My experience

Electronic marketing is a course offered as part of the PGDM programme. It gave me a totally new perspective on the use of the internet and the importance of ones existence in the cyber space. My first assignment was about looking at my digital footprint, I googled myself and found social networks that I am part of and have signed up to in past. This showed me that what I do on the internet can never be erased. This has made me cautious of my activity online and since then I do not just sign up to anything and I keep my information private. I underestimated the importance of social media as platform of marketing and how a webpage is linked to a user’s experience which is part of a consumers decision making process. After learning the importance and the impact it has on people, I now judge a company based on their digital marketing strategy. When I apply for graduate programmes, I first analyse the company’s presence online.This then gives me an indication of the effort they put in to attracting people and their level of knowledge towards the growing trend of digital marketing.

Creating a blog is a lesson I treasure, I never knew how to create one before but now I have a skill that I can use for the rest of my life. I plan on starting a blog aimed at showing how new graduates can style their apartments in a more affordable way. This idea is birthed from my experience, after graduating I had no idea of where to look for furniture nor did not I understand the value of furniture items. I strongly believe my blog will come in handy to people joining the work force the following year and use social media to promote my blog.

Learning how to create an infographic has been a valuable lesson, we had to create an infographic for Hello Computer. I used the skill I learnt to do a presentation for Truworths as part of their recruitment process to become a Buyer. Should I become a buyer I will constantly be using infographics to sell my idea and to convince senior staff to buy into my ideas therefore this skill will come in handy.

For our tutorial we had to mark each other’s work. I understood the reason why we had to mark each other but then when I had to mark a friends tutorial I became more lenient. I then realised that I am not helping a friend if I just give away marks therefore I become honest in my marking.

We created an awesome digital strategy for C6 consulting. This was one of our major assignment which gave me insight to the current situation on digital infrastructure in South Africa. I enjoyed being creative and coming up with solution. What I really liked about the assignment was the fact that my work could potentially be used to help C6 consulting grow as a company.

I have learned many valuable lessons and I look forward to the exams.

e Activity 2

Infographics is the use of visuals to convey knowledge, data and complex information. This is a great way of getting your audience to understand your content and also simplifying complex data to become for relatable and easy to understand.

For Hello Computer to become leaders in the market they need to be aware of the environment they are working. They can start with a SWOT analysis. A PESTLE analysis would be of utmost importance. The economic condition of a place is important, it would give an indication of the potential demand and whether or not people have the resources to use infographics.  Infographics is centred on technology, therefore people need to have access to technology and Hello Computer has to understand current trends the technology field.. The social media report has given us an indication of the number of people who could potentially use infographics and it also gave us an insight of the social media aspect of South Africans. The value one gets from using infographics is worth more than any price one could pay. With an aggressive marketing approach, people will understand the value they get in exchange of the money and time they spend. Time hinders people from doing many things and our busy schedules do not allows us the time to sit for 2 hour presentations therefore Infographics is the perfect solution. I found infographics to very useful and time saving. It took boring information and made it interesting. I am not big on statistics and especially from a dull black and white page. Seeing it translated to a PowerPoint slide with colour and a personal touch gave the data character and life.

Marketing tactics are used to advertise and promote a business. Hello computer can use social media to advertise and promote Infographics. Social media allows you the opportunity to connect with people, send your message across a range of people across South Africa and offer a solution 9 infographics). Hello computer can should set SMART objectives, they must be specific of who they are targeting, have a timeline and also set goals that are within their budget and resources. They must use key performance indicators and set targets that are specific. For Hello Computer to access their success, they have to constantly evaluate their performance in the market. This will give them indication of how they are performing and how much more work needs to be done in order to achieve their set objects. Hello computer needs to ensure that they are agile and flexible. The main focus should be giving the best customer experience. They should be able to make changes that are injunction to customers’ needs and wants at any given time. Customer optimisation is of key importance in digital marketing.

The past, present and the future

I’m a boy from the Eastern Cape with a zest for life and a zeal for the world and its people. I come from a science background and I am now in Marketing. The nerd in me is still very much alive but my creative side is happy to be out of the closet.

When I Google myself, my LinkedIn profile, Facebook ,twitter , Badoo account and a few  pictures appear. I am embarrassed about the Badoo account which I opened it in 2008 and never used it yet it still appears. My Facebook account needs to be updated as I am entering a new stage in life and have left some habits and ways of life behind.  As a 25 year old, I have had a taste of life, I’ve done good and very little bad but all in the name of learning and self-discovery. I am now mature enough to laugh at the past, smile and focus on my future.

My web footprint is currently not portraying the image I aspire to. The image I portray is sophisticated, fun and focused which is what my web footprint should be like. As a marketing student, I’ve learnt it’s not only products and businesses that we market, but ourselves too. The things I say online and all I post online is reflective of who I am therefore I shall be more careful of my online activity. To build a good reputation and positive perspective I will focus on social media like LinkedIn for professional reasons, remain private on Facebook, and be aware of things I do and say on the web.

When you Google me in the future, I want the company I work for to appear, my contributions in community development, social media such as LinkedIn, my thesis and articles I will have written as a marketing mogul.

One of favourite quotes from my favourite author:

I believe wanting something is 90% of the job done and the 10% is the action you take to get what you want.