Digital and Social Media

Marketing

Digital and Social Media Marketing: A Results-Driven Approach is an exciting new

industry-led, research-informed and results-driven guide to digital commerce.
Its examples draw from European SMEs to offer a unique perspective for those
learning about digital marketing. Having been developed in close collaboration
with the Search Engine Marketing Trade Association (SEMTA), it is a reliable
source of prevailing industry standards for practitioners at the cutting edge of
their trade.
Unlike other digital marketing texts, this accessible textbook gives special
consideration to the need for continuous planning, implementation, observation
and improvement upon the digital strategy implementation. Equally unique
is the book’s Digital Business Maturity Model, and the Buyer Persona Spring,
which offer organisations a clear roadmap for understanding their relative levels
of technology adoption and digital strategy development.
Embracing the true spirit of digital and social media marketing, the book
will be the first of its kind in this field with digital learning materials, case stud-
ies and exercises available in a supporting #passion4digital community and a
related Massive Open Online Course (MOOC).
This book will provide a hands-on, accessible and user-friendly platform
to turn skills and knowledge into strategic advantage. Ideal for postgraduate
learners, instructors interested in providing a unique and up-to-date learning
experience and for SMEs and practitioners aiming to be at the cutting edge of
Digital and Social Media Marketing.

Aleksej Heinze is Senior Lecturer at the University of Salford, UK.

Gordon Fletcher is Senior Lecturer at the University of Salford, UK.

Tahir Rashid is Senior Lecturer at the University of Salford, UK.

Ana Cruz is a Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Sheffield Interna-

tional Faculty, CITY College, Greece.
This book takes a practical and strategic outlook to digital marketing with an
easy to follow step-by-step approach. Each chapter has several business case
studies that help give insights into real-world issues and scenarios, which can be
used by both academic and business readers.
—Joanne Kuzma, Principal Lecturer in Computing,
University of Worcester, UK

This book is a great resource for both students and businesses. The case stud-
ies are fresh and topical and the latest findings from research are woven into
this very stimulating text. Digital marketing is examined from a strategic and a
practical perspective with both authority and creativity.
—Kate Dobson, Lecturer Consultant,
University of Worcester, UK

Digital and Social Media Marketing: A Results-Driven Approach is a wonderful

book that really communicates great concepts and practical techniques for
helping companies and students understand how to approach digital commerce
and transformation. Heinze, Fletcher, Rashid and Cruz nailed it with the “Mar-
keting first” approach.
—Carla Dawson, Co-Founder of onmarc.com

This book gets into almost every aspect of modern marketing, and the Buyer
Persona Spring really helps to keep the focus on building conversations and
engagement. I would highly recommend it to anyone getting into marketing.
—Susan Patch, Marketer, E-Learning
Squared, Canada
Digital and Social Media
Marketing
A Results-Driven Approach

Edited by Aleksej Heinze,

Gordon Fletcher, Tahir Rashid
and Ana Cruz
First published 2017
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2017 selection and editorial material, Aleksej Heinze, Gordon Fletcher,
Tahir Rashid and Ana Cruz; individual chapters, the contributors
The right of the editors to be identified as the authors of the editorial
material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted
in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders for their
permission to reprint material in this book. The publishers would be
grateful to hear from any copyright holder who is not here acknowledged
and will undertake to rectify any errors or omissions in future editions of
this book.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-1-138-91790-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-91791-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-68876-3 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Apex CoVantage, LLC

Visit the companion website at www.mastersindigitalmarketing.org/book

Contents

List of boxesxi
List of case studiesxii
List of figuresxiii
List of tablesxvii
Notes on contributorsxix
Acknowledgementsxx
Definitions of termsxxii

SECTION I
Introduction1

0 A visual introduction to Digital and Social Media Marketing 3

0.1 You and your buyers  7
0.2 Your complex organisation  11
0.3 The Buyer Persona Spring and action-based learning  13
0.4 The Buyer Persona Spring  18
0.5 Book structure  20

1 Understanding Digital and Social Media Marketing concepts 21

1.0 Learning objectives  21
1.1 Understanding Digital and Social Media Marketing  21
1.2 How to speak Digital and Social Media Marketing  22
1.3 Success and failure in digital marketing  25
1.4 The Digital Business Maturity Model  32
1.5 The buyer persona  35
1.6 Tools for Digital and Social Media Marketing  38
1.7 Summary 42
1.8 References 43
vi  Contents
2 Identifying business needs 44
2.0 Learning objectives  44
2.1 Digital marketing strategy  44
2.2 Analysing the external environment  46
2.3 The practicalities: identifying micro- and macro-conditions  58
2.4 Summary 63
2.5 References 65

SECTION II
Building your digital marketing strategy67

3 Understanding your buyer persona 69

3.0 Learning objectives  69
3.1 Understanding online consumer behaviour  69
3.2 The buyer persona  71
3.3 Characteristics of ethical, moral and green consumer behaviour
within digital environments  78
3.4 The buying journey  80
3.5 From the buying journey to online purchases  82
3.6 ‘Trust touchpoints’ for buyers  84
3.7 ‘Pain touchpoints’ for buyers  84
3.8 Strategies to gain trust and minimise pain  88
3.9 Summary 92
3.10 References 92

4 Digital and Social Media Marketing strategy 94

4.0 Learning objectives  94
4.1 What is digital marketing strategy?  94
4.2 Aligning your strategy with your buyer persona  100
4.3 Setting objectives  104
4.4 Creating campaigns and reaching your objectives  105
4.6 Tactics 110
4.7 Summary 112
4.8 References 112

SECTION III
Operational planning113

5 Campaign planning and project management 115

5.0 Learning objectives  115
 Contents vii
5.1 The importance of planning  115
5.2 Project management in the context of digital marketing
campaigns 116
5.3 Planning – starting a new project  124
5.4 Acting – executing your project  127
5.5 Observing – optimising your efforts  132
5.6 Reflecting – closing a project  135
5.7 Summary 137
5.8 References 137

6 Developing an effective digital presence 138

6.0 Learning objectives  138
6.1 Defining digital presence  138
6.2 Brand building  139
6.3 Brand equity  143
6.4 The rise of the social media-based brand  145
6.5 Social media presence  146
6.6 Developing a network of profiles  147
6.7 Owned, earned and paid content  148
6.8 Building a successful user experience  150
6.9 The principles of user experience design  150
6.10 Usability guide and testing  151
6.11 Responsive design  152
6.12 Website infrastructure  154
6.13 Information architecture  155
6.14 The AIDA model for creating content  156
6.15 Content and website design  157
6.16 Summary 159
6.17 References 160

7 Search engine optimisation: strategy implementation 161

7.0 Learning objectives  161
7.1 The importance of search engines  161
7.2 The business models of search engines  162
7.3 How search engines work  164
7.4 Creating a search engine optimisation strategy to engage your
buyer persona  165
7.5 Strategic keyword research  169
7.6 Implementing your search engine optimisation strategy  175
7.7 Benchmarking search engine optimisation activities  187
7.8 Summary 188
7.9 References 189
viii  Contents
8 Social media 190
8.0 Learning outcomes  190
8.1 The importance of social media  190
8.2 Social media strategies  191
8.3 Social capital and social media  194
8.4 Online communities  195
8.5 Cultures 197
8.6 Sustainability of your social media platform  197
8.7 Blogging platforms  198
8.8 Business-to-consumer platforms  199
8.9 Business-to-business platforms  200
8.10 Social media optimisation  201
8.11 Finding key influencers  207
8.12 Summary 212
8.13 References 212

  9 Content marketing 214

9.0 Learning objectives  214
9.1 The importance of content marketing  214
9.2 The idea generation process  217
9.3 Content creation and development  224
9.4 Content marketing implementation and delivery  230
9.5 Content marketing campaign evaluation  231
9.6 Content creation and copywriting techniques and tips  234
9.7 Summary 236
9.8 References 236

10 Paid advertising – search, social and affiliate 238

10.0 Learning objectives  238
10.1 Paid advertising in context  238
10.2 Understanding paid advertising  239
10.3 Differences in paid advertising on various search
engines in Europe  244
10.4 Planning and managing paid search marketing  246
10.5 Paid social media marketing introduction  250
10.6 Overview of advertising on most popular social media
platforms in Europe  251
10.7 Affiliate marketing  255
10.8 Benchmarking and monitoring paid advertising activities  256
10.9 Summary 258
10.10 References 259
 Contents ix
11 Mobile marketing 260
11.0 Learning objectives  260
11.1 Introducing mobile marketing  260
11.2 Understanding mobile consumer behaviour  261
11.3 Responsive mobile websites and applications  263
11.4 Mobile advertising and promotions  266
11.5 Mobile pay-per-click advertising  266
11.6 Mobile search engine optimisation  267
11.7 M-commerce 268
11.8 Mobile payment systems  270
11.9 2D and QR codes  272
11.10 Internet of Things  275
11.11 Wearable technology  276
11.12 Summary 277
11.13 References 278

12 Measuring brand awareness, campaign evaluation

and web analytics 279
12.0 Learning objectives  279
12.1 Introduction 279
12.2 Digital marketing = conversions + brand awareness  280
12.3 Calculating return on investment and customer lifetime
value 283
12.4 Web analytics  284
12.5 Key performance indicators for small and medium enterprises
when using Google Analytics  289
12.6 Designing web analytics reports that meet business needs  293
12.7 Meaningful reporting and campaign tracking  293
12.8 Digital campaign tracking – UTM codes  294
12.9 Ethical dilemmas in marketing research and data
collection 295
12.10 Quantitative data analysis methods  296
12.11 Qualitative data analysis methods  298
12.12 Summary 298
12.13 References 299

13 Future users, content and marketing 301

13.0 Learning objectives  301
13.1 Introduction 301
13.2 The Digital Business Maturity Model  302
13.3 Future work  307
x  Contents
13.4 Future marketing ethics  310
13.5 Interactive everything and the Internet of Things  311
13.6 Future business models and structures  312
13.7 Summary 316
13.8 References 316

Index317
Boxes

5.1 Florists 125
5.2  When high CTR still means a campaign failure 135
Case studies

 1.1 Happeak29
 2.1 Chobolabs targets hard-core gamers using mobile devices 49
 2.2 Yoopies. Digital intermediary for quality childcare 53
 2.3 LEGO®. Ideas innovation and crowdsourcing re-energised
the company 55
 2.4 Talkwalker. Marketing intermediary 57
 3.1 Help Scout gets to know its buyer personas 73
 3.2 Estelle  & Thild emphasise ‘natural’ in their branding 79
 4.1 Famish’d Salad Bar: knowing your customer brings results 101
 4.2 ao.com: setting an example with social media campaigns 109
 6.1 Newby Trust build trust in their brand online 143
 6.2 Snog frozen yogurt engages target market in fun conversations 145
 6.3 Sailing Logic partnered with BookItBee to leverage mobile
ticketing152
 6.4 Audacy stands out from the crowd with a site designed to wow 158
 8.1 Public Desire193
 8.2 Always: #LikeAGirl 205
 9.1 Salford Business School UGC 232
10.1 HIDROMOTAS249
10.2 Vaitiekūnų medelynas254
11.1  Listonic’s mobile shopping app benefits brands 269
12.1 Enterprise 2.0 uses web analytics to redesign starting page 293
Figures

  0.1 The Digital Business Maturity Model 4

  0.2 The Buyer Persona Spring 4
  0.3 The Buyer Persona Spring now labelled 4
  0.4 Inside the buyer persona 6
  0.5 The buyer persona symbol 7
  0.6 The simplistic relationship between your organisation
and the buyer 7
  0.7 The simplistic relationship between you and the buyer
repeated over time 8
  0.8 The parameters for being a sole supplier 8
  0.9 A simple communicative relationship between you
and the buyer 9
  0.10 Purely tactical marketing activities 10
  0.11 The complex organisation and the buyer persona 12
  0.12 Your complex organisation 12
  0.13 Your organisation 13
  0.14 Action learning cycle 14
  0.15 The repeating action learning cycle 14
  0.16 An individual loop in the Buyer Persona Spring 15
  0.17 Iterative loops within the Buyer Persona Spring 16
  0.18 The three key sub-strategies of digital marketing 16
  0.19 The Buyer Persona Spring 16
  0.20 The complete Buyer Persona Spring 17
  0.21 The Buyer Persona Spring – success 18
  0.22 The book’s chapters mapped to the Buyer Persona Spring 19
  1.1 A traditional view of marketing, digital and other
functions within a business 22
  1.2 Visualising the conceptual understanding of business used
in this book 22
  1.3 A visualisation of the interrelationship between the key
terms used in this book 26
  1.4 The Digital Business Maturity Model 34
  1.5 Consumer decision making 36
xiv  Figures
  1.6 The relationship of strategic analysis tools to the Buyer
Persona Spring 41
  2.1 Creating a digital marketing strategy 45
  2.2 Industry Analysis Model 52
  2.3 The Buyer Persona Spring in relation to existing models,
tools and potential sources of support 56
  2.4 Business Model Canvas 62
  2.5 Elements of Business Model Canvas in relation to the
Buyer Persona Spring 64
  3.1 The buyer persona 72
  3.2 The single cover-all buyer persona focusing on the
intersection of users, influencers, consumers and customers 73
  3.3 Multiple buyer personas addressing different roles
(representing a customer who is also a consumer but not an
influencer, and one influencer who is neither a consumer
nor a customer) 74
  3.4 Growth Graham vision 75
  3.5 Growth Graham strategy 75
  3.6 Growth Graham tips 76
  3.7 Help Desk Heidi example 76
 3.8 Estelle  & Thild example 80
  3.9 Direct and indirect channel touchpoints with the
buyer persona 81
  3.10 Mapping your touchpoints 82
 3.11 Google’s customer journey to online purchase 83
  3.12 Mapping potential trust and pain touchpoints within the
Buyer Persona Spring 86
  3.13 Decision tree aiding marketers to plan a viral campaign 91
  4.1 Strategy within the Buyer Persona Spring 96
  4.2 The action learning cycle 97
  4.3 The action learning cycle within the Buyer
Persona Spring 97
  4.4 Strategy stage 98
  4.5 Campaign stage 99
  4.6 Tactics stage 99
  4.7 Assess stage 100
  4.8 Updating (Evolving Strategy) stage 100
  5.1 The implication of marketing actions across an organisation 116
  5.2 The Project Triangle 119
  5.3 The Digital Project Triangle 120
  5.4 The digital marketing implementation cycles 121
  5.5 The nine steps of the digital marketing campaign
implementation cycle 122
  5.6 Keyword research tool data showing seasonality 122
 Figures xv
  5.7 Communications plan 130
  5.8 An example of a basic project management Gantt chart 131
  5.9 Risk register 133
  6.1 Brand building with the Buyer Persona Spring 140
  6.2 Embedding your brand’s value within your organisation 141
  6.3 Brand alignment or misalignment in the Buyer
Persona Spring 142
  6.4 The Brand Equity Pyramid 144
  6.5 The centrality of a blog in your brand development 148
  6.6 Owned, paid and earned content and channels 149
 6.7 Sailing Logic logo 153
 6.8 Sailing Logic brand 154
 6.9 Audacy logo 158
  7.1 Screenshot of Google SERP for search term ‘Salford
Business School’, including the knowledge graph on the
right-hand side of the page 166
  7.2 Selecting keywords in order of action priority 171
  7.3 Short tail vs long tail keywords 172
 7.4 Google AdWords keyword research data for ‘Valentine’s Day
flowers’172
  7.5 The HERO, HUB, HELP framework 174
  7.6 Thematically organised website structure 175
  7.7 Traditional website architecture 175
  7.8 Navigational breadcrumbs 176
  7.9 Title tag code and its visual impact 177
 7.10 Bing SERP for ‘Salford Business School’ search term 178
 7.11 Google SERP with tags, titles and URL 178
  7.12 Salford Business School image search results 181
  7.13 ‘Click here’ SERP on Google183
  7.14 Robots.txt example from the www.businessculture.org
website185
  7.15 ‘Florist in Manchester’ SERP, with star ratings and NAP
information186
  8.1 Main functions for social media use 191
 8.2 Instagram account for Public Desire193
  8.3 The 1 per cent rule of Internet culture 196
  8.4 A blog and a website are pivotal channels in your social
media strategy 198
  8.5 A network map of Salford City Football Club Twitter
followers using NodeXL 204
 8.6 Always #LikeAGirl Google SERP 205
  8.7 Tweet by Mari Smith 209
  9.1 Content marketing cycle 215
 9.2 Google trends 217
xvi  Figures
  9.3 Salford Business School blog 233
  9.4 Screenshot of Google Analytics for Salford Business School
blog, 1 January 2014 to 1 January 2015 233
10.1 Paid search results on search engine results page (SERP) 239
10.1.1 Text ads 241
10.1.2 Image ads 241
10.1.3 Video ads 241
10.1.4 Mobile ads 241
10.1.5 Ad extensions 242
10.2 Example of AdWords Quality Score breakdown 242
10.3 Search engine market share in Europe by leads to websites
of organisations, February 2016 244
10.4 Grouping ads into ad groups 247
10.5 Social media market share in Europe by leads to websites
of organisations, February 2016 251
10.6 The affiliate marketing process 255
11.1 The impact of mobile technology on consumers 262
11.2 Your website on different devices 264
11.3 Encoding your messages 272
12.1 Web analytics framework 288
12.2 Google Analytics design 291
12.3 Behaviour flow 292
13.1 The Digital Business Maturity Model 303
13.2 A model for a future information strategy 313
Tables

  0.1 The digital marketing challenge matrix 11

  1.1 Signals of failure for a digital strategy 28
  1.2 The seven steps towards improving digital engagements 32
  1.3 A description of the Digital Business Maturity Model 35
  1.4 The principles of a SWOT analysis 38
  1.5 The Ansoff Matrix 39
  2.1 The SWOT Matrix 61
  2.2 Simplified SWOT analysis of an e-commerce website 61
  3.1 Market segmentation variables 70
  3.2 Using the sub-strategies of the Buyer Persona Spring to
increase trust and reduce pain touchpoints 87
  4.1 Defining your buyer persona 95
  4.2 Tools to convert your campaign into specific activities 99
  4.3 The benefits of content, channel and data strategies to your
buyer persona 101
  4.4 Channels, content and data advice for maximising
engagement with your buyer persona 103
  4.5 All your objectives must be SMART 105
  4.6 Digital marketing KPIs used by companies (%) 106
  4.7 Guidelines for digital and social media strategy development
(8Cs Model) 107
  4.8 Acquiring customers 107
  4.9 Retaining customers 108
  4.10 Actions to build your brand 108
  4.11 Marketing tactics, relevant campaigns and their desired
outcomes111
  4.12 Example of calls-to-action 112
  5.1 Main methods of marketing budget planning 126
  5.2 The responsibilities of project management 129
  6.1 The AIDA model for content creation 157
  7.1 What a keyword reveals about your buyer persona’s intention 167
  7.2 Description and title tag length recommendations 179
  7.3 KPIs for SEO optimisation 188
xviii  Tables
  8.1 Main strategies for social media use in organisations 191
  9.1 Content marketing goals, metrics and tools 232
10.1 Common types of paid advertisements 241
10.2 Effectiveness of different placements of Facebook ads
in Europe, fourth quarter 2014 253
10.3 Sample KPIs and monitoring tools for paid digital
marketing257
11.1 Differences between mobile responsive websites and
mobile applications 265
Contributors

Alexander Christov, University of National and World Economy (UNWE),

Bulgaria
Ana Cruz, University of Sheffield International Faculty, CITY College, Greece
Alex Fenton, Salford Business School, University of Salford, UK
Gordon Fletcher, Salford Business School, University of Salford, UK
Rimantas Gatautis, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
Verena Hausmann, Universität Koblenz-Landau, Germany
Sayed Ali Hayder, Salford Business School, University of Salford, UK
Aleksej Heinze, Salford Business School, University of Salford, UK
Sophie Iredale, Salford Business School, University of Salford, UK
Ashley Jones, Events Director, Social Chain, UK
Stelios Karatzas, University of Sheffield International Faculty, CITY College,
Greece
Bartłomiej Kurzyk, University of Łódź, Poland
Mostafa Mohamad, Salford Business School, University of Salford, UK
Tahir Rashid, Salford Business School, University of Salford, UK
Milanka Slavova, University of National and World Economy (UNWE),
Bulgaria
Ivan Stoychev, University of National and World Economy (UNWE), Bulgaria
Anna Tarabasz, University of Łódź, Poland
Elena Vitkauskaitė, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
Martin J Williams, Managing Director, UKcopywriting.com, UK
Sue Williams, Universität Koblenz-Landau, Germany
Acknowledgements

We would like to thank our international advisory board members and all the
contributors who have offered their feedback on the ideas of this book:

Barry Adams – Managing Director – Polemic Digital – UK

Dawn Anderson – Director – Digital Marketing & SEO Search Strategy Con-
sultant – Move It Marketing – UK
Olga Andrienko – Head of Social Media – SEMrush – Russia
Tomasz Bartosz Kalinowski – Project manager, University of Łódź – Poland
Anjlee Bhatt – Chief Conversationalist and Caffeine Enthusiast – Pressed
Media – UK
James Bowman – Business Manager – Integral Healthcare Partnership – UK
Christina Chokoeva – Marketing Manager – DINO Ltd – Bulgaria
Aisha Choudhry – Head of Search – Fast Web Media – UK
Vida Davidaviciene – Head of Department of Business Technologies – Vilnius
Gediminas Technical University – Lithuania
Carla Dawson – Digital Marketing Strategist – xdawson.com – Argentina
Ian Dodson – Co-Founder and Director – Digital Marketing Institute –
Ireland
Richard Dron – Technical Innovation Officer – Salford Business School – UK
Alex Fenton – Lecturer in Digital Business – Salford Business School – UK
Joana Ferreira – Digital Marketing Manager – Fast Web Media – UK
Richard George – Managing Partner – MEC Manchester – UK
Briony Gunson – Digital Content Account Director – MEC Manchester – UK
Christopher Hackett – Data and Solutions Engineer – Fast Web Media – UK
Sophie Iredale – Researcher – Salford Business School – UK
Emilis Jarockis – Co-Founder and Marketing Manager – Sinergija verslui –
Lithuania
Chris Kent – Digital Marketing Strategist, Chartered Marketer & Author of
21st Century Marketing – Isle of Man
Błażej Kupaj – Sales and Marketing Manager – Lacan Technologies – Poland
Georgi Malchev – Managing Partner – Xplora.bg Company – Bulgaria
Cathal Melinn – Digital Media Manager – Digital Marketing Institute –
Ireland
 Acknowledgements xxi
Susan Patch – Marketer – E-Learning Squared – Canada
Adrian Solomon – Project Manager of South East European Research Centre –
Greece
Colin Telford – Managing Partner of The Candidate Ltd – UK  
Diana Tolockaite – Digital Marketing Executive – Fast Web Media – UK
Jo Turnbull – Organiser of Search London – UK
Regimantas Urbanas – Marketing Manager, Baltics – Google Lithuania, UAB –
Lithuania
Rolandas Urka – Co-Founder and Director – Sinergija verslui – Lithuania
Elena Vasilieva – Project Manager of Salford Business School, University of
Salford – UK
Marc Wilson – Business Manager – Focus Independent Adult Social Work
CIC – UK

Students
Mariam Ali – Student at Salford Business School – UK
Elsa Bota – Student at University of Sheffield International Faculty, CITY
College – Greece
Cariad Fiddy – Student at Salford Business School – UK
Emily Goddard – Student at Salford Business School – UK
Nadia Latif – Student at Salford Business School – UK
Lia Nersisyan – Student at University of Sheffield International Faculty, CITY
College – Greece
Felicia Siavalas – Student at University of Sheffield International Faculty, CITY
College – Greece
Shazia Ullah – Student at Salford Business School – UK
Mohammed Waqar – Student at Salford Business School – UK

This book has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the
Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the
information contained therein.
Definitions of terms

Affiliate marketing – is a commission-based arrangement where refer-

ring sites receive a commission on sales or leads sent on to merchants’
e-commerce sites. Commissions can be fixed per lead or action or an
agreed-upon percentage of the purchase.
AIDA model – Attention, Interest, Desire and Action model. This model
was developed in 1893 in traditional advertising content evaluation
and refined by many, including Elmo Lewis (1872–1948). It is used to
evaluate the quality of marketing communication content, which should
attract the Attention of the audience by focusing on the benefits of the
product or service, raise the audience’s Interest, offer evidence that it
will meet their needs, hence raising their Desire, and finally, have a call-
to-Action which could be tracked for measuring the success of content
engagement.
Anchor text – text that appears as a web link to a human web page user as
well as a search engine.
Black hat SEO – method of gaming the search engine algorithm to achieve
high search engine ranking by breaking the search engine guidelines, for
example through buying incoming links from spammy and irrelevant web-
sites. Black hat SEO is also referred to as spamdexing, search spam, web
spam, search engine spam or search engine poisoning, amongst others.
Buyer persona – is a fictitious representation of your customer which is based
on your market research data and usually includes demographics, loca-
tions, national and regional culture, socio-economic background, decision-
making patterns, their ‘pain points’ and ‘hot points’, the keywords they
might use on search engines and social networks that they might engage
with, and other information that helps marketers to focus content towards
buyers’ needs.
Collaterals – or marketing collaterals is the set of media assets produced for
communicating messages about a product or service. This could include,
for example, web pages, social media hashtags, apps, traditional print bro-
chures, leaflets and video.
Critical mass – the minimum size of a community needed to sustain a com-
munity or make a community viable.
 Definitions of terms xxiii
Customer – an individual who has made a purchase from you in the past if
you are a business or – for a non-transactional organisation such as a health
advice centre – a recorded interaction where value has been exchanged,
such as advice given or medicine prescribed.
Digital marketing strategy – is a long-term set of priorities (over three to
five years) for engagement of an organisation using relevant channels, con-
tent and data with the specific buyer persona.
EEA – the European Economic Area is the largest economic marketplace in
the world and creates an economic bond amongst EEA country member
states.
Emergent strategy – development of a pattern of activities which start with
actions and practices that over time become successful routines, and are
documented in contrast to a prescriptive strategy where a long-term plan
is developed which informs a pattern of regular activities.
EU – the European Union unites most of the European countries in a politico-
economical bond.
Fold – on a web page an imaginary line where the screen ends and a user
has to scroll to see further content. The name is carried on from news-
papers, where usually you can only see one section of a paper before it
is folded.
Hashtag – a word or a number prefixed with a # sign which is used to develop
topics on social media networks. For example, the hashtag for this book is
#passion4digital.
Hot point – the issues and topics that are considered important by the target
audience, for example, efficiency in customer service. See also ‘pain point’.
HTML – Hypertext Markup Language. A standardised language to tag content
on web pages which facilitates the World Wide Web (WWW) in order to
make it accessible to web browsers and other web content readers such as
search engines.
Keyword – a significant search query which comprises one word or a series
of words that are used by search engine visitors, and has been methodically
determined considering the Relevance, Specificity, Popularity and Com-
petition for this term.
Keyword map – a list of keywords methodically developed for a particular
organisation, which take into account organisational strategy and its ser-
vices and products when it comes to deciding the focus of the web proper-
ties to be developed.
Long tail keyword – a search term that comprises three or more words which
are used by individuals who are closer to their purchase decision compared
to those who use a ‘short tail keyword’. For example,‘Nikon D3200 Digital
SLR Camera in Black’ is a long tail keyword.
Metadata – information that is used to describe data; for example, a book has
metadata that includes a book title, the author and the year of publication.
A web page metadata includes similar fields, including two very important
fields for search engines – page title and page description. If a web page has
xxiv  Definitions of terms
metadata defined for a page title and description, these tend to be displayed
on a search engine results page (SERP).
Organic SEO – a method where search engine rankings are improved using
methods that do not rely on payment for individual visitor clicks. This
method relies on strategies such as content marketing, where the emphasis
is placed on developing relevant and useful content which attracts external
links and social shares and is developed around strategic keywords.
Paid Search Marketing – pay-per-click or PPC is part of Search Engine
Marketing. It differs from ‘organic’ or ‘natural’ Search Engine Optimisation
(SEO), as it involves paid advertising. In essence, PPC is a text-based ad
with a link to a company page that is displayed to a user when their key-
word query matches a phrase chosen by the advertiser. The advertiser pays
a fee for predefined actions by the user. Although this is usually a click on
the ad, there are other charging methods, as PPC may additionally involve
advertising through a display/content network of third-party sites – these
are described as cost-per-click (CPC), cost-per-mille (CPM) or cost-
per-action (CPA).
Pain point – issues that are considered common challenges by our buyer per-
sona, for example, high energy costs. See also ‘hot point’.
PPC – see Paid Search Marketing.
PPC SEO – a method of optimising the paid advertising campaigns.This relies
on strategies such as click-through optimisation, which increases the num-
ber of relevant people clicking on an ad as a reduced cost to the advertiser.
Primary keyword – a search term that is used as a ‘focus keyword’ on a par-
ticular digital profile page and describes the main aspect of the content
being developed. For example, a web page should have one primary key-
word and two or three secondary keywords.
Prospects – individuals who have the potential to become your customers.
The main, simple difference between a prospect and a customer is that the
customer has made a purchase from you in the past whilst the prospect has
not.
rel=nofollow – an HTML tag used by some search engines to determine
if a link should be used as endorsement and hence increase the ranking
authority of a web page.
Secondary keyword – a search term that is used as a supporting term on a
digital profile page and does not describe the main aspect of the content,
as opposed to the primary keyword.
Seed keyword – a search term that is entered into a keyword research tool
with the intention of discovering related terms.
SEO – Search Engine Optimisation. A method of improving the position of an
online profile such as a website or a social media profile in SERPs.
SERP – Search Engine Results Page – the web page that displays the results to
a search query and usually lists the top ten answers. The web pages gener-
ated by a search engine are based on its index of the Web at the time of a
search query.
 Definitions of terms xxv
Short tail keyword – a search query term that comprises one or two words.
Typically these terms are used by individuals who are in the early stages
of their search for information, compared to those who use a ‘long tail
keyword’.
Sitemap – a protocol used by the major search engines to read the web pages
of a website. The sitemaps.org website outlines the standards used: www.
sitemaps.org/
SMART objective – a Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely
statement that breaks down a wider aim. Objectives can be set at an organ-
isational, business or campaign level. Once objectives are set, these are
reviewed on a regular basis in order to learn from them before they are
revised for the next round of continuous improvement.
SPAM – generally used in an email context where a large quantity of unsoli-
cited emails is received. However, SPAM also occurs on online forums
where repeat and often off-topic messages are posted simply for the gain
of visibility, as well as links from the forum. In a search engines context,
SPAM is considered to be any action that violates the fair use guidelines of
a search engine and tends to include actions which are exclusively made to
game the search engine ranking algorithm.
Thin content – a web page that does not add any value for the visitor. It tends
to have a lot of adverts and no original content. The number of words is
always a determinant factor for the thinness of a page, but web pages with
a low number of words (under 500) would likely be considered thin.
UK – United Kingdom.
URL – Universal Resource Locator – it is the unique address of a web page
on the World Wide Web.
USA – United States of America.
Section I

Introduction
 visual introduction to
A
Digital and Social Media
Marketing
Gordon Fletcher, Salford Business School,
University of Salford, UK

This book takes a practical approach. Regardless of whether you are running
a flower shop in Krakow, a bookstore in Glasgow or a multinational in Thes-
saloniki, there will be useful lessons to be found throughout the book. Being
practical also means that this book is ‘always strategic’ about digital marketing.
Attention is always turned towards those who buy your goods or services and
how you can have ongoing sustainable interaction with them.
The importance of marketing is significant for all facets of an organisation.
In this book we present an approach to digital business that is described as
‘marketing first’. For your organisation this will come to place digital market-
ing at the heart of everything you do and will contribute to all of the key
business decisions that you make. A marketing first approach to digital business
shapes and changes your organisation to respond to changing business prac-
tices, global markets, including new competitors, and the increased expecta-
tion of transparency and engagement from your customers. It is not simply
about generating a short-term boost in sales. All of the actions described in
the book have an impact on the way that a business functions and, over time,
contribute to a realignment and digital maturing of your organisation. As a
business recognises the pivotal importance of data in the operation of all its
functions, the business itself changes as it progresses through the Digital Busi-
ness Maturity Model (Figure 0.1) – a model that we explain in detail in later
chapters.
This chapter introduces the concepts of Digital and Social Media Market-
ing through a visual device that we describe as the ‘Buyer Persona Spring’
(Figure 0.2). Step by step through this chapter we will explain the value and
purpose of the Spring and each of its elements with the goal of connecting
you – and your organisation – in an ongoing and sustainable way with your
customers.
The Spring will also guide you through the rest of this book as we explain
the key concepts and activities that are currently used in Digital and Social
Media Marketing. This structured explanation of the concepts will give you a
clear basis for understanding and applying the marketing actions that we rec-
ommend as world leading practice throughout the rest of this book.
4  Fletcher

Leve l 4 : T h e F u t u r e

Leve l 3 : Integra l

Leve l 2 : “ E ” - E n g a g e m e n t

Leve l 1 : P r e s e n c e

Leve l 0 : N o n - d i g i t a l

Figure 0.1 The Digital Business Maturity Model

Figure 0.2 The Buyer Persona Spring

Your Strategy

Channels Content Data

Your Organisation Your Buyer Persona

(You)

Figure 0.3 The Buyer Persona Spring now labelled

The Spring (Figures 0.2 and 0.3) is composed of three key elements. On

the left is the organisation (you) attempting to engage and interact with your
customers who are represented at the right-hand side of the Spring.You, your
organisation and your customers are complex in their own right and composed
of many parts. We will describe these parts in detail later. The device that con-
nects you to your customers is the Spring itself, which has three loops repre-
senting the three key strategies of all digital marketing. These strategies cover
channels, content and data. By using the Spring to structure your thoughts, this
 A visual introduction 5
book sets out to help you understand your own organisation and your custom-
ers as well as the complexities of maintaining communications with them in a
digital era.
The starting point for understanding digital marketing is found in the answer
to the question, ‘What is a buyer persona?’. To understand all of your custom-
ers we describe and speak to them collectively through the buyer persona.
The buyer persona recognises that you are not just speaking on a one-to-
one individual basis with each customer but instead are speaking with definite
groups of customers who share similar qualities, attributes and attitudes. The
buyer persona is a representation of all your customers and consumers that you
describe (in detail) as part of your strategic planning. In the era of digital com-
munications the buyer persona also recognises that your customers are never all
the same and that their combinations of interests and motivations vary slightly,
between themselves and over time, in relation to you and your products and
services. In the rush to become digital, the era of mass-consumerism and mass-
consumption has quietly disappeared and been overtaken by the rising stars of
e-commerce, custom-made goods and short-run production. Your buyer per-
sona enjoys and appreciates being spoken to as an individual – even if they
are a construct of your own market research – and responds positively to your
considerations.
Making the buyer persona the focus of your attention is acknowledgement
that all marketing – but especially digital marketing – is about building ongoing
positive and context-driven relationships. You want your organisation’s brands
and your products and services to engage with your buyer persona.Your buyer
persona will be a narrative about the optimal buyer, it is an identity that is rec-
ognisable to your consumers and customers and talking to your buyer persona
will create a recognisable and meaningful conversation for them. The buyer
persona is an important recognition that successful digital marketing requires
you to work with all those who ‘engage with’ you rather than solely ‘those who
buy your products and services’. Through your digital marketing strategies and
your engagement with your buyer persona you are engaging not only with
buyers but also potential buyers, influencers, previous buyers (who can become
influencers) and potentially even competitors.
The buyer persona is visually represented in this book by a series of inter-
secting circles that describe the various roles and identities that are often used in
digital marketing texts (Figure 0.4). ‘Users’ are the outermost wrapper category
for the buyer persona. This is the most inclusive category of individuals that
effectively includes everyone who can be engaged through digital channels.
The implication in the label is that an individual ‘uses’ digital media. This is
also tacit recognition that the ‘digital’ of digital marketing has made ‘marketing’
a two-way conversation which diminishes the value of broadcast approaches.
However, increasingly the impact of the digital channels and content, as well as
the importance of data-driven experiences, are also felt by those who do not
engage regularly with digital media. Ineffective and purely tactical marketing
6  Fletcher

Users

Consumers Customers

Consumer Customer

Influencers

Your Buyer Persona

Figure 0.4  Inside the buyer persona

tends to address this category of users. In contrast, strategic approaches to digi-

tal marketing recognise much clearer differentiation of ‘users’. Influencers are
the individuals who influence the buying decisions for themselves and others.
In the context of digital channels, influencers include product reviewers and
bloggers as well as the closer and more traditional influence of, for example,
friends and family. Influencers overlap with all the other categories within the
buyer persona, not as a result of their comparative importance but rather their
complex relationship with all aspects of the buyer persona. This complexity
translates – in marketing terms – into the difficulty that organisations have in
engaging with these individuals in an appropriate manner.
Within the buyer persona are the consumers and customers. Customers are
those who buy your goods and services and are distinct from consumers, who
actually consume and gain benefit from and realise the value of your goods
and services. It is likely that in many if not most cases these two categories
will overlap, but as any retailer of children’s toys, for example, will recognise,
these roles can often represent an important distinction. Within the circles
of the consumers and customers, two further circles represent the individual
consumer and customer. These inner circles remind us that consumers and
customers themselves are also differentiated between individuals within these
categories. Your goal in working with the buyer persona is to gain advantage
 A visual introduction 7
through digital technologies to individually address a specific point of inter-
section within the circle of users that may incorporate influencers, consumers
and customers, and which is recognisable to those who buy and consume your
goods and services.
We use an unlabelled symbol of the buyer persona (Figure 0.5) throughout
the book to reinforce the focus of our discussions and its relationship to the
other elements of the Buyer Persona Spring.

0.1 You and your buyers

Explaining the buyer persona’s role within the Buyer Persona Spring requires
a return to the beginning, with an examination of your relationship with the
people who buy your goods and services – your customers.
The buyer persona has a more complex meaning than that of buyer, con-
sumer or customer. In a simple world, the relationship between you and your
buyers can be represented by a single straight line (Figure 0.6).

Figure 0.5 The buyer persona symbol

Yo u The Buyer

Figure 0.6 The simplistic relationship between your organisation and the buyer