Fundamentals of digital marketing. Digital marketing: tools, strategy, training. Channels and Strategies

13.11.2019

Faced with this term, not every user understands what it is about, but meanwhile it is a kind of marketing of goods and services, which is based on the perception of various digital devices.

Digital marketing is interaction with the consumer through various digital communications - tablets, laptops, computers, phones, radio, digital screen. In addition, the use of offline channels and QR codes is available.

The features of this communication with potential customers lie in the personalization of the appeal, which means that you need to find out everything about the user, his passions, interests and preferences.

identify the goals of the upcoming mailing - increasing demand, finding new partners, and so on;
determining the source for sending the message;
formation and provision of a message form according to the selected distribution channels;
launch advertising campaign;
control, analysis and correction of advertising.

What are the prospects for digital marketing you can learn in this video:

the success of its application to products of a specific nature, which is necessary for a narrow circle of users, which ensures easy personalization of the user;
despite the huge range of channels used, the best option the Internet and its active audience will still become;
Digital marketing is designed to inform about the product, it is not so successful when used to sell products, but it will provide brand recognition.

Pros and Cons of Digital Marketing

Following all of the above, there are several advantages of this advertising option:

interaction with a wide range target audience;
the opportunity to inform a wide range of the public in a short time;
working with clients through feedback, which ensures that all information is received;
greater user engagement through powerful impact on them;
increase the credibility of the brand and the manifestation of trust in it;
increasing competitiveness through a non-standard approach;
the ability to monitor results in real time;
attracting new customers and increasing sales.

The cons are quite minor and easily overcome:

a narrow circle due to the specifics of products;
not all clients like personal treatment;
with a poor construction of an advertising campaign, the possibility of getting lost among the spam information that exists on the Internet.

Types of Digital Marketing and Tools Used

use in offline space;
use online.

Each of them is implemented through its own tools, for example, the following are used to disseminate information online:

- these are text ads in search engines and on websites;
media advertising- this is an emotional impact through video and graphic images, this option has a lot of advantages, as it provides brand recognition and a colorful product presentation;
targeted advertising - displaying ads in in social networks according to the interests of the groups. you will learn how to properly set up and use such advertising in social networks;
teaser advertising - traffic cheating and trade in cheap products;
SEO optimization - ranking and bringing the site to the required search engines condition;
SMM - a complex impact on the user in social networks in order to locate him to the manufacturer;
aggregators and marketplaces - platforms for collecting and comparing offers from various companies;
viral advertising - makes the user want to put a click so that a friend sees it, and so on. Methods and tools of viral marketing are described in detail;
Email mailing - a personal appeal to a network user through a mail letter;
PR on the Internet is a tool for creating value and securing the position of the product on the network;
crowd marketing is a recommendation material distributed through forums;
Push notifications - advertising notifications that appear on the desktop or smartphone screen;
channels and chatbots in the messenger - promotion of content in messaging programs such as WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram;
CPA - getting traffic and a client base with payment of a certain amount to the advertiser;
content marketing is the creation and distribution of useful content on the Internet, a very difficult option, but also the most cost-effective.

Channels and Strategies

In order to apply digital marketing, it is necessary to use a well-developed strategy, while there may be several options:

Performance marketing is result-oriented marketing, when measurable goals are the basis for applying the strategy. It works like this:

only goals and budgetary metrics are formed by the project manager - achievement ROI by 30% or a buyer's check from 10,000 rubles, or a reduction in the cost of attracting a buyer to 2,000 rubles;
the marketer is provided with space to use any of the tools indicated by the manager to choose from, the main achievement of the goals set;
in addition, a specialist directly involved in the project must control the density and quality of communication with the site user at all stages of the process;
in addition, the agency requires the client to set up end-to-end analytics, including CRM business to be able to view the results of their activities at all stages of interaction with customers.

The usual strategy is the use of classic digital marketing options, its goal may be not only to achieve economic results, but simply to have indicators at the proper level that affect the company's profit indirectly.

The funnel of such marketing.

In this case, it is desirable to use the following channels:

Working out the purpose of an advertising campaign, which is digitized in real terms, for example, increasing website traffic to a certain level.
The target audience is determined taking into account its interests in a particular product.
Defining and highlighting by communicating product benefits.
Definition with content distribution channels.
Formation and formatting of the message.
Calculating the budget and setting time limits.
Determination of indicators in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the work done.
Control of work, analysis of results and adjustment.

By whom and when can a similar product be used

You can use such a tool in various areas of selling goods and services, for example, in stores distributing information about new products.

Case Studies

English-made insulin appeared, which does not give side effects and provides the patient with a long-term effect of up to 24 hours, the cost of the product is 1,000 rubles per 2 ml ampoule:

for a pharmacist, the main thing is to promote it among the target audience, for example, the task for a marketer is to promote by 60%;
the marketer is obliged to interest citizens with interests that are dependent on this drug;
at the same time, he uses the advantages of the drug and reveals them in full;
as a tool, he uses - mailing to mailboxes, contextual advertising, communications and an integrated approach.

New generation insulin from an English manufacturer provides excellent health within 24 hours. A high-quality product completely eliminates unwanted sensations, as it adapts in the body, regardless of the group of diabetes.

at the same time, a marketer has a budget of 10,000 rubles and a time limit of up to 2 weeks;
click-through rate (CTR) will be used as a performance indicator to find out the number of buyers who clicked on the link placed in text messages.

The procedure for using the Digital environment.

digital agency

The purpose of its services is the promotion of information through digital tools on the Internet using high technologies.

The agency can provide the following services:

development and promotion of sites;
promotion of information in blogs and social networks;
providing advertising on the Internet;
promotion of the product in other sources through the application of technological developments, for example, direct contact with the consumer using promotions in a supermarket.

Important: the purpose of the agency's activity is to interest the consumer through offline communication with subsequent transfer to the Internet.

Conclusion

If you want to start promoting the product on your own, relying only on the information received, you need to be patient and be prepared for the loss of funds, since this advertising option has many specific nuances.

How Digital marketing differs from Internet marketing - see here:

Digital strategies cover all issues related to how a particular company will sell its services via the Internet: what channels and tools will be used, how much money will be needed, what will be the results, etc. Naturally, the development and implementation of this plan should be handled by specialists - Digital strategies, which we will talk about today.

Running a business today is rarely complete without the use of Internet technologies. Every self-respecting company has at least its own website and periodically advertises its services on social networks. This is really effective in terms of attracting customers, so the business began to actively develop this approach and apply the so-called Digital strategies.

Digital strategy refers to a plan to achieve the company's goals with the help of digital tools. As a rule, such strategies cover all issues related to how a particular company will sell its services via the Internet: what channels and tools will be used, how much money will be needed, what will be the results, etc. Naturally, specialists should be involved in the development and implementation of this plan. - which we will talk about today.

By the way, in our country, representatives of this profession are often confused with SMM specialists. But this view is fundamentally wrong, since the scope of the Digital Strategist covers a wider range.

Who is a Digital Strategist

A digital strategist is a specialist who uses the capabilities of the digital environment to achieve the company's business goals. To strengthen the brand, the Digital Strategist conducts research, analytics, determines effective ways to use media resources and develops a Digital Strategy for each individual organization.

Translated from English Digital means "digital". Thus, we are talking about a "digital strategist" - a person who well assesses the possibilities of the digital world (environment) and can apply his knowledge to draw up a strategy (plan) that allows solving certain problems. It should be noted that the digital world should be understood not only as the Internet with its services and resources, but as digital technologies that people use on a daily basis.

The first Digital Strategists began to appear in Western countries when companies began to consider digital technologies as a powerful tool for doing business. In our country, such specialists are not yet in high demand, but representatives of leading advertising agencies say that in the near future the need for them will increase. Thus, we can safely say that the profession of a Digital strategist is profession of the future.

Now let's see what is the difference between an SMM specialist and a Digital strategist. The first is really good at advertising and drawing attention to the company's services through social networks. The second one conducts additional studies of the target market, analyzes competing organizations, finds sources of growth in business and does everything to interest exactly the “right” people. In other words, a Digital strategist not only understands the mechanisms for promoting a product or service on the Web, but is also well acquainted with the direction of activity of an organization.

Key responsibilities of a Digital Strategist include:

planning and implementing compelling strategies;
analysis of marketing and communication activity of competitors;
development of multi-channel initiatives and mechanisms.
coordination and control of the work of the team members involved in the preparation and implementation of digital strategies;
development of individual performance indicators and recommendations for further improvement of the business.

What qualities should a Digital Strategist have?

In the 21st century, a company's business strategy must necessarily include a "digital" component. At the same time, its potential cannot be overestimated, especially if an intelligent Digital strategist is involved, who sees through the behavior of the audience, knows how to live the situation through the eyes of the client and predict the steps of competitors. Therefore, it is important for a representative of this profession to have knowledge in such areas as:

Doing Business;
psychology (behavioral factors of the target audience);
digital technologies;
advertising.

From this follows the following skills and abilities of a digital strategist:

research - search and analysis of information;
rhetoric - the ability to correctly express one's ideas;
planning;
teamwork.

To effectively fulfill their responsibilities, a Digital Strategist must have the following personal qualities, how:

attention to details;
communication;
organization;
creativity;
developed logical thinking;
systems thinking.

In this way, digital strategist- a professional with a broad outlook in the field of marketing, media planning and understanding the behavior of potential customers of the company. This person should be purposeful, enterprising, active, and what is important - be able to think not about parts, but about the picture as a whole.

Benefits of being a Digital Strategist

The salary of a novice Digital strategist, as a rule, "starts" from 40 thousand rubles a month, and professionals in this field can receive 120 thousand rubles or more.

In the industry Digital Marketing Most of the specialists are young people, therefore, an informal atmosphere is maintained in agencies and departments.

Most Digital Strategists work with their own team, which they assemble based on their personal preferences and the required level of professionalism. Thanks to this, the work process most often takes place in a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere of general understanding and trust.

Such work is a good way of self-realization, especially for a creative person who has non-standard thinking. When developing a strategy, you can use almost any of your talents.

Disadvantages of the Digital Strategist Profession

On the digital strategist positions it is almost impossible to relax and indulge in "doing nothing". Professionals employed in large companies, always deal with deadlines that are often incomparable with the amount of work. But time is money, and the strategist must be as productive as possible to complete the tasks.

The responsibility for the effectiveness of a digital strategy usually rests solely with the strategist. Therefore, he must be prepared for manifestations of customer dissatisfaction due to the fact that not all of his ideas and developments work as he planned.

Where can I get a job as a Digital Strategist?

Directly the specialty "Digital-strategist" today is not provided for in any university program. Those who wish to realize themselves in this direction, for a start, may well get an education in such areas as.

Thanks to the active development of technology, many new directions appear in marketing. Trends are aimed at creating opportunities for interaction with the audience. Newly emerging tools appear as quickly as they lose their relevance. A few years ago, Internet marketing was the most in demand - it was replaced by digital or digital marketing.

What is digital marketing?

Digital (digital) marketing is a way to promote a brand or product through the use of various forms digital channels. Sometimes digital marketing is confused with online marketing. But digital marketing goes beyond the world wide web, using also:

digital TV;
mobile applications;
interactive screens.

Thus, digital marketing is distinguished by an integrated approach to the use of digital technologies in promotion.

Advantages

Digital marketing has several significant advantages over traditional marketing:

Allows you to interact with a wider audience and find customers even in unexpected places.
It provides an opportunity to convey information about the product and the company to a large number of consumers in a short period of time, while other strategies require significant time costs.
Allows you to establish a dialogue with customers.
Digital technologies help to have a greater impact on customers, which increases the likelihood of product interest.
Digital promotion is cheaper than other strategies.
Transparent tracking of the effectiveness of the impact.

Types of digital marketing

Digital marketing as a complex discipline has several methods for attracting and retaining customers. Types of digital marketing include:

page promotion in search engines;
contextual advertising;
E-mail newsletters;
viral advertising;
affiliate marketing.

Digital Marketing Tools

The digital marketing toolkit is varied and contains both the more well-known basic and advanced tools. Some digital tools can be used offline.

Basic

Basic digital marketing tools include:

content creation;
landing page;
applications;
Email newsletters.

Advanced

Advanced digital marketing tools are:

Affiliate is a tool for promoting a business on the Internet, the essence of which is to provide traffic to the customer and receive payment for a specific action.
Influencer marketing is based on the use of an authoritative person in promoting the page. The perception of the product by the audience is changing, thanks to which customers themselves are looking for a product.

An effective solution is a combination of several tools. This will reach the widest possible audience.

Offline

Offline digital marketing tools include tools that are not directly connected to the Internet:

QR codes on various sources;
sms and mms
mailings via messengers, for example, and;
interactive screens to help you make a purchase;
exhibition LCD stands.

Digital Promotion Channels

Promotion channels - those possibilities of digital devices that are used by digital marketing. These include:

search engines;
banner ads;
contextual and ;
social networks and blogs;
mobile applications;
video content;
viral advertising.

Marketing model of effective digital

The marketing model is one of the key elements of any business strategy. This is a kind of checklist for the effective development of the product and the company on the market.

The marketing model includes the following steps:

Brand/product knowledge. Cost-effective banner and contextual advertising or integration with the most visited sites of the target audience.
Brand acceptance. The company conveys information about itself, emotionally involving the client.
Trial purchase.
Benefits of buying through digital technologies. Customer retention through rewards advantageous offers and long-term incentive programs.
Loyalty. Dialogue with consumers after purchase.

Features of the digital strategy

Digital strategy is the definition of goals and tools for promoting the company and product with the involvement of digital technologies. The objective of the strategy is to establish contact with a potential buyer and attract interest in the brand through advertising channels.

The goal of the strategy should be presented in the form of specific figures. For example, increase brand page traffic by 50%.

As part of the digital strategy, the target audience and competing brands are analyzed. Competitive advantages are revealed, optimal channels and methods for promotion are selected.

Digital Marketing and E-Business

For many brands whose consumers are actively using the possibilities of the World Wide Web, a digital marketing strategy is a key link in their entire corporate strategy. This integration increases the return on investment.

The use of modern digital technologies expands and deepens the interaction between the brand and customers, which increases sales and increases loyalty. The viral effect and inexpensive promotion channels reduce promotion costs.

Digital advertising: main differences

Digital advertising defies most of the laws of conventional marketing. If offline advertising creates consumer demand, then digital advertising usually satisfies it. This is achieved by focusing on the target audience. Analytics and statistics systems help track user transitions on the right requests, monitor their actions in the global network.

Examples of digital marketing application

Digital television

Digital TV is actively replacing analog TV and connecting with Internet applications. With the help of a TV, people can already log into their accounts on social networks, watch a video and scroll through the news feed.

interactive screens

They are found in stores, on the streets and even in the subway, displacing outdoor advertising. The channel allows you to closely interact with the consumer, hook him with a message and help him make a purchase.

Digital gadgets

Devices collect information, which is then uploaded to a phone or computer. For example, fitness bracelets that can be used to measure blood pressure, pulse, count the number of steps taken and calories burned.

digital art

Digital art is an art form in which gadgets are used to create and reproduce a work of art. It can be a drawing, a melody, a video, an animation, a game, a website, a performance, and an installation.

What do digital marketing agencies do?

Basic digital marketing services. These include layout and design of the site and contextual promotion of the product.
Development of a comprehensive marketing strategy.
Working with online platforms. Among them: pages in social networks, forums, blogs, specialized sites.
Organization of contests and promotions on online platforms.
Experimental marketing: geolocation services, QR codes, RFD.

Digital Marketing News 2018

Digital marketing development trends are aimed at creating new options for interacting with consumers. At the same time, advertising on social networks is gradually losing popularity. Sociologists' research shows that netizens pay attention to only 10% of ads.

Well-known search engines have growing competitors - more and more Internet users are looking for information about products on commercial sites or in social networks.

The refocusing from textual content to video information is being strengthened, which activates the corresponding types of digital promotion.

Where is digital marketing taught?

Extensive digital marketing training courses are organized by Yandex and Google. In the Yandex Academy, you can also study the process of creating and promoting websites and Internet marketing.

The best digital courses in Russian:

"Internet marketing from scratch" by Tilda.
"School of Marketers" by Maria Solodar.
"Video course on Internet marketing" from the Completo team.
"Digital-start: the first step to a sought-after profession" and other courses from "Netology".
"Internet Marketer 2.0" by ConvertMonster.
"Internet Marketer" by Ingate
Internet Marketing Fundamentals by GeekBrains.

Many courses have a narrower focus, giving knowledge in the field of digital marketing: SMM, copywriting, analytics, SEO promotion, contextual advertising.

Books on digital marketing

Digital Marketing by Ian Fenwick and Kent Wertime talks about 21st century marketing, digital channels, digital marketing planning. Tools such as E-mail and viral marketing, TV, mobile platforms, interactive games, Digital Signage.
"Internet Marketing" by Margarita Akulich is a textbook for marketers that examines the types, tools and policies of online marketing.
Internet Marketing Fundamentals by Mitch Meyerson tells how to choose a promotion strategy, create content and design, attract traffic, and also gives helpful tips from personal experience author.
Content Marketing Management by Joe Pulizzi tells how to fill digital projects in order to attract and retain potential consumers.
"Internet Marketing by Science" by Dan Zarrell - a professional social media researcher - contains recommendations and methods based on scientific research, experiments, consumer surveys and statistics.

In reality modern world rapidly changing ways of influencing potential consumer. Significantly wins in this respect digital marketing, which is able not only to collect accurate and objective information about the target audience, but also to track the results of promoting a brand or product. An integrated digital approach allows you to use the most effective promotion channels.

Not really

Hello! In this article, we will talk about such a promotion tool as digital marketing.

Today you will learn:

What is digital;
To whom does it suit;
What are the tools of digital marketing;
How to implement a digital promotion strategy.

Long gone are the days when advertising messages were distributed exclusively through offline channels. In the 21st century, the century of high technologies, electronic digital communication channels with consumers dominate.

What is digital marketing

Digital or digital marketing is a communication tool with the consumer, which is carried out through special digital channels, such as: smartphones, computers, tablets, television, radio, digital screens. In addition, digital marketing has its embodiment in offline channels in the form of links to electronic resources and QR codes.

Digital marketing involves a personalized approach, which means that you must have an idea about the needs, preferences, interests and other data of your potential client.
The whole process of building an advertising campaign on the Internet can be expressed in five main stages:

Define the goals of your digital advertising campaign (increase sales, attract consumers, get data, and so on), develop a strategy;
Choose channels for disseminating the message;
Formulate a communication message, present it in a form corresponding to the selected channels;
Launch an advertising campaign;
Regularly monitor and analyze the advertising campaign, adjust if necessary.

In addition, digital marketing, despite the variety of distribution channels, is preferable for attracting active Internet users.

Another specific feature of digital marketing is its informational focus. Therefore, if your goal is solely sales, then digital marketing is not for you. But on the other hand, digital technologies will do a great job of increasing your brand awareness and bringing information about the product to the consumer.

The following are the benefits of digital marketing:

Rapid growth of brand awareness;
Relatively low cost;
Possibility of control and correction;
Unobtrusiveness.

Types and tools of digital marketing

There are two types of digital marketing: distributed in the online space and distributed in the offline space. Each of the types, in turn, has its own implementation tools. Let's present them in a table.

Online space		offline space
	Optimize for user requests, this will get more visitors	QR codes on various sources	Place QR codes in various sources with bonuses and gifts
	Directly related to optimization. Represents advertisements (links) that appear on resources with a theme corresponding to the ad
	It is an advertising image that is located on any part of the page of the Internet resource you have chosen	TV advertising	Expensive but effective promotion channel. Lets cover maximum amount audience
	Personalized advertisement in a social network leading to your website (page)	radio advertising	It is also not a budget promotion channel, but it allows you to notify a large number of of people
		SMS messages	Short SMS messages with information about promotions and new products

Push and Pop up windows

Most effective solution will be a combination of several instruments at the same time. This will allow you to reach the largest possible audience.

Digital Marketing Strategies

If you decide to apply digital marketing to your business, then the first thing you need to do is develop a strategy. In order to make it easier for you, we will present a step-by-step algorithm for compiling it, and then we will give an example.

Work out the goals of your digital advertising campaign. They must be digitized, that is, presented as specific numerical values. For example, increase website traffic by 40%.
Determine the target audience of the advertising campaign. It must match the target audience of the product you are promoting.
Determine competitive advantage the product you are going to promote (or the company as a whole). You will have to express them in the communication message.
Select the distribution channels for the communication message. We recommend choosing multiple channels.
Develop a communication message, as well as its design, corresponding to the selected channels.
Calculate the budget and set deadlines.
Consider metrics to measure performance for each channel.
Control, analysis of results and adjustment as necessary;

Example. Imagine that we are "Volosatik", where we offer hair care products. The store is located in Moscow and we sell only in Moscow. We recently launched a new product - raspberry anti-dandruff shampoo and we want to inform the target audience about the new product through digital marketing. The cost of shampoo is 600 rubles per 200 ml.

Purpose: to convey information about the new product to 60% of the target audience;
Target audience: visitors to our online store living in Moscow, aged 20 to 55 years old with dry hair and dandruff, income level from 50 thousand rubles per month;
Competitive advantage: natural composition, the effect of application confirmed by experts, original packaging, unusual rich raspberry smell.
Channels: contextual advertising and email-mailing;
Communication message.

Budget and terms: 3,000 rubles for 14 days;
Performance indicator and control: Click-through rate (CTR) - shows how many users clicked on the link in the advertisement.

Digital agency

The last point I would like to talk about is digital agencies. Compared with ordinary advertising agencies, digital agencies' services are to promote products on the Internet or using the network and high technology.

Digital agency services include:

Website development and maintenance;
Promotion in blogs, groups in social networks and other thematic sites;
Conducting an advertising campaign on the Internet;
Carrying out other events using high technologies and the Internet. For example, holding a competition in mall based on a mobile application.

The purpose of the digital agency is to transfer the consumer from offline to online space, that is, to increase sales via the Internet.

Digital marketing is the promotion of brands using all digital channels: television, radio, Internet, mobile connection and so on. Today, this is a fairly new area of marketing, especially in Russia. Unfortunately, our practice of using digital marketing tools? this is just mastering the experience of the USA and European countries. At the heart of the emergence of digital marketing as such is the emergence of information technology and the Internet. Prior to the active introduction of commerce and marketing in these areas, promotion on television and radio was not considered digital marketing.

Marketers today divide the marketing communications strategy into offline and online environments. Let's immediately move on to the process of creating a communication strategy in the digital environment. There are many tricks, but the main steps must be completed. The work of a digital strategist begins with a review of the company's marketing plan:

1. Description of goods/services. This item should answer in great detail the question “What does the company offer on the market?”

2. Market assessment. The main thing? have market intelligence that can influence the potential success of the brand. All questions must be answered. How are other brands in the category doing? Will innovative products or new brands appear on the market in the near future?

3. Source of business development. The following points should be clarified as accurately as possible from the marketing plan: how is it planned to increase market share? attract new customers to the category, lure consumers of other brands, stimulate trial purchases, stimulate repeat purchases.

4. Assessment of the competitive environment. It is necessary to understand who consumers consider your competitor? What creative strategies are competitors using? It is necessary to clearly understand what situation in the market is formed by the marketing communications of competitors.

5. Marketing goals. What kind marketing goals to be achieved by the brand? Here it is necessary to understand not only the marketing goals in relation to the brand, but also the objectives in terms of the market and sales volumes. As a rule, these figures are indicated in the marketing plan.

In "classic" communications, the development of a communication strategy within a brand or a separate campaign has long become in the eyes of the advertising community an integral element of successful and well-constructed communication. However, in digital communications, the development of a strategy is still accompanied by significant difficulties. This is due to the fact that Digital communications are the youngest area of advertising communications with its inherent "childhood illnesses".

Of the most significant, it is worth noting:

· Lack of a sufficient number of experienced professionals who have experience in creating a classic strategy, including market situation analysis, analysis of the target audience, setting goals and objectives, etc. Therefore, the creation digital strategies in many ways today remains a creative process.

Lack of "industrial standards" in the field of digital strategy. Different agencies in their own way present the necessary sections in such a document, and even the place of a digital strategy in a marketing plan.

· Shift focus towards tactical decisions. Often tactical decisions replace strategic initiatives.

This problem is fairly easy to identify. The agency's strategy, in this case, is identified with the choice of a channel within digital and specific tools for each channel. On the part of advertisers, this problem appears when the manager begins to “think” in well-known cases and references (“we need to develop a digital strategy that includes a brand’s YouTube video channel with viral videos”).

Trends and fashion for a certain technological solution are put at the forefront, so at different times we see either the dominance of viral videos, or activations in social networks, or the search for a wow effect for customers who are contraindicated in this. When developing a strategy, the choice of channels and tools should be based on 3 key elements:

Understanding the goals and objectives of the Client. Is the campaign an image campaign or is it aimed at tactical sales promotion? Are we introducing a new brand to the market, or do we want to maintain brand loyalty among existing consumers? Without a clear understanding of the goals and objectives of the campaign, further work on the campaign will not be successful. You should also make sure that the goals and objectives of the digital strategy are subordinate to the general hierarchy of goals and their achievement is aimed at solving the marketing tasks of the Client.

Target audience analysis. It must be remembered that understanding the interests of the audience in the digital space is one of the main factors for the success of the campaign. Many people forget and plan from the tools, and not from the interests of the audience, its behavior on the network. An accurate portrait of the brand's digital audience and its behavior will clearly show which channels and tools are relevant for solving the Client's goals and objectives. It is essential to use the target audience research available on the market in order to select tools based on objective data, and not solely based on expert opinion or “common sense”.

? The “role” of a category and a specific brand in the digital space. Different categories and even individual brands have their own specifics of presence in the digital space, their own “natural” potential and limitations on engaging users in a dialogue, creating a viral effect and word of mouth (rumors). It is necessary to analyze this specificity and not offer channels and tools that are irrelevant to the category and brand.

The most useful analysis tool will be the so-called digital listening - monitoring and analyzing the presence of the brand and its competitors in all digital channels. The tool selection matrix presented in Appendix 2 will serve as a kind of “hint” when working on a strategy.

Today, in the Russian average and big business Marketing is driven by strategy. Further, it generates a brand strategy, a marketing communications strategy. It, in turn, gives rise to a strategy of integrated marketing communications, where the distribution of tools is already being formed (public relations, advertising, direct marketing), and then media planners are preparing a strategy for placement in channels (television, press, radio, Internet).

SMM marketing and digital marketing in general have their own peculiarities. These features and the fact that the Internet? this is not a media channel, but a new environment, they are forced to come up with a separate strategy for digital:

1. The communication strategy designed for "monologue" is not suitable for "dialogue".

Does this thesis refer to already bored advice? "Don't write press releases for a blog." The kind of communication that is developed in ATL is most often not suitable for communicating with an audience on the Internet. ATL communication is designed not to be interactive, not to allow the user to "reply".

2. Mechanics and creativity are limited by the venues.

In ATL-advertising, the creative is distributed to all media: a video is made, a print can be made from the video, which can be placed outdoors and in the press. If you want to make a radio commercial. On the Internet, that creative, the mechanics of interaction with users that was invented for one site (for example, Vkontakte) is most likely not suitable for another (YouTube). And what was invented for Vkontakte and YouTube is most likely not suitable for Twitter. All three sites are different, for each site you need to come up with your own mechanics.

3. Real-time measurability.

The Internet and digital provide many more metrics. Much more than necessary. And the question is no longer how to measure, but what metrics to leave to determine the effectiveness. In ATL advertising, everything is measured after the campaign. The company created the video, placed it on certain channels, waited for the campaign to end, and only then measured everything when hundreds of thousands of dollars had already been spent. On the Internet, if the distribution of the same video is unsuccessful (the wrong strategy was chosen), we can either simply stop the campaign or change it. And we don't have to keep wasting money. In the case of ATL, we only know if we've wasted money or not after the campaign. In addition, in digital there is an opportunity to create platform communications. And this is a definite plus. Before talking about platforms and activations, you need to understand that there are three main channels for delivering a message from a company to a user on the Internet? it is paid, own and earned media.

A similar division of channels is used in major Western advertising agencies(e.g. R/GA, Critical Mass, Sapient, Isobar). Here is a summary table that defines each channel, showing the benefits and challenges of using it (Table 1.1).

There are two types of communication in digital and social media: platforms and activations. Platforms? it is the company's own information dissemination channel, its own media on the Internet, aimed at accumulating and retaining the audience of various advertising campaigns.

Activations? These are advertising campaigns aimed at solving a specific problem. Activation tasks? These are the objectives of the advertising campaign. For example: announcing information, supporting the launch of a new product, increasing website traffic. Also, through activations, they attract an audience to the platform, and the platform, with a competent strategy, retains this audience. For activations, platforms are often used first of all, and then, if it was not possible to earn media, the missing contacts with the audience are purchased in addition (paid media are used).

Table 1.1

Advantages and problems of using media channels

Own, paid and earned media
Own media (owned media) - channels controlled by the company Examples: website, blog, community, social network profile.
Role for the company: Building long-term relationships with existing customers	Advantages:- audience accumulation	Problems: Non-guaranteed tool; Low audience confidence; - requires time from the company
Paid media - channels leased by the company Examples: media advertising, contextual advertising, sponsorship.
Role for the company: Changes from the foundation of communication to the catalyst that fuels its own media and creates earned	Advantages: Control; -- measurability	Problems: High bounce rate; - the audience has adapted to the format and does not perceive it
Earned media -- "consumers become a channel" Examples: word of mouth, viral effect.
Role for the company: The result of well-executed activities in own and paid media	Advantages: High audience confidence; Key role in most sales	Problems: No control; - not measurable

It can be concluded that digital marketing takes over all interactive interaction with the consumer. Part of this interaction is in social media, and there is another strategy for working in them. The position of the social media presence strategy in relation to business and marketing strategies (SMM strategies) is shown in Figure 1.8.

It gets even more complicated, given that the marketing mix is divided into four components (product, price, promotion, place).

Rice. 1.8

The most important conclusion to be drawn from everything that is written above? it is that social media alone cannot solve the problem of marketing, and therefore business. It is impossible to increase sales through social media, as well as through advertising in general. Through communication, you can convey information about the product, etc., and whether they buy this product or not still depends on the price, on the product itself and on distribution.

In this way, Information Technology have become an indispensable means of interaction between all market participants, a business tool used to implement most of the business processes of companies. Today, in Russian medium and large businesses, the work of marketing is determined by the strategy. Further, it generates a brand strategy, a marketing communications strategy. It, in turn, generates an integrated marketing communications strategy, where the distribution of tools (public relations, advertising, direct marketing) is already formed, and then media planners prepare a strategy for placement in channels (television, press, radio, Internet).