Students develop social media marketing in a joint project with IKEA Finland

In October, Laurea introduced a new digital marketing course titled Latest Trends of Social Media and Digital Marketing. The course enables students to deepen their skills in social media marketing both in theory and through an authentic business development challenge. IKEA Finland participates in the study unit as Laurea’s partner. 

“We expect the students to come up with innovative ideas”

The course started with IKEA Finland presenting an assignment which the students will carry out in teams. Marketing Communications Manager Johanna Granqvist and Content Specialist Johanna Tirkkonen from IKEA Finland’s marketing team participate with great interest in the project. 

- The students will surely provide us with brilliant new ideas. Gaining new perspectives is precisely the reason why we wanted to take part in the project, Granqvist says. 

IKEA Finland’s marketing team is responsible for advertising, website content, social media and purchased media content among other things. Local activities are naturally guided by the general policies of the globally operating company. 

- We have provided the students with background information on our operating methods and a certain framework of reference, but there is plenty of room for creativity within it. We’re trying to avoid excessive restrictions to enable the students to think up truly innovative, novel ideas, Tirkkonen continues. 

Students complete a recognised certificate

During the study unit, students get to complete the internationally distinguished IDM Professional Certificate in Social Media. By completing the online certificate, the students learn to design social media marketing campaigns, set suitable business goals, monitor the progress towards them and understand the implementation of influencer cooperation. 

A professional certificate is a valuable reference for students striving to become professionals in digital marketing. Granqvist and Tirkkonen, too, distinguish the value of certificates: 

- As a supervisor who carries out recruitment activities, I find it highly valuable for a student to be able to demonstrate their competence in the social media field, says Johanna Granqvist. 

Concrete work experience in marketing

All in all, the study unit that combines theory and practice with an authentic task assigned by a genuine company is an excellent opportunity for students to improve their professional skills. The authentic project demonstrates in a concrete way what the marketing work is all about.

- On social media, content creation is only a small part of the whole, even though it is the most visible part, Tirkkonen reminds.
- Success on social media requires a lot of background work on target groups, campaign design, channel choices and, finally, analytics.

In November, the study unit will culminate in a joint final session where the student teams present their output to IKEA Finland’s representatives, and the best team is rewarded.

More information: