This programme is the equivalent to a level 6 qualification or to bachelor’s degree level and is made up of 16 modules. You will also be required to complete 2 individual assignments and sit 2 exams.
Module 1: The digital marketing landscape
Learning objective: To assess the relevance of digital marketing to an organisation and its markets.
- Understand the role of digital in relation to brand and direct marketing contexts
- Appreciate the forces that continue to influence the development of digital marketing
- Develop a basic understanding of how key digital channels work
Module 2: Understanding the digital customer
Learning objective: Understand research approaches to determine the characteristics and buyer behaviour of consumers.
- Learn about the various sources of data and information
- 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
- Site-centric data: principles of web analytics and other methods of evaluating online customers
Module 3: Data and database applications
Learning objective: Data drives digital marketing. The outcome is to appreciate the major issues in collecting, managing, storing and using customer data within digital marketing.
- Understand the complexities of customer contact and behavioural data and data quality management
- Databases and channel integration
- Profiling, segmentation and targeting
- Data mining and data modelling
Module 4: Planning and integrating digital marketing campaigns
Learning objective: To define a structured approach to planning for digital marketing and to understand the key planning differences between acquisition and retention marketing.
- To define a structured approach to planning for digital marketing
- Creating a digital marketing plan
- Objective setting
- Targeting strategy
- Creative offer and messaging
- Timing and integration issues
- Media planning and selection
- Budgeting and Lifetime Value (LTV) modelling
Module 5: Principles of website design: Customer experience and usability
Learning objective: Understand the technologies and user-centred design processes needed for successful websites.
- Principles of the customer experience (UX)
- What is user-centred design?
- Best practice methodologies
- Sitemaps and wireframes
- User testing
Module 6: Social media
Learning objective: Develop an understanding of how social media channels can be used to engage and influence customer conversations and interactions.
- Understanding social media in context
- Developing a social media communications strategy
- Using social media listening to understand customer preferences and competitor activities
- Understanding and using influence
- Which social media platforms to use and why (and how)
- Choosing and using monitoring tools and dashboards to optimise social media marketing
Module 7: Search engine marketing
Learning objective: Explain best practice for the search engine marketing channel including techniques for implementing natural and paid SEM.
- An introduction to Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
- Importance of integrated SEM
- Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
- Keyword analysis
- Indexing content
- Improving rankings
- Developing link partnerships
- Pay Per Click marketing (PPC)
- Campaign setup
- Ongoing management
- Performance monitoring
Module 8: Display advertising
Learning objective: Understanding online advertising, formats, technologies, ad-servers and media buying models together with controls needed to effectively deliver results.
- An introduction to online digital display advertising
- Setting online ad campaign objectives
- Targeting options for online advertising
- Creating a display advertising media schedule
- Developing display ad creative
- Optimising your online display ad campaign
- Engagement and integration
- Campaign management issues and best practice
Module 9: Content marketing
Learning objective: Understanding the role of content marketing and how to develop a successful content strategy.
- Principles behind content marketing
- Elements of a successful content marketing strategy
- Creating valuable content
- Content planning
- Measuring and demonstrating the success of your content marketing activities
Module 10: Mobile marketing
Learning objective: Understanding the mobile landscape marketing applications and regulatory controls needed.
- Understand what mobile marketing is
- Understand how to develop a mobile marketing strategy
- Assess the influence of mobile marketing on customer behaviour
- Understand the role of mobile marketing across the customer journey
- Assess the importance of immediacy
- Understand how to plan for cross-channel and multi-device engagement
- Identify the types of ROI models
- Assess how to measure and demonstrate the success of mobile marketing activities
Module 11: Affiliate marketing
Learning objective: Develop an understanding of the affiliate channel, technologies, remuneration models and controls needed.
- An introduction to affiliate marketing
- Affiliate programme network service options
- Affiliate programme performance indicators and costs
- Planning issues for your affiliate marketing programme
- Affiliate selection, recruitment and relationship building
- Managing your affiliate marketing programme
- Assessing affiliate performance
Module 12: Email marketing
Learning objective: Understanding the relevant technologies, marketing application and regulatory controls needed to deliver results.
- Basic components of email marketing
- Permissions in email marketing
- Acquiring names and email lists
- Key issues for email communications strategy
- Testing email for continuous improvement
Module 13: Producing great digital creative
Learning objective: To understand approaches to digital creative that are relevant, original and impactful.
- Characteristics of great online creative
- Generating and producing digital creative
- The different formats of digital advertising
- Brand building and integration
- Evaluating great digital creative
Module 14: Regulation, permission and codes of practice
Learning objective: To understand all aspects of law and codes governing digital marketers and digital marketing campaigns.
- How legal frameworks affect digital marketing practice
- Data protection and privacy legislation (including PECR and GDPR)
- ASA codes and preference services
Module 15: Controlling and optimising digital marketing campaigns
Learning objective: Approaches for measuring and improving web marketing performance onsite acquisition, conversion and retention.
- Understand what digital marketing optimisation is
- Learn how to optimise your digital marketing strategy
- Assess the marketing competencies you can optimise (and how)
- Identify what customer insights are required to inform your optimisation activities
- Manage the process for optimising your marketing activities with clear responsibilities, governance and tools
Module 16: Emerging digital media
Learning objective: Develop an understanding of the opportunities for deploying emerging digital marketing media and techniques.
- Predicting the future of digital marketing
- Identifying the significant trends
- Your part in the future