Digital Communication

Describe protocols, devices and methods used in digital communication systems with some appropriate use of subject terminology  Be able to use digital communication techniques Show evidence of using the following Digital Communication systems Messaging systems: email; instant messaging (IM), eg Windows Live Messenger, MSN, AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), Google Talk; short messaging system (SMS) from mobiles and PCs; multimedia messaging system (MMS) Show evidence of using these systems at your place of work. Using screen shots to evidence these.  Web 2.0 communities: discussion forums; wikis; blogs; virtual learning environments (VLE); social networking, eg Facebook, Twitter; information sharing, eg Flickr, YouTube Conferencing: audio conferencing Voiceover internet protocol (VoIP); videoconferencing; conferencing via virtual communities, eg MMPRPGs, Second Life Devices: wireless handheld devices (mobile phone, personal digital assistant, ipods. Webcam; headsets; Bluetooth devices, eg laptops, mobile phones, headsets, Wiimotes; conferencing software, eg Netmeeting, Skype, GoogleTalk; games consoles, eg XboxLive, Wii Speak  Be able to produce a website Purpose: audience; device considerations (PC, mobile device, browser software) Content: eg text, images, animation, video, sounds, music, Web 2.0 content (social networking, information sharing) All sizes are in pixels, and depending on the screen, tablet of mobile this will all change. Responsive websites will do this automatically to support the device the webpage is being displayed on. Test screen shots in photoshop and you can measure sizes in pixels to help you plan your website. Plan: page layout sketches (page design briefs, storyboards); site map; legal and ethical considerations; copyright permissions. Here are some examples. Structure: site structure, eg index page, linked content pages; page layout, eg consistency, heading style, body style, colour scheme; folder management (images subfolder); page naming conventions; template; style sheets; hyperlinks; page structure, eg head, body, metatags Software: hypertext markup language (HTML); cascading style sheets (css); text editor, eg Notepad; visual editor, eg Dreamweaver  Hypertext Markup Language, a standardized system for tagging text files to achieve font, color, graphic, and hyperlink effects on World Wide Web pages. Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a simple mechanism for adding style (e.g., fonts, colors, spacing) to Web documents. Adobe Dreaweaver Testing: accessibility; code; link; spelling; preview; documented test results Upload: file transfer protocol (FTP) Reflective practice: finished product (compared with original intentions, fitness for purpose, technical qualities, aesthetic qualities, content, style); production skills; ideas generation; planning; preparation; workflow  time management; (Gantt Charts) technical competence;  project management;  monitoring work in progress;  creative ability;  own work; teamwork ;  Self-evaluation; comments from others, eg audience, peers, tutors, client; documentation, eg notes, sketches, storyboards, production logs  Assignment Create a Website Promoting Yourself and your Apprenticeship learning Journey, through Assignments and your digital portfolio.  Learners will:  • consider and interpret the brief  • generate and record ideas • find suitable assets and document their locations  • consider the legal and ethical implications of their proposed work  • carry out planning activities prior to production  • undertake production workshop sessions following their planned ideas  • test and improve a draft version  • publish the website  • present work to peers  • compile a development blog evidencing their creative work and reviewing their own website.   learner exploration of: • text-based communication systems and language conventions • video and audio-based communication systems • Web 2.0 devices. Learners will contribute to a Virtual Learning Environment explaining and demonstrating uses of digital communication systems. Learners must provide: • information on protocols, devices and methods • evidence of use of systems, eg diary of use, video recording of webcam conversations, screenshots of usage etc. Building skills in use of web authoring tools: • creating content • site structure • software • testing. Learners will: • consider and interpret the brief • generate and record ideas • find suitable assets and document their locations • consider the legal and ethical implications of their proposed work • carry out planning activities prior to production • undertake production workshop sessions following their planned ideas • test and improve a draft version • publish the website • present work to peers • compile a development blog evidencing their creative work and reviewing their own website. Further reading about Websites. ezinearticles.com/?How-Do-I-Make-a-Mobile-Device-Website?&id=686216 create web pages for mobile devices web2.ajaxprojects.com/web2/newsdetails.php?itemid=29 — create a Web2.0 page webdesign.about.com/od/webdesignbasics/Basics_of_Web_Design.htm —tips on how to design websites www.about-the-web.com/shtml/creating.shtml — tips on how to design websites www.go2web20.net/ — lists Web 2.0 tools and applications www.great-web-design-tips.com/ — tips on how to design websites www.howtocreate.co.uk/ — tips on how to design websites www.learnthat.com/internet/all.asp — a directory of web-design tutorials and articles www.listio.com/ — lists Web 2.0 tools and applications www.netgear.co.uk/home_newnetwork_broadband.php — simple explanation of different broadband technologies www.w3.org/QA/Tools — validation tools www.w3.org/WAI/ — web accessibility standards and guidelines www.w3schools.com — tutorials

Principles of social media advertising and promotion

What are Digital Vouchers?

		Explain the potential uses of digital vouchers Vouchers usually include offers such as 2 for 1: 2 for £10 or 50% off. Vouchers are issued by the retailer and redeemed at that retailer only. Vouchers are self liquidating; the value of the voucher is built into the retailer’s product margin. A voucher is something that gets sent to you through the post or something that you have collected points for. It’s something that you get given A voucher is actually like cash, a coupon is just money off A voucher is money that you go and spend, a coupon you have to buy something to get money off. Digital shopper marketing initiatives can be categorised in the same way as traditional shopper marketing initiatives. Digital vouchers and coupons are therefore just one category of digital shopper marketing initiative. •At the simplest level digital shopper marketing initiatives share the same characteristics as traditional shopper marketing initiatives, and this aspect can be separated from the way in which the initiative is targeted at the shopper. Initiatives range from coupons, special offers and loyalty rewards to enhanced product information, recipe suggestions and even initiatives that seek to improve the shoppers experience (for example by making their grocery shopping easier). •Digital coupons and offers are among the best established digital shopper marketing initiatives in the market that are widely available and  largely accepted by shoppers. Delivered by e-mail, SMS, websites, smartphone apps and digital kiosks in-store, digital coupons enable marketers to target shoppers with highly personalised content, in turn influencing the shopper’s decision making process. •Also marketers may benefit from integration of digital coupons and vouchers with other digital shopper marketing  initiatives. For example, with the advent of digital media it is possible  to link redemption of digital coupons with loyalty schemes, or even directly with digital shopping lists or online baskets.
		Research the current disadvantages of digital vouchers Data security: Shoppers may still feel reluctant to give their personal details or don’t feel like they benefit enough from the trade off. Signing up with a voucher site or registration on a retailer site may not seem worth the effort. Internet connection required: Network coverage issues are possible when internet connection is required for redemption of digital vouchers. Awareness: Shoppers aren’t necessarily aware of vouchers being also digitally redeemable even if they have the technology, i.e. a smartphone required. Technology: Approximately half of shoppers still don’t have smartphones which means that using digital coupons alone isn’t profitable for a retailer. Know-how: Lack of knowledge of how to redeem digital vouchers Technical issues: Problems in scanning vouchers can cause delays and frustration
		Explain how to overcome the barriers of using digital vouchers for acquisition and retention of customers •Just over half (53.1%) of food and grocery shoppers say the security of payments made with a mobile phone concerns them. This, however may change as mobile phone payments, especially ones using NFC (near field communications) technology, become more common. •Almost half of shoppers (48.3%) also mention being concerned about sharing personal information with a coupon provider even if meant getting more relevant offers. Many coupon and voucher providers require some personal information such as email address a phone number and sometimes even home address when signing up with their service offering. •Only approximately a quarter of shoppers are concerned about sharing their location with a coupon provider  in order to get location-based offers. Location-based offers are becoming more popular and popular providers are Foursquare and Google Offers (in the United States).  Research and analysis helps clients develop targeted shopper marketing initiatives designed to influence shoppers at the point of purchase.
		Plan a SMART digital voucher campaign for a business SMART Specific measurable attainable relevant timely
		Explain methods of managing a digital voucher system Methods Online numbered coupon allocation published code and URL number to book online database of allocation maintained by vendor
Explain how to measure the effectiveness of a digital voucher campaign. If you’re running a social media campaign you are probably not doing it for fun – you are most likely looking for results. In most cases, the intended outcome of a social media campaign is to strengthen and increase awareness of your brand. In the past, traditional marketing efforts in this arena were difficult to evaluate due to the complications of determining the link between a campaign and brand awareness. One of the appeals of social media marketing is the fact that, as a digital campaign, it is possible to measure various metrics and so evaluate the effectiveness of your campaign. Use these five methods to measure the success and effectiveness of your social media campaign. 1. Brand Reach & Exposure “Mentions” Unfortunately, measuring your brand reach or potential viewers of your social media campaign is not quite as rudimentary as tracking the total number of Facebook fans and Twitter followers you have. In order to better account for duplicate users you should focus not on your raw numbers but on your percentage growth rate. Remember to compare like with like by measuring metrics over a defined period of time i.e. monthly or quarterly. For example, with Twitter your total potential reach over the course of a month is made up of your followers and the followers of those that re-tweet your message. Comparing each of these figures with their previous monthly totals allows you to focus in on growth areas. For Facebook tracking you want to record the number of fans you have for your page. In addition, record the number of friends that each user who has: Become a fan during the month Commented on your post during the month and Liked your post during the month. On YouTube: Track your channel’s views, subscriber numbers and your video bounce rates over the month. On Your blog: look at the number of visitors to related posts over the month. Don’t forget to look at metrics that are not directly tied to social media. Website traffic and searches that are related to your brand also indicate increased brand awareness. Useful Tools:TweetReach, Facebook Insights 2. Engagement By measuring how many users engage and interact with your message you can evaluate the appeal and interest of your marketing efforts. The more engagement you see the more effective and valuable your campaign. Facebook – Number of clicks your links received. Number of times your messages were commented on. Number of times your messages were liked. Twitter – Number of times your hashtag was included in tweets. Number of retweets. Number of clicks your link received. Total number of Twitter users involved in activity. Blog – Number of new subscribers. Amount of sharing of the posts. Amount of comments. Youtube – Amount of new subscribers. Amount and type of ratings (positive or negative) Number of comments. 3. Share of Voice and Sentiment (marketplace competition) Share of voice is a valuable metric for evaluating your brand’s penetration in comparison to your competitors. However, leaving your analysis at simply finding out where you stand on pure mentions would be a mistake. You also need to qualitatively analyse how your brand is being talked about, thereby finding out what sentiments your base has towards your brand. After all a 75% share of mentions, most of which are positive is a very different beast from a 75% share of mentions, most of which are negative. Calculating your share of voice requires a bit of data processing. You first need to collect data on the number of times your brand is mentioned over a specific time period. You must also record mentions of your competitors’ brands. You need to assign each mention a category of positive, negative or neutral. Finally you need to weight each of those categories in order to evaluate both your share of voice and the sentiment towards your brand. Useful Tools: Trackur, Radian6, Social Mention, Google Trends, Google Insights 4. Influence When you have a high level of influence, you are more likely to inspire your followers to take some kind of action such as engaging with your message or making a purchase. Metrics you can use to evaluate your influence include: The number of links to your message and content. How often your twitter messages are retweeted. How often your Facebook posts are liked, commented on and shared. The influence of your followers and those who engaged with you should also be tracked here. Useful Tools:PostRank, TwentyFeet, Twylah (a manual check is, however, the best tool here). 5. Finally…Measure Conversions It might be tempting to jump straight into the measurement of conversions and return on investment. However, without analysing the previous metrics you are missing out on important data that tells you not just what your ROI is, but why it is so. There are a number of methods of tracking conversions from your social media marketing campaign: Track social media traffic to your website in its own category – use segments in Google Analytics. Advertise a coupon or deal on social media to properly assign conversions to your campaign, even if the traffic itself does not come from social media. Don’t make the mistake of only tracking direct sales or ad-clicks. Time spent on a particular page, viewing of various products and other such actions can also give you valuable data. Useful Tools:Google Analytics Return on Investment (ROI) is the benefit to an investor resulting from an investment of some resource. A high ROI means the investment gains compare favourably to investment cost. As a performance measure, ROI is used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment or to compare the efficiency of a number of different investments.[1] In purely economic terms, it is one way of considering profits in relation to capital invested.

Digital Coupons

Digital Coupons

In marketing, a coupon is a ticket or document that can be redeemed for a financial discount or rebate when purchasing a product.

Customarily, coupons are issued by manufacturers of consumer packaged goods or by retailers, to be used in retail stores as a part of sales promotions. They are often widely distributed through mail, coupon envelopes, magazines, newspapers, the Internet (social media, email newsletter), directly from the retailer, and mobile devices such as cell phones. Since only price conscious consumers are likely to spend the time to claim the savings, coupons function as a form of price discrimination, enabling retailers to offer a lower price only to those consumers who would otherwise go elsewhere. In addition, coupons can also be targeted selectively to regional markets in which price competition is great.

Overview

It’s not uncommon to see coupon redemption rates rise during a recession, but recently there has been significant growth and innovation in the market for digital and mobile coupons. In 2010, the use of digital coupons by manufacturers grew 60% according to Kantar Media Group; however digital coupons only represent 1% of total distribution.

A key thing to note about digital coupons is that they have redemption rates close to twenty times higher than free-standing inserts and significantly higher than direct mail and electronic dispensed coupons.

Traditional coupons may still hold the lion’s share of the market, but digital coupons are growing faster. Retailers are using digital coupons to drive consumers to their websites, but brands can benefit from the shorter lead times that digital coupons offer as well as getting around any exclusivity restrictions, among other benefits (Source: Ad Age). In this POV we’ve provided a summary of available digital coupon varieties including information on mobile coupons.

Where can you find digital coupons?

Digital coupons can be delivered to consumers through a variety of channels:
Coupon aggregator sites like Coupons.com, Red Plum, Coupon Cabin, Coupon Mom, Dealery.com and countless others allow users to easily browse coupons that can be localized to their zip code and then print them out — the modern equivalent to a Sunday circular. The deals are activated when users bring their printed out coupons to the register.

Brand Websites: By partnering with vendors like Coupons.com, marketers can provide printable coupons to visitors on their own sites (for example, serving Kraft coupons directly from Kraftfoods.com).

Retailer Websites: Retailers like Kroger and Safeway are making coupons available directly from their sites, and allowing consumers to connect them to their loyalty cards or print them out. The benefit of going directly to the retailer site is that consumers know these coupons will be accepted at the register (See an example of a coupon call to action on Kroger.com at right).
Digital Display Media: Consumers can be alerted to finding digital coupons through online banners and display media, with calls to action such as “click for a coupon.”

Social Media: Social networks and communities are great venues for coupons as consumers are already expecting to receive some added value for joining brand communities. Furthermore, coupons distributed socially have the potential to be spread virally. One example of how to leverage a social media coupon is putting a coupon offer on a non-fan Facebook landing page in order to encourage fans to Like your page and buy your product.

Email: Many sites will offer email newsletters that deliver coupons directly to consumers who have opted in, and brands can integrate them into their email marketing.

Digital FSI’s: A digital FSI (free-standing insert) is a way of spreading your product’s coupon or promotion across a large content network, similar to placing a media buy with an ad network. 

Several coupon vendors have large established “coupon content networks” and offer mass reach. Some offer geo-targeting and pay-for-performance deals. 

An interesting way of delivering some of these coupons is to integrate them into highly relevant content such as within online recipe ingredient links. 


Which consumers are using digital coupons?

Consumers who are using digital coupons represent a desirable consumer group:-
Digital coupon printers are 35% more likely to have a household income of $75K+ compared to the general population

They are better educated: digital coupon printers are 17% more likely to have graduated college or more than the general population

They are also younger and more likely to live in households with more children

Pros & Cons
Pros of using digital coupons:

Convenience: Consumers no longer have to pay and wait for Sunday newspapers to clip coupons

Metrics: Digital coupons can offer better tracking opportunities for brands

Speed: Digital allows brands to create offers/coupons with shorter lead times

Lower costs: Digital coupons pass the cost of printing on to consumers. Also, brands can set a print limit per IP address so consumers can only print a single coupon

Capture demand: Marketers can use digital coupons to take advantage of consumers that are searching for a particular product or brand

Higher redemption rates: Better targeting leads to improved redemption rates

Sharability: Digital coupons can be easily shared by consumers
Cons of using digital coupons:

Reach: Traditional coupons still reach more users, even among Internet users

Audience: Keep in mind that your traditional coupon clipping target may not be the same as your digital coupon audience

In-store Experience: Not all retailers accept printed coupons, and for printed coupons consumers will still have to remember to bring the print outs

Application Download: Some coupon programs will require users to download an application in order to access the offer, additional steps may cause users to drop off

Paid Media Support: Often times additional paid media support will be necessary to achieve your campaign print goals

Mobile Coupons

Mobile coupons can be delivered via text message, custom apps, barcodes or other formats. Coupons delivered via a mobile device are gaining attention; however, their use is somewhat hampered by the lack of infrastructure at retail locations to implement them at the register.

Earlier this year, Target became the first major retailer to process and accept mobile coupons. To date it is the first large scale retailer to allow consumers to redeem coupons via mobile barcodes that can be scanned at the register 

A more seamless way of connecting mobile users to coupons is by connecting them via loyalty cards. Companies like Cellfire and Cardstar will send shoppers coupon offers directly to their mobile device (including iPads) to browse, select, and then load them directly on their loyalty cards.

Audience:

Like digital coupons, mobile coupon users are younger than traditional coupon clippers 

Pros of mobile coupons:

Convenience: Mobile coupons offer the ultimate convenience, as they are easier to work with than traditional coupons; no searching, sorting, clipping or remembering to bring them to the store necessary. Also, there is no need to have another loyalty card in your wallet or on your keychain.
Cool factor: Having access to mobile coupons may attract a younger/more affluent target that does not believe in the merits of traditional coupon clipping.
Cons of mobile coupons:

Limited Audience: This has yet to become mainstream usage among consumers; it’s still an early adopter activity. According to eMarketer just under 15% of mobile phone users have ever used a mobile coupon.

Lack of Adoption In-Store: Few retailers have the infrastructure to scan mobile coupon codes.

Other forms of digital coupons

Groupon: Groupon began in 2008 as an email-based service for local deals that were only activated when a certain threshold of users sign up for that deal. Today, Groupon has 25 million subscribers worldwide (15MM in North America) and there are many imitators out there following in their footsteps like TheDealist, LivingSocial, and several other brands and retailers. For example, Walmart recently launched Crowdsaver on their Facebook Page. Crowdsaver works similar to Groupon, putting the success of achieving a deal in the hands of the consumers. Walmart will set a threshold of “likes” that an offer must reach before the deal becomes available to those who “liked” it.

Foursquare: The heavily buzzed about location based social network often allows retailers, restaurants, bars and other locations to offer local specials based on where users check into. They are now expanding their services in a partnership with Safeway and PepsiCo. Foursquare is piloting a test program where Safeway visitors can link their loyalty card accounts to their Foursquare accounts. When they check in to Safeway Stores, they will receive PepsiCo related coupons that print right at the cashier. The second component of this program actually links to user behavior, where consumers who check in to the gym often will receive coupons for gym related products, such as Sobe Lifewater.


E-Commerce Coupon Codes: With the growth of e-commerce has come the growth of searching for coupon codes before making purchases online. Consumers are increasingly conducting online searches, such as “Orbitz Coupon Codes,” prior to booking travel with the hope of attaining a promotion code that will save them money upon checkout. Some of the better-known sites for this type of coupon are RetailMeNot.com and DealTaker.com.

Facebook Deals: Facebook is offering four types of deals that marketers can post connected to Places that they own:

Individual: These are for one-off deals such as a discount or a free gift with a purchase. For instance, JCPenney is offering Facebook Places users $10 off any $50 purchase. Marketers can limit reward recipients to a certain number of people who check in.

Friend: Businesses can reward groups of up to eight people checking in together, with the goal of generating more News Feed exposure.

Loyalty: Marketers can reward consumers who check in between two and twenty times with this punch-card type of program.

Charity: Each time a visitor checks in, a business can donate to a partner charity.
 For instance, The North Face will donate $1 to the National Park Foundation when any Facebook Places user checks in to a North Face retail store or one of roughly 400 national parks. There are no costs involved for deals, and as this is rolled out more broadly,

 Place owners will be able to create a deal with a one-page form on Facebook’s site (not the mobile versions). More than 20 marketers are offering deals at the outset, and all are listed on Facebook’s blog.

 Concluding Thoughts

Why does digital couponing make sense for marketers?

“The New Normal”: Many researchers believe that because of the recession and slow recovery, many consumers will not abandon their newly adopted frugality and continue to use money-saving techniques like coupons. This may bring concern to many marketers, but when leveraged correctly digital coupons can be a great way to drive trial and usage, and digital coupons allow manufacturers to set limits to prevent issues with over-redemption.

Social Network Benefits: Not only are digital coupons great at driving trial but they are also a great way to increase you Facebook fan base. Many brands have used digital coupons as an incentive to get new fans or followers. In fact, a recent report from ExactTarget and CoTweet revealed that the top reason consumers will “like” a company or brand on Facebook is to receive discounts and coupons 

Battle against Private label: Competition with retailers and their private label brands is intensifying. Digital coupons can provide brands with a way to keep their consumers interested in their products.
Growth of Smartphones: Technology is making shopper-marketing efforts more important than ever. When considering long-term growth, marketers should look to digital and mobile coupon efforts to stay ahead of the curve.

What are call to action buttons?

Call-to-action (CTA) buttons are the buttons you use in your website and on your landing pages to guide users towards your goal conversion. It's the part of the landing page that the user needs to click in order to take the action you want them to take.