The Certificate is aimed at marketers who implement digital campaigns and those who specialise in managing internet, email, iTV, mobile, search and other online marketing communications. The syllabus spans the definition of digital marketing through objective setting, planning, research, channels, integration, customer acquisition, data management and retention, campaign implementation, analysis, metrics, best practice and case histories.
Modules are structured in a logical order throughout, from outlining the scope for digital marketing and how to plan it, to understanding the technologies and their applications through to implementation and analysis.
Modules
Module 1. The digital marketing landscape »
Module 2. Search marketing »
Module 3. Email marketing »
Module 4. Display advertising »
Module 5. Affiliate marketing »
Module 6. Online PR »
Module 7. Emerging digital media »
Module 8. Understanding the digital customer »
Module 9. Planning and integrating digital campaigns »
Module 10. Data management and database applications »
Module 11. Principles of website design: customer experience and usability »
Module 12. Planning and managing website development »
Module 13. Producing great digital creative »
Module 14. Regulation, permission and codes of practice »
Module 15. Optimising your digital marketing »
Learning outcome
To assess the relevance of digital marketing to an organisation and its markets.
Competencies developed
- Distinguish between different applications of digital marketing
- Evaluate the impact and opportunities of online communications
- Assess the risks of implementing digital marketing programmes
Topics
- Defining digital marketing and its role
- The scope of digital marketing - a review of key channels
- The digital media landscape - key trends emerging
- The impact of digital marketing on businesses
- How significant is digital marketing?
- Differences and similarities between digital marketing and traditional marketing communications
Learning outcome
To learn about the SEM channel and techniques for implementing both paid and natural search engine marketing campaigns.
Competencies developed
- Ability to plan, execute, measure and budget for SEM
Topics
- Characteristics of digital marketing communications
- Online buyer behaviour
- Using digital marketing communications to support acquisition
- Traffic building tools
- Objective setting and budgeting for online customer acquisition
- Strategies for customer acquisition online
- Legal issues in online customer acquisition
- Technology infrastructure to support online customer acquisition
Learning outcome
An understanding of the relevant technologies, marketing applications and regulatory controls needed to deliver results from email marketing.
Competencies developed
- Ability to plan, execute, measure and budget for effective email marketing campaigns
- A clearer perception of the commercial and marketing applications of email
Topics
- The basics of email marketing - trends, stats and message formats
- Deliverability - the biggest threat to email marketers
- Permission marketing - what is it and how does it work?
- Acquiring email data - registration processes, third-party lists and other opportunities
- Testing email for continuous campaign improvement
- Personalisation in email using dynamic campaign management tools
- Viral marketing campaigns - the two key approaches and key considerations
- Really Simple Syndication - the role of RSS within the email channel
- Email measurement - key metrics
Learning outcome
An understanding of online advertising, formats, technologies, ad-servers and media buying models together with controls needed to effectively deliver results from the display ad channel.
Competencies developed
- Ability to plan, execute, measure and budget for effective online advertising activity
Topics
- The display advertising market - key players, trends and challenges in this channel
- Ad formats - a review of types, sizes, creative opportunities, limitations etc
- Key considerations for online advertising
- Managing inventory: Impressions and discrepancy rates
- Targeting opportunities: Geo, Day-parting, Bandwidth etc
- Creative, offer and media optimisation opportunities
- Developing and executing an online ad campaign
- The role of the media agency and how to brief them
- Channel and placement selection
- How to read and critique a media strategy and media plan
- Ad-serving and tracking considerations
- Behavioural targeting and real-time optimisation / decisioning
- Budgeting - publisher costs and agency remuneration models
- Measuring online advertising - beyond the CTR
Learning outcome
An understanding of the affiliate channel, technologies, remuneration models and controls needed to effectively deliver results from an affiliate marketing programme.
Competencies developed
- Ability to plan, execute, measure and budget for effective affiliate marketing activity
Topics
- The affiliate marketing model - an analysis of how it works
- Developing and executing an affiliate marketing strategy
- The key components of an affiliate marketing programme
- Supplier considerations
- Budgeting for affiliate - networks costs and remuneration models
- Measuring affiliate marketing's contribution to campaign, site and financial performance
Learning outcome
An understanding of how the digital environment changes the nature of traditional PR practices and why online PR should become part of your digital communications strategy.
Competencies developed
- How to plan, integrate and execute online PR activities within your digital marketing and traditional PR plans
Topics
- Why online PR should feature in your communications plan
- Reputation management
- Strategies for integrating online and offline PR
- How to assess the online PR capability of your organisation or a PR agency
- Tools and techniques for online PR
- Social media monitoring
- Online newswires and feeds / RSS
- Blogs and Peer-2-Peer community sites
- Virtual worlds (Second Life and Social Networks)
- Using PR to drive search traffic
- Developing an effective media relations section on your website
Learning outcome
An understanding of some of the emerging digital marketing opportunities and how today's marketers can embrace them to deliver greater marketing effectiveness.
Competencies developed
- Ability to assess the opportunities, plan, execute, measure and budget for tomorrow's digital world
Topics
- What is Social Media?
- Monitoring social media and managing brand reputation
- The advantages and disadvantages of the corporate blog
- The corporate blog code of practice
- Integrating digital print into your personalisation programme
- Digital TV and Radio - an overview of these channels and opportunities within them
- Mobile
- Budgeting for some of the emerging channels
- Measuring emerging media's return on investment and value to your organisation
Learning outcome
To understand research approaches to determine the characteristics and buyer behaviour of consumers using new media.
Competencies developed
- Learn about the various sources of data and information on the digital customer
- Assess the different ways and approaches to carrying out customer research including quantitative and qualitative surveys
- Review the data available from third-party information suppliers
- Describe the basics on web analytics and systems
Topics
- Introduction
- Sources of data on the digital customer (HitWise, comScore demos)
- Using surveys
- Observational research - click-tracking, heat-mapping and more
- Third-party data sources
- Site centric systems
Learning outcome
To define a structured approach to planning for digital marketing and to understand the key planning differences between acquisition and retention marketing.
Competencies developed
- Define the benefits of an annual digital marketing plan
- Assess the relevance of different forms of digital marketing planning
- Create an annual digital marketing plan
- Develop a process of continuous improvement in digital marketing
Topics
- Writing the digital marketing plan - key approaches and elements
- Different forms of digital marketing planning
- The digital marketing planning process (general, acquisition-led, retention-led and brand)
- Strategy formulation - what's the big idea? How to develop winning propositions
- Situation analysis - research and insight
- Objective setting - how to develop 'SMART' objectives
- Implementing your digital marketing plan - key considerations
- Budgeting for digital - what should things cost?
- Developing return on investment models (LTV, RFM etc)
- Suppliers - benchmarking and evaluating suppliers
- Measuring digital marketing - key tools and metrics
Learning outcome
Data drives digital marketing. The outcome is to appreciate the major issues in collecting, managing, storing and using customer data within digital marketing.
Competencies developed
- Understand the complexities of customer contact and behavioural data
- Understand how that data should be stored and the implications when it is not integrated
- Understand how that data can drive more customised communications through segmentation and profiling
Topics
- What is data driven marketing?
- Data and data quality management
- Databases and channel integration
- Profiling, segmentation and targeting
- Data mining and data modeling
Learning outcome
Understand the different facets of web design needed to create an effective customer experience and business returns for different types of organisation.
Competencies developed
- To apply the principles of effective website design for marketing
- To develop a brief for website creation and enhancement
- Review agency creative for a company site or campaign micro site
Topics
- Alternative approaches to website design
- Usability and accessibility
- Researching your site visitors
Learning outcome
Understand the technologies and user-centred design processes needed to successful websites.
Competencies developed
- To review the relevance of new web design innovations and standards
- To review contracts for website creation and enhancement
Topics
- The role of the website
- Planning and briefing web projects - internal stakeholders and selecting / briefing external partners
- The project plan - key elements to be included
- Web technologies - CMS, XHMTL, CSS, mash-ups, XML feeds, AJAX etc., video streaming and rich media
- Information architecture - planning customer journeys
- Principles of effective website design: content, page layout, style sheets and navigational tools
- Copywriting for the web
- Wireframes - testing and implementing website designs
- Budgeting for web projects
Learning outcome
To understand approaches to creativity and design needed to produce effective creative.
Competencies developed
- Understanding what makes effective online creative
- Understanding the processes by which creative concepts are produced, amended, approved and produced
- Understanding the principles of creative evaluation
Topics
- What makes great online creative
- Harnessing the unique features of digital media
- The creative brief for digital media
- Generating advertising ideas
- The different formats of digital advertising
- How online creative execution can support brand building
- The integration of online and offline
- Judging creative ideas
- Production issues
- Awards
Learning outcome
To understand all aspects of law affecting digital marketers and digital marketing campaigns.
Competencies developed
- The various legislation affecting today's digital marketer
- How to integrate these into your digital marketing plans / campaigns
Topics
- An overview of today's online legal environment - key legislation affecting digital marketing
- Intellectual Property Rights - how to protect your assets online
- Data Protection - everything you need to know about protecting customer data
- European Directives - the Communications Act, Distance Selling Directive etc
- Digital signatures
- Global trading perspectives
- Domain names and registered trademarks (TM) online
- Social media and the law - what are the implications of Wikis, blogs, peer-2-peer communities etc?
Learning outcome
Assess approaches for marketing optimisation and automation using digital technologies.
Competencies developed
- Evaluate the relevance of new marketing technologies
- Identify digital marketing performance metrics
- Devise digital marketing performance processes
Topics
- Things affecting digital marketing performance
- Web analytics - what are the options and their respective benefits?
- Key digital marketing metrics - from objectives to analysis
- Using results to optimise and personalise communications
- Real-time optimisation and behavioural targeting
Book online -
choose your study option below
The IDM Certificate in Digital Marketing
01 Dec 08 (2x3 days)
27 May 09 (2x3 days)
01 Jul 09 (2x3 days)
12 Jan 09 (12 months)
12 Jan 09 (18 months)
27 Apr 09 (12 months)
27 Apr 09 (18 months)
In-company
If you would like to find out more about the in-company option, email our in-company qualifications team.
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