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Digital Marketing for Entrepreneurs

What is Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing refers to all marketing efforts that are concentrated on the internet. It is also called online marketing. Brands use the internet to reach potential customers through targeted advertising via different digital channels such as websites, social media, emails, mobile apps, and search engines.

Why Do Entrepreneurs Need Digital Marketing?

The main reason it’s so important these days is because it’s effective. Even a digital presence on one platform can increase your ROI, so learning how to manage multiple channels and techniques will increase it even more. With a combination of SEO, PPC ads, and more, you’ll be well on your way to increase profits. Beyond that, everything runs online these days. Most people interact online, either through emails or social media, meaning you’ll be missing out on valuable interactions with your audience and potential business partners.

Top Reasons Why You Should Learn Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is an essential skill that every entrepreneur must learn. There are several benefits to learning digital marketing if you are a business owner. 

  • You can interact directly with your customers and find out how to serve their needs.
  • Online marketing isn’t region-specific, so you can target your customers wherever they are. 
  • You can target your messages so your audience understands your message. 
  • Your buyers can connect with you at any phase of the buying process.
  • You can easily track and monitor responses to your marketing efforts.
  • You can establish and create awareness for your brand at a channel your customers are very active.
  • Digital marketing is more cost-effective than traditional marketing. You get impressive results with very low investment costs.
  • You can customize and personalize your messaging to your customers. 
  • You have access to analytics and data to understand your audience further.
  • With automation, you can advertise your business even while you sleep.

Our Team

Get Ahead With 26 West Center

Kim Richmond Headshot
Director, 26 West Entrepreneurship Center

Kim Richmond
desh bagley headshot
Director, SCF Coding Academy

Desh Bagley
phillip phifer headshot
Lead Technical Support Specialist

Phillip Phifer
Kayla Yother - 26 West Office Supervisor
26 West Office Supervisor

Kayla Yother
Kim Richmond Headshot

Director, 26 West Entrepreneurship Center

Kim Richmond

Kim is a passionate brand builder in every sense of the word. As the Director of the 26 West Entrepreneurship Center at State College of Florida, she is creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem including successful founders, mentors, and investors to support entrepreneurs and small business owners and fuel innovation and economic growth in the Bradenton/Sarasota region.  

She is a senior executive with extensive marketing and branding experience. She was Executive Vice President, Marketing at FAO Inc. and a member of the senior management team that successfully repositioned and relaunched FAO Schwarz after the sale of the company. Kim has also held senior marketing positions at other major retailers including Zany Brainy, The Right Start, Charming Shoppes and Sears. In addition to her extensive retail background, she also spent seven years at Kraft Foods where she developed a new corporate identity when the $5 billion division was sold to a private equity firm. 

Kim also has deep academic experience. She has served as Program Manager and full-time faculty in the Entrepreneurship Program at State College of Florida. In addition, she has been an adjunct professor at Rutgers University, The State College of New Jersey and Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA. Kim is a recognized authority in sales and marketing and is the author of two books – The Power of Selling and Brand You. She is a frequent speaker at industry and academic events.  

Giving back to the communities in which she lives is important to Kim. She currently sits on the Board of Directors of The Literacy Council of Sarasota. She also served on the Board of Governors of the Philly Ad Club, the largest professional organization of marketing and advertising professionals in the Philadelphia region with 2,600 members. 

Kim holds a Master of Business Administration from Loyola Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts from Northern Illinois University. 

Email:richmok@scf.edu

desh bagley headshot

Director, SCF Coding Academy

Desh Bagley

Deshjuana “Desh” Bagley comes to SCF from Hillsborough Community College, having served as the FLATE Outreach Manager and Advanced Lab Technician. There she was responsible for incorporating and facilitating STEM enrichment into existing statewide curriculum based on Florida State Standards. She serves as the Program Delivery Partner for FIRST®️ LEGO®️ League robotics throughout a sixteen-county region for over 100 teams and 500 volunteers.

Desh brings a commitment to quality training from her previous experiences as an Amazon Virtual Customer Service Trainer and Team Manager. She is a highly ranked national trainer for Fortune 500 companies through SkillPath/CompuMaster. Desh has a wide array of experiences working with community and industry partners to deliver STEM-focused training and educational offerings.

Email:bagleyd@scf.edu

phillip phifer headshot

Lead Technical Support Specialist

Phillip Phifer

Phillip Phifer is the Lead Technical Support Specialist for 26 West Center. He graduated from State College of Florida in August of 2019 with an associate degree in Computer Science. He is certified by CompTIA in Security Plus and Network Plus. Currently, Phillip is pursuing his Apple Certified Support Professional certificate, with the end goal of becoming a System Administrator.

On the weekends, Phillip enjoys the outdoors by hiking, bicycling, and kayaking with his fiancé.

Email:phiferp@scf.edu

Kayla Yother - 26 West Office Supervisor

26 West Office Supervisor

Kayla Yother

26 West Office Supervisor

Email:yotherk@scf.edu

Ready to take your business to the next level? Try the Entrepreneurship Academy now for only $99!

The Entrepreneurship Academy is a 5-star-rated course on Google. Our 26 West team can teach you innovative and groundbreaking techniques that will prove to be invaluable to your entrepreneurial journey. Get in touch with our experts today!
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26 West Center

Address

26 West Center
SCF Center for Advanced
Technology & Innovation
5480 26th St. W.
Bradenton, FL 34207

Entrepreneurship Academy & Business Growth Lab

Email

yotherk@scf.edu

Telephone

941-752-5285

SCF Coding Academy
 

Email

coding@scf.edu

Telephone

941-752-5208

For press inquiries please contact SCF Communications and Marketing at news@scf.edu or 941-752-5320.

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Directions

26 West Center is located on the State College of Florida Bradenton campus in the Center for Advanced Technology and Innovation (Building 8).

When you enter the campus from 26th Street West, turn left at the first stop sign. Then, turn right at the second stop sign after that. Building 8 (Center for Advanced Technology & Innovation) is the second building on your right. See picture above.

You may park anywhere in the lot. Parking permits are not required.

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