The Ultimate Digital Marketing Course

The problem with Digital Marketing is that it can’t be taught at the university level.

Between trying to find educators who are well-informed in this space and getting a proper text book vetted and approved, we’re probably a long ways away from seeing real accreditation in this industry. The major universities know this is a new media channel that they are not integrating into their marketing, communications and advertising programs, and would probably love to make the addition, but grapple with the traditional structure of how a course makes it way into the curriculum.

How do we educate those at the university level in Digital Marketing?

How do we train those in other media channels (radio, TV, out of home) to think about a shift to Digital Marketing?

The CMA – Canadian Marketing Association offers the only certificate e-marketing program in Canada. I’ve had the pleasure of teaching the course in Montreal for the past few years (they also run a session in Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver). It’s about fourteen weeks with one session every week that runs about two and a half hours long. It’s filled with content, it’s fun to teach and, most importantly, it’s amazing to see the different levels of professional marketers and students come together to share.

The new sessions are about to start (in fact, if you’re interested in attending, there are still some spots available here: CMA e-Marketing Course Registration). This semester (like the last), I will be co-presenting with another Twist Image member (Dave Haber). I wanted to point you to the curriculum here: CMA e-Marketing Course Outline, some of the top-level topics that will be covered include:

– Introduction to the Internet.

– Defining Online Marketing.

– Building an online strategy.

– Website best practices.

– Usability and functionality.

– Social media and online communities.

– Tagging and sharing.

– Online social networks and virtual worlds.

– Permission and Privacy.

– Email Marketing.

– Search Engine Optimization.

– Search Engine Marketing.

– Online advertising.

– Rich media advertising.

– Behavioural targeting.

– Viral, Buzz and Word of mouth online.

– Domain names.

– Cross-channel strategies.

– Web analytics.

– Web research.

– Testing and Optimization.

– Building An Online Marketing Plan.

We even finish up the course with a panel discussion where industry experts talk about the changing space. Granted, each bullet-point above could be its own course, but the premise is to give an introduction into the world of Digital Marketing.

Forget the geography of attending an e-marketing course like this, can you share with the rest of us:

What content would you want to learn/teach if you could build the ultimate digital marketing course? 

By documenting what’s important to you, the curriculum for anyone looking to build a course of this nature is facilitated and may point people who are currently teaching in a different direction.