Week 8: Proximity channels and industry-specific social networking sites

Proximity Marketing Channels: bringing deals to you as well
as powerful word-of-mouth reviews.

This week we talked about both proximity channels and industry-specific social networking sites.

I encourage you to read the discussion boards and see how your classmates have utilized various proximity marketing channels both personally as well as for some ideas on how you can incorporate these channels into your own businesses. Due to the time constraints for this accelerated course, I would have loved to dive deeper into mobile communications, but I think you got a good taste of it through proximity marketing channels.

The assignment to review industry-specific social networking sites was very interesting, and I learned about a lot of new ones I had never heard of. That's why I am listing some of your classmates' blogs below for you to also review. I see some new faves I may be bookmarking later on.

Check out these blogs to learn more about a variety of industry-related social sites:

• Active Rain by Janis Butkevics  (real estate)
• BakeSpace by Casey Goldstein (food)
• Biznik by Amanda Cavanaugh  (small business)
• Biznik by Stacy Shanks (small business)
• eduClipper by Jake Stresen-Reuter (education)
• FanIQ by Gavin Saul (sports)
• FICPA Connect by Dave Cone  (Membership-based association platform)
• Fitocracy by Lisa Hope (fitness)
• Flixster by Alexis Willey (entertainment)
• FohBoh by Alexandra Rich (dining industry)
• FoodSpotting by Erin Tracy (food)
• getGlue by Emily Rios (entertainment)
• govLoop by Victoria Betz (government/service)
• It's Hospitality by Casey Grenet  (hospitality)
• The Knot by Lauren Roberts (wedding)
• Learnist by Blythe Duckworth  (education)
• Learnist by Julie McKinney   (education)
• Learnist by Kristin Rizzo (education)
• My Yoga Online by Jason Belo (fitness)
• NaNoWriMo by Amanda Winkle (self)
• Sermo by Laura Markowski (medical)
• StyleHive by Lesley Geyer  (fashion)
• Untappd by Sean Burke (beverage industry)
• WeddingWire by Lacee Utt (wedding)

We are into Week 9 as we talk about planning! Social media, emails, and website content don't just magically appear. The best companies have a strategy behind every touchpoint, and that means having an integrated plan for all channels. I look forward to your discussions on the resources you would use to begin to plan your posts, and then actually showcasing a hypothetical plan for Disney's Animal Kingdom in the Week 9 assignment.

Week 5 Recap: Blogs and Email

As we dive deeper into the channels that support an IMC-driven campaign, you can now see how email marketing and blogs help deliver content in various ways.

• Emails are a form of push marketing, bringing content to the user. 
• Blogs pull the customer in, hopefully with well-written, useful content. This helps SEO efforts, keeps a site fresh, and gives your company a voice as well as place to engage with your customers.

This week's assignment

Great job analyzing your 5 favorite blogs! I encourage you to check out some of your classmates' recommendations on blogs. I think I have some new favorites and will definitely be subscribing to some of your favorite blogs!

Please, read the feedback/comments I provide you. I am giving you tips on what I am looking for, what I liked, what I expect -- it will help your grade as well as hopefully provide you with some insight.

I have chosen the following student blogs to highlight this week. They answered the assignment questions, utilized additional articles/resources/links to bolster the points they are making, and have great tags on their posts. It was really hard to narrow down to just a few to highlight--- there were some great ones this week!

• Blogging Right Along
• Five Blogs that Keep Me Coming Back
• What's Important in a Blog
• Blogs: Uniquely Building Brand Awareness

I am looking forward to those of you participating in the Bonus Point Instagram Challenge this week! Here's to a great week 6! Speaking of which, this week, you will be receiving an email from UF with a mid-semester survey on this course. Please take the time to fill out. 3 bonus points will be added to your grade when you complete the survey!

Online teaching requires planning

My former professor, yet always a mentor, Dr. Julie Dodd wrote about how my UF class was developed this summer. There was a lot of planning that took place in my first-ever online class and she goes into step-by-step detail. Her blog is also just a great overall resource for educators.

Check out her blog, Thoughts On Teaching/Teaching, Jobs and Internships to read more!