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Keeping current with digital marketing is vital to your organization's ongoing success

Keeping current with digital marketing is vital to your organization’s ongoing success

The growing importance of digital marketing is impossible to ignore. It is faster, cheaper, and more effective than traditional marketing, to the point where the Chief Marketing Officer Council recently estimated that it will account for 75 percent or more of corporate marketing spending within the next five years.

Given that our digital world requires people to learn fast or be left behind, gaining or upgrading skills in the digital marketing realm is vital to any company – and it’s something that business organizations across B.C. keenly appreciate. “We do everything possible to help our members succeed,” says Kim Smythe, chief executive officer and president of the Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce.

One example of how Smythe’s organization helps is its Good Morning Mastery – Never Stop Learning program, which brings together expert business panels and speakers to help members increase their capacity and strengthen their skill set. “We cover everything from tax planning to buying and selling businesses, and by far the most popular topics are digital marketing and social media,” says Smythe. “These sessions always sell out.”

The Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce will soon expand its help by hosting programs delivered by Jelly Academy, October 26-28, an event Smythe is particularly excited about. “Jelly Academy, which is run by Jelly Digital Marketing & PR and taught by professionals in the industry, is one of the only organizations to provide certification to their students in social media forums such as Hootsuite, Facebook, Google and SEMrush,” he explains. “We think certification is a great way for business to gain a competitive edge.”

 Jelly Academy, which will also stage a course for the Okanagan in Kelowna from November 23 to 25 and a weekly offering in Langley beginning October 2, is rapidly becoming a staple of chambers of commerce events across the province. “Our customers don’t need to see your pitch,” says Val Litwin, president and CEO of the BC Chamber of Commerce. “They want authentic engagement. The Jelly Academy training will have you creating posts that are not only inspiring, insightful and engaging, but also beautiful.”

Jelly Academy originated when Jelly Digital Marketing & PR managing partner Darian Kovacs decided to help business owners and marketing professionals take their skills to the next level – as well as create certification that would give them recognition for earning these skills. Known for working with brands such as La-Z-Boy Furniture, Spence Diamonds, Hardbite Chips and many other companies, Kovacs and Jelly began training groups in the company’s Fort Langley headquarters two years ago, and since then have made training a core part of what they offer.

 Smythe anticipates that “three outcomes will happen during our October program: there will be members who will ask Jelly to handle their marketing needs; skilled digital marketers working for larger companies will attend to upgrade their skills; and of course we’ll see small business owners coming for basic education because they want to keep their marketing in house.

 “The point is, everyone in the business community understands the value of this relatively new kind of marketing. They’re not afraid of it, and they want to learn. Fortunately for organizations such as ours, there are many ways to give them the tools they need.”

 For more information on the Jelly Academy, visit www.jellyacademy.ca