In this section:

* A video from Wharton School of Lifelong Learning.

Digital Marketing introduction by Professor David Bell @ Wharton School of Lifelong Learning

Digital marketing may be a critical aspect of every business in the digital age, however considering conventional elements such as branding and the 5P’s of Marketing is useful. The strategic importance of digital is indeed linked to the bigger picture of marketing and the stages of integrated marketing communications. The discussion highlights several pillars which are crucial to a digital strategy, however this does not take into consideration conventional SEO (see the SEO training video for more). He discusses ways of targeting customers and demonstrates how the conventional STP (segmentation, targeting and positioning) process is incorporated into digital. An example of a viral advertisement used by Coca-Cola in a vending machine placed at a university is used.

He does talk about selection and treatment of customers – and claims that customers who get introduced via SEO may have a lesser value than those who were introduced through other methods such as introduction by friends (classic referral), thus inferring that C2C (customer to customer marketing) is a huge element and that the digital strategy ought to be motivating customers become brand advocates. Intrinsic motivation was discussed VS the method of giving people “money” in order to become brand advocates. Acquisition and retention strategies were discussed and the audience participated in Q&A. Social marketing and SCRM has been discussed as a new trend.

For further reading on Digital Marketing, obtaining a copy of Dr. Dave Chaffey’s book Digital Marketing: Strategy, Implementation and Practice. 

There are now several universities offering a MSC in Digital marketing, however shorter courses such as the NCFE, BTEC, IDM and CIM are also available for practitioners and media agencies.