Digital Marketing Foundations
EXSM 3915 is offered this spring, fall and winter:
Course at a glance
- In this project-based course, you’ll learn through interactive group discussions, activities, and assignments, as well as hands-on practice with building the various components that inform digital marketing strategies.
- Understand how to set strategic objectives, choose key performance indicators (KPIs), and analyze a competitor’s digital presence.
- Aimed at business owners, managers, entrepreneurs, those working in not-for-profits, traditional marketers wanting to upskill, and workers looking to reskill into the rapidly growing field of digital marketing.
- Fully online asynchronous course accessible through eClass, the University of Alberta’s eLearning management tool.
What you will learn
Course content covers these career-enhancing skills:
Click on a skill for overview & job postings data
- Competitive Analysis
- Persona (User Experience)
- Digital Marketing
- Marketing Strategies
- Customer Journey Mapping
- Online Marketing
- Audience Segmentation
By the end of this course, you should be able to:
- Understand how to build an effective online presence through a strong digital marketing strategy.
- Understand the basic terms and language used by digital marketers to describe concepts and techniques.
- Learn to analyze your audience and begin audience segmentation.
- Build a customer journey map and assess both digital and brick-and-mortar touchpoints.
- Learn how to assess your organization’s unique competitive landscape from a digital perspective.
- Explore issues such as data privacy, ethics, and other human factors that need to be considered in digital marketing.
Offered:
Take note:
- To take this course, you’ll need a computer with a camera and a microphone, as well as reliable internet access.
- Recommended browsers are Google Chrome, Firefox, or Edge (certain activities can’t be accessed through Internet Explorer).
- No textbook is required; a list of online reading materials will be provided by the instructor.
May 1, 2023Jun 18, 2023
Asynchronous online learning, eClass
In asynchronous online courses, students are expected to move through the course material at the same pace as their peers, but there are no real-time virtual classroom sessions to attend. All components of this type of course are accessible through eClass, the University of Alberta’s eLearning management tool. format details

Your Instructor
Laurenne SprattID: laurenne-spratt
Laurenne Spratt is an award-winning marketing and communications leader with more than a decade of experience in business administration, digital marketing, e-commerce, online reputation, and marketing strategy. A true believer in lifelong learning, she holds a BA and an MBA, in addition to Google Ads and Analytics certifications, a Digital Marketing Professional certification, and an in-progress PhD in Management. Laurenne comes from a retail family business background and specializes in using digital strategies to grow customer experience and engagement. She has been teaching business, communications, and marketing at post-secondary institutions for several years. Laurenne is currently the Director of Brand at the University of Alberta.
Class info
-
This is an asynchronous online learning course.
-
Cost assistance: may be eligible for the Canada-Alberta Job Grant, the Canada Training Benefit, and the Skilled Immigrant Micro-Loan.
— view all 28 funding opportunities -
Please be advised that some of our courses fill quickly, early registration is encouraged to secure your spot. See our refunds, withdrawals & transfers policies for detailed information.
Take note:
- To take this course, you’ll need a computer with a camera and a microphone, as well as reliable internet access.
- Recommended browsers are Google Chrome, Firefox, or Edge (certain activities can’t be accessed through Internet Explorer).
- No textbook is required; a list of online reading materials will be provided by the instructor.
Sep 11, 2023Oct 27, 2023
Asynchronous online learning, eClass
In asynchronous online courses, students are expected to move through the course material at the same pace as their peers, but there are no real-time virtual classroom sessions to attend. All components of this type of course are accessible through eClass, the University of Alberta’s eLearning management tool. format details

Your Instructor
Laurenne SprattID: laurenne-spratt
Laurenne Spratt is an award-winning marketing and communications leader with more than a decade of experience in business administration, digital marketing, e-commerce, online reputation, and marketing strategy. A true believer in lifelong learning, she holds a BA and an MBA, in addition to Google Ads and Analytics certifications, a Digital Marketing Professional certification, and an in-progress PhD in Management. Laurenne comes from a retail family business background and specializes in using digital strategies to grow customer experience and engagement. She has been teaching business, communications, and marketing at post-secondary institutions for several years. Laurenne is currently the Director of Brand at the University of Alberta.
Class info
-
This is an asynchronous online learning course.
-
Cost assistance: may be eligible for the Canada-Alberta Job Grant, the Canada Training Benefit, and the Skilled Immigrant Micro-Loan.
— view all 28 funding opportunities -
Please be advised that some of our courses fill quickly, early registration is encouraged to secure your spot. See our refunds, withdrawals & transfers policies for detailed information.
Take note:
- To take this course, you’ll need a computer with a camera and a microphone, as well as reliable internet access.
- Recommended browsers are Google Chrome, Firefox, or Edge (certain activities can’t be accessed through Internet Explorer).
- No textbook is required; a list of online reading materials will be provided by the instructor.
Jan 8, 2024Feb 26, 2024
Asynchronous online learning, eClass
In asynchronous online courses, students are expected to move through the course material at the same pace as their peers, but there are no real-time virtual classroom sessions to attend. All components of this type of course are accessible through eClass, the University of Alberta’s eLearning management tool. format details

Your Instructor
Laurenne SprattID: laurenne-spratt
Laurenne Spratt is an award-winning marketing and communications leader with more than a decade of experience in business administration, digital marketing, e-commerce, online reputation, and marketing strategy. A true believer in lifelong learning, she holds a BA and an MBA, in addition to Google Ads and Analytics certifications, a Digital Marketing Professional certification, and an in-progress PhD in Management. Laurenne comes from a retail family business background and specializes in using digital strategies to grow customer experience and engagement. She has been teaching business, communications, and marketing at post-secondary institutions for several years. Laurenne is currently the Director of Brand at the University of Alberta.
Class info
-
This is an asynchronous online learning course.
-
Cost assistance: may be eligible for the Canada-Alberta Job Grant, the Canada Training Benefit, and the Skilled Immigrant Micro-Loan.
— view all 28 funding opportunities -
Please be advised that some of our courses fill quickly, early registration is encouraged to secure your spot. See our refunds, withdrawals & transfers policies for detailed information.
This course has no prerequisites
Students from all educational backgrounds welcome. You can register for this course without applying and enrolling in a program.
Take note:
- To take this course, you’ll need a computer with a camera and a microphone, as well as reliable internet access.
- Recommended browsers are Google Chrome, Firefox, or Edge (certain activities can’t be accessed through Internet Explorer).
- No textbook is required; a list of online reading materials will be provided by the instructor.
Currently counts towards:
-
└ core course
-
└ core course
Applicants intending to enrol in a program are encouraged to apply as soon as possible to lock in their course requirements since they are prone to change.
*If you are already enroled in this program, please refer to your specific program requirements as outlined at the time of your admission: Bear Tracks > Academic Advisement.
Looking for different course dates?
New course schedules are released each June and November.