Digital Marketing Tactics Summary PDF

**Comprehensive Study Guide: Digital Marketing, Strategy, and Tactics** **Introduction to Digital Marketing and Strategy** - **Digital Strategy Defined:** A structured plan that uses modern digital tools and tactics to achieve long-term marketing and business goals. - **Core Elements...

**Comprehensive Study Guide: Digital Marketing, Strategy, and Tactics** **Introduction to Digital Marketing and Strategy** - **Digital Strategy Defined:** A structured plan that uses modern digital tools and tactics to achieve long-term marketing and business goals. - **Core Elements of Strategy:** - **Research:** Collecting and analyzing data. - **Strategy:** High-level plans to meet objectives. - **Tactics**: Specific actions to execute the strategy**.** - **Digital Evolution:** - From social media (2007) to mobile apps, real-time marketing, and advanced personalization (2022). **1. Types of Media in Digital Marketing** **Digital marketing encompasses Earned, Owned, and Paid Media:** - **Earned Media:** Organic external reach (e.g., reviews, social mentions, partnerships, ambassadors, digital PR). - **Owned Media:** Platforms controlled by the business (e.g., website, email campaigns, search engine results, social channels). - **Paid Media:** Ads and promotions requiring financial investment (e.g., PPC, display ads, social media ads). Earned + owned: Increase virality owned content. Paid + owned: Increase reach of your owned content. Multi-channel is more efficient than mono channel. **1.1 Paid Media: Key Features** - **Pay-Per-Click (PPC)** **Definition: **A digital advertising model where advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked. Essentially, you\'re buying visits to your website rather than earning them organically. **Example: **Google Ads and Bing Ads are popular PPC platforms. You bid on keywords related to your business, and your ads appear when people search for those terms. - **Display Ads** **Definition: **Visual ads that appear on websites, apps, and social media platforms. They often include images, text, and sometimes video to attract attention. **Example: **Banner ads on news websites, sidebar ads on blogs, or image ads within mobile apps. - **Retargeting** **Definition:** A form of online advertising that targets users who have previously interacted with your website, app, or social media profiles. It aims to re-engage interested users and bring them back to complete a desired action. **Example:** Someone adds an item to their cart on your website but doesn\'t purchase it. Retargeting ads showing that specific item might appear on other websites they visit later. - **Paid Influencers** **Definition: **Individuals with a significant online following and influence in a specific niche or industry. Businesses pay them to promote products or services to their audience. **Example:** A beauty brand partnering with a popular Instagram makeup artist to review and feature their new lipstick. - **Affiliate Marketing** **Definition: **A performance-based marketing model where businesses reward affiliates (individuals or other businesses) for driving traffic or sales to their products or services. **Example: **You have a blog about travel. You join an affiliate program for a luggage company. You include a unique link to their website in your blog posts. If your readers click the link and make a purchase, you earn a commission. - **Social Media Ads** **Definition**: Paid advertisements that appear on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. They allow businesses to target specific demographics, interests, and behaviors. **Example: **A sponsored post on Facebook promoting a sale, a video ad on Instagram showcasing a new product, or a promoted tweet about an upcoming event. **Bidding Strategies in Paid Media:** 1. **Visibility (CPM): Pay per 1,000 impressions;** \+ useful for spreading awareness and often more, cheeaper impressions.\ - Difficult to see if the audience is interested. Impressions might happen at night when less other advertisers are bidding. 2. **Traffic (CPC):** Pay per click; drive website visits.\ + Traffic to the website. Able to optimise for clicks.\ -  More difficult to get broader reach. Not certain if we get best quality traffic. 3. **Acquisition (CPA):** Focus on conversions; higher cost but good ROI.\ + Often good ROI and easy to optimise spend.\ -  More expensive. Not a good long term strategy (costs you money every time) **Cookies and Online Tracking:** - Cookies store user data for personalized experiences and ad targeting. - Ethical concerns require transparency and compliance with regulations. - **Technically**: Cookies are small text files that websites store on a user\'s computer or mobile device when they visit. They contain data in key-value pairs (like \"username=johndoe\"). - **Purpose: **Cookies help websites: - **Remember you**: So you don\'t have to log in every time you visit. - **Track your activity**: To understand your browsing habits and preferences. - **Personalize your experience**: By showing you relevant content, ads, and recommendations. **Is your phone spying on you?**\ No. They use \'authorised\' date collection (Location, Browsing history, App usage) and use created \'look-a-like\' audiences (Age, Location, Interests,\...)  **2. The Customer Journey** - Definition: A roadmap detailing customer interactions with a business from awareness to advocacy. - **Key Features:** - Non-linear: While often depicted linearly, the journey is fluid. Customers can jump stages, revisit previous ones, or exit entirely. - Multi-channel:  Interactions occur across various online and offline channels (website, social media, store visits, etc.). - Emotional and Rational Decisions: Decisions are driven by both emotional factors (aspirations, anxieties) and rational considerations (price, features). - Unique to each customer & brand: The specific stages and their significance vary depending on the individual, product, and industry. **Stages of the Customer Journey:** 1. **Awareness:** Capture attention and inform (e.g., ads, blogs). 2. **Consideration:** Provide deeper information (e.g., case studies, webinars). 3. **Conversion:** Encourage action (e.g., easy checkout, discounts). 4. **Loyalty:** Retain customers (e.g., email updates, exclusive offers). 5. **Advocacy:** Turn customers into brand promoters (e.g., referral programs). **Customer Needs, Drivers, and Barriers:** - **Needs:** Motivations driving a search for solutions. Definition: Fundamental requirements or desires that motivate a customer to seek out a solution or product. These are often rooted in basic human needs (e.g., safety, belonging, esteem) or specific life circumstances. What are their unmet desires, their frustrations, their goals, theyr underlying motivation and values? What problems are the customers trying to solve. **Drivers:** Influences pushing customers toward a purchase. Definition: Specific factors or influences that push customers towards choosing a particular product, service, or brand. These can be internal (e.g., personal preferences) or external (e.g., social trends). What features/benefits are most appealing to customers? What motivates them to make a purchase? What are theri decision making criteria? Who/what influences their choices? What are their perceptions of your brand+competitors? **Barriers:** Obstacles preventing progression in the journey (e.g., cost, trust issues). Definition: Obstacles or challenges that prevent customers from moving forward in the customer journey. These can be related to the product, the brand, the buying process, or external factors. Common objections, what prevents customers from buying, usability issues, technical difficulties, trust or credibility issues, financial or logistical constraints. **3. Creative Tactics to Stand Out** - **Challenges in Capturing Attention:** - Attention spans are short (8 seconds). - Creativity is essential to combat content overload. **Techniques for Creative Marketing:** 1. **Distinctive Assets**: Unique logos, packaging, sounds, or rituals (e.g., Nike's swoosh, Netflix's intro sound). 2. **When Everyone Zigs, You Zag:** Stand out by being different (e.g., using unexpected visuals or messaging). -\> The Von Restorff effect. psychological phenomenon where individuals tend to remember something that stands out in a group of similar items 3. **Tap Into Emotions:** Ads with emotional appeal are more memorable and effective. 4. **Pick an Enemy:** Differentiate your brand by opposing a competitor or concept. This technique involves identifying a competitor or a concept that your brand stands against. By defining what you\'re not, you clarify what you are and give your audience something to rally behind. 5. **Weaponize Your Audience:** Encourage word-of-mouth and peer recommendations; leverage social media and reviews. Worth of mouth is a crucial asset in modern advertising. With the rise of social media and online reviews, consumers are more connected than ever before, and they rely heavily on recommendations from their peers when making purchasing decisions. People trust Friends and family 93% and review sites 91% the most for brand information. **4. Multi-Channel Marketing** - **Importance:** Multi-channel campaigns outperform single-channel strategies. - **Channels Include:** - Search engines, social media, email, and websites. - Offline options like store visits and print media. **5. Research and Analysis Tools** - **Audience Analysis:** - Use AI, surveys, and social listening tools to understand demographics, interests, and behaviors. - Key sources: Google Analytics, Meta tools. - **Competitor Analysis:** - Evaluate direct, indirect, and replacement competitors. - Sources include ad libraries and transparency tools on major platforms. **6. Measurement and Reporting** - **Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):** Product, price, place, performance - Awareness: Impressions, reach. - Engagement: Clicks, shares, session duration. - Conversions: Purchases, leads, sign-ups. - Advocacy: Customer reviews, referrals. **Conclusion** This guide provides a structured overview of the key concepts in digital marketing, from strategy development to tactical execution and measurement. By leveraging these principles, marketers can craft campaigns that resonate with audiences and drive measurable success.