Miguel Castillo-Clark

Cater to Mobile Users The user journey has now changed due to the rising use of mobile. By 2022, Over two-thirds of the world are going to have access to a mobile device. Understanding that mobile advertising is different than regular old fashion marketing is the first step in creating an effective marketing strategy.  Searches Tend to be local Understanding how your customer base will be searching for your business is crucial. On a mobile device, they may be simply looking for a phone number or address. Finding this information out will help you achieve your business goals much more efficiently. You don't necessarily want to advertise towards the user for a sale if what they are searching is at the start of your sales funnel. Pick your moments! Simple is the name of the game On mobile, there is limited screen space. Don't overload the consumer with a bunch of information they don't need yet! Again, finding out the steps your customer base takes when...

Digital is Always Changing The world we live in today is changing at rates never seen before. Viewpoints, needs, technology, laws, workplaces, and more are changing rapidly. I have been reading lately industry news and this article was interesting:  Digital Transformation 2.0 Touched upon the following subjects: bringing in experts vs training current employees, coding skills on the uprise, and the legacy mindset. Experts vs Training Employees A dilemma that is happening in the professional world is that companies are deciding whether to bring in outside talent or train their current staff. What is taken into consideration is when they need these skill-sets because they have to take time to train the employees.  Would you rather add another salary to your company or pay to train a current employee? Coding Skills On The Rise Over the last year, there has been a rise in demand for coders. Specifically in Ruby, Hybris, and other development platforms....

Automation in the work environment  Have you ever wondered why certain coworkers seem to finish more work than you even though you're hustling constantly?  The answer, my friend, lies in work automation.  These last few weeks in my internship with a tech startup, I have been involved with a variety of projects. Our company is yet to automate the transfer of customer data into their email marketing program. As a result, I have been tasked with analysis of the customer data. I have to determine which email list the customer needs to be a part of.  This entire process could be handled by a one-time setup of an automation process. So what I have taken away from this, take the time to setup these processes because they will save me time in the future.  And as we all know... Time=Money

As I have gained experience in Digital Marketing and through taking the Google Adwords & Landing Page Optimization course at Eastern Michigan University, I have become interested in PPC Marketing. The PPC Job Package Work Remotely The ability to work from home or on the go is a great benefit in any job. I have a passion for traveling and adventure so this job path would allow me to take my job with me if I choose to.   Learn the Platforms Part of any trade is learning the job and with PPC that means learning the platforms in which you will be using. I began with Adwords, as I have been working with a non-profit, The Preeclampsia Foundation , managing their Adwords campaigns this summer. It has been a delightful experience working with them as well as learning the platform.  I am looking for experience in Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. As these are the largest platforms within internet advertising.  A Changing Industry I don't want to be ...

Speaking to the speakers after the meeting (That's me in the white shirt!) Every week we have meetings with all of the interns and the clinic directors. This week we had a panel of speakers come in and talk about their experiences in breaking into the Digital Marketing industry. Speakers: Kim Brown - Duo Chad Wiebesick - VP Marketing at The Ann Arbor Area Convention & Visitors Bureau Jorel McCree - Denstu Aegis Eric Wortman - Sports and Live Events at Google They spoke about challenges they faced when coming into their professions, different norms in the industry,  and how to stand out from the rest of the candidates.  Automate your work day The most successful people don't work harder, they work smarter. The speakers touched upon how automating your work day so you have time to work on the important stuff is vital. This is because you won't get caught up in non-important things and will allow you to be mindful of what is important.  Tel...

The Google Analytics Exam I have been studying for the past couple of weeks for the analytics exam. Primarily using Google Partners as a study resource. As part of this internship, the interns have to pass Google Analytics/Adwords, Hubspot, or any approved certification in order to receive the Digital Media Certification from SPARK and the Center of Digital Engagement.  I went into my first try of taking the exam hoping for a score of 60-65%. After 50 minutes of taking the exam, I earned a 72%. Only 8% away from a passing grade! Since there is a week cool down period, I plan on studying extensively from study guides provided by Google as well as outside resources.  By next week I'll be blogging about how I passed the exam!  Do you have any strategies on how to pass these certification exams? If so, let me know in the comments below. 

So the website launch didn't happen as planned July 9th has passed us. The original plan was to have our vendor side of the website live by that date but problems have arisen.  Better yet, let us call them what they actually are: bugs.  The ability to be flexible and work through challenges is a vital skill to have in any industry, especially digital marketing. Anything related to technology is prone to not working as planned. As the interns taking the lead with this project, one of our jobs is to find the bugs and solve them. We have to run through the vendor signup process ourselves to find the most efficient and user-friendly way having this process. Just to name a few of the things that need to be done before the big unveiling.  Anyway, these setbacks are necessary because it shows us that our website is not ready to be taken to the public, just yet. 

iPhone and the Evolution of Mobile Engagement The introduction of the iPhone 10 years ago initiated the way we live our lives and are marketed towards today. The front facing camera was introduced in 2010, is when mobile engagement really took off. This is when the selfie started making appearances for the first time. A study by Localytics has shown that 26% of consumers abandon an app after one use. With around 5 million apps, I believe that the market is saturated. Since people only primarily use about 3-5 apps, it is difficult to be successful in this market. With an app, the company will have to convince the customer to download the app, the first conversion, then have the customer perform specific actions on the app itself. Depending on the company and industry this can be a challenging process.  The best way of targeting the customer, I think, is through a mobile-optimized or responsive website. This is because you simply direct traffic to your site instead of the...

Launching the website I am a digital marketing intern at the tech startup: Mi Padrino. As I came into the company, they were beginning the vendor side of their website. The other intern and I were tasked with leading this project. Since the website is set to launch this Sunday, we need to make sure we have enough vendors in each of our target areas, finalizing the content on each page our customers interact with and ensuring that the payment process is fluid and without bugs.  Being involved with creating content (B2C and B2B), the website layout, and marketing towards potential paid vendors has been an amazing learning process!