Web Marketing and Social Media Transitions Certificate Program

In this accelerated certificate program you will learn about search engine optimization, managing pay-for-placement advertising campaigns (including Google AdWords) and social media marketing techniques. You will gain the professional skills necessary to increase valuable traffic and build bigger online audiences.

Program Description

In this one-of-a-kind accelerated program, you'll learn proven strategies for growing your online audience with qualified traffic from a marketing and tech industry veteran who has been online for decades! You'll learn fundamental principles and insider tips for building your brand identity and marketing strategy, search engine optimization, social media marketing and more.

This program will give you the knowledge and skills necessary to provide these immensely valuable and in-demand services for all organizations who need to grow their online audiences, including your own.

Read more about what makes our Transitions Certificate Programs unique.

Equipment

BDA can provide a computer workstation if necessary however, we strongly encourage you to bring your own computer for this course, as you will need to access your social media and web hosting accounts during class time.

After You Register

BDA is committed to making learning process as enjoyable as possible and making sure that you can focus on your learning. After you register you will be contacted by our staff who answer questions you might have and assist you with any logistical and travel concerns.

Schedule

PLEASE NOTE: This Transitions program has a slightly different schedule, combining 3 full-day and 3 morning sessions!

Week 1 Session 1

The first step in building your web traffic is making sure you have a clearly defined brand and business identity. Do you really know what makes your business different? Do your customers?

In this first section, we will identify what makes your business or endeavor unique and sets it apart from competitors. We'll examine the visuals and language that make up your brand, and evaluate whether your online presence -- Web site, Facebook pages, Twitter account, etc -- communicates it accurately.

Through in-class exercises, you'll select key words to use, identify target audiences to attract, and set goals for the remainder of the course.

Whether you have a small business, a freelance enterprise, a non-profit, or a blog, this course assumes that you want to increase your web traffic, attracting new visitors and retaining existing ones.

All your marketing efforts will ultimately direct people to your website and prompt them to take an action, so we'll examine your site and make sure it provides visitors with a clear path to your product sales, sign up for your newsletter, leave a comment on your blog, etc.

12pm - 1pm: Lunch Break

We'll continue improving your website by discussing effective copywriting - both for humans and search engines. Writing on the web is different than writing for print, and writing Google-friendly pages, menus, and headlines is an art unto itself. The instructor will teach you proven, ethical strategies for search engine optimization and go over why adding a blog is one of the most effective things you can do.

We'll discuss building community around your site, adding video content, and finally moving beyond your own site to write articles and guest posts for other blogs, raising your own site's profile in the process. The evening finishes with a homework assignment or two - be ready to work on your business strategies and come with them for the second day!

Week 1 Session 2

In this three-hour follow-up to the first day, we'll review your homework assignments and do some hands-on exercises to put what you've learned into practice, with the instructor present to answer questions.

Week 2 Session 1

We'll start the second day by diving deeper into the world of search engine optimization and search engine marketing, and bring more advanced SEO and SEM strategies into play. You'll learn about affiliate marketing - when it works and how it works - and how to use online PR sites like PRWeb and PitchEngine for your press releases.

The instructor will give you a solid overview of e-mail marketing programs like ConstantContact and AWeber and how to leverage them effectively. Finally, we'll examine your website analytics so you can track the results of your marketing efforts and understand what the numbers mean!

12pm - 1pm: Lunch Break

In the afternoon, we'll venture forth into the brave new world of mobile device marketing, including iPhone, Android, and iPad app building options and creating a mobile-friendly version of your website. Creating an app for your business may be more accessible than you think. Once again, you'll get some homework assignments to work on before the next evening session.

Week 2 Session 2

We'll continue with hands-on exercises to build your marketing plan and take a look at what you've already done and assess whether it's working.

Week 3 Session 1

The third full day of this course is all about Twitter and Facebook, the most widely used and influential forms of social media. We'll start with a thorough discussion of Twitter, including the use of hashtags, identifying and taking advantage of trending topics, and committing to regular updates and interacting with your followers.

Later in the morning, we'll dive headfirst into Facebook and the instructor will help you devise a strategy for using Facebook pages, events and advertising for your business. We'll cover how to foster a positive community on Facebook while managing trolls and negative feedback, empowering your team to represent your company, and cross-linking between Facebook and your website content.

We'll also talk about ways to maintain a balance between your personal life on Facebook and your professional identity, so that you can use social media without sharing your private life with the world! Homework assignments will include Tweeting and creating content on Facebook.

12pm - 1pm: Lunch Break

Week 3 Session 2

We'll take a look at how the world has responded to your marketing efforts so far, review your social media efforts, and build a business plan for you to take with you beyond this course.

Instructor

Dave Taylor has been involved with the Internet since 1980 and is widely recognized as an expert on both technical and business issues. He has been published over a thousand times, launched four Internet-related startup companies, has written twenty business and technical books and holds both an MBA and MS Ed. Dave maintains four weblogs: The Business Blog at Intuitive.com, Ask Dave Taylor, Dave On Film, and Attachment Parenting Blog. Dave is an award-winning speaker, sought after conference and workshop participant and frequent guest on radio and pod programs.

Location

This certificate program will be held in the Boulder Digital Arts Arapahoe Studio classroom.