying them to a business context they have no idea what to do and secondly, we as teachers need to use these tools so we can provide that context.

Businesses need use to do this -- an IT student may be able to program but a business student has to understand the rationale, what the strategy is and how to apply the tools to make solid business and marketing decisions.

Great commentary from people responding to the post -- while several are a bit pitch like, the posts from students and other faculty are very interesting.

FYI: I'm testing posterous with this post to see what happens when I post "everywhere".

Posted via web from Elaine's Posterous