Western Carolina University’s Office of Professional Growth and Enrichment is featuring two new courses taught by Scott Rader, an associate professor of marketing and entrepreneurship in WCU’s College of Business, as part of a Digital Marketing and Public Relations Certificate Program being offered at the university’s Biltmore Park site in Asheville.
The first course, “Social Listening,” will be held Friday, March 22, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
“Conversations are happening in social media about your brand, your employees and management, your products and services, your competitors, your customers and your industry,” Rader said. “Do you know what's being said? Social media marketing cannot effectively occur without a situation analysis to understand the broader discourse that is occurring at blinding speed, building up over time and sticking around for all to see.”
Participants will walk away with a procedural template that accomplishes both social listening and organizational action to address findings, he said.
The second course, “Intro to Content Marketing,” will be the final course in the certificate program on Friday, May 3.
“There is no market for advertisements,” Rader said. “In the era of fast and fluid social media and brand engagement, where it is even possible, consumers are in control and rarely tolerate promotional clutter alongside intensely personal and personally relevant data in their social media feeds.”
The cost for each workshop is $119. The cost for the full certificate program is $640. A catered lunch and refreshments are included each day.
Those who have already completed the certificate program are invited to sign up for the two new courses. “This is a great way for our new participants and past participants who have already gotten the certificate to delve deeper into social listening and content marketing,” said Jill Thompson, WCU’s associate director of professional development.
For more information and to register, visit pdp.wcu.edu or call 828-227-7397.