Free Digital Marketing Series from Maryland Smith Begins Sept. 30

Entrepreneurs, and managers and employees in small and medium-sized companies, are targeted for “Digital Marketing: Targeting the Right Customers, through Social Media and Search,” a free webinar series from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Three, 90-minute sessions will run, live, 3 p.m. Wednesdays Sept. 30, Oct. 14, and Oct. 28 with subsequent, on-demand access.   

Associate Clinical Professor of Marketing Mary Harms will cover key digital marketing strategies and tactics to create awareness and the best consumer experience and to resonate with target audiences.

The series is part of Maryland Business: Rebooted, a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which “has had unimaginable health, psychological and economic impact on the lives of Maryland residents, especially those managing or working in small and medium-sized businesses,” says Christine Thompson, Maryland Smith’s Executive Director of Executive Education and co-developer of the series. “The program may help them pick up their job more effectively, launch a new career, restart or revitalize an existing business, start a new enterprise, or prepare for further education.”

Thompson designed the broader series along with Distinguished University Professor Michel Wedel and Clinical Professor and MicroMasters Program Director Judy Frels. 

The forthcoming digital marketing sessions cover three sub-areas:

• “Creating your Company’s Website for the Best Customer Experience” (Sept. 30) explores infusing the company’s site with unique company brand personality through content and design to guarantee a positive user experience. The session also covers the nuances of  mobile site/app design to assure a frictionless interaction. Register at https://go.umd.edu/5vT.
• “B2B Websites: How Amazon has Elevated Industrial Buyers’ Expectations and How a Business should Respond” (Oct. 14) shows how to make a B2B site more engaging and informative for procurement officers. Accounting for millennials entering the supply chain field, this session also explores the content and platforms that members of this demographic seek toward a smart B2B purchase. Register at https://go.umd.edu/5vG.
• “Maximizing Your Social Media Efforts” (Oct. 28) covers identifying — and investing time and resources in — social media platforms that best resonate with the target audience. The session will examine both established and emerging social media platforms to better understand who is using them and how businesses can make the most of their efforts on each platform. Register at https://go.umd.edu/5vN.

Previously streamed installments of Maryland Business: Rebooted include “Strategy for Businesses of all Sizes” delivered by Clinical Professor of Management Oliver Schlake and “Financial Accounting: Key Metrics for Performance Management” delivered by Associate Clinical Professor of Accounting and Information Assurance Eugene Cantor. Sessions from these installments are on-demand accessible via the Maryland Business: Rebooted homepage.  

The initiative further is partnering with the Maryland Small Business Development Center to provide business coaching to participating small business owners. Additional, associated events have included a “Panel Discussion with Maryland Black Business Owners” and Pivoting Is the New Normal, with Busboys and Poets founder/CEO Andy Shallal.