About Me
Are you interested in all things digital? You’ve come to the right place. I like to write about digital marketing, tech events, lifestyle, tutorials, and reviews.
Hi! I’m Marie, I’m a digital marketing communications consultant who is both creative and technical. I’m driven to find ways for you to be found by your target audience. My business aptitude, research skills and refined intuition enable me to conceptualize and develop websites and campaigns that drive growth.
Known for my focus and reliability, I tend to improve productivity with my clients and colleagues by setting up systems and making processes repeatable and scalable. My insights are enhanced by exposure to B2B, retail and direct-to-consumer markets and both agency and in-house experience.
My specialties include affiliate marketing, Facebook media buying, eCommerce, web development, startup news publishing and digital project management. I also trained as a CPA after university, so you know that my attention to detail cannot be beat.
In 2016, I moved to Toronto, Canada with my husband J and my daughter S. Having grown up in Manila, Philippines, where it’s only either sunny or rainy, my family has adapted well to the addition of winter. We also enjoy exploring parks and sights in and outside the city.
When I’m not immersed in campaign data, you will find me taking online courses, taking a yoga class or journaling.
Consulting Areas of Expertise
- Marketing Strategy: campaign development, buyer persona, market research
- Media Buying: Google Ads (formerly AdWords), Bing Ads, Facebook Ads, LinkedIn Ads
- Graphic Design Software: Adobe Photoshop, Fireworks, Creative Cloud, Canva, Sketch
- Responsive Web Design: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Dev Tools
- Web Development: PHP, MySQL, ASP eCommerce, Content Management Systems, WordPress
- Content Strategy: content creation, copywriting, editing, brand storytelling
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Audit and Recommendations
- Email Marketing & CRM: MailChimp, ConstantContact, Vuture, InterAction
- Analytics: Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Adobe Analytics
- Project Management & Business Analysis: stakeholder engagement, requirements gathering
- Web Application Integration, e.g. integrating 3rd party services such as appointment software to your website
Certifications
I have Certifications for Google Adwords, Google Analytics, Bing Ads, Inbound Marketing, Social Media Marketing, and Content Marketing. More on my Professional Certifications.
Get in touch with me
Are you also a driven and proactive professional? Could I help you solve a problem? If you would like to connect, feel free to comment, send a message or a note to Marie at uptowerinteractive dot com.
My Website
I’m embracing the variety of my interests so you will find a mix of technology, digital marketing, philosophy, entrepreneurship, parenting and personal development posts. I hope to share my experiences, insights, questions, and I’d be happy to hear your thoughts as well!
Launched in 2006, I started MarieCasas.com after university. I chronicled personal finance and entrepreneurship tutorials, advice, and reviews. Personal finance was my first niche, a valuable learning experience for when I co-founded a web consulting agency in Makati City, the central business district in the Philippines. I also published a blog focused on tech startups called Pinoy Web Startup (Startup Philippines). My blogs have received awards such as ‘Most Influential Blog’ and ‘Best Business/Entrepreneurship Blog’ by the Philippine Blog Awards and Philippine Web Awards.
My Love Story with the Web
In 1996, during the days of dial-up 56kbps Internet modems, the hey-days of Yahoo! and AOL… I was in 6th grade. My mom brought home a desktop PC. With a floppy drive. Encyclopedias were still on CD and in actual heavy thick books in our home library.
I explored the World Wide Web. I opened up Notepad and learned HTML. I built my first webpage when I was 12! I built a number of fanpages for my favorite actors and shows all through high school.
Fun Fact: I would usually sign up a webpage I created as part of a webring. What is a webring? A piece of Internet history, related websites would be part of a network called a webring. Each member website would have a member badge that lets you jump to and from the other related websites.
Back to our story… At University, I built webpages for the University student council, for my college, for my student organizations. Even while I was National President and Secretary-General of the national organization for accountancy studens, I built their website too. I remember handcrafting the logo in Adobe, it might still have been Macromedia back then!
After earning my dual bachelors, I met John, who started freelancing as a web developer while in college. We founded a web development consulting agency with another creative friend. What a blessing that my passion, my hobby, my work have been aligned since.
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