Semester -wise revised syllabus under CBCS, 2020-2021

DOMAIN SUBJECT: BBA

Course18-B: DIGITAL MARKETING

(Skill enhancement course (Elective) 4 credits

Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course students will be able to;
1. Analyze online Micro and Macro Environment
2. Design and create website
3. Discuss search engine marketing
4. Create blogs, videos, and share
 Unit - 1
Traditional Marketing vs. Digital Marketing
There are many ways to capture the audience's attention. Marketing is one of the most fundamental
things in a business, as it helps obtain people's attention. There are two methods of marketing. One
is traditional marketing, a classical type of marketing, and the other is digital marketing, a modern
type of marketing. Traditional marketing has been evolving for ages, while digital just got in a few
years ago. Both are good in their way, as they both have pros and cons. Therefore, choosing between
both is entirely dependent on the people and the businesses that want to use it.

Traditional and digital marketing are very different from one another. Although they both have few
similarities, they both are unique in their ways.

Comparison basis Traditional marketing Digital marketing

Definition It is one type of marketing that utilizes It is one type of marketing that
media, TV, or magazine to advertise uses the internet and social media
any business's services and products. for advertising businesses.
Engagement Low Relatively high
Conversion Slow Extremely fast
Nature Static Dynamic
Investment returns Not easy to measure Simple to measure
Effectiveness More expensive
Less effective Less expensive
More effective
Targeting Standardized Customized
Tracking Not possible Possible
Reach Local Global
Tweaking Not possible once the advertisement is One can change or edit anytime
placed
Communication It is mostly one-way communication It is a two-way communication
Interruptions It is not easy to skip the One can easily skip between
advertisements, as they are bound to advertisements if it does not
the users. interest them.

What is Traditional Marketing?

Traditional marketing encompasses the marketing methods that can be used without the internet.
These are the methods that have been around for decades and are typically used less often now.
However, they’re not without their strengths.

Common traditional market methods include:

• Directly mailed postcards, coupons, and informational packets

• Television or radio commercials
• Newspaper or magazine ads
• Billboards and fliers
• Telephone calls and text notifications

We see and hear many of these ads every day just by listening to the radio on the way to work or
even looking out the window at the billboards as we go by. They’ve become a part of daily life.
Why Traditional Marketing?

Traditional marketing vs. digital marketing is always one of the most spoken topics. Traditional
marketing is defined as marketing that does not need the internet for advertisement purposes. This
method has been evolving for a very long time, for decades. However, due to technological
advancements, its usage is very limited.

We hear and see many ads daily on the television, in the newspaper, or on the radio while casually
starting our daily routine. When we go out, we can see such marketing ads on flyers all over the
street. We could also notice huge banners of film ads on every street. Those film ads are also one
type of marketing. It helps the movie production company to capture the attention of the people
that walk across the street. Therefore, there are ads and banners everywhere in all the nations.

The languages may differ depending on the country or the region. For example, if we take Mumbai,
the ads might be in both English and Hindi. So, that is how traditional marketing works. Its main
objective is to attract humans in every possible way without using the internet.

For many businesses, traditional marketing strategies work better depending on the type of company
they own. Their target audience would prefer the traditional one when it comes to traditional
marketing vs. digital marketing.

• Traditional marketing is a very effective type of marketing if one wants to reach the older
population. Many reports and surveys prove that people over 50s watch TV and read
newspapers twice the time compared to the people in their 20s and 30s.
• It is a very useful type of marketing if one wants to establish or develop a business or a
firm with the assistance of a larger local audience. Small businesses grow better using
flyers and billboards all across the street. It is because it can attain the attention of a
local audience who reside in the city.
• One huge advantage of traditional advertisements is that they get played repeatedly. But
in digital marketing, people can skip them easily.

What is Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing strategies evolve quickly because of trends and new technology. These strategies
include those that require the use of the internet or smartphones. They haven’t been around as long
as traditional methods, but they certainly pack a punch.

Common digital marketing methods include:

• Website content
• Email campaigns
• Content marketing
• Social media posts
• Clickable ads
• Affiliate marketing
• Search engine optimization (SEO)

These strategies are very popular today because of consumers’ frequent usage of the internet and
mobile devices. According to DataReportal, there are 4.95 billion active internet users in the world
and 4.62 billion active social media users. With numbers that high, marketing online and through
social media makes a lot of sense.
Why Digital Marketing?

In this fast-moving world, a lot of new technologies have evolved. Digital marketing strategies are
one among them. Nowadays, people can do marketing using the internet and smartphones from the
comfort of their homes. These strategies are not physical, so they cut out the transportation,
inventory, and other related expenses.

Due to the frequent usage of social media and the internet in general, these strategies are growing
worldwide. According to DataReportal, it has been proven that 4.62 billion people use social media
and 4.95 billion people utilize the internet in general.

Therefore, it makes so much sense to advertise over the internet rather than on any television or
magazine.

Due to the current technological developments, digital marketing methods and strategies will always
continue to evolve no matter what. There are enormous ways to do this marketing. Since they are
modern, it is essential to have maximum knowledge regarding current technologies and
advancements. They use the latest tactics.

There are a plethora of benefits of digital marketing over traditional marketing. Given below are
some of them:

• It is simple to track audience involvement and collect their data for future use. It will
enhance the algorithm of the company's website. You can easily obtain the information
when someone uses your site, follows you on social media, or messages you regarding
queries.
• Businesses can advertise their services for free on many platforms. It is possible to send
and receive emails without involving any cost. But in traditional strategies, it will involve
a lot of money to print and send individual postcards.
• Because digital marketing has a wider scope, it will help businesses acquire a global
audience's attention.

Forms of Digital Marketing

• Social media marketing: Social media marketing is getting widely popular among the
youths. Many businesses and startups advertise their work in the form of posts, videos,
and stories on all social media platforms.
• Email marketing: It is one type of digital market where businesses send electronic mail to
the target audience.
• Content marketing: It helps advertise in the form of storytelling to the users.
• PPC - Pay-per-Click: These are paid advertisements. They only stay on the web for a
shorter period. Once you stop paying, it will be gone.
• Mobile marketing: Provides advertisements on smartphones, laptops, and tablets for the
target audience.
• SEO - Search Engine Optimization: SEO is the most common type of digital marketing
used in many organizations. Its main objective is to show the business on the top while
searching it on the web. However, it also needs customers' support to get high ranks.
• Affiliate marketing: Includes advertising a product or a service with the help of a well-
known influencer or a celebrity. The major reason companies do it is to improve their
brand name.
Forms of Traditional Marketing

The following are some of the traditional marketing methods:

• Television commercials: One method of traditional marketing is broadcasting

advertisements using TV commercials. There are millions of ads that benefit due to this
form of marketing.
• Radio commercials: Radios played a vital role in the late 20th century. People who could
not afford television opted for radios and CD cassettes those days. There are many
different varieties of advertisements that could be broadcasted with the assistance of
radios.
• Flyers: Many companies and businesses are still printing flyers to promote their services.
Flyers are also called handouts.
• Billboards: Billboards contain pictures of the advertisement. They are usually found on
the highways. Mostly, billboards are placed by top companies and businesses to promote
their services.
• Magazine and newspaper ads: Newspaper magazines acted as one of the finest sources
of obtaining information regarding anything. There are tons and tons of ads posted every
day.
• Telephone and SMS marketing: These mostly include phone calls and text messages of
advertisements for various businesses and their services.
• Referral: Referral is when the organization asks its employers and customers to
recommend their products and services to their friends and family or neighbours.
• Direct mail: Many businesses mail their ads in postcards or notices to the people in the
company's target area or city.

Pros and Cons of Traditional Marketing

When comparing traditional marketing vs. digital marketing, traditional methods are often viewed as
outdated or irrelevant. However, many of these tactics are still useful and effective today.

Depending on the business and target audience, traditional marketing methods may be the better
choice. To help discern if traditional marketing is right for your business, here are some pros and
cons.

Pros

• If you want to reach an older demographic, traditional marketing can be very effective. It
has been reported that audiences ages 50+ spend almost twice as much time reading
the newspaper and watching TV as compared to those ages 21-34.
• This type of marketing strategy usually works best for businesses looking to build a larger
local audience. A small business would be better off competing for attention through
billboards, flyers, and events rather than trying to compete for digital space against
larger businesses.
• TV or radio commercials will play multiple times and remind the audience of the
business, whereas digital marketing items may be skipped through or blocked (e.g.,
clicking “I don’t want to see this” on social media ads, or skipping through ads before
YouTube videos).
 Cons

• Printing postcards to send out even to just a local audience can be expensive, and there
is no guarantee that the recipient is interested in your business or the product/service
you offer.
• Traditional marketing methods can take weeks or months to yield results and data. You
can’t tell when someone has read your newspaper ad unless they decide to follow-up.
Even then, without a survey, you won’t know if the ad was the reason for the follow-up.

Pros and Cons of Digital Marketing

Digital marketing strategies are always evolving with new technology and trends like voice search and
social media usage. These strategies include the most modern and latest tactics. But, as with
traditional marketing, there are some areas where digital marketing thrives and others where it
doesn’t.

Pros

• Data and audience involvement can be tracked instantly. When someone clicks on a link
to your site, reads an email, or follows you on social media, you have that information
immediately. You can draw numerous insights from this data, including which type of
content works best for a specific audience, which mediums are the most effective, and
even what time of day receives the best engagement.
• Digital marketing strategies incur a much lower cost. Sending out an email campaign can
save a lot of money compared to printing individual postcards and paying for postage on
each.
• It works well for more global or scattered audiences because of the broad scope of
digital marketing.

Cons

• Some internet users have ad blockers, so they’ll never see pop-ups or banner ads. Other
times, ads can be skipped or removed if a user pays for premium services (e.g., Spotify,
Hulu, Twitch).
• Because new technology and trends emerge so frequently, digital marketing tactics need
to be evaluated and reevaluated for effectiveness continually what works well one day
may be irrelevant the next. However, this can be combatted with a strong foundation in
digital marketing basics.

Digital Marketing vs. Traditional Marketing: What’s the Difference?

When it comes to marketing, there are two main types: digital marketing and traditional marketing.
But what’s the difference? Digital marketing refers to any form of marketing that takes place through
digital channels, such as the internet, email, or mobile devices. It’s become increasingly popular in
recent years due to the proliferation of digital devices and the rise of online networking. Traditional
marketing, on the other hand, refers to any form of marketing that takes place offline, such as print
advertisements, television commercials, or radio ads. It’s still a popular method of marketing,
especially for larger businesses with more resources.
Which One is Better?

So, which strategy wins when comparing traditional marketing vs. digital marketing?

The short answer: it depends.

The long answer:

Digital marketing is probably the best option for most. If you want to reach a particular group of
people, wherever they may be, while keeping costs low, go with digital marketing. Doing so will also
allow you to collect valuable information on your audience immediately so that you can create even
more effective marketing campaigns.

However, there is still a place for traditional marketing. If you want to reach an older audience or a
local audience, traditional marketing methods may be more productive and stand out better than
digital marketing methods. Though these methods may seem “old,” the reality is that they’ve stuck
around for a reason. They work!

When considering which marketing strategy is best for your business, consider your audience, where
they get their information from, and use that to make your decision. When deciding between
traditional marketing vs. digital marketing, it’s not necessarily true that one is simply better than the
other as they serve different purposes. The bottom line is that you need to fully understand your
business and your audience to pick the strategy that’s better for you.

Which Type of Marketing Should You Use?

Digital marketing is generally more cost-effective and can be more targeted, while traditional
marketing can be more effective at reaching a larger audience. It’s important to consider your budget
and target market when deciding which type of marketing to use.

Ultimately, the best type of marketing is the type that best suits your business and your goals.
 Understanding the Digital Marketing Environment
Understanding the digital marketing environment components is essential to achieving success when
it comes to digital marketing strategies. Having in-depth knowledge and understanding of the digital
marketing environment’s components makes for a successful marketer because these influencing
factors shape the digital marketing environment and affect how different firms operate in a different
context, both on and offline. When a marketer can comprehend and break-down the components of
the digital environment, they can have more control over the outcome of a campaign anin the sense
that they can tailor their campaigns to target their customers based on the factors that directly affect
their decisions. Further, marketers can utilize their understanding to create relevant strategies and
even optimize and improve current methods.

While the marketing industry is currently shifting towards adapting traditional methods into digital
ones, not all organizations and companies have adapted to digital strategies along with it. As a result,
marketers must take this into consideration while creating a digital marketing strategy and analyzing
the marketing environment of an organization.

So, what are the main components of the digital marketing environment?

Digital Marketing Environment

The Digital Marketing Components

The two major elements of the digital marketing environment are micro-environment and macro-
environment.

Micro-environment

The first component of the digital marketing environment is the micro-environment. The micro-
environment is referred to as the “operating environment” and focuses on customers’ needs and
wants. The customers, competitors, suppliers, and intermediaries’ needs and wants are essential to
focus on due to their role in shaping the immediate trading environment. The behaviors of these
groups of people shape the online marketplace. Understanding their needs and wants allows
marketers to create and adapt their digital strategies to meet their needs and wants.
Macro-Environment

Next, we have the macro-environment. The macro-environment is often referred to as “the remote
environment” and is made up of external forces that can influence digital marketing and successfully
affect success. These forces include political interventions, economic conditions, social change,
technological developments & innovations, legal legislation, and environmental forces that are
beyond the control of the organization itself. Another significant influence on opinions is the ever-
evolving social media networks, which enhance digital channels by allowing these forces to
communicate information that shapes the opinions of many globally.

The digital marketing

environment has a profound
impact on many things, including
performance. For example, this
year (2020), companies were
forced to shift their primary
functionalities to an online
environment both internally and
externally due to the Covid-19
pandemic. This includes their
marketing communications. The
forces affected by the epidemic include social change, technological developments, and economic
conditions. These forces required companies to implement new means of communication by shifting
towards utilizing more innovative technologies and practices, such as allowing their employees to
work from home to continue running their business smoothly. Other changes include developing
new means of communicating with customers, offering additional customer service options, new
ways to obtain products and services, and even customer meetings. These factors have contributed
to the shift in consumer behavior towards a more digital environment. The businesses lack of ability
to generate business via face-to-face interactions, and even traditional methods such as billboards,
signs, and more, became obsolete when consumers were required to work from home and conform
to the stay at home order. This evolution required businesses to implement new means of marketing
to not sink during a sink or swim period of time. Now, businesses attract customers utilizing social
media platforms and digital marketing methods.

Digital Marketing Environment

How do digital marketers analyze demand?

Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, digital marketing services and digital marketers have become a higher
demand for businesses to remain successful. However, a digital marketer is only as successful as their
ability to analyze demand across digital channels and their current standings. Digital marketers need
to understand the needs of a target segment and have the ability to evaluate the demand for the
current online channels. Acquiring leads and nurturing consumers through the sales funnel to
enhance their chances of making a purchase is a significant part of why companies market their
digitally. Thus, marketers must understand the current social media trends and the many options
available to consumers, and how they are using these channels to determine efficiency before
conducting a demand analysis.

Digital marketers should have a basic understanding of current trends on the internet and its use as
they relate to the company’s services and products that they are marketing. It is also essential for
marketers to understand how these factors affect customer decisions; this process is known as a
demand analysis.

Marketers conduct a demand analysis for digital marketing services by monitoring factors that allow
them to set realistic objectives for their target markets. They do this by assessing the volume and
share of customers who have access to a channel, use the channel, allow the channel to affect their
purchase decisions by utilizing price comparison sites and blogs, are influenced by the channel or
another channel, and actually make a purchase through the channel.
After obtaining this information through the demand analysis, marketers can use this data to
enhance their marketing initiatives. For example, if an analysis shows that the customers who are
most likely to purchase a mountain bike are utilizing Facebook to conduct research, evaluate prices,
and make a purchase, the marketer would likely focus their marketing tactics towards promoting the
products on Facebook. Like all marketing initiatives, the goal is to reach the right consumers, with the
right message, at the right time, on the right platform. If the research shows that Facebook is the
right place to reach the right consumers with the right message regarding mountain bikes, then it’s a
no-brainer for the marketer to utilize this platform.

Digital marketers must conduct a full assessment of the forces associated with macro-environments
and the factors that contribute to micro-environments to understand how they shape the online
marketing environment and further identify which forces and factors of these components have
implications for the digital marketing strategy being created. This is essential to the success of any
campaign or strategy because of the impact the digital marketing environment has on the campaign.
By conducting a demand analysis of the digital environment, marketers obtain a deep understanding
of the characteristics, needs and wants, and requirements of the target market and their inclination
to digitally engage based on specific channels. Once the marketer develops a sound foundation using
this information, they can consider how to best achieve the marketing goals and best utilize digital
communications.
 Competitive Analysis in Digital Marketing

Staying ahead of the competition is a highly effective way to grow your business. It involves knowing
the ins and outs of your competitors to identify ways you can outperform them to engage and
influence customers.

A digital competitive analysis is a key part of your digital marketing strategy. It helps you understand
the digital strategies of your competitors so you can leverage your strengths and minimize your
weaknesses to build and grow. Plus, you don’t need expensive third parties to help you do it,
everything can be done in-house if you know how.

What is a competitive analysis in digital marketing?

Competitive analysis in digital marketing is a process that researches competitors to identify

strengths and weaknesses. It examines the strategies companies use for marketing, pricing, product
development, and distribution to gain insights.

It will help you to keep on top of trends in your sector and identify digital strategies that will drive
brand awareness, customer engagement and, most importantly, revenue.

Why should you do a competitive analysis in digital marketing?

What is the purpose of competitive analysis? Well, the scope of your competitive analysis can vary
depending on what you want to discover. What you analyze can be as broad or as focused as you like.

For example, you may want to focus on optimizing your website. For this, you would look at
competitors’ websites to look at their content, UX, and lead generation strategies. What you learn
can then help you to apply new CRO strategies.

There are many benefits to conducting an analysis which include:

• Identify barriers and opportunities in a market

• Identify your value proposition and how it differs from competitors
• Highlight where competitors are not delivering or have weaknesses
• Target the most effective digital strategies in your marketplace
• Identify new customers and territories
• Uncover market trends
• See the potential for a new product or service
• Establish a benchmark to measure your performance against

What does a competitive analysis include?

A competitive analysis in digital marketing means that you analyze the different platforms of each of
your competitors and see how they contribute to growth. Ultimately it’s about benchmarking against
your competitors.

Determine competitor types

Not all competitors should be treated the same. Split them into categories based on their level of
competitiveness.

• Primary - These are your direct competitors that sell a similar product or service to your
audience e.g. Asos and Boohoo.
 • Secondary - These companies offer a similar version of your product or service (low or
high-end) to a different audience e.g. Target and Gucci.
• Tertiary - These brands are related to you but don’t compete with your product/service
or audience e.g. Red Bull and Patagonia.

Segmenting your competitors like this will help you see how they relate to your business.

Profile your competitors' target customers

Understanding the audience of your competitors will tell you a lot about a business. It will help you
to understand who they target and the digital channels they use effectively to do that.

The best way to find out about their customers is to see who the brand is appealing to. You could
find this out by looking at

• Their mission statement or ‘About Us’ section

• Social media messaging and interaction
• Blogs and free downloadable assets
• Webinars or podcasts
• Customer reviews or user-generated content

By reviewing the goals, content, and interactions of your competitors, you’ll learn more about their
audience. This will help you develop tactics that differentiate you from the pack.

Apply the 4 Ps of marketing

The full marketing mix is crucial to any digital marketing strategy. It will help you to analyze your
competitor’s marketing tactics to gain insights into your activities.

• Product - What are they selling? What do customers like about their product or service?
What makes it a successful product or service? What features or product(s) does their
product have over mine?
• Price - What price model do they use? Is it a one-off payment or subscription-based?
What makes the price point attractive?
• Promotion - How do they promote their brand and offerings? What digital channels are
they most active in promoting? What tactics do they use to promote?
• Place - Where do they sell? Are they active online or do they have brick-and-mortar
stores or branches?

You can gain a lot of information from this process, so you should focus on the areas you want to
know about. Include any quantitative data to refer back to along with qualitative.

Find best practices

Your top competitors are successful for a reason, they have tested and tweaked their strategies
across digital platforms over time. This means they have developed best practices you can learn
from.

For example, maybe your competitors see success by marketing on TikTok. Through competitive
analytics, you can see the presence of your competitors and if a majority are using it, maybe it’s
something you should consider.

Or you can see that a number of your competitors have climbed up the rankings on SERPs like Google
or Bing. This probably means they are using SEO to optimize for searches using popular keywords
and phrases.
Use a framework for analysis

What method you use to analyze your competitors depends on what you want to know.

For example, you can use SWOT analysis once you gather all the data if you want to discover new
opportunities or threats in the marketplace. This will also help you identify your strengths and
weaknesses.

Another framework to consider is Porter’s Five Forces. This looks at the market forces in an industry
such as the threat of new entrants and substitutes, bargaining power of substitutes, competitive
rivalry, and bargaining power of suppliers and new buyers.

Graph of Porter's Competitive Forces

You can also use a growth share matrix developed by Boston Consulting Group that looks at your
products or services against the competitive landscape. This is split into four areas (Star, Question
mark, Cash cow and Pet) based on growth and market share to drive analysis. This video below uses
Coca-Cola as an example to demonstrate the framework.

Organize your data for analysis

Group any data you collect on your competitors in an organized way. This will help you go back and
refer to any data points to gain insights for future digital activities.

This is particularly important when gathering data from many competitors as it will help you to check
areas of similarity to identify opportunities. Criteria to analyze include price range, social media
activities, lead generation tactics, content marketing initiatives, first-time visitor offers, etc.

What are the types of competitive analysis?

There are several types of competitive analysis depending on your company and needs. Each one will
focus on a niche area that you are looking to analyze and improve to drive targets and KPIs such as
leads, revenue and brand awareness.

These are the main types that focus on key digital marketing channels, but you can also analyze email
(check out our ultimate guide to email marketing for guidance) or the UI and UX of a website.
 • PPC competitor analysis
A PPC competitor analysis involves finding out the keywords or phrases your competitors are
bidding on. The ultimate goal is to create PPC campaigns that drive results and are better
than your competition!
You can do this by studying the types of ads they are using and in which networks or
platforms. Are they paying for expensive keywords or conversion-focused phrases? Or is their
PPC focused on brand awareness?
You can also review their landing pages to analyze messaging and CTAs. Are they creating
custom landing pages for every campaign or relying on a few money pages? Knowing this will
give you an idea of your competitor’s aims and budget.
Check out our case study of Airbnb’s digital strategy where we saw how they balanced their
paid search needs with those of the brand.

• SEO competitor analysis

This type of analysis helps you determine what SEO keywords your competitors rank for. This
will help you understand their area of focus and figure out how to compete in the battle for
keywords.
• A few techniques you can use are to:
o Compare website performance e.g. page speeds
o Find keyword gaps
o Compare backlinks and where they get them
o Look at strategies on how they rank for more keywords – e.g. do they have a blog or
resources section?
o Examine top pages and traffic

• Social media competitor analysis

Social media is a powerful tool for any business in driving customer engagement and leads
(especially since social commerce became more widespread). It’s important to know where
your audience is so you can target them effectively across social platforms.

Conducting a social media competitor analysis will help you see what social networks your
competitors are on and the number of followers and demographics they target.
You should also look at post frequency, when they post, type of content posted e.g. videos,
blog links, etc. Also, look at their content themes or buckets so you can see the topics they
discuss.
Interactions with customers through comments can also be revealing and engagement rates
can help you see what posts resonate more with their audience.

Competitor analysis tools

There are many competitor analysis tools out there to help you. This will make your data collection
simpler, more accurate, and more efficient. A few examples of the best tools specific to key areas are:

SEO Analysis

• Ahrefs - check top performing keywords of any website and get estimated keyword traffic
• SE Ranking - shows paid and organic search performance and keywords
•
PPC analysis

• SEMRush - can perform a site audit, show competitor’s keywords and a backlink analysis
• Spyfu - researches your competitors’ most profitable keywords in PPC campaigns
• Google Ads Auctions Insight - allows you to compare your performance with other
companies that are bidding in the same auctions

Keyword analysis

• Similarweb - provides information on web and channel traffic, uncovers keyword trends, and
reveals engagement metrics

Social media analysis

• Sprout Social - you can measure follower growth, engagement, hashtag trends, conversions,
and paid content performance
• Facebook ad library - allows you to search for ads that are run across Facebook, Instagram,
and other Meta products