The West Virginia University P.I Reed School of Journalism is recruiting students for Digital Marketing Communications, a new, online graduate certificate program.

The program, which starts Aug. 23 when fall classes begin, is one of the first of its kind in the country, according to Chad Mezera, program director.

“Digital marketing communications is not about telling the audience what to think,” said Mezera. “Rather, it focuses on responding strategically to what the audience already thinks and putting relevant information in places where the audience can access it.”

Digital marketing communications is a strategic practice that uses interactive channels to build community around a brand or organization. In the DMC certificate program at WVU, students will learn the essential tools and techniques to create dialogue with today’s modern, online audience. Such tools include social media, viral messages, blogs, e-mail and web analytics.

DMC courses are taught exclusively online, and students are not required to log in at a specific time to complete their course work. This makes the program extremely flexible for those with work and family obligations and easily accessible to students around the world.

The certificate consists of five courses taken in nine-week terms. Students take one course per term and complete the program in a year. Each course builds a foundation for the next, and the program culminates with a capstone course in which students build full DMC campaigns. The courses include Introduction to DMC; Social Media and Marketing; Web Metrics and Search Engine Optimization; Digital Production for Interactive Media; and Digital Campaigns.

School of Journalism Dean Maryanne Reed said the DMC program is a good example of the innovative digital training necessary in today’s marketplace.

“As the media landscape continues to evolve, the School of Journalism is dedicated to training the next generation of media professionals,” Reed said. “The DMC certificate is an example of one of the most forward-thinking course offerings available, and graduates will be poised to become leaders in the field of strategic communications.”

For more information on the DMC program, go to www.digital.wvu.edu.

-WVU-

al/4/12/10

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CONTACT: Angela Lindley, School of Journalism, IMC program
304-293-3505 ext. 5432