Digital marketing - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Digital Marketing is the promoting of brands using all forms of digital advertising channels to reach consumers. Digital marketing extends beyond Internet Marketing

Internet marketing

Internet marketing, also known as digital marketing, web marketing, online marketing, search marketing or e-marketing, is referred to as the marketing of products or services over the Internet...

to include channels 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 television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

, radio

Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

, mobile phones (SMS/MMS), social media marketing

Social media marketing

Social media marketing is an addition to personal, small business, corporate, and non-profit organizations’ integrated marketing communications plans...

, display advertising

Display advertising

Display advertising is a type of advertising that typically contains text , logos, photographs or other images, location maps, and similar items. In periodicals, display advertising can appear on the same page as, or on the page adjacent to, general editorial content...

, and any other form of digital media

Digital media

Digital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital form. It can refer to the technical aspect of storage and transmission Digital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital (as opposed to analog) form. It can refer to the technical aspect of...

. 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

Direct marketing

Direct marketing is a channel-agnostic form of advertising that allows businesses and nonprofits to communicate straight to the customer, with advertising techniques such as mobile messaging, email, interactive consumer websites, online display ads, fliers, catalog distribution, promotional...

by providing the same method of communicating with an audience but in a digital fashion. Digital supports the servicing and engagement of customers.

Pull

Pull digital marketing technologies involve the user having to seek out and directly select (or pull) the content, often via web search. Websites, blogs and streaming media (audio and video) are good examples of this. In each of these examples, users have a specific link 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 involve both the marketer (creator of the message) as well as the recipients (the user). Email

Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...

, SMS

SMS

SMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...

, RSS

RSS

-Mathematics:* Root-sum-square, the square root of the sum of the squares of the elements of a data set* Residual sum of squares in statistics-Technology:* RSS , "Really Simple Syndication" or "Rich Site Summary", a family of web feed formats...

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
Psychographic
In the fields of marketing, demographics, opinion research, and social research in general, psychographic variables are any attributes relating to personality, values, attitudes, interests, or lifestyles. They are also called IAO variables...

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.

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. 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

A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...

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 of 2003 , signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 16, 2003, establishes the United States' first national standards for the sending of commercial e-mail and requires the Federal Trade Commission to enforce its provisions...

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

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

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

Search engine optimization

Search engine optimization is the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines via the "natural" or un-paid search results...

, paid placement, contextual advertising

Contextual advertising

Contextual advertising is a form of targeted advertising for advertisements appearing on websites or other media, such as content displayed in mobile browsers...

, and paid inclusion.

Cost Per Click

Refers to the amount of money an advertiser pays search engines and other Internet

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

publishers for a single click on its advertisement that brings one visitor to its website.

Digital Brand Engagement

Digital brand engagement

Due to the way the Internet is fast evolving, especially through the social web and social media, there is now a plethora of digital channels which can be used to hold a dialogue between a Brand and a Consumer, or groups of consumers. Digital brand engagement is brand engagement with a key focus on...

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 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 is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...

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.

Social media optimization

Social Media Optimization

Social media optimization is the methodization of social media activity with the intent of attracting unique visitors to website content. SMO is one of many online methods of website optimization...

The methodization of social media activity with the intent of attracting unique visitors to website content.

Spam

E-mail spam

Email spam, also known as junk email or unsolicited bulk email , is a subset of spam that involves nearly identical messages sent to numerous recipients by email. Definitions of spam usually include the aspects that email is unsolicited and sent in bulk. One subset of UBE is UCE...

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.

Web Video

Short promotional video clip, designed to be displayed on a website or many websites such as youtube.

Pull

Push

Digital Marketing and Multi-Channel Communications

Digital Marketing Terms

See also