Rutgers Mini MBA Program Offers Accelerated Social Media Marketing Course

The Rutgers Mini MBA Program is offering an accelerated Social Media Marketing Course from December 6 through 10, 2010, on the Piscataway campus.

Heidi Cohen, who writes for ClickZ, is teaching the session on Social Media Strategy. Liana Evans, who also writes for ClickZ, is teaching the sesson on Consumer Behavior Drivers of Social Media. And I should disclose that I’m teaching the session on Videos & Social Media.

In addition to the topics that Cohen, Evans and I will cover, Rutgers faculty members and other industry experts are teaching the following modules in the 10-session Social Media Marketing Course: Understand Social Network Dynamics & the Power of Influencers, The Art & Science of Blogging for Business, Mobile Apps and Location Based Marketing for Social Media, Measuring & Tracking Social Media ROI, B2B Meets Social Media: High-Impact Strategies, Benefits and Audiences, and Integrating Social Media & Digital.

The Rutgers Mini-MBA program is designed for executives or professionals working in marketing, advertising, branding, communications, or sales as well as individuals seeking to use social media to further their careers. Participants receive a certificate at the completion of the course and those passing an optional exam earn three credits toward a full-time MBA degree.

Why would someone with an undergraduate degree enroll in such a program? As former Secretary of Education Richard Riley has observed, the top 10 jobs that are in demand in 2010 didn’t exist in 2004. In fact, Facebook was founded in 2004, YouTube in 2005, and Twitter in 2006. So, if you took a marketing course in college before 2004, don’t blame your professor for not covering social media.

Rutgers’ CMD channel on YouTube features former students discussing what they got out of the program.

Social Media Class- Social Media Analytics Measures ROI – Rutgers Digital Marketing

All of the students enrolling in the Social Media Marketing Course will receive Apple iPads. Now, you can learn social media marketing without a tablet computer, but a couple of iPad apps are an integral part of the 30-hour Rutgers Mini MBA Program which provides new career skills in a field that is defined by social media technology and change.

As Eric Greenberg, the Faculty Chair of the Mini-MBA: Social Media Program at the Center for Management Development (CMD), says, “A paradigm shift in marketing today stems from technology advancements that are producing a new class of super-informed, highly empowered consumers. As products like tablet computers increasingly shift people away from traditional media and untether them from their office and home PCs, marketing professionals at all levels are seeking to update and refresh their skills sets to stay current.”

Greenberg adds, “From Facebook to LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube – firms and individuals are embracing social media platforms at an ever-increasing pace. This program addresses the many issues surrounding this new phenomenon and provides a roadmap to help individuals and firms navigate social media to gain a competitive edge.”

The cost of the Social Media Certificate Program is $4,995, which includes all instructional materials on a pre-loaded Apple iPad and fees. The Rutgers Mini MBA Program may qualify for corporate tuition reimbursement. This Social Media Certificate Program has been approved by the New Jersey Department of Labor for workforce training grants. Funding may be available for those receiving unemployment benefits.

The course is limited to 30 students. Space at local hotels will be available for those requiring overnight accommodations, including international participants. A 12-week program (one evening per week) will be held on Tuesdays, 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. starting in February 2011. For more information, contact Greenberg at 732-445-5639, or go online to the Center for Management Development.

There are alternatives — but only a handful.

For example, the University of San Francisco offers an Advanced Social Media training course.

The SEMPO Institute, the distance learning division of the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization, offers a Social Media Marketing course.

In conjunction with Wharton Interactive Media Initiative, leading research firms, and industry associations, the Online Marketing Institute offers a social media training and certification program.

Out-of-work and aspiring marketers in the states of California, Minnesota, New Mexico, Florida, and Texas may be eligible for fully paid Market Motive online marketing certification courses through the US Workforce Investment Act (WIA). I should disclose that I’m a member of the Market Motive faculty.

Liz Gray, a faculty member at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario, teaches a course on paid search marketing to post-graduate marketing students. It is currently the only course of its kind in Canada at a college or university.

Jobs of the future: search marketing with Liz Gray, Page Zero Media

So, examine your options — but find a way to learn how to master one of the 10 top jobs in 2010 that didn’t exist in 2004.