The Digital Marketing World. A Sales & Marketing Intern’s Perspective…

The Digital Marketing World. A Sales & Marketing Intern’s Perspective…

I recently started an internship at the Harbour Hotel as a Sales and Marketing Assistant with little to no experience of the industry. Excited to get started, I thought to myself… “Sure how hard can it be? I use Twitter and Facebook all the time!” – how WRONG I was! Digital Marketing is a quickly growing, fast paced industry that is only going to get bigger and bigger. On my first day I was instantly introduced to a jargon infused World of Google Analytics, CPCs, Campaign Monitors and CMS Systems ….. don’t worry, I’m still as confused as you are after reading that mouthful!!!

I decided if I didn’t get my act together, I would be truly lost in this technological World… So I decided to do a bit of research! I wanted to find out more about the Galway online marketing scene and how marketing has progressed throughout the years! These are my findings….

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Who doesn’t have Facebook these days?

From Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram… Mobile phones have become a third limb for most people and our lives have become bombarded with constant social media interactions and posts. I recently read an article and was surprised to read that the average person aged 18-33 picks up their phone at-least 85 times a day – which equated to a third of the time that person is awake. It therefore only makes sense that businesses have flocked to the World Wide Web to showcase what their company has to offer! I’ve seen in the Harbour Hotel alone that they have truly utilised this with their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts… no stone can be left unturned in this digital universe! What I was truly amazed about was how powerful social media can be, with the Harbour Hotel recently hosting #galwayhour and within one hour, having over 5.5 million impacts!

Galway has taken the Digital Marketing Industry by storm…

In recent years, Galway has really put its stamp on the Digital Marketing Map. With the launch of OMiG – a group of enthusiastic volunteers who are extremely passionate about Digital Marketing, Atlantec – a two week festival that aims to showcase Galway’s diverse technology culture while also encouraging creativity, innovation and collaboration within the IT, Business and Educational communities in the West of Ireland and the Innovation District – a working progress vision of the people of Galway for a downtown city innovation hub with its first location; the Portershed which is attracting young technology companies with strong growth potential, to name a few, Galway is now a competitive focal point for digital marketing. Although all different in their own way, each start-up has the same vision – to prove to the World that our small city is the perfect Digital Hub. With an ever growing communal interest in Digital Marketing, Galway seems to be “the place to go” for all marketing needs and demands.

Four ways Marketing has changed for the better…

1. Customers are in control – Nowadays, customers can pick and choose what is put in front of them (Thank God for Sky and live pause to fast forward all the ads!!!). With online marketing, companies can tell by my actions (by clicking on an ad or liking a post) what I like and don’t like and will tailor their posts in line with what I find interesting.

2. The medium has changed – Probably the most obvious of changes; although we still have billboards, phone book ads and magazine ads, companies have made the transition to the more technological side of things by plunging into the sphere of online ads, blogs and tweets.

3. The eggs aren’t in one basket – Old school marketing meant a small business probably poured all its resources into a single channel (after all, the budget didn’t allow for much more). Now, because of the affordability, small businesses can easily include a mix of marketing tools and techniques.

4. The future looks bright – It’s obvious that digital marketing is on the rise, particularly here in Galway. We’re doing so much more in marketing with less financial investment and every day, a new tool is created to make marketing that bit easier.

Although I have only been at the Harbour Hotel for a few short weeks, it has certainly opened up my eyes to the World of Digital Marketing. I can’t wait to see what the next few months have instore!

Shona
Sales & Marketing Assistant - Harbour Hotel Galway

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