E-tivity 3: Endless possibilities

Would you look at this, I am writing my third and final e-tivity- with a heavy heart I might add. When reflecting over the information I have learnt through this e-marketing course, the knowledge seems infinite. So I have decided to break up my learnings into:

• Most valued
• Almost most valued
•  And, least valued

Well, it is no secret that the emergence of this new digital era requires the use of a “growing variety of technical, cognitive and sociological skills in order to perform tasks and solve problems in digital environments” (Eshet-Alkalai, 2004: 93). I believe that holistically, the most important aspect I have taken away from this e-marketing course is… the importance of this e-marketing course, and knowledge.

I always figured a digital world was emerging, however, I never figured how fast. I believe that the C6 marketing consulting project helped me paramount in learning practically and digitally. Working on this project allowed me to see how “many organisations are still not fully aware of the benefits and opportunities provided by e-marketing.” (Chong, Shafaghi, Woollaston & Lui. 2010: 312), highlighting the potential job opportunities out there.

In addition, I feel that our e-marketing lectures were interactive and engaging, which encouraged me to think critically and actually have an opinion. The interaction within lectures, as well as the interaction with a real digital C6 marketing consulting company has put butterflies in my stomach for next year… good butterflies.

Moving onto my, almost most valued. I would like to understand our E-tivites further, gaining as much knowledge about blogging and social media as possible. I thoroughly enjoyed creating my own blog and vowed that I would not only carrying on blogging, but I would be the best blogger there is (ambitious, I know). E-tivity 2 was the first time I had ever come across the term ‘infographic’ which I found embarrassing to say the least. But to my surprise, I could have created infographics all day, it was so much fun! Therefore, the E-tivities are categorized as ‘almost most valued’ for I still believe there is a lot I have to learn in order to truly understand what this entails.

Lastly, the dreaded, least valued. I feel that category title is unworthy, because all knowledge should be valued. However, our e-marketing tutorials were not structured around my preferential means of learning. I am talking purely about the peer reviews and marking of tutorials. I felt that we had not been equipped with the skills to mark each other, and to be completely honest, no one wanted to be seen as the ‘bad cop’ by giving a low mark (given the markers name was a included on the front cover.)

Overall, this course has opened my eyes and my mind to the endless opportunities whereby “soloprenures, small businesses, nonprofit, and large corporations can all find ways to use infographics to make their information more interesting and accessible to their target audiences” (Smiciklas, 2012: 6).

 

 

Reference list

Chong, K.W., Shafaghi,M., Woollaston,C. & Lui,V. 2010. B2B e-marketplace: an e-markeing framework for B2B commerce. Marketing Intelligence and Planning. 28(3): 310-329. Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Smiciklas, M. 2012. The power of infographics. Pearson EducatioN Inc. USA

Eshet-Alkalai, Y. 2004. Digital Literacy: A Conceptual Framework for survival Skills in the Digital Era. Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia. 12(1): 93-106

Etivity 2: Hellocomputer, helloworld

After tailoring my very first infographic, it occurred to me just how important these can be for a business (as well as how time consuming.) In order for Hellocomputer to gain more market share as well as a competitive edge, knowing your environment is crucial. Before Hellocomputer crafts their digital strategy, these are imperative questions of focus in a nutshell:

• The current and changing surrounding context?
• What is the usefulness and value of your brand?
• What are the needs, wants and desires of your target audience?
• Who are the competitors?

Bearing in mind the above questions when crafting a digital strategy, Hellocomputer can use the infographic I have created in gathering some relevant information with data which is represented quickly and clearly. One of the emerging trends found was that the younger generations are the most active on social media platforms as well as using their mobile phones as a means of accessing these platforms.

Now I am not saying my infographic is any pierce of art, it some strengths as well as some weaknesses obviously. A visible strength for Hellocomputer using this infographic is that I have included two links where consumers can like them on Facebook or follow them on twitter, and just for arguments sake, I’m going to include them here to, just to further their brand awareness.

• https://www.facebook.com/Hellocomputer
• https://twitter.com/ Hellocomputer
• http://www.youtube.com/user/HellocomputerChannel 

An overall strength of this infographic is that Hellocomputer can use this digital image in accordance with their digital strategy. I tried to extract the most relevant data which was necessary for Hellocomputer, with their three biggest social media platforms being:

Moving on to my infographic’s weaknesses. Seeing as it this was my first time working with infographics (ever), I struggled to find creative ways of including more information without it looking chaotic and overcrowded. Also, I tried to incorporate information relative to the four nutshell questions of a digital marketing strategy, however I feel I could have communicated more information about Hellocomputers value proposition as well as possible competitors. Although I have managed to pinpoint some weaknesses of my infographic, this only allows me the opportunity to better myself and improve my infographic skills, which ofcorse comes with practice.

 

E-activity 1: Exploring BigFoot’s digital print

A digital footprint was a foreign concept to me just a few weeks ago. However, after typing ‘Claire Coulthard’ into google I soon learned just how interconnected the web can really be. My digital footprint began to grow the minute I purchased my first iPhone which (embarrassingly enough) was a mere two month ago. All of a sudden I felt that a world of friends and connections were literally at my fingertips. Although I was fast becoming digitally educated, it never occurred to me that through educating myself, I was in fact also educating the world about me too.

My google search revealed a few photos of myself (unselected unfortunately), as well as my numerous other accounts, for example:

• Facebook
• My newly founded twitter account (@cltcla005)
• Pinterest (ccoulthard1683)
• Soundcloud
• LinkedIn

The list seemed to grow the more I scrolled. Without me knowing, I have been sharing my photos, opinions, interests and grievances with the world this whole time, and this is where the penny dropped. Social media is not toxic at all, it is an opportunity to connect and be connected, it is an opportunity to create my own online personal brand, tailored for me (and not the Claire Coulthard from the United Kingdom who has profile pictures such as… )

A different kind of Claire Coulthard

Although my current accounts may be dismal in the popularity contest, I have envisioned bigfoot’s digital print as my social media future. I will achieve this one app, and follower at a time. Exploration to me is not defined by travelling alone; exploration is trying new things and meeting new people in all components of life. After some deep and meaningful thought, I have discovered that (although ideal) you don’t need to hop on the first flight to achieve a sense of exploration because it is right here… at my fingertips. Achieving this digital print will also be a journey in itself because, the more I learn about the digital world, the more I realize how much there is to learn.

My ultimate digital goal is to create an online profile which reflects me, Claire Coulthard- the tall and friendly South African. I want to connect with a world that shares my vision, my passions and my goals (Happiness – Travelling­ – Success). There is an ocean of opportunity and people out there who can guide, follow and educate me if I’ll let them. I plan on using my new found blogging skills as a means of connecting on various levels. May it be Travelling, Business opportunities or simply exploring unknown the digital terrain.

The world is my oyster.

Oh and P.S. as you will soon discover, I have a slight obsession with Wave photography, so don’t be shy to share. #ClarkLittle

Exhibit A