#google squared

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Google'ın Yeni Servisi: Google Squared

Learning what to measure and how was a steep learning curve for our group, but we quickly managed to identify the areas we felt would be most beneficial for the purpose of our assignment.

Whilst Google Analytics is fairly intuitive, there is an element of information overload, which can be difficult to analyse and select relevant information from. We found it helpful to meet regularly and present our research to the group for further analysis and feedback. Working in this way we eventually managed to drill down through the data in order to present recommendations for improving the efficiency of the Squared website.

Initially we were so focused on our own specific sections of research that we found it tricky when considering how to join up all of our findings and recommendations. The collaborative method, with regular meetings was the answer to that as we familiarised ourselves with the rest of the data.

This was by far the most difficult of all the assignments, possibly because we didn't have any experts in GA within our team. It meant we had to be agile in our approach and adapt as we learned and progressed. It also meant we relied heavily on our team mates as there was so much data to extract and analyse the workload had to be shared.

Top four tips for anyone else tasked with this assignment:

1. Get organised early

Read the brief carefully, divide up the work and get familiar with GA's interface as soon as possible. Even if it's just clicking around to find where stuff is.

2. Meet regularly

Meet at least 1-2 times a week with clear ideas about what each team member is tasked to do and feedback to each other with any issues and learnings. Keep records of minutes from meetings, including actions.

3. Be open and critical

Not everyone will get it immediately and some areas are more difficult to analyse than others. Don't be shy from giving open and constructive criticism to your team mates if you spot something in their research that they might not have. You may inspire them to look at it in a different way, adding more depth to their analysis. The same goes for feedback on your own work.

4. Link it all together

I’ve finally made it to the end of the course! The 6 months of Monday and Wednesday evening work has been a real challenge to fit round my day job, especially since I’ve been on the road, through out the UK, with my electric car for the past three weeks (http://pod-point.com/catuk/). One recommendation I’d make to the Squared organisers is to create the option of doing a condensed 3 month course for those wishing to power through.

However not for one second have I regretted signing up to Squared. Indeed the amount of useful and thought provoking information the course has enabled me to take on board has been worth it’s weight in gold. I will take the digital skills I’ve learnt and directly apply them to my current job and Squared has made me seriously consider the possibility of starting out future digital ventures on my own. If/when I do, I now have the necessary frameworks at my fingertips to ensure any ideas have the best possible chance of making it off the drawing board.

One of the most immediately useful skills I’ve developed through module 5 has been how to create professional looking infographics. By forcing me to sit down and learn how to use Photoshop and import photoshopped images into Piktochart, I can now very easily churn out slick looking graphics-see below.

All in all I would highly recommend the Squared Online course to anyone who wants to improve their digital skills. It has most definitely been worth the money and provided an interesting and structured guide to many topics that were before an impenetrable digital maze!

The pace has picked up and Squared have put us into collaborative work teams. The challenges of working, communicating and organising a diverse group of 8 or so individuals to come together to produce a decent project should not be underestimated!

Our assignment was entitled ‘We’ve going to make millions’! It was meant to encourage us to think about what makes a scalable and profitable digital business that focussed on the fast growing mobile market - and it was absolutely fascinating. By far the most interesting lecture was on ‘Developing Effective Business Models’. They introduced us to the Business Model Canvas, which provided a framework to assess whether those lightbulb-moments-that-wake-you-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night had legs or were best left to the realms of dreams. For someone who has actively thought about starting my own business and gone so far to spent a couple of months writing a business plan (for a project that didn’t actually get off the ground) it was extremely absorbing hearing from the experts. If only I’d done the Squared course a year ago-I would have saved myself a lot of time and stress, instead of trying to stumble through and construct a workable business plan from scratch.

I am expecting this course to be a magical talisma for my career progression (a bit too much, but yeah!).

10 years back when I did my MBA in Marketing, the Kotlers of the world didn’t include any chapters on Digital Marketing. It was all about marketing frameworks and traditional marketing. But today everything is digital. It’s not a hunch based marketing anymore, it’s the world of measured ROI.  The management teams today rely on trends drawn from the worldwide web and not merely on gut feelings. I want to learn the tricks and traits of being a digital marketer and gain more confidence so that I can change the levers in realtime depending on the tide.

At the end of this course I expect myself to be -

More well informed when conversing about SEO, SEM, Social media marketing, blogging, micro blogging, video, content marketing, website analytics, google analytics and inbound marketing

Be able to think and act digital in my approach and be able to deliver campaign metrics more effectively

Be more knowledgeable about video based content marketing

Be able to come up with ideas and implications of various digital initiatives for any particular brand

Know about reliable resources of knowledge sharing while devising digital strategies

Stay wired with the Squared online classmates and alumnus to keep exchanging thoughts, concepts and find more value-added jobs

And for sure all of the above depends on how much time and energy I can devote to each module. Well, currently I am struggling to keep up with my 6 months old, but hoping for the best.