This week sees the start of a ten week course in Digital Marketing.  Follow my blog each week to stay in touch with what we are covering in class. The course is designed to equip you with the knowledge to understand the main functions of online marketing and how companies use these platforms to meet business objectives.  It starts with understanding the framework to produce digital marketing strategies and communication plans.  It is all too easy to get overwhelmed by the myriad of technology, social media networks and new developments that happen on a daily basis in the digital space.  The most important question to ask yourself is WHY.  From the very beginning of the course you will need to shift your thinking when you see digital communication.  You are no longer a consumer but a marketing executive who thinks about the objectives, the target audience and the positioning of products when you look at digital communication.  Ask yourself WHY the brand or service has chosen to spend their budget on the activity.  What is their goal?

At the heart of Digital Marketing is understanding your consumer.  We go online to connect with friends, watch our favourite programmes, plan holidays, check bank balances and much more.  Understanding our customers’ behaviour online is key to deciding what channels are best to reach them.  In a world where we are now viewing multiple devices at any one time – TV, laptop and smartphone, reaching and communicating with our audience is a real challenge.  Spend some time asking your customers where they go online and how they use these platforms.  Build a profile of their interests, passions and viewing habits.

How we communicate with our customers is the next step.  Think of how you would act if you entered a room full of people you have not met before.  You wouldn’t stand and announce to the room how wonderful you are and really everyone should pay attention to what you have to say.  Listening to what people are talking about and joining the conversation is a much more effective way of engaging with your audience.  Guiness created Arthur’s Day in order to meet their customers where their passions lie in music.  Connecting your brand to your customers where they hang out and becoming an integral part of their experiences will increase the opportunity for engagement and building relationships with them online.

Next week we will look at a digital communications planning model from which we will build a digital marketing plan.