Digital Marketing: Overview, Tools, and Channels

This document provides an overview of digital marketing, including the landscape, key consumer trends, and insights. It also discusses the digital tools and hardware used for marketing and explores different digital marketing and e-commerce channels. The document offers valuable insights into developing a digital marketing plan and evaluating performance metrics.

Digital Marketing
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TABLE OF CONTENT
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Activity First....................................................................................................................................3
Overview over digital marketing landscape................................................................................3
Key consumer trend and insights.................................................................................................6
Activity 2.........................................................................................................................................8
Digital tools and hardware for marketing....................................................................................8
Digital marketing and e commerce channels.............................................................................11
Activity 3.......................................................................................................................................12
Digital marketing plan...............................................................................................................12
Evaluation of Omni channel marketing has evolved.................................................................13
Activity 4.......................................................................................................................................15
Evaluation of measurements techniques and performance metrics in digital marketing..........15
Set of action that can be used to improve performance in digital marketing............................16
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................17
REFERENCE................................................................................................................................18
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INTRODUCTION
Marketing is defined as promoting company’s products and services in front of the target
customers. Digital marketing is more about utilising the digital tools to support the company’s
marketing campaigns. This report is based on the case study of Unilever Company in respect to
its digital marketing campaigns and strategies. Company was founded in the year 1929 by the
founders William Lever, Leverhulme, James Darcy Lever, Samuel van den Bergh, George
Schicht and Singrose. Headquarter of the Unilever Company is located in London, England,
United Kingdom. The organisation deals in consumer goods all across the globe. Company’s
product portfolio comprises with beauty and personal care, food and refreshments and cleaning
products. Company is a public limited company. This report will project different aspects about
company’s digital marketing presence. Henceforth, reports will emphasis on overview about the
digital marketing landscape. This report will also compare the online and offline marketing
modes. Key consumer trends and insights that contributes in the growth of digital marketing.
Assessment over different digital marketing tools will also project in this report. Precise
guidelines to develop the e-commerce and digital marketing platform and channel as compare to
physical channels will also summarise in this report. Precise digital marketing plan will also
discuss in this report. Furthermore, report will also project how Omni channel digital marketing
has grown over the period of time. Evaluation about the measurement techniques and
performance metrics in digital marketing will also analyse in this report. Recommendations are
also a part of the report to improve the company’s digital presence.
Activity First
Overview over digital marketing landscape
Digital marketing is defined channelizing digital channels to conduct the marketing
campaigns of company. Technology has been proved as the transformation in the entire business
environment. Emergence of the information technology has also guided a huge opportunities of
promoting company’s products over internet. Digital marketing platforms have not just
supported companies in sustaining its existing customer base rather it enabled companies to
attract new customers in the existing dealing market (Ritz, Wolf and McQuitty, 2019). Due to the
empowerment of digital marketing in gaining new customers this can be projected as among the
most aggressive marketing tool company utilise. Over the period of time different digital
marketing tools like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and many other platforms has
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emerged to support the digital presence of the company. As per the recent report it is projected
that 57% of the new customers companies are getting are with the support of blogs over internet.
62% company’s new customers are attracted through LinkedIn account of company. Facebook
allowed companies to attract 52% of the new customer base and 44% of the new customers are
dragged due to digital marketing over Twitter.
(Raghuraman, 2017)
As per the recent study marketing over digital mediums consist up the possibilities of
growth expectancy of more than 2.8 times as compare to other offline marketing channels. As
the digital platforms are able to getting engage with new potential customers for different
products and services of company entire corporate sector has been fond of digital marketing and
started investing the resources and time over digital presence of company.
Opportunity of digital marketing landscape
Digital marketing has becomes one of the most dominating source to promote company’s
products and services in front of the potential customers. Digital marketing carry a huge potential
to improve the growth potentials of company. Unilever Company gives huge priorities to its
digital marketing campaigns that have supported company in gaining an effective sales hike
every year. Over the period of time digital platforms has gained immense popularity that has
allowed companies to channelize its marketing campaigns over such networks (Spiller and
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Tuten, 2019). Every year number of users over different digital platforms like Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter and other digital platforms are increasing rapidly. Much young start up
launched over digital mediums has also gained immense success. For example in recent years
Uber has launched. Today the company is giving a ride to almost 5.5 million peoples every day.
This can be projected as the biggest example of influence digital channels has created in the
society and the entire business environment. The biggest opportunity digital marketing has
provided that Unilever Company has been able to sustain its existing customer base along with it
allowed company to attract the new customers in the same market.
Challenges of digital marketing
Digital marketing has also served challenges to companies. Data protection has been a
huge challenge company is associated with in context to the digital marketing. It has also
improved the market competition. Many new start ups has launched recently that are entertaining
an effective growth. Such start up needed minimum cost as they operate via digital platform
only. This has served immense competition for companies like Unilever. Due to lesser
investment these start ups could afford better cost to meet the consumer needs which has also
changed the dimensions of market.
Comparison between online and offline marketing
Basis of comparison Online marketing Offline marketing
Meaning Online marketing is about to
channelizes the marketing
campaigns over different
online mediums (Thomas and
Housden, 2017).
Offline marketing is about to
channelize the marketing
campaigns over various
offline platforms.
Platforms Different marketing
platforms like Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter and other
key platforms are used in
case of online marketing or
digital marketing.
In case of offline marketing
platforms like radio,
television, holdings and other
key platforms are used.
Marketing cost Marketing cost in case of
online marketing is minimum
These marketing techniques
seek effective marketing
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in nature. cost.
Key consumer trend and insights
Consumer trends are denoted as the consumer’s requirements in respect to channelizing
marketing campaigns. Unilever Company has been always keen towards giving customers of
company a priority in operating business functions. Key consumer trends in context to the
marketing campaigns can be projected in the following points.
Changing communication channels
Over the period of time communication channels has changed. Customers become more
active over different social media applications like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other social
media networks than in compare to different offline modes like radio, television and other
mediums. Internet has become a essential part of the purchasing decision making of customers.
While going for shopping customers check out internet first to explore different fashion, trends
and options available in the market.
Lifecycle marketing
This is projected as the key changes associated with customers in market. Marketing team
of Unilever Company is much aware about the importance of lifecycle marketing in context to
the business (Graham and et.al., 2019). This involves projecting the lifecycle of the potential
customers in formation of the marketing campaigns. This makes the marketing campaigns more
engaging and authentic for customers. This has also resulted into increased brand awareness,
brand loyalty and other key changes it has offered. The impact of lifecycle marketing can be
projected in the following chart.
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(Zerr, Albert and Forster, 2017)
Conversational marketing
Today the customer’s needs in respect to marketing have become more conversational in
nature. Customers are keener towards relatable content over marketing campaigns launches by
company. Conversational marketing is more like projecting the significances of the products and
services of company is trying to sale. Digital marketing has changed the entire structure of
marketing (Hofacker, 2018). All companies including Unilever have switched towards
conversational marketing for its products. This need has emerged as the customers of company
do not have much time to select the product. This is a time saving mode of marketing. It has also
improved the growth potential of company in market.
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(Çınar and Weiss, 2019)
Insight driven marketing
Insight driven is the new need of customers in market. This involves giving proper
insight over the product in the marketing campaigns. Earlier the marketing was more keen
towards projecting the basic details about the products. Now the market becomes volatile which
requires giving more insight about the products in the marketing campaigns of company.
The above mentioned points are the key needs of customers due to changing trends in
marketing campaigns of company.
Activity 2
Digital tools and hardware for marketing
Unilever Company give huge priorities to the digital marketing in order to promote
company’s products and services in the market. Digital marketing supports company in gaining
competitive advantages in the market. Tools marketing team of Unilever Company channelizes
can be projected in the following points.
MailChimp
(Cr
itchlow and et.al., 2016)
MailChaimp is a key digital marketing tool channelizes by the Unilever Company. In
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simple term this tool is denoted as email marketing technology. This strategic tool allows
company to approach customer via emails. Unilever Company gives attractive offers to
customers of company via emails. Almost all mobile phone users carry emails weather they are
active over any social media platform or not. This tool allows company to attract all the mobile
phone users all across the globe. Email marketing can be associated as the primary concepts of
digital marketing. This tool supported Unilever Company in improving potentials of the business
outcomes of company. This tool is a part of the marketing activities of company from the initial
time of launching internet all across the globe.
HubSpot
(D
urai and King, 2019)
Hubsport is also a key digital marketing tool channelizes by companies. This tool
involves practices like blogging, SEO, Social media, Website, Lead management, Landing
pages, Calls to action, Marketing Automation, Email and Analytics. All such tools are an integral
part of the marketing campaigns of Unilever Company. This is an influence tactics used to
promote company’s products in target market. This tool supports Unilever Company to
channelize all advanced technologies and latest tools drives marketing campaigns of company.
With the support of all such tools cover under Hubspot Company could effective cope up
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engagement with all young buyers of the Unilever Company (Langan, Cowley and Nguyen,
2019). All these tools have supported company in rising sales of company along with improving
the public relations of company. Customer relationship management is an important part of
company’s operation functions. These tools supported company in achieving all its targets on the
basis of the potentials of the organisation. Unilever is among the top brands part of the business
environment which also allowed company to invest effective resources for technological
advancement in company. Advanced technology of company played a key role behind the
success of the Hubspot digital marketing tool.
Trello
Trello is a digital marketing that allows companies to manage the projects and stay over
the same page as the team’s practices digital marketing in company. This is the tool that supports
content marketing. In recent few years content marketing has become one of the major trends
parts of the digital marketing (Breda, Jewell and Sedlakova, 2018). Customers become more
aware about the market so it is important for the companies like Unilever to project content about
the products they offers. Trello supported Unilever Company in projecting the best content that
best fit to the products of Unilever. This tool allows marketing team to share all insights in
respect to the digital marketing of company at single place. This reduces confusions in running
marketing campaigns of company. This tool has made the management of marketing campaigns
of Unilever Company becomes mere easy and accessible.
Hoot suite
Hoot suite is another social media marketing tool company use to promote its products.
This tool allows Unilever Company to interact conveniently with the customers of company.
Marketing team get to respond all issues and queries of customers in respect to products of
Unilever. This made the customer interaction very easy and convenient for the company.
Google analytics
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(1Guilbeault, 2018)
Unilever Company also channelizes the google analytics for its digital marketing
campaigns. This tool allows company to get aware in respect to the efficiencies of the company’s
digital marketing campaigns. This is an effective tool that allows company to get proper insight
about the impacts of company’s digital marketing campaigns. It also allows company to make
necessary changes to get more profitable outcomes of the marketing campaigns of company.
Digital marketing and e commerce channels
Over the period of time digital marketing has witnessed the major transformation in the
business outcomes of the Unilever Company. Following digital marketing and e-commerce
channels has been a part of company’s strategies.
Facebook: Facebook is the primary digital marketing channel Unilever Company entertains.
Facebook played the major role in improving the digital marketing presence of companies. This
is among the primary digital marketing channels that allow Unilever Company to promote its
brand value and customer loyalty.
Instagram: Instagram is another key marketing channel Unlevel Company implements as a part
of its digital marketing strategies. This tool allows company to reach majority of young
customers that are active over the social media.
Twitter: Twitter is among one of the primary channels used to promote companies over social
media. Twitter has received billions of customers regularly active over the channel. This tool
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allows company to promote its products in front of all potential customers of company.
Search engine optimisation: Search engine optimisation is also a key marketing channel used to
promote company’s products. This tool allows company to improve the brand value and
customer loyalty. In this channel company try to attract the customer decision making process at
the initial level when customers try to search the summarise information about products they are
looking for. This tool has also improved the sales potential of the Unilever Company.
The above mentioned channels are among the key channels associated with company’s
marketing tactics.
Activity 3
Digital marketing plan
Aim
 To improve the sales of company by 20%.
Objectives
Specific: Company’s objectives behind the marketing plan are to improve the trust in
customers in respect to the products of Unilever Company. The objectives of company are
specific and clear.
Measurable: The outcome of the marketing plan is measurable in statistic form. Company
aims to entertain the sales hike of 20% that can be measured.
Achievable: The objectives of the company to raise the sales by 20% are achievable in
nature. Company is trying to enhance the brand value that is also achievable in nature with
the support of this marketing plan.
Realistic: To achieve the sales hike of 20% is realistic in nature. Unilever Company has
entertained this sales growth earlier also and with the support of this marketing plan company
can achieve the sales hike again.
Time based: The objective of the company to achieve the sales hike by 20% is time based.
Company wants to achieve this objective at the end of this financial year.
Actionable Digital marketing strategies
Unilever Company will drive its marketing campaigns with the support of following
strategies.
Facebook marketing: Company will channelize its promotional videos over Facebook.
Company try to utilise the billions of customers active over Facebook (da Fonseca and
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Gustavo, 2020). This is a key strategy company will entertain in this marketing campaign.
Instagram marketing: Instagram is among the most emerging social media channel.
Company is aiming to utilise the popularity of Instagram in its marketing campaign. This will
allow company to improve the sales potential of company.
Twitter marketing: Company will utilise this strategy. This will allow company to achieve
its sales growth.
Measurement Framework
Unilever Company has developed a team to run this marketing campaign. The team
will monitor the success of these strategies with the support of Google analytics tool
company use. This tool will support company in monitoring the entire strategy.
Budget
Company has set the budget worth £ 500000 for this marketing plan.
Evaluation of Omni channel marketing has evolved
Omni channel marketing provides better experienced to customers across different
channel that are related to decision making of buyer journey. Marketing have been transformed
in digital age as now a day companies are using more and more social media, websites and
mobile application to promote products and services of company (Morris, 2019). Therefore
Omni channel provides benefits to company to consistency aware customers about brand and
products offered by firm to its customers. Omni channel marketing plan of Unilever is as
follows:
1. Marketing manager of Unilever in order to create awareness among people have used
unified and consistence content so that customers can be confused and are easily
informed about brand.
2. Unilever manager have determined the right channel such as Facebook that need to be
used to promote or inform customers about various products and service of organisation.
It also ensures that right message is sent to target customers so that they can be
influenced to choose products of company.
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3. Marketing manager have evaluated different channel of marketing on basis of cost, risk
involved in order to prioritize channel that can be used to motivates and inspire specific
individual.
4. After development of clear and consistence marketing strategy manager of Unilever
select particular tool that can be used to provide sufficient information to customers.
5. At last marketing manager of Unilever evaluates performance of different marketing
strategy so that improvement can be made in plans for better result or outcome.
Tool and techniques to plan an end to end Omni channel marketing campaign
Therefore various tool and techniques that are used to plan an end to end Omni channel
marketing campaign are as follows:
Ecommerce websites: Marketing manager of Unilever have planned to create ecommerce
websites in order to increase awareness among customers about different products and services
(Negoiţă and et.al., 2018). It also helps in adding sale volume and profitability of organisation as
wide number of customers can be influenced within minimum expense and time.
Secure payment gateway: Unilever marketing manager have ensured security of various crucial
information of customers due to increasing cyber attacks and crime in daily life. Therefore it has
taken various security measures as well as secured payment gateways for retaining maximum
customer’s satisfaction.
Mobile application: Most of the customers like to make purchase through their smart phones or
application as it provide ease and comfort to them in ordering specific products and services of
Unilever. Company in order to retained existing as well as add new customers have planned to
provide option so that they can easily select products through their Smartphone while sitting at
home or offices.
Social Media: Marketing manager of Unilever update various social accounts such as Facebook
and Instragram thus it have add more values to customers touch point and helped in enhancing
their experienced. Therefore social media has contributed towards increasing sales volume and
market share of enterprise.
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Activity 4
Evaluation of measurements techniques and performance metrics in digital marketing
There are various performance metrics that can be used by manager of company to
evaluate successfulness of digital marketing campaign. But before it needs to set appropriate
goals or objectives that need to be achieved so that it can easily compared set objectives with
actual outcome of digital marketing (Carvalhosa and et.al., 2017,). There are various items that
state websites traffic metrics which is most essential for growth and success with digital
marketing such as:
Overall website traffic: Performance of digital marketing of Unilever can be done through
number of people visit particular websites. More and more traffic in official websites of
company illustrate that maximum number of individual are watching and influencing to buy
particular products and services. Therefore it can be stated that measuring website traffic metrics
has helped firm through providing insight about when and effective working of campaign.
Traffic by source: It is another element of website traffic metrics that state background from
which people are coming from thus it helped manager of Unilever to determined number of
people that need to given more importance or less priority so that valuable time, efforts of
employees can be saved.
New visitors vs. returning visitors: manager of Unilever through using dual performance
metrics is able to find who effective the website content is over time. Number of people on
regular basis visit official websites of Unilever thus it can be stated that company have provided
useful, valuable information to people (Tekin and et.al., 2018). It have influenced more and more
people to visit websites of firm so that they can now about recent offers and products offered by
enterprise. Therefore manager through finding new visitors can formulated effective strategies to
influence them to purchase products and services of company so that it can achieve its goals.
Page View: It is another method that can be used by manager of Unilever that explained about
number of pages visit or view by particular individual. Through page view techniques manager is
able to know that the whole websites is valuable and provide sufficient information or only
specific pages are importance. Thus, it can plan different method to improve websites so that
more people are attracted or influenced to visit websites and make purchase. It also provides
information to manager about number of pages visit by people in given time frame so that it can
easily evaluated performance of digital marketing.
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Exit Rates: It is techniques or metric that provides information about user experienced and
designing of websites and it also show exact point where most of people tend to leave particular
websites after reviewed of various content. On the other hand bounce rates is used to find or
identify when someone views particular webpage so that certain improvement can be made in
digital marketing strategies to retained most customers within firm.
Social reach: Company always planned to market its products and services to large number of
customers so that it can enhance its sales and profit margin. Therefore social media metrics helps
manager of Unilever to find out number of people are informed about content of firm (Opresnik,
2018). It can also be stated that number of people engaged in websites are always less than
number of people firm have reached.
Social engagement: It is estimation about number of people engage or interacts on any social
post that is made by manager of Unilever to attract maximum number of customers. Such as
likes, share, comment, Retweets and clicks helps manager to identify number of people are
interested in products or brand of specific organisation. There are positive comments, number of
likes and share of Unilever products post that illustrated that company have effective market its
products to customers.
Set of action that can be used to improve performance in digital marketing
Digital marketing is one of the cheapest and effective methods to market or promote
products and service to wide range of customers so that firm can achieve its specific objectives.
Unilever marketing manager can follow various steps or action in order to improve performance
of digital marketing so that company can earn more profitability and market share. Therefore
various steps that need to be taken by marketing manager are as follows:
Review of digital marketing strategy: Manager continuously review digital marketing strategy
of company so that various errors or deflect, problem in strategies can be removed and overall
objectives can be achieved (Smith, 2019). Monitor and supervision of different digital marketing
strategies helps in improvement as per current trends so that wants of customers can be fulfilled.
Recruitment of high skilled digital marketing team: Unilever manager have planned to
improve digital marketing through making team of people that are specialised in making content,
analysing number of data in order to get accurate information about particular thing. Individual
that has skills, knowledge to effectively manage social media platform such as Facebook,
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Instragram. Manager has planned to include team member that can provide best services to
customers through resolving various problems and grievance that they faced while working.
Multi channel digital marketing campaign: Unilever marketing manager in order to get best
outcome form strategies has to use multi digital marketing campaign. It helps in effectively
reaching target customers within limited time and cost so that firm can gain competitive
advantages. Marketing manager through using multi channel strategy can easily influence
maximum number of customers as most of the people take final decision to make purchase after
review of different channels.
Epic content: It can also used by marketing manager of Unilever to get maximum market share
and enhance customer’s satisfaction. Marketing manager should ensure that epic and attractive
content should be post in order to influence target audience. This strategy can provide various
benefits to company such as helps in generation of number of shares, likes and deeper
engagement of maximum number of people towards company operation (Ribeiro and et.al.,
2017). Therefore epic content helps marketing manager to attract existing as well as new
customers to prefer products of Unilever.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that there is wide difference between online
and offline marketing that can be used by company to influenced customers. Customer’s trends
and taste keeps on changing therefore company need to adapt to particular changes in order to
grow and sustain in competitive environment. Various digital tools, channel helps in building
strong relationship among customers and enhancement of sales volume. At last marketing
manager can used set of action to improve digital marketing for growth of organisation.
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