“We are building a Web where the default is social,” Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg announced at a 2011 conference.
He was right. More than ever, companies are scrambling to incorporate social media into their marketing, using an array of web-based and mobile technologies.
Perhaps that is why attendance was high at the second lunch in the Marketing Roundtable Speaker Series at the College of Business at Florida International University (FIU). “How to Have your Customers Fall in Love through the ‘Like’ Button: Generating Buzz, Loyalty and Engagement through Social Media,” presented on February 2, 2012, featured Joanna Popper, vice president of marketing, and Karen Comas, social media manager, from Telemundo (NBC Universal).
“Both experts gave specific examples of how companies can connect with and engage customers by using social media to achieve goals,” said Walfried M. Lassar, chair, Marketing Department.
Marketing student Michael Perez, among the more than 100 alumni, professionals and students attending the event, said he learned “quite a bit” from the speakers and the interesting marketing videos they shared.
“I appreciated learning how Telemundo successfully uses social media and also hearing about practices used by other industries,” he said.
The Marketing Roundtable Series is hosted by the Department of Marketing and the Dean’s Alumni Circle. Lassar introduced the Telemundo speakers, who were thanked at the event’s conclusion by Eduardo Lamazeres (MBA ’06, BS ’93), co-chair of the marketing committee for the Circle.
“We’re very pleased this series is growing in popularity, mostly thanks to the fact we are bringing extraordinary presenters to share their marketing experience and wisdom,” Lassar said.
Students benefit from added attraction.
Following the presentation, Popper and Comas met with the student attendees. This meet and greet was arranged by Monique Catoggio (EMBA ’03), director of advancement, alumni and corporate relations in FIU’s business school; she developed the Marketing Roundtable Series along with Lassar, Lamazeres and Jorge Diaz (BS ’83) and with assistance by members of the Dean’s Alumni Circle.
“What a cool opportunity to ask even more questions in an informal setting,” Perez said. “It made the event more personal to the students.”
