NSU’s H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship will offer a social networking and internet marketing course next semester.
The social media course, “Social Networking and Internet Marketing for Entrepreneurs,” is an eight-week class, only open to students pursuing a Masters in Business Administration, but will be open to undergraduate students in the future.
Dr. James Barry, associate professor of marketing, said that besides social networking, the course will cover search engine marketing, blogging and techniques for driving and capturing website traffic for sales lead generation, lead nurturing, brand building and customer support.
“With over 1 billion combined Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn users, we cannot ignore the power of today’s consumer to seek us out rather than the reverse,” said Barry. “Many local businesses in our area are clamoring for more social media skills as they attempt to take on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for the first time.”
Barry urged the business school’s faculty and administration to incorporate the course into the MBA curriculum, because he said it represents a shift in traditional marketing approaches. In a workshop he facilitated for American Express, he said he witnessed the struggles corporations face in integrating social media in marketing and customer service.
“Social media has changed our culture from an ‘interrupting’ style of promoting marketing messages to a ‘permission’ based approach to marketing ourselves,” he said.
Danielle Quincoses, marketing and business administration major, said having the course was innovative and trail-blazing.
“The decision to incorporate this course into the curriculum was very smart,” she said.
Erica Laceria, marketing and management major, said, “Most jobs are requiring it [to be technologically savvy] today. With technology revolutionizing our world, it is essential knowledge for the business field.”
