WEB 207: Internet Marketing
Exploring strategies for winning the Internet
Taking a business online? Building a commercial Web site for yourself or a client is just the start. In this online Internet Marketing course, you'll learn practical skills for growing your business on the Web. Studying with a professional Internet marketing consultant, you'll learn how to develop an entire marketing plan for your online business. Course projects will include target audience analysis, site planning, content development strategy, email marketing campaigns, optimizing for search engines, building a Facebook page, and more.
About This Course
Project-Based Learning
Writing and research projects explore the components of an internet marketing campaign: Marketing research, content and e-marketing, SEO, Facebook fan page, and social media campaigns.
What Skills Will I Develop?
Students in this course can expect to learn to:
- Develop an understanding of important concepts for creating an Internet marketing strategy.
- Determine whether a product or service is right for the Web and learn principles for attracting a target audience through design.
- Develop a concept for a company, product, or service that is marketable online, creating a home page that will be used to market the company, product, or service.
- Develop an understanding of the importance of good Web content to a marketing strategy.
- Plan content and email marketing concepts to market a product and establish its brand image.
- Develop an understanding of how search engine optimization works and learn tips for optimizing a site for search engine placement.
- Optimize a company/product/service home page for the major search engines.
- Identify and explain how a social media presence can strengthen a brand's Internet marketing.
- Design a Facebook fan page with optimized description content and an effective status update strategy.
- Learn how to manage social media presence, including streamlining tools, strategies for dealing with negative feedback, and ad incorporation.
- Plan a crisis strategy for several varieties of online social presence scenarios and design a landing page for a social media ad campaign.
- Explore methods for tracking online marketing campaigns including lead capture software and trackable URLs.
- Develop an entire online marketing campaign for a sample fictional client.
What Software and Supplies Do I Need?
- Computer with Internet connection.
- Basic experience in HTML or basic experience in/access to an HTML editor such as Adobe Dreamweaver.
- Basic experience in/access to a digital imaging program such as Adobe Photoshop.
- An account with a Web hosting service (free services are available).
Course Instructor(s)
The course is taught by the following instructor(s):
Kristen Becker
Kristen Becker is an educator and a graphic and business designer specializing in e-commerce. With over 12 years of experience as an award-winning educator, Kristen has developed curriculum and taught courses in graphic design, multimedia, and e-commerce/marketing.
Course Outline
Internet Marketing Foundations
Internet marketing isn't your father's marketing channel. How will you make your Web campaigns count? Lesson One explains the ways in which Internet marketing can be more measurable, targeted, and cost-effective, than print, radio, and TV ads. You'll read case studies on companies that have successfully leveraged online advertising and examine reasons that companies succeed or fail in this space. You'll explore the critical issue of how to identify and attract your target audience through thematic, language, technology, and even color choices. You'll also learn the importance of an expansive Web presence that includes social media.
Content Strategy and Email Marketing
On the Web, content is king—and having a content strategy is key to any site's success. In this week's class, we explore the important role of Web content. You'll look at how to develop and cycle content to attract visitors to your site and ways of sharing content with partners. Strategies for harnessing user-generated content will be examined with reference to successful case studies. Finally, you'll learn about ways to promote fresh content through email marketing campaigns. Topics will include how to generate a quality list, write an effective campaign, schedule appropriately, and craft compelling subject lines.
Search Engine Optimization
A billion users on the Web, but does anyone know you're there? This week's lecture focuses on search engine optimization (SEO), the art of making sure your site's pages are well ranked by search engines such as Google. You'll learn the major dos and don'ts of site optimization and explore current trends for getting noticed on searches. An overview of search engine technologies, HTML meta tags, tips for structuring your page design, and how the submission process works will prepare you for quality SEO. By reading case studies on SEO, you'll learn how link popularity and optimized content like press releases can affect your positioning.
Social Media and Community Building
The most successful online businesses have developed a strong sense of community around their brands, and much of this stems from their social media presence. This week's class examines how to integrate social media into your marketing campaign. You'll read case studies about successful Web sites that have developed a strong sense of community, and explore specific platforms like Facebook fan pages, Twitter accounts, blogs, and niche social networks. Ways to build internal communities are also discussed, with a focus on features like message boards and service chat. Finally, creative ideas for working with business partners are examined.
Managing Social Presence and Advertising
Once you establish your social presence, how do you maintain it? This week's session gives you a practical orientation to today's social environment. You'll learn tips and tools for cutting down on the amount of time you spend maintaining various accounts, and you'll learn how to generate community content versus mere buzz. You'll also gain insight into strategies for converting negative feedback into brand loyalty through case studies and practical advice. Finally, advertising strategies—including keyword ad buys and social ads—are examined as a component of your Web presence.
Lead Conversion, Sales, and Other Metrics
How will you measure the success of your Web presence? No Internet marketing strategy is complete without some well-defined success metrics and a sales/lead conversion plan. Our final lecture begins with a discussion of how to obtain and interpret site visitor metrics, including a look at social media analytics. You'll look at creative ideas and technological solutions for increasing lead conversion and sales. Lead collection software options and shopping carts dos and don'ts are addressed, with a focus on turning online shoppers into buyers.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How Do The Courses Work?
Our courses are project-based and instructor-led. In each course you’ll complete a series of lectures, projects, discussions, and critiques designed to stretch your creative skills. Weekly assignment deadlines keep you on track, and with no set-logins or Zoom meetings, you can build your studies around your schedule.
Who Are The Instructors?
Our courses are developed and taught by our industry-leading faculty of creative professionals. This means that you’ll learn in-demand skills, get feedback on your work, and build a portfolio of creative work. View our Student Gallery for featured student projects.
When Can I Start?
Classes start January, April, and August, and this course is completed in a 15-week term. College credit from this course can be applied to a range of Degree and Certificate programs at Sessions College. You can enroll in this course on an individual basis or as part of a program.
Explore our Programs: Bachelor's Degree | Associate Degree | Undergraduate Certificate
How Do I Register?
To register for a program, complete our program application. To register for this course on an individual basis, please contact our admissions team at admissions@sessions.edu. An Admissions Advisor will contact you to setup your enrollment.
| Course Tuition and Fees | |
|---|---|
| Tuition | $300/credit |
| Registration Fee* | $200 |
| Total Course Price | $1100 |
Registration fees are nonrefundable after 5 days from enrollment.
Is Sessions College Accredited?
Yes. Since 2001, Sessions College has been accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC). The Distance Education Accrediting Commission is listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a recognized accrediting agency and is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).