Article originally published February 7th, 2012, on the blog of James Wong – The Online & Offline Adventures of a Social Entreprenuer.
February 7, 2012 | Raleigh, North Carolina — It’s always a pleasure speaking to students eager to learn from experienced marketing professionals, but it’s especially nice to assist faculty at NC State and North Carolina Central University — both of which I have attended.
I was invited to speak to the NCSU Student MBA Association Monday afternoon on behalf of iContact. The requested topic was on how digital marketing, trends and technologies have changed the marketing landscape as a whole — a topic I am quite passionate about, and truly enjoy discussing.
While I assumed it would be the typical intimate crowd for events such as this, I was pleasantly surprised to walk into a packed room at Nelson Hall. In fact, the organizers of the event stated afterward that it was their most attended presentation to date. More importantly, the students all left energized and enlightened by both the iContact story, and the digital marketing tools and services we provide our clients with.
Topics Discussed During the “Town Hall” Style Session:
- Experiences of an Online Community Manager
- The “iContact Story” — My Experiences and Lessons Learned in a Technology Startup
- Agile-based Development
- Structure of an Integrated Marketing Organization
- Marketing Considerations for Nonprofits
In addition, we spent a little time chatting about the personal sacrifices of working in the digital marketing industry, specifically about social media engagement. True community managers and engagement specialists are on duty 24/7. It’s a delicate task managing your work-life balance, but it’s critical to becoming a successful online marketing manager. Many practitioners fall victim to burn-out and lose performance or their creative edge when the balance is lost. Situations involving crisis communications are often the truest test of the longevity of an online marketing manager.
While the town hall discussion was relatively short (compared to the 3.5 hour workshops I’ve grown accustomed to), the MBA students in attendance all seemed to really enjoy the candid and relaxed conversation, and the steady inquiries and discussion benefited all in attendance. Overall, it was a great experience to kickoff my 2012 presentation season.
Special thanks to Jillanne Kirby of NCSU’s Jenkins School of Management, for inviting me to speak to their students, and I look forward to working with NCSU again in the near future.
