The Digital Marketing Landscape

The Digital Marketing Landscape

Creating a Synergistic Consumer Experience

Jessica L. Rogers
The Digital Marketing Landscape: Creating a Synergistic Consumer Experience

Copyright © Business Expert Press, LLC, 2021.

Cover design by Charlene Kronstedt

Interior design by Exeter Premedia Services Private Ltd., Chennai, India

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,

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First published in 2021 by

Business Expert Press, LLC
222 East 46th Street, New York, NY 10017
www.businessexpertpress.com

ISBN-13: 978-1-63742-034-8 (paperback)

ISBN-13: 978-1-63742-035-5 (e-book)

Business Expert Press Digital and Social Media Marketing and

Advertising Collection

Collection ISSN: 2333-8822 (print)

Collection ISSN: 2333-8830 (electronic)

First edition: 2021

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
 Description

The field of marketing has seen an evolution in how brands communicate

with consumers, how consumers communicate with brands, and how
consumers communicate with one another. Digital technologies such as
mobile phones, the internet, social media, and email contribute to what
is known as the digital marketing landscape. Digital marketing offers
unique ways to meet consumers where they are, engage with potential and
existing consumers, capture the voice of the consumer; allow c­ onsumers
to be part of a brand narrative.
This book is geared towards both students and professionals looking
to explore the ­interconnectedness of digital technologies for marketing
and branding purposes. This book offers an overview of the digital
­marketing landscape and how the various elements of digital can work
synergistically.  When the power of an integrated digital strategy is
­optimized, both consumers and brands benefit.
The Digital Marketing Landscape serves as a practical guide for both
students and ­professionals in a variety of settings. Readers will become
familiar with terminology, ­understand how the different areas of digital
marketing connect and work together, and gain the knowledge needed to
generate valuable and actionable managerial insights for more informed
decision-making.  

Keywords
digital marketing; social media marketing; SEO; SEM; PPC; e-mail
­marketing; content marketing; branding; blogging; online experience
 Contents
Reviewers����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ix
Introduction����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������xiii

Chapter 1 The Digital Brand Experience�������������������������������������������1

Chapter 2 A Framework for Search�������������������������������������������������15
Chapter 3 Social Media to Create and Nurture Relationships����������27
Chapter 4 Mobile and E-Mail as Part of the
Customer Experience������������������������������������������������������41
Chapter 5 Data Driven Decision Making����������������������������������������55
Chapter 6 The Synergistic Relationship�������������������������������������������63

Closing Thoughts����������������������������������������������������������������������������������73
References���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������77
About the Author����������������������������������������������������������������������������������81
Index���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������83
 Reviewers
“A brand is nothing but a promise delivered. Marketing has evolved dramat-
ically, becoming even more present in the digital age. Dr. Jessica Rogers’s book
serves as the perfect guide for anyone looking to understand the intricacies
of branding, marketing, and how each brand delivers on their promises to
their customers.” —Jeffrey Hayzlett, Primetime TV & Podcast Host,
Speaker, Author and Part-Time Cowboy

“It’s never been more essential, and more difficult, to create a delightful, inte-
grated, end-to-end experience for your customer and consumers of your brand.
Dr. Rogers’s book, ‘The Digital Marketing Landscape’, is a welcome and
lucid manual to accomplishing that critical goal. This book is an important
and critical reading for those who realize that how you sell/market is just as
important as what you sell/market.” —Isaac Moche, Senior Manager of
Academy Programs, HubSpot

“Rogers has provided a compelling 31,000-foot view of marketing in the dig-

ital age. As an educator in this area, she is constantly exposed to new ideas
and has a responsibility of sharing these ideas with her students, as is clearly
demonstrated in this book. She has several key takeaways that resonated with
me, to include:

• The idea of “digital marketing” has evolved over time and has now
become an umbrella term to describe the process of using digital
technologies to acquire customers and build customer preferences,
promote brands, retain customers, and increase sales.
• A good marketer knows who their target customers are inside
and out.
• The combination of being a marketing expert who also encompass
some technical skills associated with digital will become a
prerequisite for employment within the field. 
x Reviewers

These are just a few of the many “nuggets” in this book. It is a quick read that
is definitely worth your time.” —Jeff Sheehan, Thought Leader, Sheehan
Marketing Strategies

“This is a perfect book for anyone who wants to improve their understanding
of digital media, email and SEO to apply to a business. Learn how to harness
the power of technology and social media to solve problems and reach your
goals.” —Dr. Nancy Richmond, Professor & Consultant

“Too many businesses take a scattered approach to digital marketing and don’t
leverage the available opportunities. “The Digital Marketing Landscape: Cre-
ating a Synergistic Consumer Experience” takes the reader through a compre-
hensive and synergistic plan to cut through the noise and get results. In a world
of shiny object syndrome, this book puts all the puzzle pieces into place and
ensures you are focusing on the right things. A worthwhile read!” —Melonie
Dodaro, Author of LinkedIn Unlocked

“The Digital Marketing Landscape is an accessible while advancing text.

You’ll get the macro landscape  of marketing, but also get tangible ways to
apply to specific platforms and tools. I loved how Dr. Rogers approached cre-
ating a synergistic consumer experience through the grounding of human con-
nection, authentic content, and truly knowing your community.” —Dr. Josie
Ahlquist, Digital Leadership Author, Consultant, and Speaker

“In this ground-breaking book, Dr. Jessica Rogers deftly presents various
frameworks that help the reader better understand how digital technolo-
gies will continue to underpin successful marketing and branding strategies
over the next decade.  The Digital Marketing Landscape should be on every
marketer›s desk, from the Fortune 500 CMO to the aspiring intern.” —Kent
Huffman, CEO & Fractional CMO, DigiMark Partners

“Your brand’s digital footprint may be more important than your logo, and it
changes daily. All of the digital pieces of a marketing effort must work together
to advance a brand and customer awareness. Whether you call it the “digi-
tal marketing landscape,” “D-Marketingscape,” or “D-IMC,” Dr. Rogers has
provided a practical guide to orchestrating the digital efforts of a company and
 Reviewers xi

brand. This book is an actionable resource for brand managers, marketers,

growth hackers, and students of marketing…” —Gary R. Schirr, Associate
Professor, Radford University

“A must read for anyone in marketing.” —Steve Olenski, The CMO

Whisperer

“Rogers has created a practical roadmap for today’s marketing challenges. Driv-
en by a focus on marketing’s role as architect of an experience, this book plots
the intersections between digital communication assets and the creation of
awareness and brand equity in the marketplace. But unlike discussions preoc-
cupied with one-off viral moments, this is a volume for everyone aspiring to cre-
ate an aligned strategy that delivers lasting value, thereby inspiring action and
loyalty.” —Eric R. Fletcher, Founder/CEO, Eric Fletcher Consulting

“Dr. Jessica Rogers distills the essential knowledge, skills, and abilities for
the modern marketer  to create robust relationships  with their audience,
through digital avenues. This book is a useful tool for learners as well as
marketing practitioners and business owners of all sizes looking to build
their brand.” —Dr. Cali Morrison, Certified Professional Coach,
Founder, Creative Synapse, LLC and Interim Dean, Center for
Professional & Continuing Education, American Public University
System

“In The Digital Marketing Landscape, Rogers integrates digital modes and
technologies to demonstrate to readers how these modes can operate syn-
ergistically. As a practical guide, the book offers much needed advice and
prescriptions for students and marketing professionals alike.” —Dr. Tracy
Tuten, Author of Social Media Marketing
 Introduction
As we go through our day-to-day lives, both professional and personal, it
is imperative to always be learning, and to always be improving so we can
be our best selves. In my role as an educator, I am able to see first-hand
how learning is not only essential for continued growth and fulfillment,
but it also provides learners with a sense of ownership over their own
journey. Learning can also, in many cases, change the trajectory of one’s
life and impact future generations.
It is my hope that this book will provide some direction to the reader,
likely business professionals seeking to digest the main components of the
digital landscape to better understand the intersection of the various plat-
forms, and to be better able to communicate with those who work within
the digital landscape. Or, a future business leader exploring the facets
of digital marketing, with hopes of discovering a passion and potential
career path. Regardless of what prompted you to pick up this book, this
brief read will provide you with a crash course on the various platforms
and tools digital marketers should be familiar with. As you read, pay par-
ticular attention to how the elements can work together. Think about
yourself as a consumer, and how an integrated and strategic approach
may influence your purchase decisions and overall consumer behaviors.
Each chapter offers a few learning objectives to guide your thoughts as
you reflect on the readings. At the end of the text, you will find addi-
tional information surrounding associated certifications that will further
­support your ­learning and add to your employability.
The American Marketing Association defines marketing as “the activ-
ity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, deliv-
ering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients,
partners, and society at large (American Marketing Association 2020).
So therefore, it stands to reason the idea of focusing on the value creation
in our digital efforts is a key component of marketing efforts. Through
the strategic process of creating content and sharing content as market-
ers via digital platforms, we are creating relevance and value. Although
xiv Introduction

this may come in a variety of forms, the focus on the creation of value
is paramount. As you read about the various digital platforms, players,
and tools, how can you create value for your customers? What do your
customers deem as valuable?
I hope to inspire you to embark on your own digital exploration
and begin to utilize digital more fully to tell your brand’s story, while
also allowing the consumer to contribute to the narrative. It is my hope
that this text will spark new and innovative ideas on how you can utilize
­digital tools more effectively if you are already involved in some form of
­digital marketing, or to use digital in new and innovative ways within
your industry.
 CHAPTER 1

The Digital Brand

Experience
Learning Objectives
• Understand how organizations promote brand awareness and
differentiation through current digital technologies.
• Understand strategic marketing approaches for optimizing
exposure of brand narratives across digital platforms.
• Explore the idea of Inbound Marketing and how digital
­supports this method.

The field of marketing has seen an evolution in how brands communicate

with consumers, how consumers communicate with brands, and how
consumers communicate with one another. Digital technologies such as
mobile phones, the Internet, social media, and e-mail contribute to what
is known as the digital marketing landscape. The digital landscape goes
above and beyond what the traditional forms of communication such
as print, radio, and TV are able to contribute to building brands and
impacting interest (Kannan and Li 2017). Digital offers the ability to
reach customers to promote products and services, while also providing
significant value to customers, and contribute to branding efforts. Digital
marketing has evolved, and the associated digital technologies are creat-
ing value in new ways through new customer experiences, through new
types of interactions, and through a series of new adaptive touch points
­(Kannan and Li 2017). Given its unique ability to engage consumers and
communities, digital can be a very powerful tool for not only building
brands, but strengthening relationships as well (Aaker 2015). Digital is
no longer future state; it is here and now. A well-crafted digital market-
ing strategy will help an organization build a strong online reputation,
increase brand awareness, encourage traffic, and lead to conversions that
2 The Digital Marketing Landscape

will result in increased customers, sales, growth, and success (Ahuja and
Loura 2018).
When you think about the components of the digital marketing
landscape, consider your daily interactions with the many marketing
messages from the perspective of a consumer. For example, you are in the
market for a pair of new running shoes. Your first inclination may be to
Google “running shoes for high arches.” This search will result in several
suggested articles, advertisements, or other content ranging from branded
material to unbranded material from this search. You may then read sev-
eral articles associated with the search, be pulled toward retailer sites, or
even be exposed to information that will alter your initial search. The
typical consumer will read reviews on retailer websites, read blog posts
and other articles related to the purchasing decision, ask friends via social
media, and they may even be doing this all from a mobile device. Should
the consumer be performing these searches and research via mobile
device, there’s also the opportunity to simply complete the process and
make a purchase with a click of a button.
In this very rudimentary example, the components of the digital
­marketing landscape create an “experience” for the consumer. All of these
elements (websites, images, social media content, mobile application con-
tent, and more) should portray the same brand image in the consumers’
mind and convey the same marketing messages, while also contributing
to overall branding efforts. Imagine the various elements of digital mar-
keting technologies as a piece of a puzzle. Each piece fits with other pieces
(hopefully seamlessly) to result in a cohesive picture.
While the basic principles of marketing have remained the same,
the ways in which we accomplish marketing goals have seen significant
advancements in recent years. Among the many challenges for marketers
today is the creation and retention of loyal customer groups (Aaker and
Marcum 2017). The digital landscape of today adds many complexities
to brand building such as ever-changing media, on-demand expectations,
consumers now having more control, the difficulties associated with effec-
tive integration of messages, and the subsequent impact on delivering
on brand customer experiences. Marketers must also compete with more
“noise” than ever before to reach consumers. The consumer of today has
a much shorter attention span than in the past and many have embraced
 The Digital Brand Experience 3

an “on-demand” mentality. Digital marketing offers unique ways to meet

consumers where they are and to break through the “noise.” Digital allows
brands to engage with potential and existing consumers and to capture
the voice of the consumer, all the while allowing consumers to be part
of a brand’s marketing message and narrative. New and innovative tech-
nologies are allowing marketers to target specific audiences with person-
alized digital content that contributes to the development of consumer
awareness, facilitate sales, and impacts trust and loyalty. Content that is
informative, entertaining, functional, and resonates with the audience is
a backbone for a strategic approach.
One of the most valuable assets an organization has is the brand
names associated with their products or services (Keller 2013). The key
to effective branding is for consumers to perceive differences between
brands in a particular category; utilizing digital allows marketers to make
those differences more recognizable through a strategic narrative. Digi-
tal marketing, and the associated digital brand engagement, involves a
disciplined and strategic approach to ensure more meaningful and inti-
mate connections. Just as a logo is considered part of a brand, a brand’s
digital footprint is as well. From a company webpage, to its social media
profiles, to its e-mail content, and mobile applications, it all represents a
brand and contributes to a narrative surrounding that brand. The notion
of a “brand” via a marketing lens is important as it helps to achieve a
competitive advantage (Kapferer 2004). If leveraged appropriately, all
of these assets help to create meaningful connections and opportunities
to engage with consumers. The development of a strong brand iden-
tity over several digital channels is considered digital branding (Poulis
et al. 2017). Digital channels offer much more flexibility in terms of the
length of content, costs, and availability as opposed to traditional media
such as magazines or television. As we proceed through this book, think
about how the platforms and tools can be used to create and broadcast
this narrative. Reflect on the narratives you consume each day in your
personal and professional lives. How do these narratives impact your
behavior as a consumer?
Brand awareness relates to brand recognition and brand recall (Keller
2013), and it plays an important role in the consumer decision-making
process. When a consumer is confronted with multiple brands, will they
4 The Digital Marketing Landscape

be able to recognize a brand as one they have previously been exposed to;
will they recall a brand from memory when thinking of a specific brand
category? Consider how these elements impact a purchase decision, and
how digital can help with brand awareness via social media posts, digi-
tal advertisements, e-mail communications, and other digital platforms.
Once an organization has established a sufficient level of awareness for the
brand, the next step is creating a brand’s image. The brand image reflects
the perceptions consumers may have of the brand. Brand awareness and
positing brand image directly correlates to brand equity. And to build
brand equity, you must shape how consumers think and feel about your
product (Keller 2013).
An organization’s website may detail offerings and host additional
content to contribute to brand image, while their social profiles share
similar content, but also allow for engagement with their audience. Simi-
larly, the organization’s e-mail database offers a direct path to a consumer
to pull them along through the decision-making and purchase-making
process, while an associated branded mobile application facilitates the
purchase process or engagement with the brand. An organization may
have an excellent product or service, but in what ways are they able to
communicate this with consumers and potential customers while also
facilitating engagement with the company? Marketers have many more
tools in their toolbelt than just a decade ago. The idea of branding is not
new, but it has become an actionable buzzword in the marketing land-
scape as we see new digital technologies abound that are breathing new
life to almost extinct brands.
Digital marketing does not solely revolve around digital tools and
data. Effective digital marketers understand the relationship between
the various digital platforms and associated tools, and the intersection
with an organization’s overall marketing strategy. Further, they under-
stand the relationship between the brand and the consumer and how to
best engage digitally in a meaningful, personalized, and relevant man-
ner. They understand customers are connected and informed, as well as
empowered. And, they understand digital marketing contributes to the
future of a brand and the customer experience. The creation of an excel-
lent digital experience takes into account all facets of digital marketing
as one cohesive unit.
 The Digital Brand Experience 5

When considering a strategy for digital, one must begin with goals.
As we know, goals should speak to an organization’s defined mission and
vision. These goals will inform each area of your strategic approach to
digital. These goals will also scaffold to the tactics you choose to use via
digital technologies, and ultimately how you will measure success. When
formulating a digital strategy, it is paramount to be extremely specific
with setting goals as you begin to strategize. As you try to determine the
goals of your strategy, think about how your efforts might tie to rebranding
or branding, promoting brand awareness, differentiating your product
or service from the competition, communicating value propositions,
impacting consumer sentiment, promoting your organization’s unique
selling proposition, and more. As goals become more clearly defined, one
is better able to see how each of the digital technologies will contribute.
In the past, we relied on the one-to-many approach; we had to push
our messages to mass audiences with little differentiation in content or
target audience. The message from brand to consumer is then perceived
by the consumer as advertising, and thus less meaningful. In today’s dig-
ital environment, we are able to provide a much richer experience for
both the consumer and the organization. Marketers are able to contribute
to brand building by essentially giving a brand a digital personality and
making sustained connections with consumers through digital channels.
Through a variety of consumer experiences or marketing activities, many
brands take on personality traits or values. Digital channels allow a brand
to exhibit human-like characteristics like humor, authority, fun-loving,
trustworthy, warm, or even glamorous.
Customers often interact with brands as though they are real live
­people (Aaker 1996), and we see this play out on social media in particu-
lar. It is not uncommon for brands to embrace their unique personalities
within their Tweets on Twitter; it has even become a trend for brands to
do this with one another using catchy hashtags and GIFs. A brand may
choose to create this image and personality via digital technologies such
as social media posts, viral videos, visuals on websites and in e-mails, and
more. It is worth noting that once a personality has been established, it
becomes very difficult for a consumer to accept anything that is incon-
gruent to that personality. Consumers tend to choose brands that have a
brand personality that is consistent or much like their own self-concept.
6 The Digital Marketing Landscape

They may relate to the image and reputation of a brand that defines their
perceived unique behavioral characteristics. However, some consumers
may align with a brand based on their own desired image as opposed to
their actual image. Consumers may find it aspirational to be identified
with brand signs and symbols; there can be symbolic associations for the
consumer.
Consumers and brands today now have many touch points, and
thus, many opportunities to ensure a consolidated “branded” message.
­However, it is important to understand that the notion of branding is not
simply the logo, the product, or the service. It is much more than that; it
also encompasses customer service, employees, brand-generated content
and user-generated content, engagement via digital channels, and more.
Simply having more touch points does not equate to increased influence
(Kotler et al. 2017). Brands need to push to differentiate themselves in
meaningful ways, connect with customers in ways that add value, and
focus efforts on leveraging the power of digital connectivity to strengthen
relationships. Marketers need to drive initiatives across an organization to
ensure a brand delivers on its promises everywhere along the consumer
journey.
Brand strategies help to establish a clear and distinctive identity for
your products, services, and the organization overall (Romo et al. 2017).
The importance of building your brand internally cannot be understated.
When employees know the reason a brand exists, and the mission and
vision behind strategic initiatives, they will find a higher sense of pur-
pose. Internal branding impacts everyone from the frontline employee
who deals directly with the consumer, to those working in nonconsumer-
facing roles. This is especially important for service-oriented firms
such as Southwest Airlines and specialty retailers like Nordstrom. The
consistent external branding messages must also be consistent internally.
Employees who “get it” will be imperative to all digital initiatives from
user experience design, to content creation, to content curation, to those
who engage via social on behalf of the brand, and all the way to the
employee who may be interacting with consumers offline in a brick and
mortar facility.
Branding is based on making human and emotional connections. Our
consumer of today in this digital environment demands that connection
 The Digital Brand Experience 7

and personal attention. In order for a brand to thrive, the brand must
work to create an emotional connection with customers that cannot be
easily replicated. Brands that are able to foster a sense of community and
resonate with the consumer will be able to sustain disruptive and turbu-
lent times. The importance of achieving that emotional connection can-
not be understated. Marketers must strive to develop and uplift brands
in order to secure emotional investment along with market share. Strong
brands are critical financial assets that will contribute to sustainable
growth over time.
It has never been more important for a brand to authentically
­communicate who they are, what they stand for, what they do, and how
the consumer perceives them, than ever before. A brand is built through
brand attitude, brand attachment, brand involvement, brand personality,
customer delight, and brand experience (Brakus et al. 2009). The brand
experience in the digital age should be one that helps create a connected
and customer-obsessed experience. Brands that are able to distinguish
themselves among consumers will have a leg up, and how they choose to
do this impacts all points of strategic digital marketing. In a time where
consumers have so many options for purchases, effective branding and
brand building in a very strategic and integrated way will differentiate the
winners from losers.

Customers, Target Audiences, and Buyer Personas

Customers today expect a certain level of authenticity and relevancy and
have somewhat higher expectations. As marketers, we are charged with
meeting their needs and expectations at the right time with the right offer,
via the right channel. The idea of throwing out many approaches and see-
ing what “sticks” (like cooking pasta) is by no means effective or sustain-
able. Here is where the idea of a target market or target audience comes in
to play. A target market, or more specifically, a target audience, describes
a particular audience of consumers who will find your product or service
the most relevant. The term target audience is generally more popular
among business to consumer (B2C) companies than business to business
(B2B). The identification of a target market or audience will allow you to
tailor your strategy to fit the target. Targeting is a fundamental aspect of
8 The Digital Marketing Landscape

a brand strategy (Kotler et al. 2017). However, there are still companies
who feel that everyone, or everyone who buys their product or service, is
a target. This could not be further from the truth. This view is held by
those who presume if you market to all, all will buy. Instead, ask yourself
who is the end user, and who is not the end user.
Understanding consumers is fundamental to traditional marketing;
it is also fundamental to digital marketing. A good marketer knows who
their target customers are inside and out. As we look to the online or dig-
ital customer, this becomes even more important, given the geographic
barriers are less confining and attitudes in online shopping differ than
brick and mortar. Interestingly, a consumer may actually behave differ-
ently in the digital space as a consumer than they do in the traditional
offline landscape. A solid understanding is absolutely paramount in order
to craft an effective strategy regardless of the product, service, marketing
channel you may utilize and more. The creation of profiles that identify
the needs of the consumer allows for a much more strategic approach
to marketing efforts. Also important in this work is the identification
of problems your target audience may have that your company can
solve. This work can then be translated to multiple channels with the
digital landscape.
When planning a strategic approach to digital marketing, along with
setting goals and exploring target audiences, consider: Who do we want
to show our marketing messages to? What technologies do they use? Does
it make more sense to send marketing messages out via Twitter? Or does it
make more sense to utilize e-mail marketing? The identification of a tar-
get audience will impact nearly every facet of your strategy. It will impact
the images you use, the content you share, the platform you choose to
share it on, the keywords you utilize, and the tools you leverage through-
out implementation. Through digital, marketers are able to increase their
reach by exposing advertisements and/or content to a new audience, or
reinforce brand messages with the use of a current and defined segment
(Poulis et al. 2017). This highly defined target becomes easy to identify
through effective use of data that comes from a variety of sources such as
web history, social media postings, and user profiles.
Also important in this planning stage is the idea of buyer personas.
Buyer personas are somewhat fictional character representations of your
 The Digital Brand Experience 9

preferred user or buyer based on marketing research and what you know
about your existing customer. Notice the difference between a buyer
persona and a target audience. Your target audience may be a group of
the population you wish to target your marketing messages to. However,
a buyer persona offers significantly more detail; it allows you a more
insightful look at motivations and goals. A buyer persona is used more
often by the B2B segment and is considered a subset of an ideal customer
profile. Identifying and defining the types of people who will be most
receptive to your product or service (or solution to their problem) is the
first step to an effective buyer persona.
The process of creating a buyer persona is much like target audience
identification: you will explore demographic, psychographic, and behav-
ioral information. But with buyer persona, you will go a bit further to
explore goals and motivations as well. The notion of creating and utiliz-
ing a persona embodies a consumer-centered approach. Personas were
initially created by Cooper (1999) as a way to create a hypothetical user.
Personas are able to provide a means for capturing both qualitative and
quantitative data in an easy to digest manner; however, some believe cre-
ating personas leads to stereotypes (Turner and Turner 2011). It is very
common for marketers to utilize a buyer persona when strategizing and
brainstorming about marketing messages. We want these messages to res-
onate and evoke action. In order to do this, we need to know about the
buyer on a much deeper level.
Buyer personas are often a product of research, surveys, and interviews
of multiple types of people. You may research a mix of customers, pros-
pects, and even others outside of your contacts database who might align
with your target audience. It is not uncommon to create a character
based on these personas with a fictitious name and image. These images
or characters are used by marketers to create a more intimate relation-
ship by being able to envision who these persons are and what motivates
them. The creation and utilization of personas in marketing embodies a
user-centric approach. Having a deep understanding of your buyer perso-
nas will help in your planning for just about anything related to customer
acquisition and retention. The customer persona, in general, informs the
customer journey map. This customer journey is a sequence of points
where a consumer has direct or indirect touch points with a product
10 The Digital Marketing Landscape

brand or service. The customer experience at each of these touch points

impacts the perceived relationship quality between brand and consumer.
Keep in mind that these touch points may occur offline and online, and
this journey is structured sequentially. Once armed with a buyer persona,
it becomes much easier to determine the best course of action for creat-
ing and disseminating marketing messages as part of a digital strategy or
campaign.

Inbound Marketing
The idea of sending one-to-many communications is no longer as effective
as it once was. Organizations need to promote themselves through digital
technologies to bring customers to the brand. Marketers must look to pull
the consumer to the brand and guide them through the customer journey
in a one-on-one scenario. Thus, it is important to understand what the
customer journey looks like from the consumer point of view. A customer
journey map is imperative as it will provide data to inform decision mak-
ing. Both the consumer and the brand must actively participate in this
process to make meaningful connections and create experiences that are
valuable for both parties. These connections contribute to the customer
experience and build upon branding initiatives. Digital mediums offer
marketers a measurable way to strategically initiate connections with pro-
spective consumers. Digital also allows for personalization, building trust
and relationships, facilitating real-time engagement, and impacting cus-
tomer retention and associated strategies. All of these elements contribute
to the digital brand experience.
Nearly every business will strategically focus on the idea of generating
leads, making sales, capturing new customers, and retaining the consum-
ers they already have. Upon delving deeper, such goals require different
approaches. As a marketer, you must decide what you want your digital
marketing campaign to accomplish. This all stems from first identify-
ing business objectives as these objectives will speak directly to the type
of campaign employed and the tactics used within the campaign. One
reason many new businesses do not achieve the success they had hoped
relates back to not having objectives clearly agreed upon and the business
just diving into digital tools (such as building a website or starting a social
 The Digital Brand Experience 11

media feed) without having determined objectives and strategy first. It

is  like building a home without a blueprint. Having a clear picture of
business objectives will make setting goals and defining a digital mar-
keting campaign significantly more effective (Chaffey and Smith 2017).
Some businesses choose a strategy that will help build brand commu-
nity, or inform and acquire new leads and customers, monetize leads and
customers to generate revenue, or even increase brand awareness. Worth
noting, one approach does not trump the others. A successful brand will
strive to run a combination of campaigns. Running a campaign to acquire
new customers does not necessarily have the same outcome as a cam-
paign to build community or a campaign to monetize existing customers.
For example, the notion of blogging is phenomenal for growing brand
awareness and providing informational content to prospective consumers.
However, there is a little chance, if any, to monetize.
The traditional notion of a campaign assumes a specified start and
end date. However, a digital campaign could run from as short as one day
(think prepping and promoting a flash sale on Instagram or the like) to
several years. In a traditional marketing setting, a campaign may be sev-
eral weeks of direct marketing to consumers for a specific goal and objec-
tive. Once deployed, it becomes difficult to tweak the approach. A digital
­campaign allows marketers to be significantly more agile, enabling us
to make minor tweaks and to optimize a digital marketing strategy as
needed.
Crafting, curating, and generating relevant content through every
stage of the customer journey will impact customer satisfaction and
opportunities for the brand to engage with the consumer. Not to mention
the increase in conversions from lead to customer, and brand loyalty to
boot! Loyalty is considered to be the strength of the relationship between
an individual’s relative attitude and repeat patronage (Dick and Basu
1994). Failure to utilize content that your audience deems valuable or
helpful will lead to less than stellar results. If you are not providing con-
tent that resonates and engages the audience, you will be unable to create
and nurture meaningful relationships. Content can be created or curated
and can come in many forms. Video is hugely popular, along with other
visuals like GIFs, infographics, and podcasts. This content contributes to
your brand and brand personality (and thus authenticity) and can also be
12 The Digital Marketing Landscape

used as an inbound approach, pulling the consumer toward you via the
content that is shared on multiple channels. Curation of content from
other sources can be a good way to show your audience it is not all about
you. It shows you are engaging about all things that resonate with your
audience but do be sure you are sharing credible content from credible
sources, and giving credit where credit is due. Curating content is also a
good way to fill up your content calendar when you may not have enough
original created content to fill it, or if you are seeking something specific
that is not your area of expertise, or even to simply show you keep up
with the current news and industry trends. This is yet one more way to
differentiate your brand from the competition.
Regardless of the technological advances, marketing is still focused
on a mutually beneficial relationship between customers and brands. The
development of this relationship can be tied to the customer journey.
Consider the example earlier, searching for new running shoes. Digital
marketing helps us in moving a potential lead from one stage of the jour-
ney to the next. It is this journey, which may start and stop in varying
places for varying consumers, that has the potential to create differenti-
ated experiences. As a digital marketer, your job is to look at this journey
and identify where you can infuse excellence via digital technologies to
create an amazing customer experience. All of the research a consumer
will do before purchase, the actual purchase process, and post purchase
evaluation are all part of a branding narrative. Consumers see images on
TV related to the product and images online via websites, blogs, and
social media that influence the decision-making process, as well as con-
sumer reviews and articles related to the product. All of these elements
tie together to contribute to a brand narrative, both brand produced and
consumer produced. Anyone on digital media has the ability to initi-
ate sharing their views, feelings, and issues about a brand and associated
brand experiences (Aaker 2015). Marketers will need to lead the con-
vergence of brand and customer experiences, and marketing to deliver
consistent experience across all touch points.
Think of iconic brands or brands that you associate positively with.
What messages do they send you? What images do you see when you
think of these brands? Now think of a brand that you may have a negative
feeling about. What images do you see? What narrative do you think of?
 The Digital Brand Experience 13

Did this narrative come to you via brand messaging pushed toward you?
Do they originate from the brand or users? Perhaps marketing messages
from the brand do not resonate with you or are contradictory to your
beliefs. Or, did this narrative come to you via other consumers? Perhaps
you saw many negative reviews on Amazon or negative comments on
Facebook about a particular brand or product. This content online is
­generated from both the brand and consumers.

Key Takeaways
For any type of business, this always-changing landscape can become
overwhelming. The online space is very competitive, and organizations
must develop their own unique marketing strategy via digital tools. The
idea of “digital marketing” has evolved over time and has now become
an umbrella term to describe the process of using digital technologies
to acquire customers and build customer preferences, promote brands,
retain customers, and increase sales (Ahuja and Loura 2018). Digital
technologies facilitate the creation of marketing messages and aid in cre-
ating and delivering value for consumers through customer experience
and through delivering value to other stakeholders. Digital technologies
are filling gaps between customers and brands in significant ways, such as
customer experiences and interactions. Digital is a critical component to
branding in a competitive environment and provides marketers with new
channels for customer communications and promotions (such as web-
sites, social media, search engines, mobile, and e-mail) that can provide
significant value to customers as well as acquire the right customers.
The creation and sharing of content to achieve set goals is a backbone
to the coming chapters of this book, as well as a digital marketing cam-
paign. Content serves as the foundation for your campaign and directly
impacts all areas of digital marketing. From branded websites or blogs,
e-mail, and social media platforms, to nonbranded content created and
promoted by end users (known as user-generated content or consumer-­
generated content), it is all part of the narrative. You will see the idea of
content marketing interwoven throughout the chapters of the book.
As you read the following chapter, understand that a digital marketing
campaign varies in length depending on business goal and objectives.
14 The Digital Marketing Landscape

It can be a continuous process, or a short campaign, and is made up of

several platforms and tools used in a very strategic and cohesive manner.
At the heart of any successful campaign is the alignment of business goals
and objectives with your digital marketing goals, objectives, and tactics.
Organizations can promote brand awareness and differentiation through
a variety of technologies, but the basic tenets of marketing still apply, as
does the notion of conveying your value proposition consistently online
and offline. This online communication of your value proposition should
reinforce core brand values and clearly outline what a customer can get
from your brand that they cannot from any other brand. Tools such as
social media platforms, e-mail, SEO, SEM, websites, mobile technolo-
gies, and a host of other digital tools allow an organization to optimize
the exposure of brand narratives across digital platforms.
 Index
AdMob, 44 digital, 3
AIDA model, 42 e-mail, 3, 45, 48
AirBnB, 64 marketing. see Content marketing
Amazon, 13, 16, 64 mobile application, 2
app, 19, 52 quality, 20
product review pages, 27 social media, 2, 38, 49
Analytics, 56–59 user-generated, 6, 27–29, 38, 67
advances in, 44 website, 4, 22, 24, 34, 43
data, 56, 62 Content marketing, 67–70
social media, 60 storytelling and, 68–70
tools for, 58 Conversion rate, 18, 24, 57
Association of National Advertisers Cross channel touch points, 50–52
(ANA), 36 Curation of content, 11–13, 19
Customer satisfaction, 11, 23, 60
Bing, 15
Blogging, 11, 23, 32–37 Data-driven decision making
Blog harnesses, 34 analytics, 56–59
Blog posts, 28, 33–35, 47 KPIs, 56
BOPIS, 50 understanding users and platforms,
Brand awareness, 1, 3–4, 5, 11, 14, 59–62
20–21, 28, 33, 46, 62, 69, 71 Decision-making process, 12, 15, 33,
Brandwatch, 60 37–38, 42–43, 45
Branding, 3–7, 10, 12, 13, 17, 27, Dell Community, 27
35, 59 Digital campaign, 11, 57, 62, 67
Brand loyalty, 11–12, 28–29, 38, 53, Digital marketing
61 basic principles of, 2–3
Brand strategies, 6–8 brand awareness, 3–4
Business to business (B2B) brand experience in, 7
companies, 7, 45 branding in, 3–7
Business to consumer (B2C) buyer personas, 8–10
companies, 7 campaigns, 63
Buyer personas, 7–10 challenges, changes and shifts in,
64–65, 73–75
Canecto, 58 communication mediums of, 65
CAN-SPAM Act (2003), 48 components of, 2
Chatbots, 67 courses and credentials of, 74–75
Clicky, 58 current trends in, 66–70
Content digital tools and, 4
blog, 33–34 elements of, 66
brand-generated, 6, 16, 27–29 negative comments in, 13
crafting, curating, 11–13, 19 organization’s website, 4
84 Index

relationship between customers and Key performance indicators (KPIs),

brands, 12 24, 28, 56, 69
strategic approach to, 5, 8, 66 Keywords, 8, 16–17, 20, 24, 32, 33,
technology advances and, 67 56, 67, 70
Digital tools, 4, 10–11, 13, 14, Kissmetrics, 58
63, 64 Kroger, 51
Domino’s Pizza, 67–68
LinkedIn, 17, 22, 36
Earned media, 16, 18 Logo, 3, 6, 71
E-mail marketing, 1, 45–50
campaigns, 48 Matomo, 58
multichannel retailing in, 50–52 Mobile marketing, 41–42. See also
notion of, 49–50 Smartphones
one to one communication in, 46 advances in, 53
ROI with, 45 apps and, 51–52
strategy, 47 Mobile shopping, 42–43
subject line and, 48 Multichannel retailing, 50
types, 46
use of, 49 Netflix, 64
Nordstrom, 6
Facebook, 13, 16–17, 22, 27–29, 34,
Off-page optimization, 17–18
36, 37, 58, 61, 66, 67
Ogilvy, David, 63
Facebook Analytics, 60
On-page optimization, 17
Facebook Places, 43
Optimized website, 19–21
keywords, 20
Geotargeting, 43
strategic link building, 20–21
GIFs, 5 traffic building, 21
Google, 2, 15–16, 18, 24–25, 33, 37, Owned media, 16
44, 61
Google Ads, 17 Paid media, 16
Google Analytics, 57–61 Paid traffic, 16–17
Pay per click (PPC), 17, 64
Hashtags, 5, 34 Personalization, 75
Heat map, 59 Pinterest, 17, 22, 60
Hootsuite Analytics, 60 Pinterest Analytics, 60
Hypertext markup language Pokémon Go, 44
(HTML), 19 Promotional e-mails, 46

IAd from Apple., 44 QR (quick response) codes, 44

Iconic brands, 12–13 Qualitative data, 59
Inbound marketing, 10–13
Instagram, 11, 17, 27, 34, 36, 51, Relational e-mails, 46
66, 67 Return on investment (ROI), 45, 61
Instagram Insights, 60 ROI (return in investment), 45, 61
Integrated-marketing communication
(IMC) strategy, 38–39, 65 Search engine, 15–18
Internet, 1, 15, 20, 48, 52, 70 earned media, 16
 Index 85

keywords in, 16, 20 Target audience, 5, 7–9, 21, 27,

owned media, 16 32–33
paid media, 16 TikTok, 36
queries, 18 Title tag, 19
strategies, 24–25 Traffic building campaigns, 21
Search engine marketing (SEM), Transactional e-mails, 46
15–17 Twitter, 5, 8, 17, 27, 34, 36–38, 47,
Search engine optimization (SEO), 49, 70
15–17 Twitter Analytics, 60
Search engine results page
(SERP), 18 Uber, 44, 64
Smartphones, 41 User generated content (UGC), 6, 13,
e-mail marketing using, 44–45 27–29, 38, 61, 67, 70
Snapchat, 36
Social media, 1, 27–40 Vimeo, 27
blogging as tool, 32–37
brand loyalty in, 28–29 Website, 57, 71
campaigns, 68 branded, 23–24
consumer expectations, 30 content for, 21–22, 34, 38
consumers communication and, optimized, 19–21
28, 30 QR codes, 44
customer service, 29–30 SEM and, 16
listening tools, 31–32 SEO and, 15
objectives for, 28 user experience and integrated
strategic use of, 37–40 design, 21–24
vs. traditional media, 38–39 Word of Mouth Marketing
Southwest Airlines, 6, 18 Association (WOMMA), 36
Spotify, 39 WordPress, 34, 43
Starbucks, 39, 45, 51–52
StatCounter, 58 Yahoo, 15
Storytelling, 27, 35, 67–70 YouTube, 17, 27, 28, 35, 36, 37