Last week, I was invited to participate at Google’s 2nd Annual Spring Training summit as a guest panelist for Knewton. Knewton must be doing something right—as our VP of Online Marketing, I was asked to provide insight and commentary on the changing digital marketing landscape.

So, what is this Google Spring Training summit, you ask? Fortunately for this endomorphic marketer, there was no physical exertion or hand-eye coordination involved. Rather, it was Google’s attempt to get their business clients back into the swing of things (no pun intended). Back in March 2009, during the depths of the economic recession, Google had the foresight to develop a conference with one objective – rally their clients to come out of hiding (aka “Spend more with Google!”) and arm them with tools and information to battle challenging business environment.

MAGNA’s latest research indicates that the first quarter of 2010 represents the last quarter of decline for the US advertising economy. Businesses are now finally coming out the woodwork (knock on wood!). As per this year’s Spring Training’s theme — “Hit it Home” — the agenda focused on results. With that goal in mind, the Google team presented a cleverly-themed seminar that redefined the traditional P’s of marketing to a crowd of hopeful but battle-scarred (scared?) industry veterans…

• Pulse: The internet is full of tools (such as Google Insights for Search) to understand the interests of consumers. Not knowing what is happening as it is happening is not an excuse.
• Pace: Avinash Kaushik, Analytics Evangelist for Google states “The greatest gift you can be given from the Internet is to be proven wrong fast”—the ability to quickly make changes to your business strategy and direction based on real-time feedback from is what differentiates the online innovators from the off-line followers.
• Precision: Be relevant and targeted – customers are individuals, not cohorts or segments. Treat them as such through products and information that adds value to their lives and interests.
• Performance: Google used verbs such as “Measure. Tinker. Quantify. Unite.” The underlying theme is constant iteration and optimization. Best summed by the Japanese word Kaizen, which refers to a philosophy or a set of practices that focus upon continuous improvement.
• Participation: This is a huge part of why “social media” has been the industry buzzword for the past year. Consumers are friends—treat them like it with communication that is engaging and interactive.

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Amy McDowell is the VP, Web Marketing at Knewton and an MBA student at Columbia. She loves thinking of ways to spread the word about Knewton’s GMAT course and LSAT course.

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As a current full-time student in Columbia Business School’s executive MBA program and a full-time online marketing maverick for Knewton.com, I often get asked this question: Are you completely nuts? How can you balance the demands of school and a career without sacrificing one for the other?

I usually make a bevy of random excuses: “Insanity runs in my family,” “Masochism is a hobby of mine,” or my personal fav, “The Columbia executive program provides hot catered meals and free Red Bulls.”  But in all seriousness, going to business school while working for Knewton has actually been one of the best decisions of my life.

At Knewton, I work with some of the most talented, intelligent people I have met in my career.  Their passion for bringing top-notch education to the laptops of students all over the world is incredible, and their drive and dedication keeps me inspired and energized each day.

At school, top business leaders from all around the world are my classmates and friends. The highly distinguished Columbia faculty serves as my mentors and role models. Being surrounded by innovative, creative people in both facets of my life has definitely reshaped my professional (and personal) outlook, and I am thankful and humbled by both experiences. I work at a fast-paced, rapidly growing start-up that helps bring the industry’s best GMAT prep and LSAT prep to students everywhere. I also get to study in a top academic institution like Columbia and hone my skills so I can build value for consumers and corporations alike.

So at the end of the day, when I’m asked why I am pursuing both work and school, the answer is easy:  How could I not?

As for that pesky question of whether one can truly excel in both areas, I can happily report that Knewton.com has seen tremendous success over the past year. Students from all over the world tell us wonderful stories about their score increases and how they got into the schools of their dreams. And maybe not so coincidentally, I’ve also made the Columbia Business School Dean’s list each semester since I’ve joined Knewton – so yes, this girl can have her cake and eat it too!

From time to time we’ll post info about job openings here at Knewton. Amy McDowell is the VP of Web Marketing.

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What’s the position? SEO Manager

What kind of person are you looking for? A super-savvy web worker of miracles, someone with at least 3 years of direct, hands-on SEO experience (updating code, optimizing the site architecture, monitoring organic rankings, developing keyword lists for targeting, link-building, content development). You should be comfortable writing content and copy for SEO as well as implementing a targeted keyword strategy.  Basically, you’ll be willing do anything and everything to help students from all over the world find us through search engines!

What’s the process like for hiring? Any tips? First, send us your vision of the top 3 things you would do to help Knewton.com increase organic traffic. It should be a clear articulation of what you would do and how you would go about doing it. Oh, and send us your resume too, which should include a summary of the miracles you performed for other websites. Walking on water is not literally required, but experience getting to Google page one would be great!

Final thoughts. The right candidate will be joining a smart, enthusiastic and highly motivated crew of marketing mavericks. If you’re ready to spread the word that Knewton has the industry’s best GMAT prep and LSAT prep courses, we’d love to hear from you!

Send info to Jobs@knewton.com