Skill-building digital marketing courses translate to real impact

For Maria Granados, Communications and Engagement Specialist at the Alberta Real Estate Foundation, learning more about digital marketing and social media is about more than professional development—it’s about making an impact. 

Granados completed Mount Royal University’s (MRU) Continuing Education courses in Social Media Strategy and Advertising on Social Media in Fall 2024, and gained valuable insights that are already transforming her approach to digital engagement.

These courses provided her with a framework for effectively reaching key audiences, an essential skill in her role at the foundation.

“As part of my work, I need to connect with potential grantees, real estate professionals, and industry leaders,” she explains. “These courses helped me develop a structured strategy and make sure my campaigns resonate with the right people.”

With the knowledge she gained, Granados has begun testing ad campaigns on platforms like Meta and LinkedIn. She is also spearheading a real estate influencer initiative to build brand awareness, an endeavour she feels more confident tackling thanks to her coursework.

Maria’s newfound skills were put to the test earlier this year when she launched her first paid ad campaign for the Foundation since taking on this role. The results were promising; in just four weeks, the campaign generated 287 clicks to the organization’s website, significantly increasing visibility for its grant programs.

The Alberta Real Estate Foundation, which Granados says her team often describes as “Alberta’s best-kept secret,” plays a crucial role in reinvesting funds from real estate transactions into community projects. Since 1991, the Foundation has contributed over $31 million to over eight hundred initiatives, supporting real estate leadership, the built environment, and our land.

One project Granados is particularly excited about is a program offered through the REET Institute, which provides mentorship and scholarships to high school students exploring careers in commercial real estate. 

“This initiative is making a tangible difference by providing experiential learning opportunities, which I’m really passionate about,” Granados notes. “It’s rewarding to see our funding help students gain real-world experience.”

Granados’ connection to MRU goes beyond her recent coursework. During her university years, she participated in Vivacity, a program in which post-secondary institutions partner with Calgary Economic Development, Aspen Properties, and other stakeholders to challenge students to develop solutions aimed at tackling urban challenges, including downtown Calgary’s empty office spaces. That initiative, taught annually by MRU faculty member Dr. Catherine Pearl, PhD, was partially funded by the Foundation, and gave Granados an early taste of the power of community-driven solutions.

“It’s really come full circle for me,” she reflects. “I benefited from a foundation-supported initiative as a student, and now I’m working to ensure more people know about these opportunities.”

Beyond her role at the Alberta Real Estate Foundation, Granados has begun consulting work through her own initiative, Silver Spur Strategies. One of her key projects has been collaborating with the University of Calgary’s Office of Sustainability to update and promote their "Preparing Albertans for Climate Change" e-course, where she is helping to make the course content engaging and implementing digital marketing strategies to ensure the course reaches a broader audience.Her strategy primarily focused on search engine optimization (SEO) and content creation, including a series of blogs. Within a short span, these blogs surpassed 100,000 impressions. The challenge, Granados explains, was finding ways to engage people who may not actively search for climate change resources but would still benefit from them.

Her passion for climate communications isn’t new—she was part of the founding team behind Re.Climate,Carleton University’s Center for Climate Change Communication and Public Engagement, where she worked on values-based messaging strategies based on public opinion research to make discussions around climate change more accessible. This experience, combined with her growing expertise in digital marketing, has fueled her consulting work and deepened her interest in strategic communication.

Granados is eager to continue expanding her expertise, with the Brand Strategy and the Social Media Strategies and Crisis Communications courses on her radar for the future. 

Find out more about our Digital Marketing Extension Certificate by visiting the program page.