In today’s ever evolving and fast-paced digital age, the only way to stay competitive is to have an up to date and memorable online presence. Whether it is marketing, branding and positioning yourself or a business, the internet is the only way forward and like it or not, it is here to stay. A study shows that 78% of consumers believe it is very important to look up information about people and/or businesses online before deciding to interact or do business with them

In light of this, learning about E-marketing should not just be for the marketing or business student, but rather for everyone that uses the internet. E-marketing provides access to large markets at low to no-costs and allows people and brands to undertake a personalised marketing approach (Stokes & the minds of quirk, 2013: 263).
One of the most interesting aspects of e-marketing was learning about the various tools and tactics available to the digital marketer to achieve digital marketing strategy objectives. Learning how and when to apply these tactics is the most important aspect of e-marketing to me. Once the target market is known, it is key to compile the most effective mix of tactics to directly reach the target consumers in the most personalised and relatable way (Stokes & the minds of quirk, 2013: 263).

Another aspect of the E-marketing course I enjoyed were the Etivities.I have never blogged before or posted content such as this that is on such a broad and public platform. It was daunting at first but I have grown more comfortable posting on a blog knowing the importance of having an online presence. Initially I was LOST trying to navigate WordPress, but with the help of Nicola Pallitt’s blog and video tutorials such as this one by ILoveWebDev, I quickly found my way.

An aspect I would like to gain more clarity on is personal branding in e-marketing. I would like to learn how to accurately portray myself and craft my personal brand in order to convey a strong message. Building a strong personal online brand and presence for myself will assist me in finding jobs and connecting with future employers from across the globe. I have started this process, however I am nowhere near being the online persona I want to be.
What I found least useful in terms of our e-marketing course, was the peer-marking system of tutorials. The tutorials were too long to effectively and accurately grade a peer’s paper. This resulted in many peers marking hastily and lazily. This was a disadvantage to our tutorials marks as our grades relied on our peers who, most of the time, did not even remember what the tutorial objectives were.
Aside from this one negative of the course, I found e-marketing to be an exciting and interactive subject that required creativity as well as theory integration. It taught our class valuable skills that should be learnt by everyone who lives and operates in the digital age.