This document discusses teaching digital marketing in higher education. It recommends teaching interdisciplinary skills including technical, creative, and business skills. Content should include search engine optimization, analytics, digital channels, and devices. Delivery should mimic real-life by using current resources and forming expert teams. Practice is key - students should apply skills to real clients to embed learning. Partnering with businesses provides real experience, and collaborating with internal marketing offers projects. The outcome is students employable with interdisciplinary knowledge, practical experience, networks, and enhanced CVs.

1. Dr Simone Kurtzke
August 2013
Teaching Digital Marketing
in Higher Education

2. Contents
1. The goal of teaching Digital Marketing
2. Content: What to teach
3. Delivery: How to teach it
4. Practice: How to embed it
5. Outcome and result

3. 1. The Goal
”To create capability and understanding of digital marketing
in students who, for the most part, have grown up with the
Internet (‘Digital Natives’)”

4. Teaching ‘Digital Natives’
Strengths Weaknesses
 Digitally literate
 Comfortable and
confident using
technology / the
Internet
 Device literate
(smartphones, apps,
etc.)
 Native knowledge and
use of social media
 Mostly digital
consumption
 May be overconfident
 Lack sense of how the
Internet works (technical,
SEO, data use, etc.)
 Lack knowledge of how
digital functions relate to
measurable business
objectives

5. 2. Content: What to teach
• Interdisciplinary (technical / creative /
business skills)
• Business planning and strategy

6. Tech – How the Internet works
 Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
 Web design / content management systems
(WordPress)
 Data use and web analytics (Google Analytics)
 Demographics and audiences
 Digital Marketing channels (email, social, website,
blogs)
 Devices and digital consumption (mobile / apps /
games etc.)

7. Creative – Digital Marketing practice
 Online PR
 Content marketing
 Social Media marketing (Facebook / Twitter)
 Digital content creation (video, images, enewsletters,
blogs, etc.)
 Software
 Tools and resources

8. Business skills and Strategy
 Digital business transformation (marketing, customer
service, corporate reputation, etc.)
 Social Media governance
 The social consumer
 Social customer service
 Digital marketing and business objectives
 Measurement and evaluation

9. 3. Delivery: How to teach it
• Mimic real-life environment
• Value of staying current / real time

10. Delivery – How to teach it
Medium:
 Minimise use of textbooks
 Instead, use content of the medium (Blogs, podcasts,
videos) in real time
 Thought leaders / subject experts
Learning experience:
 Build teams of experts – simulate agency set-up
 Use ‘tools of the trade’ (Twitter, blogging, etc.)
 Apply to real clients to embed skills

11. 4. Practice: How to embed it
• Learning by doing
• Apply skills to real scenarios

12. Practice – How to embed it
Partner with small businesses:
 Help with digital marketing strategies
 Real-life business experience, value exchange
 Enhances reputation, builds student CVs
Collaborate with in-house marketing team:
 Support in-house digital and social marketing activity
 Project-based work, e.g. content marketing campaign
 Real-life digital marketing practice (incl. ROI)
 Free marketing / PR for institution

13. 5. Outcome and result
Students with high degree of employability:
• Interdisciplinary knowledge (technology, creative,
business skills)
• Practical digital marketing experience (real clients)
• Professional networks (collaboration / partnerships)
• Enhanced CV

14. Thank you!
Dr Simone Kurtzke
w: http://socialscotland.com
t: @socialscotland