Learners will develop an understanding of digital marketing and how it helps an organisation to achieve its goals. They will learn about the digital marketing mix and how trends impact on digital marketing activities and techniques. Learners will also explore the role of digital information, media and channels in digital marketing.
Understand the role of digital marketing and how it helps an organisation to achieve its goals.
Market types: Business-to-Consumer (B2C), Business-to-Business (B2B), physical/non-physical, virtual/online.
Market reach: mass markets, niche markets.
Characteristics of digital marketing: uses digital platforms – a set of tools built on cloud technology that makes the development of applications easy, uses software to automate marketing processes, triggers emails/social media posts, uses algorithms to personalise advertising, adds dynamic content based on user profiles, gathers purchasing data, takes place in real-time, fast-paced, inexpensive, geographically independent.
Digital marketing strategies: SEM (Search Engine Marketing), SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), PPC (Pay-Per-Click), SMM (Social Media Marketing), Content Marketing, Email Marketing, Influencer/Affiliate Marketing, Viral Marketing, Radio Advertising, Television Advertising, Mobile Advertising.
Factors affecting digital marketing strategies: target market, budget, product, in-house resources, technology, time.
Trends: social factors, technological developments, technological growth, access and usage of the internet, number of users, demand for information, technology-enabled services, use of mobile technologies, devices and applications (apps), smartphones and smartwatches, laptops, tablets and netbooks computers, computers, gaming devices, smart TVs.
Marketing objectives: sales revenue growth, brand awareness, market entry, product differentiation, product development, attract new customers, encourage digital engagement, increase website traffic, develop relationships with existing customers.
Explain different business markets and the characteristics of digital marketing
Compare digital marketing strategies and the factors that affect them.
Explain trends that impact on digital marketing.
Explain marketing objectives and how they help an organisation to achieve its goals.
Understand the role of digital information, media and channels in digital marketing.
Sources of digital information: customer reviews, social media, following conversations, interactions with social media, comparison websites (aggregators), company websites, statistics sites, e-journals, web crawlers, quality scores.
Organisational use: identification of gaps in markets, identification of changes in consumer habits, tastes and behaviours, updating of web content, targeted marketing, planning campaigns.
Types of digital media:
Channels:
Website: Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), influencers, chatbots, Rich Site Summary (RSS) feeds, trusted feeds, podcasts, widgets.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), organic search marketing, paid search advertising, pay-per-click (PPC), banner adverts.
Social media: Online Public Relations (OPR), photo, video and slide-sharing sites, viral marketing, blogs and vlogs, brand blogging, influencer marketing, social media advertising, social media endorsements.
Email for attracting and retaining customers: opt-in email, cold email, co-branded email, conversion emails, e-newsletters, event triggered/behavioural emails, email sequencing.
Factors to consider when deciding on appropriate channels: reaching target market, accessibility of information, speed of communication, communication with the customer, cost to the organisation, choice for customer, competitors’ activities, brand image and development.
Explain different sources of digital information and how it can be used by organisations to inform decision making.
Compare the benefits and limitations of different types of digital media.
Compare different digital marketing channels and the factors to consider when deciding on an appropriate channel.
Understand how the marketing mix can be used for digital marketing activities.
Marketing Mix: Product, Price, Promotion, Place (4Ps)
Push and pull marketing techniques:
Explain how the marketing mix applies to digital marketing.
Explain the benefits and limitations of push and pull marketing techniques.
Understand the measurement of outcomes from digital marketing activities.
Reasons for measuring outcomes: refinement and adaptation of marketing activities, budget allocation.
Tools for monitoring: dashboards, aggregators, web analytics.
Key metrics: hit rate/visits (total), unique visitors, bounce rate, exit rate, dwell time (stickiness), click-through rate, download rates, visitor origin (country/region), time of day, top page views, Pages Per Visit (PPV), Daily Active Users (DAU), Monthly Active Users (MAU).
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Return on Investment (ROI), customer satisfaction and engagement, customer trends, Cost per acquisition (CPA), sales, retention rates, win back, engagement, re-engagement, perception, customer satisfaction, brand awareness, average revenue per user.
Explain how and why organisations measure outcomes of digital marketing activities and the metrics and performance indicators they use.