Lesson 8 – Digital Marketing Fundamentals

Digital Marketing Fundamentals

To explore the basics of digital marketing, including the marketing funnel, content, SEO, social media, and email strategies.

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Lesson Resources – Digital Marketing Fundamentals Handout

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Video Transcript –Digital Marketing Fundamentals

Objective: To explore the basics of digital marketing, including the marketing funnel, content, SEO, social media, and email strategies.

“Welcome to Digital Marketing Fundamentals, Volunteer Managers! In this Module, we’ll combine what we’ve learned so far, and view it through the lens of digital marketing…

Digital marketing is any sort of advertising or promotion communicated through digital platforms, including every technique we’ve discussed, ranging from social media to blogs, search engines and websites, to email campaigns and paid online advertisements… Digital marketing uses digital skills to gain awareness around a brand and its mission and services.

One of the core pillars of digital marketing is content marketing. We’ve talked about content throughout our modules: content is any information, media, or online communication that holds a purpose, whether that’s to educate, inspire, or gain donations… The best content is a combination of it all, providing relevant value to the consumer, whether they take the desired action or not.

In digital marketing, content is often the umbrella term for media such as blogs, social media posts, designs, videos, messages, and any media you can consume. One of the best parts of content marketing is that it doesn’t cost much! You can create a social media profile for free if you have a smartphone and internet connection. You can even create designs, record videos, take pictures, and write content at little-to-no cost! Digital marketing has opened up innumerable opportunities for not-for-profits, business owners, and individuals alike. We can reach hundreds, thousands, or even millions of people, without paying a cent.

However, this strategy requires truly understanding the “digital marketing funnel,” which is the journey a user takes to find a brand, create a relationship with them, and eventually make a purchase, donation, or another desired action.

We want to think of a marketing funnel as building a relationship with someone.

Think of it like this: how do you find an organisation? This is Awareness, which is the first step in the marketing funnel. Using our relationship analogy, think of this step as how you get to know someone for the first time – where do you meet them? A volunteer or donor might first become aware of an organisation through a search engine, which makes website and SEO strategy important as a way of gaining awareness.

Alternatively, they might find an organisation through their social media account or an online advertisement. Regardless, this is the first step in the funnel. Without awareness, we cannot fulfil our purpose!

Next, we generate Interest. Once an organisation builds awareness, it should find a way to interest the user enough to form a relationship or ongoing connection. This might be to follow them on social media, sign up for their newsletter, or subscribe somehow. This gets them to learn more about the organisation without imposing any pressure on them, and is a way to help them keep in touch. Again, in terms of a relationship, think of this as getting someone’s phone number, email address, or social media account so that you can become friends and stay in contact.

From here, we nurture and gain a relationship with them. This is the third step: Consideration. As with any relationship, we talk and familiarise ourselves in order to build trust and connection. In digital marketing, a brand accomplishes this through valuable social media posts, insightful email newsletters, and other online content that educates, empowers, and engages. Here, focus less on advertising and more on creating a relationship.

From there, we can more easily gain a commitment –– a Conversion, which is the next step in our funnel. Once you have established trust, it is easier to ask a potential volunteer, donor, or other stakeholder to invest. Because they know the free value your organisation offers because of its valuable content, if they want either more value or want to contribute to it, they can take action!

With this relationship established, action and conversion are much easier to obtain, due to the power of trust. If we tried to skip from Point A to Point B, walking up to a stranger and asking them to donate to our cause, they’d likely be sceptical! But suppose an individual is given the time, resources, and care to gain the information, context, and trust they need to invest in a brand or donate to a cause. In that case, they can do so with more confidence and success. And if their donation or purchase goes well, they’re even more likely to do it again and spread the word to their friends! This is why the most critical work is caring for and supporting those who are already contributing and committed to a cause. When an organisation truly cares about their supporters, its supporters care about them.

This is why there’s not much of a difference between relationships and digital marketing. We must build a relationship to demonstrate our purpose and value to support security and motivation for an individual to take the desired action. This desired action is to receive donations and motivated volunteers, both of which help us fulfil our organisational mission and purpose.

Now, we’ll learn how each digital marketing and content strategy plays a role in this journey and the best practices of each basic technique. Ready to help us make a difference? Let’s get started.”