Understanding digital marketing: marketing strategies for engaging the digital generation

Understanding

engaging the digital generation

DAMIAN RYAN

& CALVIN JONES

A

KO G A N

PAGE

Số hóa bởi Trung tâm Học liệu – ĐH TN http://www.lrc-tnu.edu.vn

Understanding

DIGITAL

Marketing

Marketing strategies for

engaging the digital generation

DAMIAN RYAN & CALVIN JONES

KOGAN

PAGE

London and Philadelphia

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First published in G reat Britain and the U nited States in 2009 by K ogan Page

Lim ited

R eprinted 2009 (three tim es), 2010

A part from any fair dealing for the purposes of research o r private study, o r

criticism o r review, as p erm itted u n d e r the Copyright, Designs an d Patents Act

1988, this publication may only be rep ro d u ced , stored o r transm itted, in anv

form o r by any m eans, with the p rio r perm ission in w riting o f the publishers,

o r in the case o f reprographic rep ro d u ctio n in accordance with the term s an d

licences issued by the CLA. E nquiries co n cern in g rep ro d u ctio n outside these

term s should be sent to the publishers at the u n d e rm e n tio n e d addresses:

120 Pentonville Road 525 South 4th Street, #241

L o ndon N1 9JN P hiladelphia PA 19147

U nited K ingdom LISA

www. koganpage .com

© D am ian Ryan an d Calvin Jo n es, 2009

T he right o f D am ian Ryan an d Calvin Jo n es to be identified as the a u th o r o f this

work has been asserted by them in accordance with the C opyright, Designs and

Patents Act 1988.

ISBN 978 0 7494 5389 3

British Library C ataloguing-in-Publication Data

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library o f C ongress Cataloging-in-Publication D ata

Ryan, Dam ian.

U n d erstan d in g digital m arketing : m arketing strategies for engaging the digital

g en eratio n / D am ian Ryan an d Calvin Jones,

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-0-7494-5389-3

1. In tern et m arketing. 2. Social m edia. 3. Strategic plan n in g . 4. M arketing—

M anagem ent. I. Jo n es, Calvin. II. Title.

H F 415.1265.R93 2008

658.872— dc22

2008034688

Typeset bv JS T ypesetting Ltd. Porthcaw l, Mid G lam organ

P rin ted an d b o u n d in India bv Replika Press Pvt Ltd

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Contents

Preface vi

Acknowledgements x

1. Going digital - the evolution o f marketing 1

O u r c h a p te r pledge to you 1

In the b e g in n in g ... 2

T h e ch ang in g face o f advertising 3

T h e technology b eh in d digital m arketing 4

E no u gh technology - le t’s talk ab o u t p eo ple 12

2. Strategic thinking 18

O u r c h a p te r pled g e to you 18

Why you n eed a digital m arketing strategy 19

Your business an d digital m arketing 20

D efining y our digital m arketing strategy 22

U n d erstan d in g th e digital co n su m er 24

M ind your Ps 30

Eyes o n th e prize 33

B ringing it all to g eth er 35

3. Your window to the digital world 39

O u r ch a p te r pled g e to you 39

Your website - th e h ub o f your digital m arketing world 40

B uilding an effective website 41

T h e m ain steps o f b uilding your w ebsite 42

Before you start 42

C ho o sing v ou r dom ain nam e 46

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iv Contents

H osting - your w ebsite’s hom e on th e in te rn et 48

How to choose a web desig ner o r d eveloper 51

A rranging your inform ation 52

W riting effective web co n ten t 55

W ebsite design sum m ary 60

4. The search for success 65

O u r c h a p te r pled g e to you 65

Search: th e o nlin e m arketer's holy grail 66

A bout th e engines 68

O ptim izing your site fo r th e engines 70

A dvertising on the search engines 89

Black H at, the d ark er side o f search 93

B ringing in th e pros 97

Universal search - m o re o p p o rtu n ities to rank 98

5. Website intelligence and return on investment 104

O u r c h a p te r pledge to you 104

M easuring your way to digital m arketing success 105

G etting started 110

How info rm atio n is m easu red 111

M easuring w hat's im p o rta n t to you 118

Testing, investing, tweaking, reinvesting 122

A ction stations 124

H arness the pow er o f o nlin e data, an d watch your ROI

take o ff 125

6. E-mail marketing 132

O u r c h a p te r pledge to you 132

T h e new d irect m ail 133

W hat exacdy is e-mail m arketing? 134

B efore you start 137

P lann in g your cam paign 141

Dos an d d on ’ts o f an e-mail m arketin g cam paign 142

M easuring y ou r success 146

Still a vital c o m p o n en t o f digital m arketin g 147

7. Social media and online consum er engagem ent 150

O u r c h a p te r pled g e to you 150

Join th e conversation 15]

W hat is social m edia? 152

T h e d ifferen t form s o f social m ed ia 157

T h e rules o f en g ag em en t 189

A dding social m edia to your own site 171

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Contents v

Online PR and reputation management 176

O u r ch a p te r pledge to you 176

Fostering a positive onlin e image 177

P ro m otin g your business th ro u gh onlin e channels 178

M onitoring th e conversation - repu tatio n m anagem ent 191

D am age lim itation: tu rn in g th e tide when things go w rong 193

Affiliate marketing and strategic partnerships 202

O u r c h a p te r pledge to you 202

R ecognizing o p p o rtu n ities for strategic p artnership 203

W hat is affiliate m arketing? 206

T h e click that really counts 209

W hat advertisers should do 210

Digital m edia creative 216

O u r c h a p te r pledge to you 216

C reative application o f digital m edia 217

Using an agency 217

D oing it yourself 218

Digital creative: w hat works an d what d oesn 't 227

A lot to look forward to 236

O u r c h a p te r pled g e to you 236

T h e fu tu re's bright: head towards th e light 237

Word o f m o uth: savvy consum ers control the fu tu re 237

Search: a constantly evolving m arketing pow erhouse 239

Mobile: m arketin g on th e move 244

T racking an d m easuring h u m an behaviour 248

In-gam e advertising 249

Holistic m arketing: b lu rring lines an d in tegrating m edia 250

Dynamic, u n p red ictab le, exciting - an d essential 255

Glossary 257

Further reading 269

Index 272

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Preface: Welcome to a

brave new world

T h e w orld o f digital m ed ia is ch ang in g at a p h e n o m en al pace. Its co n ­

stantly ev o k in g technologies, an d th e way p eo ple are using them , are

tran sform ing n o t ju st how we access o u r info rm atio n , b u t how we in teract

an d co m m u nicate with o n e a n o th e r on a global scale. It's also ch ang in g

th e way we choose an d buy o u r p ro du cts an d services.

P eople are em b racin g digital technology' to com m u nicate in ways

th at w ould have b een inconceivable ju st a few sh o rt years ago. Digital

tech no lo g ies are n o lo n g e r th e preserve o f tech-sawy early ad o pters, and

today o rd in ary p eo p le are in teg ratin g th em seamlessly in to th eir everyday

lives. From SMS u pd ates on th e ir favourite sports team s, to a free \id e o

call with relatives o n th e o th e r side o f th e globe, to collaborative onlin e

gam ing an d m u ch , m u ch m ore: o rd in ary p eo ple - y ou r custom ers - are

startin g to use digital m edia w ithout giving it a seco n d th o u g h t.

T h e global o n lin e p o p u latio n was aro u n d 1.3 billion at th e en d of

2007. P rojections suggest th at figure will hit 1.8 billion by 2010. In the

d eveloped world in te rn e t access is b ecom in g practically ubiqu ito u s, and

th e w idespread availability o f always-on b ro ad b a n d co n n ectio n s m eans

th at p eo p le are now going o n lin e dailv to d o everything from ch eck in g

th eir ban k statem en t, to sh o p p in g for th eir groceries, to plaving gam es.

W hat m akes this digital revolution so exciting is that it's h a p p e n in g

righ t now. We re li\in g th ro u g h it. an d we have a u n iq u e o p p o rtu n ity to

jum p in an d be p art o f this historical transition.

In th e pages th at follow we'll take you on a jo u rn e y in to th e w orld of

digital m arketing. W e'll show you how it all started, how it got to w here

it is today, an d w here th o u g h t leaders in th e industry believe it's h ea d in g

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Preface vii

in th e futu re. Most im portantly o f all we’ll show you - in a practical, no￾nonsense way - how you can harness the b urgeon in g pow er o f digital

m edia to drive your business to the crest o f this digital m arketing wave,

an d how to keep it there.

This book will:

• help you an d your business to choose onlin e advertising and m arketing

ch ann els th at will get your ideas, p roducts an d services to a massive

an d ever-expanding m arket;

• give you that elusive com petitive edge that will keep you ah ead o f the

pack;

• fu tu re-p ro of your business by help in g you to u nd erstan d th e origins

o f digital m arketing and the tren ds that are shaping its future;

• give you a co n cept o f th e scale o f the o nlin e m arketplace, the u nfold￾ing o p p o rtu n ities and the digital service providers who will help your

business to capitalize on them ;

• provide practical, real-world exam ples o f digital m arketing successes

- includ in g leading b rands that have becom e hou seho ld nam es in a

relatively sh o rt space o f time;

• offer insight th ro u g h interviews, analysis an d con tribu tion s from

digital m arketin g experts;

• ultim ately, give you th e tools you n eed to harness the pow er o f the

in te rn et to take your business w herever you w ant it to go.

We set out to unravel th e m ysteries o f digital m arketing by taking you

on a journey. As we travel into this digital world we'll reveal how leading

m arketers in sectors as diverse as travel, retail, gam bling an d adult

e n te rtain m en t have stum bled on incredibly effective tech niqu es to turn

p eo ple on to d o in g business online, reap in g literally m illions as a result.

W e’ll show you how to apply th eir ex p erien ce to transform y ou r own

digital en terp rise.

W h eth er you are looking to start up your own hom e-based in tern et

business, w ork for a large m ultinatio n al o r are anyw here in betw een,

if you w ant to co n nect with your custom ers today an d in to th e future,

you’re going to n eed digital chann els as part o f your m arketin g mix.

T h e in te rn et has becom e th e m edium o f choice for a g en eratio n of

consum ers: th e first g en eration to have grown up taking instant access to

digital in fo rm atio n fo r g ran ted. T his g en eratio n integrates digital m edia

in to every facet o f its daily lives, in ways we could never have conceived o f

in even th e re ce n t past. Today this g en eratio n o f digital natives is e n te rin g

th e w orkplace an d is sp end in g like never before. This is th e mass m arket

o f tom orrow , an d for businesspeople an d m arketers th e challeng e is to

becom e fluent in this new digital language so that we can talk effectivelv

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viii Preface

Television froze a g en eratio n o f consum ers to th e couch for years: now

digital m edia are engaging consum ers an d custom ers in wavs that the

early architects o f th e technology could never have d rea m ed of.

W hen the A pple Mac cam e along it o p e n e d u p th e art o f pub lish in g,

an d as a result p rin t m edia b oom ed. Today, th e sam e th in g is h ap p e n in g

o n lin e, th ro u g h the p h e n o m e n o n o f u ser-generated c o n te n t (L G (.|

an d social netw orking: o rd in ary p eo ple are b ecom in g th e d irectors,

producers, editors an d distrib u to rs o f th eir own m edia-rich c o n te n t — th e

co n ten t they, th eir friends an d th e w orld w ant to see. But th at's only the

start.

Prim e-tim e television audiences are falling, prin t m ed ia are com ing

u n d e r increasing pressu re to address d ro p p in g circulation figures an d

- while the old school sits on th e sidelines, b loated an d slowly atro ph v in g

- digital m edia have tran sform ed them selves into a finely tu n ed en g in e

delivering m o re power, o p p o rtu n ity an d co n tro l th an any o th e r form o f

m edia could d ream of. In o th e r w ords - it’s tim e to follow th e sm art

money!

O ver th e last 15 years I ’ve had th e absolute pleasu re an d pain o f w orking

at th e coalface o f th e b u rg eo n in g an d insistent new m edia. I ’ve m et lots

o f sm art p eo ple an d spoken to literallv h u n d red s o f o rganizations with

massively diverse and challenging agendas. T h e o n e co m m o n factor was a

h u n g e r for data an d know ledge: an ything that w ould give th eir particular

b ran d th at elusive com petitive edge.

W h en p u ttin g this book to g eth er we w anted to m ake it as inform ative

an d practical as possible. Each c h a p te r begins with a sum m arv o f its

co n ten t, so you can easily browse th ro u g h th e ch apters an d select th e o n e

that addresses th e topic y o u 're in terested in. W e’ve purposely left o u t the

ja rg o n - an d w here technical term s have b een absolutely necessarv we

supply a clear definitio n in th e text, backed u p by a com p lete glossan at

the back o f th e book that explains all o f th e term s we use in plain English.

T h e result, we h op e, is a book that is clear, inform ative an d en tertain in g ,

even for th e com plete digital norice.

In your h an ds you hold what in d e p e n d e n t m arketers aro u n d the

w orld have b een crying o u t for: a b ook th at shows you how to use the

in te rn et successfully to sell you r pro du cts o r sen ice s. We begin with th e

origins o f th e m edium an d take you th ro u g h th e various disciplines of

digital m arketin g cam paigns. We travel aro u n d th e w orld collecting facts,

figures, co m m en t an d o p in io n from acknow ledged experts, b ran d s an d

organizations in different fields, g ettin g th em to spill th e b eans on how

th e n et delivered the goods for them .

W e’ll look in detail at areas like search m arketin g an d af filiate m arketin g ,

we'll delve into e-mail m arketin g an d creative o n lin e execu tio n s an d look

at various digital m arketin g strategies, som e m oral, som e less so.

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