Chattahoochee Tech to offer special social media classes

Media release: Chattahoochee Technical College will introduce a new specialization in its Marketing Management Program this fall.

Students in the program will now have the option of specializing in social media in addition to the occupational courses in the field of marketing management.

The first class in the sequence will be offered online this Fall Semester.

"Social media is revolutionizing the marketing of products and services", said CTC Marketing instructor Rick Nelson. "At an ever accelerating pace, technology is changing how firms create, communicate and deliver value to customers in the marketplace. Our Marketing Management programs will expose students to this technology, and better prepare them for the new reality of marketing. There are an estimated 1 billion smartphones in use globally today. The projection for 2020 visualizes 5 billion smartphones, plus another 5 billion tablets in use. Delivering value faster, more efficiently, and on a more targeted basis through these devices mandates a new marketing mindset and skillset."

The specialization consists of four classes in addition to a student's general education and occupational courses. Students will be required to complete the classes of Exploring Social Media, Analyzing Social Media, Consumer Behavior and a marketing elective of the student's choice. The introductory class, which will be offered this Fall Semester online, involves an overview of the various forms of social media and how it is used in concert with traditional marketing/media options. The second course focuses on measuring the success of social media marketing and understanding its return on investment. As an emerging platform in marketing, students will be looking at current and projected trends for the industry.

"Traditional marketing and public relations careers have been hit hard by the economic downturn, while social media marketing has been a growth area in business spending," said Nelson. "More and more organizations want to hire some professionals as an attempt to manage and utilize social media effectively for their businesses. Job titles commonly posted in the job market include Social Media Coordinator, Social Media Specialist, Online Community Manager or PR Specialist to name a few."