The Digital Gateway

Session 4
The Digital Communications Mix

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this session, students should be able to;
Understand the implications of the digital environment on
the marketing mix (7Ps)
Identify and evaluate the variety of digital media
channels available for organisations.
Analyse the digital communication landscape in order to
assess its effectiveness.

Goals of Digital Marketing

Communications
Traffic building goals
Use online media and offline promotion to drive traffic to a website
which convert to required outcomes (sales, leads etc.)

Conversion and engagement goals

Use on-sire communications to deliver an effective, relevant
message to the visitor which helps shape customer perceptions or
achieve required marketing outcome.

Third-party site reach goals

Reach, influence and engage with prospective customers on thirdparty media sites

Multichannel marketing goals

Integrate all communications channels to help achieve
multichannel marketing objectives by supporting mix-mode buying
Chaffey & Ellis-Chadwick, 2012

Characteristics of Digital Media

From push to pull

From monologue to dialogue
From one-to-many to one-to-some and one-to-one
From one-to-many to many-to-many communications
From lean-back to lean-forward
The medium changes the nature of standard marketing
communications tools such as advertising
Increased communications with intermediaries
Integration

Chaffey & Ellis-Chadwick, 2012

The 6 Key Digital Media Channels

1. Search Marketing
Search engine
optimisation (SEO)
Paid search (PPC)
Paid for inclusion feeds

2. Online PR
Publisher outreach
Community participation
Media alerting
Brand protection

Offline communications
1. Advertising
2. Personal selling
3. PR
4. Sales Promotion
5. Sponsorship

4. Interactive Ads
Site-specific media buys
Ad networks
Contra-deals
Sponsorship
Behavioural targeting

Online Communications

Websites &
Social
Presences

5. Opt-in email
House list email
Cold (rented lists)
Co-branded
Ads in third party
newsletters

Offline Communications

3. Online Partnership
Affiliate marketing
Sponsorship
Co-branding
Link building
Widget marketing

Offline communications
6. Direct mail
7. Exhibitions
8. Merchandising
9. Packaging
10. Word-of-mouth

6. Social media marketing

Audience participation

Managing social
presence

Viral campaigns

Customer feedback

Chaffey & EllisChadwick, 2012

Display Advertising
Display advertising involves an advertiser paying for an
advertising placement on third-party sites such as publishers or
social networks
A rectangular graphic displayed on a web page for the purposes
of advertising. It is normally possible to perform a click through to
access further information.
Intended to attract traffic to a destination site (website, landing
page, microsite) by linking to the destination site of the advertiser
One page impression occurs when a member of the audience
views a web page.
A click-through occurs each time a user clicks on a banner
advertisement with the mouse to direct them to a web page that
contains further information.

Measuring Display Effectiveness

Page and Ad impressions one page impression occurs
when a member of the audience views a web page
Reach Number of unique individuals who view an
advertisement.
Number of clicks number of clicks generated by an ad
Click-through a click-through occurs each time a user clicks
on a banner advert.
Click-through rate (CTR) The CTR is the proportion of clicks
vs. total ad impressions (CTR = clicks / ad impressions)
Number of conversions number of conversions
(registrations, sales, leads) generated by an ad

Types of Banner Ads

New 2 part Banners
Appearing in social media
spaces (LinkedIn)

Interstitial
Pops up when you
leave a website

Superstitial
Pops up between
pages

Mobile banner ads

Compared to tradition banners, the file sizes allowed for

mobile banners is very small. This limits the banner
quality and ability to add in animation

Evaluation of Display Advertising

Benefits of Display Ads
Can generate a direct
response
Create brand awareness
and reach
Can be highly targeted
Lower cost compared to
traditional media
Dynamic updates
available to ad
campaigns

Limitations of Display Ads

Relatively low
clickthrough rates
(industry averages about
0.1%)
Limited ROI and number
of conversions
Issues with brand
reputation and where ads
are served

Social Media Advertising

Social media advertising is paid-for
advertising across social media networks,
including:
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
YouTube

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Search Engine Marketing

Two main types of SEM:
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) (Natural Search)
Involves achieving the highest position possible or ranking in the
natural or organic listings in search engine results pages
(SERPS)
Paid Search Marketing or Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
Similar to conventional advertising adverts are paid for by
organisation on a per click basis
A relevant text advert with a link to a company page is displayed
when the user types a specific phrase
Labelled as sponsored links or sponsored results

Search Engine Marketing

Keywords or Search Phrases

Paid
Search

Natural
search

Paid
Search

How Search Engines Work

SEO depends on several factors:
1.
2.
3.

4.
5.

6.
7.

Selecting well focused keywords that

visitors would use
The relevance of the content of the site to
the keywords chosen
The quality and type of code used to
create the website
The freshness of information/news and
how often it is updated on the website
The quality and relevance of links on the
site, in particular inbound links from
relevant sites with very good page
rankings
Volume of traffic to site - popularity
Continual process that needs regular
management and monitoring

Two Important Factors for Good

Search Engine Ranking
Matching between the web page copy and the key
phrases searched
On-page optimisation; including keyword formatting and keyword
density (do not add too many keywords see below)

Links into pages (inbound or backlinks)

Pages and sites with more external links from other sites will be
ranked more highly
Quality of these links has become more important as Googles
continued algorithm changes punishes sites that it feels abuses its
Webmaster Guidelines (too many irrelevant links, keyword
stuffing, paid for content etc)

Benefits and Limitations of SEO

Benefits

Limitations

Highly targeted traffic

Products, services and brands
can be in front of a potential
customer at the precise time
they are looking for them
Potentially low cost visitors
no media costs, only for costs
of optimisation
Dynamic spiders will crawl
popular sites daily, so new
content is included relatively
quickly

Controlled by Search Engines!

Changes often take web
masters by surprise
Can be slow to achieve results
Complex and dynamic nature
search engines take into
account a variety of factors,
many are not published
Ongoing investment required

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising

Text-based advertising appearing within the sponsored
section of the major search engines.
Cost is incurred only when a user clicks on your advert.
Ranking is not just based on highest paying click, but
also on the sites quality score
Quality score is based on the relative number of clickthroughs on the adverts as well as the quality of the
landing pages.

Pay-Per-Click Terms
Keywords or Search Phrases
Advert Title (link to keywords)

Advert Description
(why you rather than
another advertiser?

Webpage (select carefully

link to keyword)

Benefits and Limitations of PPC

Advertising
Benefits

Limitations

Advertiser is not paying for

advert to be displayed only
when it is clicked on, reducing
wastage
Highly targeted advertising
Good accountability can
calculate ROI easily
Predictable traffic
Allows editorial control
Speed listings can get
posted quickly

Competitive and expensive

cost-per-click of some terms
can be very high (such as car
insurance)
Requires some specialist
knowledge
Can be time consuming to
manage campaigns on a daily
basis

Online PR
Maximising favourable mentioned of your company, brands, products or
websites through third-party websites which are likely to be visited by
your target audience (Chaffey and Ellis-Chadwick, 2012)
Differences between Online PR and traditional PR:
The audience is connected to organisations consumers can now
communicate back to organisations after PR activities
The members of the audience are connected to each other
through publishing their own websites (blogs, Twitter, Facebook)
information can be rapidly distributed from one person to another, or
group to group
The audience has access to other information Internet facilitates
rapid comparison of statements and checking of statistics or facts
Audiences pull information now multiple sources of channels of
information, making it harder for PR activities to stand out.
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Online PR Evaluation
Advantages

Reach low cost method of reaching

niche or mass audiences
Cost there are no media costs, so only
costs are agency fees or internal staffing
costs
Credibility can help raise trust in
organisations, especially through
personal recommendations online
Search engine optimisation can help
generate quality backlinks that assist
SEO efforts
Brand enhancement and protection
favourable stories can enhance
reputation, while monitoring unfavourable
mentions can help protect the brand

Disadvantages

Non-controllable
Could be considered high-risk
investment
Online blogs and content could
solicit negative comments

Online PR
Search Marketing
Activities
Inbound linkbuilding
Content
generation
Blogs
Feeds
Press releases
Buzz-building activities
Web editorial
contacts
Viral Marketing
Press releases and
social media releases
Influencing media
owners

Chaffey, 2008

Online
PR

Brand engagement
activities
Surveys and polls
Audience research
Social media and
user generated
content
Own blogs

Brand Protection
strategies
Social media
monitoring and
response
Influencing media
owners and blogger
relations
Negative SEO

Social Media The Opportunities

Using customers to generate prospect leads

Encouraging customers to share experiences can generate

powerful WOM marketing for organisations
90% of consumers trust peer recommendations (Nielsen, 2012)
Gaining insight to improve customer relations

Social media provides the opportunity to listen in and join in

with conversations that customers are having benefitting from
rich insights into target audiences
Organisations now are required to be accessible and
personable
Opportunity to listen to customer needs and provide information
they need to better use products and services.
Providing additional value to customers through building
relationships and providing a personal experience

Social Media The Opportunities

Managing brand reputation online
Through tuning into to online conversations, organisations can
identify key influencers in the market place and help manage
reputation of the business.
Can also hinder business, with social media, bad news travels even
faster!
Responding to all reviews, good and bad using good reviews as
an opportunity to add more about the brand (e.g. TripAdvisor).
Drive traffic and improve Google Rankings
Social media can provide more creative ways of engaging
customers and directing them to an organisations website.
Linking Facebook and Twitter profiles to corporate websites can
also enhance SEO and rankings.

Potential Social Media Goals

Differentiate

Reach new audiences

Remind

Generate leads

Inform

Convert leads

Persuade or change

Generate sales

attitudes

Engage clients

Drive traffic

Retain clients

Developing a Social Media Strategy

People understand the adoption of social media within
an audience is an essential starting point.
Objectives what do you want to achieve? Different
goals should be set for different options to engage
customer across different aspects of the customer
lifecycle.
Strategy how will your goals be achieved? How will
social media support change and your overall marketing
goals?
Technology decide on best social media platforms
and tools to achieve goals

Outbound Email Marketing

Customer Acquisition
Cold email campaigns (list rental)
Third party/co-branded email

Customer Retention (contact strategy)

Newsletter
Event triggered (welcome message,
offers/sales)
Conversions (abandoned carts, registered
for interest)
Sales process (order confirmation,
delivery updates)

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Benefits of Email Marketing

Cost effective
Relationship building
Engagement enabler
Can help nurture relationships
Measurable
Can be fully tested
Timely
Faster campaign deployment (compared to direct mail)
Fits with always on lives
Fits with multi-channel lifestyles

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The Anatomy of an Email

Snippet or
preview text
shown by
some email
readers

From Name
From Address
Subject Line
Link to online
version
Social sharing
links

Footer
including
organisation
details

Copy and content

including a
strong call to
action

Unsubscribe Link

What is Affiliate Marketing?

When a third party website markets the products or services
of others and they are remunerated on the basis of a
commission or fee for any sale or action agreed
Affiliate marketing is essentially paying on performance
Examples of large organisations who use the affiliate model to
generate revenue and form their core business include:
GoCompare, Compare the Market and Money Saving Expert

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Who is an Affiliate?
A third party who will promote products or services for a
commission based on reward
Many different types of affiliate, usually differentiated by the
method of promotion:
Content
Email
Paid search
Reward/cashback
Voucher Code
Comparison/Directory

31

Who is an Affiliate Network?

What is an Affiliate Network?
Provides a trusted platform for affiliate marketing to occur
Provides a technology platform
Work as the middle man between merchants
(advertisers) and affiliates
Enable affiliates and merchants to access information and
creative
UK-based networks include: Affiliate Window, Commission
Junction, Trade Doubler, Affilinet and Webgains

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How Affiliate Marketing Works: A

Summary
An affiliate promotes products or services for a specified
advertiser for a commission
A merchant is the advertiser
An affiliate network provides the technology platform
and assists in managing the relationship between
merchants and affiliates
Merchants pay a commission to affiliates for desirable
actions
Networks charge a standard monthly fee and an
override on each affiliate sale generated
Affiliate marketing relies on the use cookies and
tracking pixels to record desired actions.

Affiliate Marketing Evaluation

Benefits

Limitations

Reach different audiences

Drive additional traffic to the
organisations website
Additional brand and website
exposure and awareness
SERPS visibility
Drive sales, leads or
registrations
Performance-based
Low cost

Incremental profit or sales may

be limited cannibalising
business the organisation may
have achieved anyway
May damage brand reputation
could be displayed on sites
inconsistent with brand image
Programme manage time
requirements
Associated programme
management fees (affiliate
network fees)

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Using Traditional Media to Drive

Traffic to a Site
Range of response mechanisms for offline media:
Home page easiest and likely to be most memorable, but
can be hard to track ROI.
Microsite of landing page directing consumers to a
landing page on the site (such as www.dialaphone.com/tv) .
Can help measure responses, but can be difficult to
remember) .
Microsite/campaign URLS (CURLs) using specific
campaign URLs, such as www.quotemehappy.com or
www.underdog.co.uk, which can be easy to remember.

Benefits of Using Offline Communications

to Support Digital Campaigns
Offline communications are most effective in
achieving four critical things:

Reach
Brand awareness
Emotional connection with the brand
Explanation of the online value proposition

Issues in Offline Communications to

Encourage Online Usage
Higher cost ROI for online tends to be higher than offline
methods.
Higher wastage online marketing can be effectively tracked
to give a true picture of ROI.
Poorer targeting targeting by behaviour, location, time and
keyword, site content is readily possible online but not always
offline (except with direct marketing).
Poorer accountability can be more difficult and expensive
to track responses.
Less personalised Cookies can be personalised, leaflets
cant.
Less interactive experience most offline communications
are one-way, but interaction is possible online.

Test Your Understanding

For an organisation you know well, identify four digital
media channels that are currently used as part of their
communications mix.
Asses the suitability of the media identified in terms of achieving
the organisations communications objectives
Asses the suitability of the media identified in terms of reaching
their target audiences
Recommend what other digital media the organisation could use,
justifying your choices.

Bibliography

Chaffey, D. and Ellis-Chadwick , F. (2012) Digital Marketing: Strategy, Implementation

and Practice. Fifth edition, Harlow, Pearson.
Smith, P. R. and Chaffey, D. (2008) Emarketing Excellence (Emarketing Essentials).
Oxford, Butterworth-Heinemann;