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International Digital Marketing Course Overview

This course provides a comprehensive exploration of digital marketing methods and practices, with a specific focus on international strategies. It aims to equip students with practical skills through a "Learning by doing" approach, covering online communication, e-commerce optimization, and traffic generation across digital media. The instructor for this course is Dhouha El Amri, an Associate Professor of Digital Marketing.

Course Objectives

• Discover digital marketing and its various techniques.

• Experiment with digital marketing strategies.

• Establish relevant content and realistic SEO, SEM, and Emailing campaigns.

• Develop essential skills and knowledge through practical application.

• Learn concrete techniques to implement and optimize advertising budgets in both intra- and inter-channel contexts using simulation software.

Course Outline

1. General introduction to digital marketing.

2. Main channels and principles of the digital marketing mix.

3. Email marketing.

4. Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

5. Search Engine Advertising (SEA).

6. Panorama of digital advertising.

7. Social media Optimization.

8. The international environment.

9. Company's international strategies.

10. Approaches and challenges of international Digital Marketing.

Evaluation

The course will be evaluated through a written exam during the official exam session.

Recommended References

• Deroualle N. Théodore, L. Blanquier, B. (2019), Digital marketing 2019, édition ebg.

• Marrone R. et Gallic, C. (2018), Le grand Livre du marketing digital, édition Dunod.

• Kotler, P. (2017), Marketing 4.0, édition DeBoeck.

Digital Advertising Mix

The digital advertising mix encompasses various channels and strategies to reach target audiences online. Key advertising channels include Email, Search, Display, and Video. Effective digital advertising relies on strategies such as Targeting, Personalization, and Optimization.

Digital Advertising Expenditure Trends

Global advertising spending shows a significant shift towards digital platforms. From 2014 to 2020, digital advertising's share of total ad spend grew considerably, surpassing traditional media like TV. Mobile advertising, in particular, has seen a rapid increase within the digital category.

Note: *excludes digital. Source: eMarketer, March 2016

Key Digital Advertising Channels

Email Marketing

Email marketing remains a powerful tool for customer engagement and conversion. It allows businesses to directly communicate with their audience.

• Advantages:

  • Reaches a core, verified audience (known to the business).

  • Highly measurable for conversions.

  • Email addresses can be used for targeting other digital advertising efforts.

• Types of Email Cadences:

  • Welcome emails (for new customers).

  • Triggered by customer actions (registration, purchase, abandoned shopping cart).

  • Responding to lack of action.

  • Based on time passed (e.g., 14 days after delivery).

  • Deadline-driven (e.g., sales).

  • Calendar-based (holiday, seasonal).

• Mobile Optimization:

  • 48% of emails are opened on mobile devices.

  • Only 11% of email templates are optimized for mobile.

  • 69% of mobile users delete emails that are not optimized.

  • 64% of decision-makers read emails on mobile.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) vs. Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Search marketing involves both organic and paid strategies to increase visibility on search engines.

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Focuses on improving organic search results, largely influenced by content quality and relevance.

• Search Engine Advertising (SEA) / Paid Search Ads: Involves placing advertisements on search engine results pages.

Characteristics of Paid Search Ads

• Reach customers at their "moment of intent" (when actively searching for something).

• Typically text-only ads.

• Cost-per-click (CPC): Advertisers pay only when a user clicks on the ad; impressions are free.

• Pricing often follows a "reverse Dutch auction" model where advertisers pay a small increment above the next highest bidder.

• Ad placement depends on bid amount and ad performance (poorly performing ads may not be shown).

• Highly valuable due to customer intent, but inventory can be limited.

Global Search Engine Usage

The dominant search engine varies significantly by region:

• China: Baidu (79.45%) is the leader, followed by Google China (12.04%).

• Russia: Yandex (54%) is more prevalent than Google (34.7%).

• United States: Google dominates (67.3%), with Microsoft Sites (Bing) at 19.4%.

• United Kingdom: Google holds a significant majority (88.87%).

• Italy: Google is the overwhelming favorite (94.49%).

• Spain: Google maintains strong dominance (94.47%).

• France: Google is the primary search engine (93.26%).

• Germany: Google commands 92.52% of the market share.

Display Advertising

Display ads are visual advertisements that appear on websites, leveraging various standardized sizes and shapes.

• Characteristics:

  • Pay per impression (not click).

  • Price varies depending on the publisher and placement.

  • Used for both branding and direct response campaigns.

Video Advertising

Video ads are a premium category of display advertising, offering high engagement and wide reach.

• Characteristics:

  • Highly engaging content format.

  • Huge potential reach, similar to traditional TV advertising.

  • Offers much more precise targeting capabilities compared to TV.

  • Potential for interactivity.

  • Sold via video ad networks.

• Payment Model: Advertisers often pay only for viewers who do not skip their ad.

Digital Advertising Strategies

User Tracking and Identity

Understanding user identity is crucial for effective targeting. Methods include:

• Cookies: Small data files stored on a user's computer to track browsing activity.

• Device ID: Unique identifiers associated with mobile devices.

• Social Login: Users logging into websites or apps using their social media accounts (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Google+), providing rich demographic and interest data.

Targeting Capabilities

Digital advertising allows for highly sophisticated targeting, moving beyond basic demographics to behavioral insights.

• Retargeting (Remarketing):

  1. User behaviors are identified based on site visits to specific websites within an area of interest.

  2. Users are segmented into groups that can be identified when they appear on other websites or ad networks.

  3. Advertisers then target these relevant audiences with ads, bringing users back to their site.

• Lookalike Audiences:

  • Starts with a defined audience (e.g., website visitors, email list).

  • Uses data to find other web users with similar behaviors.

  • Targeting these "lookalike" audiences helps lower costs and extend reach.

  • Common match levels include top 1%, 5%, and 10%.

• Behavioral Targeting: Moves beyond basic demographics to target individuals based on their actual online behaviors, such as products viewed, articles clicked, or purchase history.

• Hyper-local Targeting: Leveraging GPS and mobile data to reach users within specific geographical areas or even within a close proximity to a store.

Optimization and Measurement

Continuous optimization is essential for maximizing the effectiveness of digital advertising campaigns.

• A/B Testing: Comparing two versions (A and B) of a marketing element to determine which performs better. This can be applied to:

  • Copy (text)

  • Imagery

  • Layout

  • Offer

  • Call-to-action

• Optimization Process:

  1. Select Campaign Goal (e.g., branding, lead generation).

  2. Define Budget & Metrics (e.g., impressions, click-throughs, conversions).

  3. Choose Appropriate Channels (e.g., Search, Display, Email, Video).

  4. Measure Results (e.g., using tools like Google Analytics).

  5. Optimize between channels and within channels (launch and iterate).

Marketing Funnel in a Digital Context

The marketing funnel illustrates the customer journey from initial awareness to advocacy, with digital channels playing a crucial role at each stage.

• Awareness: Generating initial interest through channels like Paid Ads, SEO, Social Media, Blogs, and Offline marketing.

• Consideration: Customers research and evaluate options, using Online Research, User Reviews, and Testimonials.

• Preference: Customers develop a preference for a brand, often influenced by Social Networks, YouTube content, Local Search, and Word of Mouth.

• Purchase: The point of conversion, where customers Opt-in, Download, or make a Purchase (online, in-store, or mobile).

• Loyalty: Fostering repeat engagement through "Friending" (on social media), encouraging Repeat Purchases, and Up-selling.

• Advocacy: Loyal customers become brand advocates, generating Reviews, Referrals, Links, "Likes", and Social Buzz.

Key Takeaways

• Digital marketing is driven by a mix of channels including email, search, display, and video, each with unique strengths.

• The trend in advertising spend clearly indicates a shift from traditional media to digital, especially mobile.

• Effective digital advertising relies on advanced targeting, personalization, and continuous optimization through testing and measurement.

• Understanding global search engine preferences is critical for international digital marketing strategies.

• The marketing funnel provides a framework for integrating various digital tactics to guide customers through their journey.

Digital Marketing Strategies and Operational Practices

This document outlines fundamental concepts and practical approaches in digital marketing, focusing on channel utilization, audience targeting, and campaign optimization within an international context.

Course Objectives

• Discovering digital marketing techniques.
• Experimenting with digital marketing strategies.
• Establishing effective content, SEO, SEM, and Emailing campaigns.
• Developing skills through a Learning by doing approach.
• Learning concrete techniques for implementing and optimizing advertising budgets.

Main Channels and Principles of the Digital Marketing Mix

The digital advertising landscape has seen significant shifts, with digital spending surpassing traditional media like TV in recent years.

Digital Channel Evolution

Digital advertising expenditure has grown consistently, reflecting its increasing importance in the overall media mix.

In terms of percentage of total ad spend, digital has steadily increased its share, becoming the largest category.

Source: eMarketer, March 2016

Key Digital Advertising Venues

• Email
• Search
• Display
• Video

Core Principles of Digital Advertising

• Targeting: Reaching specific audience segments.
• Personalization: Tailoring content and offers to individual users.
• Optimization: Continuously improving campaign performance based on data.

The process of planning a digital advertising mix generally follows these steps, from selecting a campaign goal to continuous optimization through measurement.

1. Select Your Campaign Goal (e.g., Branding, Lead Generation).
2. Define Budget & Metrics (e.g., Impressions, Clicks, Conversions).
3. Choose Appropriate Channels & Initial Budget (e.g., Search, Display, Email, Video).
4. Measure Results to Optimize (e.g., Between channels & within channels).
5. Optimize.

Email Marketing

Email marketing remains a powerful tool for direct communication and conversion.

Advantages of Email Marketing

• Ability to reach your core audience, with verifiable IDs.
• Highly measurable for conversions.
• Email addresses can facilitate targeting of other digital advertising campaigns.

Email Cadence Examples

Emails can be triggered by various events or schedules:

• Welcome emails for new customers.
• Responses to customer actions (e.g., registration, purchase, abandoned shopping cart).
• Reminders for lack of action.
• Follow-ups after a certain time passed (e.g., 14 days after delivery).
• Emails based on deadlines (e.g., sales).
• Content tied to the calendar (e.g., holidays, seasonal events).

Mobile Optimization in Email

Mobile optimization is critical given the prevalence of mobile email usage.

• 48% of emails are opened on mobile devices.
• Only 11% of email templates are optimized for mobile.
• 69% of mobile users delete emails that aren't optimized.
• 64% of decision-makers read their emails on mobile devices.

This highlights a significant gap and opportunity for marketers to improve their mobile email experience.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Advertising (SEA)

Understanding the distinction between organic and paid search is crucial for effective search marketing.

SEO vs. SEM

• SEO (Search Engine Optimization) focuses on organic search results, which are influenced by content quality and relevance.
• SEM (Search Engine Marketing) is a broader term that includes paid search ads (SEA) alongside SEO.

Search Engine Usage by Country

The dominant search engines vary significantly across different countries:

Search Engine Advertising (SEA) Characteristics

• Reaches customers at their "moment of intent".
• Typically uses text-only ads.
• CPC (Cost Per Click) model: advertisers pay only for clicks, impressions are free.
• Utilizes a "Reverse Dutch auction" system: advertisers pay $0.01 above the next highest bidder.
• Ad placement is based on a combination of bid and performance (poorly performing ads don't get shown).
• Highly valuable due to customer intention, but inventory is limited.

Digital Advertising Mix: Display and Video

Display and video advertising offer distinct advantages for branding and direct response.

Display Advertising

• Comes in various standardized sizes and shapes.
• Costs are typically on a pay-per-impression basis, not per click.
• Price depends on the publisher.
• Used for both branding and direct response objectives.

Video Advertising

• Considered a premium category of "display" advertising.
• Highly engaging medium.
• Offers huge potential reach, similar to traditional TV.
• Provides much greater targeting capabilities compared to TV.
• Allows for potential interactivity.
• Sold via video ad networks.
• Often employs a pay-per-view or pay-per-completion model, where advertisers only pay if a user watches a certain duration or doesn't skip the ad.

Targeting and Personalization

Effective digital marketing relies heavily on precise targeting and personalized experiences.

Methods for User Identification

Various technologies allow advertisers to identify and track users for targeting purposes:

• Cookies: Small data files stored on a user's browser.
• Device ID: Unique identifier assigned to a mobile device.
• Social login: Using social media accounts (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Google+) to log into other platforms, providing rich user data.

Retargeting

Retargeting is a strategy to re-engage users who have previously shown interest in a product or service.

1. User behaviors identified based on site visits to defined sites within an area of interest.
2. Users are then placed into groups which can be identified when they appear on a property or network.
3. Advertisers select relevant audiences and target them with ads, bringing them back to their site.

Audience Expansion: Lookalike Audiences

Lookalike audiences allow advertisers to find new potential customers who share characteristics with their existing audience.

• Start with a defined audience (e.g., site visitors, email list).
• Use data to find other web users with similar behavior.
• Target these "lookalike" audiences to lower cost and extend reach.

This approach shifts targeting from broad demographics to specific behavioral profiles for more effective customer acquisition.

• From demographics (e.g., "Robert," reads Modern Farmer, Brooklyn zip code, Age 24-39, HHI $50-99k) to targeting behavior (e.g., "Customer 400251," last bought product 2 weeks ago, clicked on 2nd article in Tuesday’s email, CLV is $749).
• This allows for retargeting people who’ve visited your website, personalizing experiences for existing vs. new customers, and expanding customer acquisition through "lookalike" audiences (e.g., top 1%, 5%, and 10% match levels).

Optimization

Continuous optimization is key to maximizing return on investment in digital marketing.

A/B Testing

A/B testing involves comparing two versions of a marketing asset to see which performs better.

• Test elements such as: copy (text), imagery, layout, offer, and call-to-action.
• Example: An image variation in an advertisement led to a +19% improvement compared to the control version.

The Digital Marketing Funnel

The marketing funnel illustrates the customer journey and the digital marketing channels relevant at each stage.

• Awareness (Top of Funnel): Channels like Paid Ads, SEO, Social Media, Blogs, Offline marketing help generate initial interest.
• Consideration: Consumers engage in Online Research, User Reviews, Testimonials to evaluate options.
• Preference: Interactions shift to Social Networks, YouTube, Local Search, Word of Mouth, influencing their choice.
• Purchase (Bottom of Funnel): The culmination of the journey, leading to Opt-in, Download, Purchase online/in-store/mobile.
• Retention: Post-purchase activities like "Friending" (FB, Twitter, Email), Repeat Purchase, Up-sell crucial for customer loyalty.
• Advocacy: Satisfied customers provide Reviews, Referrals, Links, "Likes", Social Buzz, promoting the brand to others.

Key Takeaways

• Digital marketing success hinges on a deep understanding of channel strengths, precise targeting, and continuous optimization.
• Mobile optimization is non-negotiable for effective email marketing and broader digital campaigns.
• The differentiation between SEO and SEA is fundamental for strategic search marketing.
• Advanced techniques like retargeting and lookalike audiences allow for highly efficient customer engagement and acquisition.
• A/B testing is a vital tool for data-driven optimization across all digital marketing efforts.

The course aims to develop essential skills through a "Learning by doing" approach, focusing on practical implementation and international strategies.