Digital Marketing

Why Digital Marketing? 

The rules of the game have changed. A cultural revolution is underway and the marketing industry is undergoing a fundamental transformation. Consumers and businesses are increasingly shifting their attention from traditional marketing media to the digital media. Today, companies must connect with customers and other businesses through digital channels and adjust their marketing mix in order to succeed.

This need is growing fast for businesses and the demand for digital marketing professionals is growing faster than ever. There is this “belief” that digital natives know what is to be done just because they grew up with social media and technology. However, that hardly means they are trained to work on a company’s digital marketing strategy. The objective of this program is to fill that skill gap and provide an opportunity for students to be trained in digital and social media marketing and prepare them to fit the business requirements of digital marketing.

Marketing - Digital Marketing Concentration, BSBA 

Appalachian offers students the ability to major in marketing with a digital marketing concentration. Appalachian is one of the few univeristies that combines digital and social marketing, mobile marketing, analytics, and cloud marketing- a mix that places students at a competitive advantage among their peers in the workplace. Students benefit from projects guided by professional mentors; participate in digital marketing, marketing competitions, internships, and employer relationships.

Minor In Digital Marketing 

 The Digital Marketing Minor is available to all majors, both business and non-business. This minor provides students with a multidisciplinary curriculum in marketing principles, buyer behavior, marketing analytics, and social media marketing.


Contact

Dr. Lubna Nafees, Program Director

4101A Peacock Hall

(828) 262-7081

nafeesl@appstate.edu

Careers 

  • Digital Marketing Manager 
  • Digital Marketing Specialist 
  • Content Marketing Manager 
  • Digital Marketing Analyst 
  • Social Media Marketing Manager 
  • Digital Marketing & Strategy Specialist 
  • Digital Transformation Specialist 

For more information about employment, visit Business Careers Services- Student Success 

Student Testimonials 

Angela Gantkowski '21

“The more I experience with marketing, the better my program will be and vice versa,” she said. “The better I perform, the better my content will be...Christy Cook’s social media marketing class taught me so much about techniques and helped me realize what I want to do after graduating. She always gave helpful feedback.” Read more about her story here

Kayla Sessoms '21

"My favorite part of the concentration was all of the hands-on, real-world experience that we were able to gain through simulations, company social media/digital marketing audits, or getting to work one-on-one with companies and share with them a digital marketing plan. As far as my career, I think that being in the digital marketing concentration challenged me to think creatively and learn how to take data and apply it into actionable solutions. In my job, we receive so many statistics whether it's from our web team, email team, social media team, etc. Many times our management will look at the statistics, say "okay great" and not know what to do with it. Because of my learning at App, I feel I can add value and assist my leaders by looking at the data, explaining what it actually means, and how we can use it to improve with creative solutions." Read more about her story here

Christian Torres-Trujillo ’20

“I learned that if you truly believe in something and want to make it work, then you will do everything in your power to make it happen,” he said. “(My) professors … really pushed me to do my best work and in the long run it truly paid off. The faculty always made sure to motivate and inspire us." Read more about his story here

Kevin Mawuntu 

“The part that I like most about the Digital Marketing program is its heavy focus on the current evolving social media and influencer marketing landscape. Working hands-on with companies to create a marketing plan has allowed me to apply all of my learning to a real-life situation. This program has added great value to my marketing knowledge and has helped me immensely in my internship experiences. Recently, I had the opportunity to work for a Fortune 500 subsidiary company. It was a great experience and one where I was able to apply the materials learned. Two main projects that I worked on were social media content curation and analytics and market industry research. I was able to analyze different social media platforms, creating and analyzing content performance, bounce rate, % of new sessions, and more metrics to help boost their page sessions and average daily user. Analyzing digital trends within the company’s social media platforms and its competitors allowed me to better understand their market segment and help them decide whether to go into a new industry segment for their products. The Digital Marketing program has allowed me to approach marketing situations more critically and Creatively.”

Hunter Rast 

"Studying digital marketing at Appalachian was the best choice I've ever made. The concentration provided everthing I needed to succeed in life after graduation. I couldn't be happier with the knowledge I gained about the marketing industry and where that knowledge has brought me." 

Mary Steen

"Pursuing the Digital Marketing concentration during my time at Appalachian State University gave me the hands-on experience and education needed to lead me into being successful after graduation. Given the opportunity during my courses to work with local businesses to practice what we were learning was a valuable learning experience that prepared me for a career in the field."