IDM Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing

This programme is the equivalent to a level 6 qualification or to bachelor’s degree level and is made up of 16 modules.

Module 1: How digital continues to transform the role of marketing in business

Learning objective: Understanding the key factors that drive the growth and impact of digital marketing on customer experience.

• How digital marketing continues to redefine our ability to target and connect with customers
• Why developing real-time engagement is changing the role of marketing and marketers
• The importance of building mutually beneficial relationships with customers
• How digital transformation will shape the business of the future
• Uncovering the essential attributes of core digital channels:
• SEO that supports brand activation
• PPC that optimises conversion opportunities
• Social channels that engage every moment of the customer journey
• Display advertising that builds brand awareness and drives conversions
• Mobile marketing that supports contextual and personal engagement
• Affiliate Networks that extend reach through individual intermediaries and comparison websites
• Email that maximises the lifetime value of customers

Module 2: How understanding consumer preference and behaviour helps us to be better digital marketers

Learning objective: Understanding how consumers make purchasing decisions is the key to optimal targeting and proposition development.

• How different sources of primary and secondary data help us to understand the characteristics of consumers in the digital marketplace
• How and when to use quantitative and qualitative customer research to deepen prospecting and targeting insights
• To use analytics reports to improve targeting options and identify the key drivers of response
• How developing Personas helps digital marketers generate actionable insights that improve the planning process

Module 3: How efficient and practical planning processes build optimal digital marketing campaigns

Learning objective: Understand how successful digital marketing campaigns are driven by tried and tested planning frameworks that help us explore market conditions, develop actionable responses to surfaced insights and define success

• How conducting a 12-point situation analysis helps us build a solid foundation for digital marketing plans
• Why SMART objectives are tested against allowable marketing cost
• How strategy helps us to improve the quality of targeting and customer engagement on the increasingly complex pathway to purchase
• How a wide range of customer and business variables drive tactical channel selection
• How inspirational creative and informative content improve campaign performance
• Why every successful digital marketing campaign is built around a detailed timing and action plan
• How practical budgeting, benchmark analysis and forecasting processes help you assess the potential of your digital marketing plans prior to delivery

Module 4: Building user-centric websites that support customer and digital marketing objectives

Learning objective: Understand how user-centered design processes and digital technologies help us to develop websites that enhance customer experiences.

• How to define the purpose of a website from customer, business and ecommerce points of view
• How user-centered design helps us explore the needs, tasks and digital environments that define user experience (UX)
• Using waterfall and agile site development approaches to scope and manage the development of web projects
• Improvements to UX through sitemaps, wireframes and user testing
• Developing criteria for choosing design, developer and tech partners that support customisation, reliable web hosting and maintenance programmes
• The ongoing relationship between web developers and digital marketers

Module 5: Understanding the fundamental importance of Search Engine Marketing to digital marketing

Learning objective: Understand how SEM (SEO and PPC) plays a vital role in building brand engagement and sales opportunities at all points on the pathway to purchase.

• How search engine marketing (SEM) works across the customer journey
• How to build keyword strategies that drive optimised organic search results on a landing page by landing page basis
• The importance of indexing content and developing comprehensive and link partnerships to improve rankings
• Using the keyword optimising power of Pay Per Click (PPC) to drive sales
• How to set up and manage PPC accounts to optimise campaign performance
• Using analytics to continually improve SEM performance

Module 6: How Display Advertising builds awareness and generates efficient conversion opportunities for digital marketers

Learning objective: Understanding how channel preference, media research, targeting systems and ad-serving technology combine to build brands and drive sales efficiency.

• How real-time bidding and programmatic technology platforms help advertisers, publishers and consumers connect in real-time
• The importance of a focused display advertising strategy
• To explore the wide range of targeting options across different display networks
• To evaluate best practice inventory investment and bidding strategies
• Developing contextually relevant, original and impactful display ad creative
• How to ensure your advertising campaign management is efficient and accountable

Module 7: Using Email Marketing to build high-value digital relationships with prospects and customers

Learning objective: Understanding the relevant strategies, targeting methods, technologies and permissions needed to deliver customer-centric email marketing campaigns.

• How email campaigns can deliver a higher return on marketing investment than any other digital channel
• To develop a permission-based email strategy that recognises the long-term value of customers
• How segmentation, targeting, timing, testing and behavioural triggers optimise email campaigns
• Why ESP technology and data insight are important to subscriber-centric email marketing plans
• How automation, personalisation, dynamic content optimization and testing improve every aspect of email marketing, including: nurture, onboarding and lifecycle campaigns
• Exploring the metrics that define core key performance indicators for email campaigns

Module 8: How Content Marketing helps consumers make more informed purchasing decisions

Learning objective: Understanding the practical role content marketing plays in digital marketing campaigns.

• How content marketing supports the consumer decision making process from brand awareness to advocacy
• The qualities of ad formats on different social networks
• Developing and working with different content models
• How to build a flexible approach to content planning and development
• Developing and optimising content for text, image and video-based delivery
• The process of useful content creation, UGC and the value of storytelling
• Developing and executing content planning frameworks

Module 9: Exploring the use of Social Media channels to build acquire, convert and retain target audiences and customers

Learning objective: Understand how social media channels can be used to support all aspects of your customer acquisition, conversion and retention plans

• Why analysing social platform preferences and influencer analysis helps us define the best role for social media in our digital marketing campaigns
• How social media helps build brand awareness and preference
• Why social media offers opportunities to engage with communities and identify customer preferences
• How paid social media can drive sales
• How to analyse social channels to monitor sentiment and competitor activity
• To exploit the power of influencers to extend campaign reach and enhance cross channel performance
• To use social media channels as customer service tools
• To use monitoring and analytics dashboards to improve the media-multiplier effect of social campaigns

Module 10: Extending the reach of digital marketing campaigns through Affiliate Marketing

Learning objective: Develop an understanding of the affiliate channel, technologies, remuneration models and controls needed.

• How affiliate marketing extends campaign reach, improves performance and delivers transparent campaign attribution
• How individual affiliates, publishers and affiliate networks use technology to deliver measurable customer experiences
• How to evaluate key performance indicators of competing affiliate networks
• The cost and commission structures of affiliates and affiliate networks
• How collaborative work practices and continuous network assessment helps maintain affiliate marketing’s exceptional ROI levels

Module 11: Understanding the personal and contextual role of Mobile in digital marketing campaigns

Learning objective: Understanding the precision targeting opportunities that make mobile marketing one of the most effective digital channels.

• How mobile fits into a personalised digital marketing strategy
• To assess the influence of mobile on customer behaviour across the digital and physical customer journey, and the legal implications
• How to make use of mobile’s contextual targeting, app engagement, video, livestreaming, instant messaging, interactive NFC features and mobile payments capabilities
• How to set up tracking and data-management for omnichannel and multi-device engagement across mobile, desktop, in-store and print
• To identify and use different ROI and attribution models that measure the success of mobile marketing activities

Module 12: Developing a data acquisition and management strategy that is an integral part of digital campaign planning and delivery

Learning objective: Understand how technology helps us collect, evaluate and report on the quantitative and qualitative data that supports our digital marketing decisions

• How data-driven decisions improve the way we reach, engage, convert, retain and grow our customer base
• The four Vs of Big Data
• How to map customer contact and data points
• And evaluate the four types of customer data
• Data for customer profiles
• How Data Management Platforms work
• How to use databases, data modelling and data mining to surface RFV segmentation and Lifetime Value insights
• How developing Single Customer View supports Customer experience

Module 13: Developing digital marketing propositions, ideas and creative that inspire target audiences

Learning objective: To understand how customer insights and creative ideas combine to develop inspirational digital marketing campaigns.

• How customer insight can be used to inspire creative that works across digital and physical channels
• The factors that define memorable digital creative ideas at both the strategic and tactical level
• The way specific objectives and targeting options shape campaign executions
• The critical importance of in-depth customer research and segmentation strategies to powerful propositions development
• How to develop informative and inspirational digital creative briefs that improve the quality of work and improve workflow
• How to evaluate and respond to digital creative ideas and concepts with impartial and constructive objectivity

Module 14: How regulation, permission and codes of practice inspire efficient digital marketing

Learning objective: To understand all aspects of law and codes governing digital marketers and digital marketing campaigns.

• Why compliance defines professional digital marketers
• How marketing permission is a key driver of customer value
• How legal frameworks relating to personal data and consent (including PECR and GDPR) affect digital marketing practice
• What Marketers, Data Controllers and Data Processors need to know about Data protection and privacy legislation across the digital channels
• Consent, Legitimate Interests and individual rights under GDPR
• How MPS, TPS and DMA best practice guidelines help improve campaign performance and protect the rights of consumers
• How independent regulators such as ASA, CAP and IAB set advertising codes and enforce accountable standards

Module 15: Understanding the metrics that help us control and refine digital marketing campaigns

Learning objective: Understanding approaches for measuring and improving web marketing performance onsite acquisition, conversion and retention.

• Why digital campaign performance must be linked to clearly defined business objectives and campaign KPIs
• How the performance of different digital channels requires a range of specific metrics to define their contribution
• Why testing is important to improving digital marketing performance and customer experience
• Why every landing page should be part of a systemic CRO testing strategy
• How tag management and attribution modelling helps assign credit for multi-channel campaigns and identify optimisation opportunities

Module 16: Exploring the near-future of data-driven digital marketing

Learning objective: Develop personal insights into how digital marketing will continue to constantly change the way marketing and marketers work.

• How brands, agencies, journalists and researchers see the future of digital marketing from different perspectives that are useful to marketers
• Which brand, agency and technology trends are most likely to bring significant changes to digital marketing
• How agency/client relationships and work practices are changing to meet the needs of real-time consumer engagement
• How technologies such as AI, AR, NFC IoT and Blockchain will change customer experiences in ways that are hard to imagine
• How combining the best of marketing automation with human inspiration is the key to increased productivity in digital marketing