Digital Marketing – A White Paper

What is Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing is a term that has been around for quite a while but hasn’t been very well defined, encompassing things like banner advertising, search engine optimization (SEO) and pays per click. Yet, this is too narrow of a definition. What about email, RSS, voice broadcast, fax broadcast, blogging, podcasting, video streams, wireless text messaging, and instant messaging? You get the idea.

To clearly define what digital marketing is let’s talk about what it is not. For starters, it does not include more traditional forms of marketing such as radio, TV, billboard, and print because they do not offer instant feedback and report. Sure, some people may respond to a call to action from an advertisement in one of these mediums but there is no way to know the exact number of people who saw or heard it. Such data is collected (and still then just educated guesses) long after the initial ad impression is made. Yes, convergence has made television a bit more interactive, with devices.

At its heart, digital marketing centers around the Internet, which has become both a communication vehicle and a very powerful marketing medium as the recent Double click acquisition by Google demonstrated. The Internet can be used both to push a message to someone like email, IM, RSS, or voice broadcast, Social network websites as well to “pull” content serving a banner ad and Pay Per Click search terms. Digital marketing, therefore, can be thought of as the combination of push and pull Internet technologies to execute marketing campaigns.

Because it is digital, a reporting engine can be layered within a campaign allowing the organization sees in real-time how that campaign is performing, such as what is being viewed, how often, how long, as well as other actions such as responses rates and purchases made. Please note that each digital marketing technology is different and they cannot all provide the same types of reports. Also, digital marketing is constantly evolving and new technologies are being created all of the time.

Digital Marketing is the promoting of brands using all forms of digital advertising channels to reach consumers. This now includes Television, Radio, Internet, mobile, social media marketing and any other form of digital media.
Whilst digital marketing does include many of the techniques and practices contained within the category of Internet Marketing, it extends beyond this by including other channels with which to reach people that do not require the use of The Internet. As a result of this non-reliance on the Internet, the field of digital marketing includes a whole host of elements such as mobile phones, SMS/MMS, display/banner ads and digital outdoor.

Previously seen as a stand-alone service in its own right, it is frequently being seen as a domain that can and does cover most, if not all, of the more traditional marketing areas such as Direct Marketing by providing the same method of communicating with an audience but in a digital fashion. Digital is now being broadened to support the "servicing" and "engagement" of customers.

Digital Marketing – Pull vs. Push

There are 2 different forms of digital marketing, each of which has its pros and cons.

Pull

Pull digital marketing technologies involve the user having to seek out and directly select (or pull) the content, often via web search. Website/blogs and streaming media (audio and video) are good examples of this. In each of these examples, users have a specific link (URL) to view the content.
Pros:
Digital Marketing and Power Users of the internet are an integral aspect to the United States economy. Interactive Media is a form of art and creative inspiration.

• Since requests are inherently opt-in, the size of content is generally unlimited.
• No advanced technology required to send static content, only to store/display it.

Cons:

• Considerable marketing effort required for users to find the message/content.
• Some types of marketing content may be blocked in mixed content scenarios (i.e.: Flash blockers)

Push

Push digital marketing technologies to involve both the marketer (creator of the message) as well as the recipients (the user). Email, SMS, RSS are examples of push digital marketing. In each of these examples, the marketer has to send (push) the messages to the users (subscribers) in order for the message to be received. In the case of RSS, content is actually pulled on a periodic basis (polling), thus simulating a push.
Pros:

• Faster delivery - push technologies can deliver content immediately as it becomes available.
• Consistent delivery - some push platforms have single content types, making it difficult for the user to block content by type.
• Better targeting - since push technology usually justifies subscription, more specific marketing data may be collected during registration, which allows for better targeting and more personalization.
• Better data - marketing data can be correlated to each request for content, allowing marketers to see information such as username as well as demographic and psychographic data.

Cons:

• Smaller audience - push technology not implemented on common platforms generally need the client and/or server software before content can be created, distributed, and/or viewed.
• Higher cost - less popular platforms may have higher implementation costs.
• Lesser discoverability - smaller audiences mean fewer views mean less visibility in search engines.

Digital Marketing and Multi-Channel Communications

While digital marketing is effective using one message type, it is much more successful when a marketer combines multiple channels in the message campaigns. For example, if a company is trying to promote a new product release, they could send out an email message or text campaign individually. This, if properly executed, could yield positive results. However, this same campaign could be exponentially improved if multiple message types are implemented.
An email could be sent to a list of potential customers with a special offer for those that also include their cell phone number. A couple of days later, a follow-up campaign would be sent via text message (SMS) with the special offer.
Push and pull message technologies can also be used in conjunction with each other. For example, an email campaign can include a banner ad or link to a content download. This enables a marketer to have the best of both worlds in terms of their marketing method.

Digital Marketing Terms

• Banner Ad

An advertisement that appears on a Web page, most commonly at the top (header) or bottom (footer) of the page.

• Blacklisted

A blacklisted notice means that the message may not have been delivered due to be flagged on one of the major lists that keep tabs of known spammers. Different ISPs use different blacklists to block mailings from being delivered to their clients. It can be a temporary ban or a permanent one, depending upon the list.

• Blocked

A blocked notice means that the message did not get through due to being considered spam by the subscriber’s ISP. This may be due to being on a blacklist or because the message contains a domain that is already being blocked.

• Blog

Shortened from “weblog” a blog is a user-generated Web site where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order.

• Campaign

A campaign is a specific message being sent to a specific group of recipients.

• CAN-SPAM Act of 2003

The CAN-SPAM ACT is a series of federal laws that must be followed by all email marketers. Those found in violation of the laws can be subjected to major penalties.

•  Click Through

The number of times people clicked on the links in your message. This is often referred to as CTR (Click through Rate). Note: you must have enabled click-through tracking in the campaign in order for this to be recorded.

• SEM

Search engine marketing Is a form of Internet marketing that seeks to promote websites by increasing their visibility in search engine result pages (SERPs) through the use of search engine optimization, paid placement, contextual advertising, and paid inclusion.

• Cost Per Click

Refers to the amount of money an advertiser pays search engines and other Internet publishers for a single click on its advertisement that brings one visitor to its website.

• Digital Brand Engagement

Brand and consumer interaction through the Internet. This includes all aspects of dialogue through the social web and on the brand's own website.

• DMA Market

DMA stands for Designated Market Area, which is often associated with the entertainment industry. DMAs are usually counties (or sometimes split counties) that contain a large population that can be targeted, such as New York City, Los Angeles or Chicago.

• Email Service Provider (ESP)

Outside companies that send bulk emails on behalf of their clients to prevent their messages from being labeled as spam or blocked entirely.

• False Positives

Legitimate messages being labeled as “spam”. Can cost companies potentially millions in potential lost revenue if not dealt with correctly.

• GPRL

The Global Permanent Removal List consists of records that are automatically removed from a particular database. Almost all email service providers (ESP) or multi-channel messaging companies maintain these lists for their clients.

• Instant Messaging

Instant messaging (often shortened to IM) is a type of communications service that enables you to create a kind of private chat room with another individual in order to communicate in real time over the Internet.

• Keywords

Used in conjunction with SMS messages. A user types a shortcode and matching keyword in order to be added to a mobile club or database.

• Microsite

A mini Web site design to promote a specific portion or brand from a larger corporate site. Used often with contests or as a landing page for a specific promotion.

• Open Rate

This is a ratio determined by the number of people who opened your email against the total number of people to whom you sent the message. Typically, this number will be low for large campaigns and higher for more targeted campaigns.

• Opt-In List

Email marketers have databases of subscribers to their newsletters, featuring these subscribers' email addresses and names. Such a list is known as an opt-in list (and is thus CAN-SPAM compliant; see above for info on the CAN-SPAM act) because users choose to receive the emails. This is in contrast to spam email, which is unsolicited.

• Personalization

Personalization gives you the ability to create a customized message for each person in your database. Can be addressed by first/last name, city, state, zip, etc.

• RSS

RSS or Real Simple Syndication is technology designed to allow users to subscribe to a specific content feed and be automatically alerted when new updates are available.

• RSS Reader

The application used to subscribe and monitor selected RSS content feeds.

• Short Code

A short code is a 5 or 6 digit number that is used to send and respond to text messages. They can either be a random set of numbers or a “vanity” number tied to a specific brand or number pattern.