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Digital Marketing is the promoting of brands using all forms of digital advertising. This now includes Television, Radio, Internet, mobile and any other form of digital media.

Digital Marketing is the practice of promoting products and services using digital distribution channels to reach consumers in a timely, relevant, personal and cost-effective manner.

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.

[edit] Digital Marketing ' Pull vs. Push

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

[edit] Pull

Pull digital marketing technologies involve the user having to seek out and directly select (or pull) the content, often via web search. Web site/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. For example: www.izigg.com/deal

Pros:

• 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)

[edit] Push

Push digital marketing technologies 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 user name as well as demographic and psychographic data.

Cons:

• Smaller audience - push technology not implemented on common platforms generally need 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.

[edit] 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^{[citation needed]}.

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.

[edit] 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. Designed to have the user click on it for more information (see Microsite)

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 'web log' 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.^[1]

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.

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 like mobileStorm that send bulk emails on behalf of their clients to prevent their messages as 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 short code 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

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.

SMS

SMS (Short Message Service) is a one-way text message sent via a cell phone. It is usually received via the subscribers' text message inbox on their cell phone and can be a maximum of 160 characters per message.

Social Bookmarking

Social Bookmarking is a popular way to store, classify, share and search links that are combined into a single site for easy access.

Spam

An email message that is unwanted by the recipient. Legitimate emails can sometimes be incorrectly identified as spam and is a growing problem.

Streaming Technologies

Communication channel such as video and audio that is accessed online. Can be a pre-stored clip to access as well as a live feed that is streamed like an online broadcast.

Subscriber

A person who signs up to receive messages from a particular company or entity.

Targeting

Targeting allows you to send a message to people based on specific criteria from your subscriber database.

Voice Broadcast

Sending a pre-recorded voice messages to a large set of phone numbers at the time same. Can either be a voice call (meaning the recipient must answer the call for the message to play) or voice mail (meaning the message will play only if the recipient doesn't answer )

Widget

A small graphical device that does a highly focused, often single, specific task. Web widgets can be embedded in web pages or run on the desktop of a PC (Windows or Mac) using software such as Apple's Dashboard software or Yahoo! Widgets Engine.

[edit] See also

• Article marketing
• Customer engagement
• Geo (marketing)
• Geo targeting
• Media transparency

[edit] References