Features Editor: Savannah Phillips
At the start of the current fall semester, Wingate University welcomed a
new assistant professor, Dr. Tiffanie Turner-Henderson, to the marketing
department located in the Porter B. Byrum School of Business. She
brought with her a special topics course offering, Marketing 411: Digital
Marketing, that was not previously available on campus.
Prior to her current position, Turner-Henderson was as a professor at
Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, where she first developed a
similar digital marketing course.
“During my interview process at Wingate, the idea was appealing to
bring to the marketing program,” Turner-Henderson said. “The course
provides a broad review of the role of social/digital media in an
organization.”
“Students can understand how strategies are developed, implemented
and evaluated to meet marketing and business objectives.”
The prerequisite, Marketing 301: Principles of Marketing, builds the
foundational marketing knowledge needed for the higher-level special
topics course. According to Turner-Henderson, students must grasp the
five Ws (Who, What, When, Where, Why) and H (How) of digital
marketing.
Personal experiences with social media platforms are implemented in
the prerequisite course’s content so that students can better understand
the concepts being taught, she said.
Though the digital marketing course is particularly interesting to students
in related areas of study, anyone is able to take advantage of the course,
so long as they successfully pass Marketing 301.
“Marketing career trends and the desires of students continue to lean
toward the social and digital marketing areas,” said Turner-Henderson,
who also teaches Principles of Marketing and Integrated Marketing
Communications in the School of Business. “The industry also looks for
potential employees that understand data analytics and how it informs
the decisions of companies.”
Beyond the study of specific digital marketing strategies and evaluations,
students will leave the course with recognized certifications, according to
Turner-Henderson.
There are opportunities to earn the Meta Digital Marketing Associate
Certification, as well as certifications from Google and Hootsuite.
The badges received can be displayed on resumes or LinkedIn to attract
employers and gain a competitive edge.
It has not yet been determined when this course will be offered again,
but by checking WinLink before every registration period, students can
stay up to date on the latest course offerings.
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