Entrepreneurial Marketing
For my third Intern Notebook entry I’ve decided to write about an interesting class that I’m currently taking at The University of Delaware, Entrepreneurial Marketing.
Professor Himics, who teaches this course is an entrepreneur, who founded his own digital marketing agency. He takes time out of his Monday and Wednesday nights to teach two full sections. I have grown to admire his dedication not only to the class but to his craft as well. A lot of the topics we go over are very familiar to me, but it’s fascinating to see how another agency approaches certain campaigns compared to what I know from working at DSG. I love this course because instead of just reading concepts from a textbook, Professor Himics goes into specific detail about how he and his team use these tactics daily.
From DSG to the Classroom
My favorite class so far this semester was last week when we went over SEO and SEM. These are two topics I’m familiar with, thanks to interning at DSG. In this class, we went over the difference between organic and paid search. We also went over PPC campaigns and bidding for keywords. The class covered clicks, impressions, and CTR. At the end of the class, Professor Himics pulled up an account that his agency is currently working on and explained how each of these concepts are important to the campaign.
Comparing to DSG
Seeing the similarities and differences in how his agency approaches campaigns compared to how DSG approaches campaigns, was extremely insightful. The biggest difference is the technology platforms used. One thing I’ve learned is that there are myriad software solutions available to execute and track campaigns. In this case, his agency uses Google Ads to run their PPC campaigns, while on the other hand, DSG primarily uses MatchCraft to interface with Search Engines.
In addition, DSG, always laser focused on results reporting for clients, uses TapClicks as a reporting platform. I think in terms of showing a class an example of a campaign, Google Ads works best, but in terms of how to efficiently track data and show results to clients, TapClicks is an incredibly useful tool..
Final Project
Throughout the course, we are working in groups to complete a semester-long project. The final project consists of either picking a small local business with marketing troubles or choosing a startup that a group member is a part of.
Once each group has picked their business they must create a business model, conduct marketing research, come up with two customer personas, and finally, create a marketing campaign for that company.
Luckily for me, one of the members of my group has his own business. He grows and sells aquatic plants on eBay for people to decorate their fish tanks and ponds. His biggest issue is marketing and creating an online presence.
We are currently in the process of creating a website and social media accounts for the business, to drive as much traffic as possible. I have relied heavily on the skills I’ve acquired at DSG when it comes to growing his brand and attracting new leads. I will provide updates to our progress in future posts!