Best of the Internet Directory

Submit your site to the Best of the Internet Directory for free. This site is listed under the Education and Training Directory.

Instagram Explosion

Maybe you've heard that Instagram experienced the largest flood of photos ever shared on a given day, peaking at 226 photos per second on Thanksgiving Day. Yes, you read that right. 226 per second. In comparison, users of the popular social platform uploaded more than 1.3 million photos during and in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy with hashtags such as #sandy, #frankenstorm and #hurricanesandy. Instagram released a report on the morning of Black Friday stating that over 10 million photos tagged with “Thanksgiving” and related terms had been shared throughout the day on Thursday.

It has been said that  "A picture is worth a thousand words", and with Facebook's recent acquisition of Instagram, it is quickly becoming clear that sharing images might soon replace messages and status updates. Images are quickly becoming the new platform for social media and digital marketing, expanding into new and emerging market segments. These images are a powerful communication tool used to convey a wealth of information, including what someone is doing, who they are with, and how they feel, without ever writing a single word.

Google AdWords Certification

If you're interested in becoming an SEO, or just interested in learning more about digital marketing in general, then you may want to check out digital marketing curriculum within the UM-Dearborn College of Business. Currently, each student is in the process of becoming individually qualified through the Google AdWords Certification Program.

Now, you'll need to create a Google account to join the program, but who doesn't like a free e-mail account with over 10 gigabytes of storage space available? In order to become individually qualified, you'll need to pass both the Advertising Fundamentals exam and one of the other three advanced-level exams that Google offers, including:

• Search Advertising 
• Reporting and Analysis 
• Display Exams. 

Each exam currently costs $50 USD, and study materials can be found here.

Marketing and Advertising Backlinks

You can add your site here to increase website traffic. This site is added under the Marketing and Advertising Directory.

So what is Digital Marketing, anyway?

Digital marketing is where marketing meets the internet and other forms of new media, such as cell phones, viral videos and even video games.  Digital marketing covers a wide range of activities such as:

• Social network marketing: utilize websites like Facebook, Google+ and Twitter to spread the word about their products, or learn more about the needs, wants and interests of their customers
• Search engine optimization: optimize a website so it ranks high in search engine results
• Open source innovation: collaborate with customers or independent product designers to create new products
• Viral marketing: videos etc. that are so much fun people want to see them and share them with their friends
• Experiment based market research: learn about consumer behavior by conducting controlled experiments on line, such as testing two versions of a product description on a website to see which results in more sales
• Web analytics: analyze data collected through websites in order to set prices, create better ads, make decisions about product distribution, and improve product design
• Reputation management: track what people are saying about a brand online, and help companies manage their brand image.

The University of Michigan's College of Business is just one of several undergraduate degree programs in the U.S. that can provide you with the education and experience you need to be successful in the competitive digital marketing workplace. Please visit the link above for more information about this program.