Can we make higher education relevant to “Search & Social Media Marketing” industry needs?
Aleksej Heinze & Gordon Fletcher
www.searchmarketing.salford.ac.uk1
6th Education in a Changing Environment ConferenceCreativity and Engagement in Higher Education7th July 2011, Salford, Greater Manchester, UK
Overview• Can higher education
(HE) ever be cutting edge?
• Search & Social Media Marketing case study
• Action research cycles• Work done so far…• Lessons learned
Our context in the UK
• The need to close the skills gap identified by the Leitch report (Wedgwood, 2008)
• We are entering a time of severe austerity that approaches a form of tacit but complex privatisation
• UK is becoming one of the most expensive higher education systems in the world
• Tension = Graduates of some disciplines may have a lower net earning potential by undertaking a university degree (Hill, 2005).
• Student = increasingly critical and informed ‘consumer’
5
Summary of action research activities
Cycle 1 Cycle 2 Cycle 3 Cycle 4
Academic year and semester
2008/2009, Semester 1, cohort 1
2009/2010, Semester 1, cohort 2
2009/2010, Short Course 1
2010/2011, Short course 2
Module /course names
Search Engine Optimisation
Search Engine Optimisation
Search Engine Marketing Management
Search & Social Media Marketing
Learners 30 undergraduate students on BSc Business Information Systems
Ten weeks two hours sessions – one lecture and one practical
22 undergraduate students on BSc Business Information Systems
Ten weeks two hours sessions – one lecture and one practical
Four groups of up to 8 people taking a 2 full days course which takes on two subsequent Wednesdays. The sessions have computers available at all times to facilitate practical exercises
Two cohorts of up to 12 learners taking - Foundation (4 hours for 4 weeks) and subsequently Professional (4 hours for 6 weeks) in addition to SEMPO institute online training.
Cycle 3 - Survey highlights
Conclusions:• consumers want to see a university endorsed qualification with
industry guest speakers• Higher Education only programmes are not attractive in their own
right – need for partnerships and industry collaborations• Critical perspectives of Higher Education can be relevant if
combined with industry!!!
What some also said…
• “Could you get other bodies like SEMPO etc involved in the certification.”
Tue, Apr 27, 2010 4:03 PM
What we also found…
• “Running a successful internet marketing business and hearing some dreadful stories and scams about previous suppliers it would be good to have recognition especially as the internet becomes a major tool in a company's marketing”
Tue, Apr 27, 2010 4:01 PM
• Reached agreement with SEMPO to use their online learning material
• Increased the number of our industry partners for programme development and delivery
We listened
SSMM – course design and time commitments
• One face-to-face evening session per week: – 16:00 - 16:30 Refreshments and networking– 16:30 – 18:30 – Academic talk and practical exercises – 18:30 – 18:45 Refreshments and networking– 18:45 – 20:00 – Industry guest speaker talk
• Flexible online learning material using SEMPO Institute website
• Foundation: 4 x evening sessions• Professional: 6 x evening sessions• Full course = 10 weeks
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Course integration with SEMPO Institute
• Foundation: – Insider's Guide to Search Marketing
• Professional: – Advanced SEO– Effective Social Media Marketing
• SEMPO Institute: www.sempoinstitute.com
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#SSMM case study - happy ‘consumer’?
http://www.youtube.com/salforduniseo
Conclusions• Finding 1: the “Search & Social Media Marketing
industry is growing, but is still in its infancy” and this offers great opportunities for both higher education institutions and organisations alike.
• Findings 2: Despite the healthy career opportunities, there is a lack of higher education provision in the area of Search & Social Media Marketing.
• Recommendations: – The SSMM concept of industry partnerships and
engagements can make Higher Education relevant to customer’s needs
– Search Engine and Social Media Marketing as a legitimate field of study and critical enquiry and more academic research is needed to advance this field
Further reading• Heinze, A., & Fletcher, G., (2011). Can we make higher
education relevant to “Search & Social Media Marketing” industry needs?. Paper presented at the Education in Changing Environment 2011.
• Heinze, A., Fletcher, G., & Chadwick, C. (2010). From Search Engine Optimisation to Search Engine Marketing Management: development of a new area for information systems research. Paper presented at the UKAIS 2010. Available online http://usir.salford.ac.uk/9353/
• Heinze, A., & Wells, S. (2009). Open enrolment programmes at Salford Business School: challenges and opportunities. Paper presented at the Education in Changing Environment 2009. Available online http://usir.salford.ac.uk/12723/
