Marketing Fundamentals

As I write this reflection, it is forty-four minutes past midnight. I got home at around eleven thirty after going out my door at five am this morning. At fifty-four years of age I thought life would be slowing down, it seems the contrary. Every time I have to do one of these assignments at this late hours, I feel somehow uncomfortable. The subject of marketing is so new to me that the most straightforward task can generate a lot of anxiety. And when I see myself reading books at two am and having difficulty understanding, that sense of being uncomfortable tells me I am on a good path. The path of expansion and growth is not in our comfort zone. So, I reflect on this course, and it is inspiring me to keep going. To not let my foot off the gas pedal. Today’s world requires that we keep re-inventing ourselves and going outside those limits that we put on ourselves. The new world is moving and changing constantly. And it is doing so at a fast pace. The first two classes have defied my normalcy and forced me to do things I have never done before. And this makes all the sense in the world. As one teacher once told me, If you want to see results you have never seen, then you have to do the things you have never done. And being always in the world of making and producing the stories, I never saw myself in the world where those stories are sold and marketed. And I can say that it is fascinating and promising. We are just starting. I am excited to see it.

Develop a high-level digital marketing strategy that emphasizes search engine optimization, email marketing, social media marketing, and content marketing best practices.
I believe this was addressed in week one with the marketing research paper. It got us into that path of designing and understanding the best practices in marketing.

Explain key factors that affect how search engines crawl, index, and rank websites. 

On week two we prepared a Click Fraud Presentation. There, we addressed and learned about these issues.

Identify strengths and weaknesses of websites.

We engaged in a competitor website and digital strategy analysis in week three. In this assignment, we explored this issue.

Conduct basic market analysis and industry research. 

We engaged in this area of study by doing some website analytics and understanding how a website is built. The Digital Marketing Fundamentals course has opened the door for deeper and more profound exploration. I am also very relieved the professor was very patient and understanding, and her demeanor helped immensely with the issue of anxiety towards the unknown.