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Summer 2019 Social Media Course with Mia Aquino

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Monday, June 24th, 2019

Hello! My name is Mia Aquino and I am excited to be joining PCA&D this summer, teaching SM 105 Content Creation. I am a social media strategist and entrepreneur with more than 10 years experience leading social media for news, media, and entertainment brands. I feel very lucky to have found a career in social media, something I’m passionate about.

I am the Founder of Hat Tip Digital LLC, a social media marketing agency based in Lancaster, PA. Hat Tip Digital works with individuals, businesses and brands to make a powerful customer connection through social media. At Hat Tip Digital, I have taken my knowledge and experience of what works, what doesn’t, and what brands can do to really reach their audience in the social space.

Before launching Hat Tip Digital, I worked in-house in various social, digital, and content roles. I was previously the Director, Social Media Marketing at Publishers Clearing House, where I oversaw the social, influencer, and content strategies. I led the audience growth, social, and partnerships strategies at WME | IMG’s fashion OTT Made to Measure, as well as strategy at VH1and Fusion. I also worked in social media, engagement, and content roles at The Huffington Post, CNN, and in the local markets at KDKA Radio Pittsburgh. I received a B.A. in Journalism from Penn State University and was the spring 2017 commencement speaker at Penn State Beaver.

My career has been focused on creating engaging content experiences, marketing that content to audiences, fostering digital communities, and growing those audiences. One of the greatest things about content marketing is that we have real-time feedback. Your audience tells you what they like, what they don’t, and it is your job as a creator to make sure your content stands out. You need to understand what content works for your audience and why.

When I saw the opportunity to teach at PCA&D, I knew it would be a great fit for me. Over the course of my career, I have met many people intimidated by social media. I hear things like “it’s too complicated” or “my audience isn’t there.” I want people to know that even though social media marketing seems difficult, there are many things you can do to make it work for your audience and your brand. If you know who you audience is and you understand what content they seek, you are on your way to growth and success. I am happy to be bringing my experience to PCA&D to help you enhance and grow your content marketing skill set.

In this summer’s Content Creation course, we will spend 5 weeks focusing on content creation and storytelling. You will hear me hammer the importance of knowing and telling your story. We will start with an introduction to Inbound Marketing, where we will learn why and how marketing has changed. From there, we will move towards the evolution of blogging and look at how to get found online. The course will also focus on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and best practices for growing your audience.

Class assignments will train you to recognize what makes “best-in-class” social media content stand out, and enable you to create your own. At the end of the course, students should understand what makes a piece of content engaging, best practices for creating content across social media platforms, and ways that content can be marketed and measured. And, as always, I am happy to answer any questions you might have about content creation and social and digital media.

Please feel free to reach out to me @SocialMia on Twitter and Instagram.