Emma Sneed, a junior at Belmont University, created Push to Playoffs for her semester practicum and creatively used Linktree to increase referral acquisitions. As a devout hockey fan and an intern with the Nashville Predators, she desired “to inform and educate others about the push to playoff hockey.” Whether you are new to hockey, a casual viewer, or avid fan, she contended that Push to Playoffs had something for you. As part of the curriculum, every student is required to conduct a SWOT analysis of their site compared to other students’ sites in their course section. In regards to her site, Emma states:
“When doing an internal audit on Push to Playoffs I found that my strengths were that I had a high number of direct and referral acquisitions. I was also on time and consistent with all my posting, social and blog. I never fell behind on the editorial calendar that I created. I was also able to have the same name for all of the social platforms, @pushtoplayoffs, which allowed for even more consistency. I also always made sure to link my blog posts wherever I could and utilized Linktree which assisted in my referral acquisitions. Along with consistency, I stayed consistent with my email campaign through my format and send date and time.
For weaknesses of my campaign, I had low numbers when it came to site users and new users. I also ran into some time constraints. I was able to keep about a week ahead on my social posts but couldn’t get ahead on blog creation. On all my socials, primarily Twitter, I had very little engagement. It was always the same people engaging with my content and it probably didn’t help that all my content was the same across all three platforms. I also lacked creating creative content whether that was across platforms or within the types of content that I was posting. Although I had a good number of subscribers to my email, the more subscribers I got, the lower the opens and clicks tallied.”
When looking at my brand externally, I found that when it came to opportunities, being able to consistently post blogs allowed for higher brand acquisitions and retention compared to my peers in the class. Through that, I was able to get a high number of goal competitions whether that was through signing up for my email or submitting the other forms I created. I also had a unique market when it came to the topics of the class’s blogs. There was only one other that did something sport related, otherwise, I was the only one and I was the only hockey-related site. I also stayed true to what I promised and sent out one email every week and it was always on the same day. I found that others didn’t meet that goal and needed to send out multiple emails in one week to meet that goal.
For threats, I did have a niche topic, while it was unique it may have been too unique. The blogs I created have also been done before by the NHL and other sites. I just compiled all the information into one site instead of having to go to different ones to get the same information. I also lacked some creativity when it came to the blog and social posts. I used a lot of the same templates, and my blogs weren’t super unique besides ones that were about myself, or my readers. As I mentioned in my internal analysis, I struggled to keep two weeks ahead of schedule when it came to blog posts. This is something that if/when I continue this project, I will make sure I have things scheduled prior so I’m not rushing. I also never created “member-only” content. There was nothing special or exclusive for readers, everyone got the same content whether they signed up or not.”
When it came to what made my campaign successful, it came down to three things, goal completions, Facebook, and referrals (aka Linktree). While I didn’t have the highest number of goal completions or subscribers in the class, I was able to turn those completions into the highest number of email opens and clicks which helped with retention. Most of my direct acquisition numbers came from MailChimp. Facebook received the highest number of social acquisitions all thanks to my mom and family members that are constantly on Facebook! Linktree was a big reason I got the most referrals in the class. Getting those backlinks, especially when my topic isn’t really related to others in the room, was hard but being able to use Linktree allowed me to gain more referrals.
When it comes to using the Digital Engine, creating a live campaign was never something I thought I would do, let alone love. The courseware allowed me to gain knowledge that I know will be used in my future career wherever that may be!”
If you are a marketing, communications, entrepreneurship, or arts professor whose students could learn how to self-promote themself or their ideas, products, art, music, or services, then this is the course for you. As Emma indicated, our hands-on, practical approach to the course curriculum and practicum will make an immediate impact on you and your students. We invite you to check out our Courseware Demo or you can Contact Us to schedule a live Zoom call to explore the course experience in greater detail. We look forward to speaking with you soon. If you are still not sure yet, feel free to check out more student testimonials here.
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