Small Business

Filling The Digital Marketing Gap 19 Students At A Time

~ K. Quesenberry ~ 2 Comments

The Online Marketing Institute (OMI), ClickZ, and Kelly services released results of their 2014 State of Digital Marketing Talent report.  This survey of 747 Fortune 500 marketing executives reveals there is a serious digital marketing talent gap. What’s more, this shortage of digital marketing skills is hurting sales and marketing ROI. The good news? If you have these skills, you are in high demand.

In my post “What To Do With Out-of-Date Advertising Professors?” I spoke about an Advertising Age article that talked about the underperformance of undergraduate marketing and advertising classes. An advertising agency owner quotes students saying things like, “Subjects like mobile marketing aren’t even offered at their schools” and “classes promise integrated marketing while delivering insights about only traditional tactics.” In light of this education gap, I would like to highlight one course that I offer through the Center for Leadership Education at Johns Hopkins University. Blogging & Online Copywriting  is attempting to build a bridge to the new digital language.

The ClickZ, OMI, Kelly Services report highlights the missing skills that are creating the talent gap and potentially costing corporations market share. In my Blogging & Online Copywriting course we cover all these subjects: analytics, mobile, content marketing, social media, email marketing, marketing automation, SEO, digital advertising, and more. For example, one former student is now working at digital marketing tech firm HubSpot, the 2nd fastest growing software company within the INC 500.

Another insight from the study is that hiring managers say “sorting through resumes is time-consuming and applicants do not differentiate themselves from one another.” Blogging & Online Copywriting also teaches students to create their own professional blog that has helped many land valuable internships and their first jobs out of school. This helped that one student get her foot in the door at HubSpot as she talks about on the CLE Student Blog.

So for corporations saying they, “… haven’t been able to hire the specialist we need due to lack of talent or experience in our area.” I know of at least 19 Johns Hopkins students you may be interested in this Spring.

Yes, there is a digital marketing talent gap as much as 27% to 37% in key skill areas at Fortune 500 companies – Imagine what it is at other corporations, startups and small businesses. But with the gap, comes opportunity. ClickZ, OMI, and Kelly Services sum up the rewards of investing in digital marketing education:

  • For the global brand it means “major expansion and market share gains that would normally take tens of millions of advertising dollars.”
  • For the startup and small business it means “going from surviving to thriving.”
  • For the career minded student it means “one of the best paying and growth minded career opportunities ever.”

Cause Marketing to Boost Startups and Small Business

~ K. Quesenberry ~ Leave a comment

There are many benefits for small businesses or startups to engage in cause marketing. For those who do not have resources to run a full marketing program a cause campaign can raise visibility by providing local or even national media attention. It also creates a positive image that provides a competitive edge over the competition. Research shows people will choose products that support a cause over ones that don’t. That immediate customer goodwill created through the cause marketing campaign can translate into long term customer loyalty while engaging, attracting and retaining quality employees. Many Nonprofit’s also hold fundraisers, which can provide small businesses and startups networking opportunities with stakeholders and potential clients or investors. An ad I did for a local restaurant supported local food banks.

Despite not having the funding to take part in large-scale efforts, there are ways a small business or new startup can engage in cause marketing through participation and sponsorship in local charity events or activities. The book Cause Marketing for Nonprofits provides some examples including the participation of banks in the Food Bank for New York City Bank-to-Bank partnership and the Canadian Cancer Society’s daffodils sale through Thrifty Foods.

I found an example of local small businesses using cause marketing in a Jewelry trade magazine. Many jewelry stores are still locally owned and family run small businesses that can benefit from cause marketing efforts. One way is for jewelers to participate in local silent auctions through donations. They bring media attention and goodwill to the business and could turn into longer term cause marketing efforts. Another example is a jeweler who created “Battery Mondays” in an effort to raise money for Jewelers for Children. The jeweler says people specifically come in on Monday to make sure the proceeds benefit a nonprofit. Designating a day of the week to benefit a nonprofit is an effective method to increase traffic and sales on traditionally slow days.

Other suggested small business efforts I found included book drives for local child’s learning centers, support for local museums, field trips for children at local schools or sponsoring children’s sports teams and league charitable events. The local hardware store by my house raises money for Vickie’s Angel Walk – a local nonprofit with a mission of helping families fighting cancer who have difficulties paying their bills during the challenging times of fighting their cancer. The small business owner makes it easy to make a donation to the cause at checkout.

A tech startup version of these efforts could be donating a small amount of new account fees to a cause or nonprofit the target audience cares about. Then get other websites and bloggers to promote it for you. Encourage current and new customers the share the effort via social media.

What cause can you support to help jump start your business?