Bootcamp: Fundamentals of Digital Media

Digital Capital is rapidly becoming the economic engine of the 21st century. But, how much digital capital are we creating? And, are we creating digital assets with value? In this session, we focus on the tools available to create Digital Capital such as infographics, videos, podcasts, social media content, and more. In a world crowded with Digital Capital, how does our content stand out from the rest?

This session will focus on how to promote a brand or business on social media while ensuring consistency with the existing brand’s positioning and voice. We will also cover how to calculate and interpret key social media metrics to determine what is working for your business. Finally, this course will provide a brief overview of how to use Facebook Insights, a free service that businesses can leverage to easily review, measure, and report social media performance. 

Learn the basics of framing, photography, camera functions, video editing, media analysis, and aesthetics. Students will work individually and in groups to write, shoot, and edit their own projects. Students will work with Adobe Premiere Pro to edit their projects.

Infographics are a visual representation of any kind of information or data with the intent to inform or educate your audience. Statistics show that information is far better received visually than in written form. Students will learn the aesthetic reasoning and psychology behind them, and will produce one for themselves on a topic of their choosing. 

Students will learn what a podcast is and how to create one. They will also learn the difference between scripted and Q&A podcasts and familiarize themselves with a wide range of podcast topics. We will be highlighting multiple platforms to use.

In this one hour workshop, we will learn basic “global corrections” created with adjustment layers, and dive into a few “local corrections” including dodging/burning, adding a vignette, and removing distracting elements. All of this will be done with non-degrading photo editing techniques. 

NYU professors George B. Hotchkiss and Edward J. Kilduff remarked that the “value of a business English message is … determined by its effectiveness in securing a favorable response from those to whom it is directed. It is the art of impression rather than expression.” Whether composing a social media post, an annual report, a promotional flyer, or a work-a-day email, writers must craft messages that are clear, concise, precise, accurate, and – in most cases – persuasive. During this session, we will discuss and practice strategies for writing that does, indeed, “secure a favorable response.”

Who am I trying to reach with my digital marketing messages? Are they already familiar with my brand or firm or am I trying to create awareness among prospective consumers/clients/constituents? What do they already know? What do they need to know? How do I create content that is engaging and relevant to this target audience?

Asking and responding to these questions and others like them allows us to 1) identify our audiences and 2) compose messages – regardless of medium – that effectively connect with our target? In this session we will first discuss and practice audience analysis. Then we will discuss and practice strategies for connecting with those audiences.