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.
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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
Dominic Williams '25
I just wanted to express my gratitude for the Social Media Marketing class you taught in the Fall 2023 semester. This summer I had the opportunity to join the Brown-Forman IMC team in Paris, France for a 2.5 month long internship and I couldn’t be more appreciative of how well your course prepared me for this. My main duties were to help analyze different social media metrics to plan for upcoming brand campaigns. I was pleasantly surprised by how closely the projects they gave me mirrored the Stukent Simternship. With the prior experience I was able to complete these assignments weeks faster than my boss had initially expected. With my success in the projects and understanding of social media marketing, I was able to attend meetings and go on brand trips that were not traditionally open to interns. The biggest highlight was being able to attend an all expenses paid music festival as a brand ambassador for their brand Jack Daniel’s. I truly owe my success in this internship to your social media class as it provided me all of the background information and practice to excel.
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."