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MKTG 3700: Digital Marketing Fall 2014 Tu/Th 12:30‐1:45 KOBL 220 Professor Laura Kornish [email protected] @laurakornish http://www.facebook.com/laurakornish Office: KOBL 479 Office Hours: Tuesday 2:00‐3:30 and by appointment Course Description Digital marketing is an exciting area of marketing practice. In this course, we will cover the what, why, and how of major current approaches, including online listening and monitoring, search engine optimization, search and display ads, affiliates, email marketing, and social media. In addition to those specific topics, three key messages are woven throughout the course. First, you should establish habits for keeping up to date on emerging digital technologies relevant to business and to marketing. Second, you need to ask how the latest digital tactics can support business objectives. Third, you should identify data sources that allow you to define and track performance for your digital marketing activities. The course is designed to get you to think like a digital marketing professional, and to give you experience with industry‐relevant hands‐on assignments and exercises. Course Materials The course materials will primarily be posted on D2L. In addition, there are some Harvard Business Publishing cases to purchase online. The link to those cases will be posted in D2L. Prerequisites The prerequisite for this class is the BCOR Marketing class (BCOR 2400). Evaluation Components (1000 points total) Assignments = 500 points total Listening Assignment, 75 points GRAMMYs Assignment 75 points Driving Traffic Assignment, 150 points Ethical Dilemma, 50 points Case Study, 150 points Class participation and attendance = 100 points total Attendance, 50 points Overall class participation, 30 points Specific class participation assignments, 20 points Exams = 400 points total Midterm exam, 150 points Cumulative final exam, 250 points 1 Attendance and Class Participation Attendance is worth 50 points in your grade. For each of 28 class sessions, excluding the first day and the day I will be away, you receive 2 points for on time attendance, up to a total of 50 points. That means you can miss three classes during the semester without attendance penalty. If you have to miss class, you do not need to let me know. Absences are not “excused” or “unexcused.” If you do miss, it is your responsibility to ask a classmate what you missed, to get all the relevant information from a classmate, and to make sure you complete any assignments. If you ask me, “I am going to miss class, is there anything I need to do?” I will know you have not read this section! Class participation is worth 30 points, determined at the end of the semester. Here are the questions I ask myself to evaluate class participation. Did this student  Attend class?  Come prepared for class and actively participate in class?  Contribute to the classroom learning experience of his/her classmates?  Interact in a pleasant and professional manner?  Refrain from asking for exceptions to course policies?  Adhere to the no electronics policy? Each person will also be given two specific class participation assignments, worth 10 points each. The specific assignment format gives everyone a better opportunity to substantially contribute to the class discussion throughout the semester. If you miss class on the day of your assignment, you will receive a 0 for that assignment. Examples of specific assignments are given the provisional schedule. Finalized assignments will be posted in D2L. Major Course Learning Objectives 1. Be able to discover what people are saying about a brand or company online and communicate the messages in the data. Adopt best practices in graphical displays of information. 2. Learn how to use web site and social media analytics tools and know how to interpret the data. 3. Be fluent in the vocabulary of online display advertising: understand the role of intermediaries between advertisers and publishers, know the different forms of advertising payment (CPM, CPC, CPA), and be able to differentiate the various forms of targeting. 4. Understand how the concepts in display advertising apply to online affiliates. 5. Be able to advise a company about how to improve their search ranking through search engine optimization (SEO) best practices. 6. Recommend keywords for websites and search ads based on search behavior and competitive analysis. 7. Know the fundamentals of running search ad campaigns and interpreting their results. 8. Gain experience driving traffic to a website, critically evaluating what was effective and what was not. 9. Know the appropriate metrics to evaluate performance in an email marketing funnel and understand the capabilities of marketing automation tools. 10. Write actionable objectives for digital marketing initiatives. 11. Develop personal positions about ethical issues in digital marketing activities. 12. Improve your proficiency with Excel spreadsheets, including absolute ($) and relative references for dragging formulas; =SUM(), =COUNTIF(), =VLOOKUP() and other functions; cell references to other tabs in a worksheet; Pivot Tables; and graphing. 2 Electronics policy Unless otherwise stated, please do not use your computers, phones, or other electronic devices during class. I understand that computers can be useful for note taking, but I have found the use of electronics in class detracts from the classroom environment. There will be specific times when I will ask you to do something on a computer or device, but I will be very clear about those times. Late Assignments Grades on late assignments will be reduced by 10% of the full assignment points for each day an assignment is late. Late days are counted starting from the due date and time (an assignment 2 hours late is one day late; an assignment 26 hours late is 2 days late, etc.). All days, including weekends and holidays, count. Please double check that your assignments are uploaded. It is a good idea to save the “upload successful” receipt. Missed Exams I do not give make‐up exams. If you miss the midterm exam due to a documented emergency, your final exam grade will count for the missed exam. Or, if you know you will miss an exam due to a school‐
related event (club conference or job interview) and you give me at least a week’s notice and you provide documentation of your conflict, I will try to offer you an opportunity to take the exam early. If that does not work for some reason (and it may not), then your final exam grade will count for the missed exam. If you know you will miss the midterm for a personal reason (e.g., travel plans) and you let me know at least a week in advance, I will try to offer you an opportunity to take it early. If I cannot, your final exam grade will count for the missed exam. Either way (early or final grade), you will incur a penalty of 25%‐
50% of the full points on an exam missed for a non‐emergency personal reason. The penalty will be higher for people who give me less notice or who can’t gracefully accept the penalty as a consequence of their own planning. If you miss the final exam, you will receive an incomplete in the course. Honor Code All students of the University of Colorado at Boulder are responsible for knowing and adhering to the academic integrity policy of this institution. Violations of this policy may include: cheating, plagiarism, aid of academic dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery, and threatening behavior. All incidents of academic misconduct shall be reported to the Honor Code Council ([email protected]; 303‐735‐
2273). Students who are found to be in violation of the academic integrity policy will be subject to both academic sanctions from the faculty member and non‐academic sanctions (including but not limited to university probation, suspension, or expulsion). Other information on the Honor Code can be found at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/honor.html and at http://honorcode.colorado.edu. Disability Services If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit to your professor a letter from Disability Services in a timely manner (for exam accommodations provide your letter at least one week prior to the exam) so that your needs can be addressed. Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities. Contact Disability Services at 303‐492‐8671 or by e‐mail at [email protected]. 3 Provisional Schedule: see D2L for Official Schedule Planned Course Schedule: Please see D2L for the actual course schedule, along with detailed information about what to prepare for class. Class # Date Topic(s) 1 Aug 26 The Digital Marketing Mindset Discussion of Course Assignments 2 Aug 28 Cases: Goddess Garden and Marvel: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 3 Sep 2 Web Listening and Monitoring, Introduce Listening Assignment 4 Sep 4 Website Workshop 5 Sep 9 Google Analytics (GA) 6 Sep 11 Due date for Listening Assignment, Listening Assignment Debrief, More GA 7 Sep 16 Guest Speaker (subject to confirmation) 8 Sep 18 Discussion of GRAMMYs Assignment and Data 9 Sep 23 LK away 10 Sep 25 Case: The Ford Fiesta, HBS 9‐511‐117 11 Sep 30 Due date for GRAMMYs Assignment, GRAMMYs Assignment Debrief Content Creation, Introduce Driving Traffic Assignment 12 Oct 2 Online Advertising 13 Oct 7 Online Advertising Start Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 14 Oct 9 SEO, Prep for Company Fair Due date for posting Driving Traffic Assignment link 15 Oct 14 Company Fair 16 Oct 16 More on SEO Content Marketing 17 Oct 21 Midterm 18 Oct 23 Influencers Sharing for Driving Traffic 19 Oct 28 Case: eBay Partner Network (A), HBS 9‐910‐008 20 Oct 30 Guest Speaker on Affiliates (subject to confirmation) 21 Nov 4 Search Ads 22 Nov 6 Interpreting the Results of Search Ads 23 Nov 11 Case: Air France Last day to count traffic for Driving Traffic Assignment 24 Nov 13 Regulations Relevant for Digital Marketing, Introduce Ethical Dilemma Assignment, Due date for Driving Traffic Assignment 25 Nov 18 Guest Speaker on Email Marketing (subject to confirmation) 26 Nov 20 Marketing Automation, Introduce Case Study Assignment Due date for Ethical Dilemma Thanksgiving Week 27 Dec 2 Discussion of Ethical Dilemmas 28 Dec 4 Catch Up Day 29 Dec 9 Naming 30 Dec 11 Due date for Case Study, Discussion of Case Studies Wrap‐Up See CU schedule Final Exam 4 Provisional Schedule: see D2L for Official Schedule MKTG 3700: Digital Marketing Fall 2014 Professor Laura Kornish Planned Detailed Schedule This is the provisional schedule for the class. The official schedule will be kept up to date on D2L. Class 1. The Digital Marketing Mindset; Discussion of Course Assignments My primary goal for the first class is to get you to start thinking like a digital marketing professional. Digital marketers approach their jobs with a curiosity about how new technologies will change business, with an insistence that strategy drive tactics, and with a data‐driven mindset. We will also discuss the course assignments so you will have a good sense of what you will be doing during the semester. Finally, I will explain the course policy about the use of electronic devices. Class 2. Cases: Goddess Garden and Marvel: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. These two cases were written by students from this class last semester. Lauren Reutter wrote about Goddess Garden and Ashley Ziegler wrote about ABC Entertainment Marketing. Prepare 1. Read the Goddess Garden case and the excerpt from the ABC case, which covers Marvel: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Come prepared to discuss1 the following questions: a. Find one or more similarities between the digital marketing approaches that Goddess Garden uses and the digital marketing approaches that ABC uses for Marvel, as described in the cases. b. Find one or more differences. c. Of the digital marketing techniques mentioned in the cases, which ones are you familiar with? Which ones do you have questions about? d. Pick one of digital marketing approaches mentioned in the cases. What could the company (GG or ABC) do to determine whether that approach is working? e. Lauren writes, “My advice for their social media efforts is to improve consistency. Each social media platform is a little different in the way it portrays the brand” (p. 4). Do you agree with this advice? Specific Assignments – Specific Assignments will be assigned only to specific students to prepare Find a Pinterest pinboard from a fan of Marvel. Make sure it is from a fan—a “real person”—as opposed to from ABC itself. Post a link to the pinboard to the designated thread in D2L. Come prepared to discuss whether you think this fan’s work serves as effective marketing for ABC. Search in Google for natural sunscreen. Take a screenshot of the results and post it to the designated thread in D2L. Come prepared to discuss whether Goddess Garden should be pleased about the search results. 1
When I say “come prepared to discuss,” that means you should think about the answers to these questions before class and be prepared to share your thoughts. It’s a good idea to write notes, but I will not collect them. 5 Provisional Schedule: see D2L for Official Schedule Class 3. Web Listening and Monitoring; Introduce Listening Assignment Web listening and monitoring encompass a variety of information‐gathering activities. We’ll talk about what companies use these activities for and some of the popular service providers. I’ll introduce the Listening Assignment and give you an opportunity to ask questions about it. Prepare 1. Read about Nielsen’s BuzzMetrics Services at http://www.nielsen‐
online.com/products_buzz.jsp?section=pro_buzz. Read enough so you can explain their main offerings in your own words. 2. Read the Listening Assignment and come prepared to ask questions. (See examples of past student work on this assignment on the assignments page in D2L.) 3. Familiarize yourself with these readings on data graphics. You do not need to have carefully read them all before class today, and I will not be lecturing to you on these readings. However, I do expect you to read these articles closely before you complete the Listening Assignment. In that assignment, you will need to demonstrate that you can apply the principles for graphic presentation of data in these readings. There will also be questions on the exams that test whether you have grasped the principles. a. “Effectively Communicating Numbers” (Few), pp. 1‐20. http://www.perceptualedge.com/articles/Whitepapers/Communicating_Numbers.pdf b. Data Graphics (Ulrich): https://wharton.instructure.com/courses/861232/wiki/data‐
graphics In addition to reading the text of that post, find the links in the post to Simon Lu’s video and Deb Crandall’s video and watch them. These are learning modules on this material created by students for students; they are an efficient way to reinforce the lessons in these readings. c. Tufte’s concept of data‐to‐ink ratio at http://www.infovis‐wiki.net/index.php/Data‐
Ink_Ratio An important excerpt from the Ulrich reading: "At a minimum, you are responsible for knowing [these] ideas, and demonstrating that you know them in [your listening] assignment. If you can master these ideas, you'll be able to create above‐average graphics in professional life. If you devote a bit more attention to studying Tufte, Few, and the other resources here, you have the potential to be perceived as a data genius in your professional lives." Specific Assignments Find a company besides Nielsen/Buzzmetrics that provides a web listening/monitoring product or service. Provide a link to the description of the product or service. Then write a phrase or short sentence that explains a similarity between that company’s offerings and Buzzmetrics. And write a phrase or short sentence that explains a difference between that company’s offerings and Buzzmetrics. Post your link and your written responses to a new thread in the designated discussion forum in D2L. Make your post before class. 6 Provisional Schedule: see D2L for Official Schedule Class 4. Website Workshop Today you need to bring a computer to class. Before this class, I will need to add you as a collaborator on the leedsdigitalmarketing.com website. In class you will be creating a page on this site; I will give a demo in class on how to use Google Sites. Then you will drive some traffic to the page and next week we will look at the results of the traffic. Prepare 1. Before class, verify that you have access to leedsdigitalmarketing.com. First, go to sites.google.com and log in with your colorado.edu account. Second, open a tab in your browser to leedsdigitalmarketing.com. Third, check that you are logged in: in the upper right corner of the window, you should see that your email address. If you cannot verify your access, please let me know sufficiently before class so we can troubleshoot and have you ready to go for the class activity. 2. Bring a computer to class today. 3. Come prepared with an idea about what you will put on your page on the site. It must be a PG (or G) topic! Please, no reviews of the Boulder bar scene. You’ll be sharing the link to the page with family and friends, so think about what would make for interesting content to share. Class 5. Google Analytics We will look at Google Analytics, a free tool for tracking traffic to a website. I’ll first explain what can be tracked. Then you will log into the Google Analytics for leedsdigitalmarketing.com and see if you can find the answers to questions on the handout. As time allows, we’ll talk about the idea of conversions and how to analyze data on conversions. At the end of class we will get started on a set of exercises on Goal Conversions. I will distribute hard copies of the handout. You probably won't have time to complete it in class, so you will need to finish it up for the next class. Prepare 1. Before class, make sure can access the Google Analytics for leedsdigitalmarketing.com: go to analytics.google.com, log in, and see if you can find how many views the page you built on leedsdigitalmarketing.com got. 2. Bring a computer to class today. 3. Here is the link to Google’s GA resource center: https://support.google.com/analytics/?hl=en#. Check it out. It doesn't make for great "textbook reading," but it does provide helpful answers to questions you may have. The best way to understand Google Analytics is to start looking at the data available, ask yourself questions as you go, and track down the answers. I pose a few questions below, which will be assigned to specific students, and we will go over in class. The assigned students will share not just the answers, but how they found the answers. Specific Assignments These specific assignments are questions about Google Analytics. The assigned students should give a short answer (1‐5 sentences) written in your own words, plus one or two links to good sources of information to learn more about the topic. Post both 7 Provisional Schedule: see D2L for Official Schedule the text of your assigned question (copy it from this page) and your answer. Each person should create a new thread in the designated discussion forum in D2L. Make your post before class. Question 1: Can you use Google Analytics (GA) to track web traffic to any site you want? Yes or no? If no, then for what sites can you use GA to track web traffic? Question 2: What are three different metrics used in Google Analytics (GA) to measure traffic to a site? "Sessions" is one. What are two more? Question 3: What are four of the categories that GA uses to classify traffic arriving at a website? "Direct" is one. What are three others? Question 4: What does it mean when GA reports "(not provided)" for the keyword used for a visit from a search engine? Question 5: GA reports traffic for both "All Pages" and "Landing Pages." What is the difference? Class 6. Listening Assignment Debrief; More on Google Analytics We will share your work for the Listening Assignment. We will continue our discussion of Google Analytics and interpreting and analyzing the data. Prepare 1. Listening Assignment due. Upload your PDF and your Excel file to the D2L dropbox before class. Bring a color printout of your graphic (p. 1 of the PDF) to class. Class 7. Guest Speaker (subject to confirmation) Isaac Gerstenzang Assistant Vice President of Corporate E‐Commerce Destination Hotels & Resorts https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=6667677 Class 8. Discussion of GRAMMYs Assignment and Data Today I will introduce the GRAMMYs Assignment. I will explain the data and the goals of the assignment. I will also spend time in class showing you some useful Excel functions for working with this data and give you some structured exercises in class to get you started. If you are good at Excel, I will be asking you to help your classmates with the structured exercises. Prepare 1. Read the GRAMMYs Assignment. 2. Bring a computer with Excel to class today. You will be much happier if you are not using Excel 2003 or Mac Excel 2008. Class 9. LK Away No class. Work on your GRAMMYs assignment. 8 Provisional Schedule: see D2L for Official Schedule Class 10. Case: The Ford Fiesta, HBS 9‐511‐117 The case for today is The Ford Fiesta. This is one of the cases from the HBSP materials. See the link in D2L to purchase the cases. This case covers The Fiesta Movement, a digital marketing campaign used to promote the U.S. launch of Ford’s subcompact, the Fiesta. Because this is a case discussion, if you come to class, you MUST be prepared. Being prepared means reading the case and article and jotting down notes to the discussion questions below. We can't have a case discussion if people aren't prepared, so I will ask people who have not read the case and the article to leave. Prepare 1. Read The Ford Fiesta case and the Forbes article, “This Time Ford Fiesta Movement Aims At Selling More Fiestas” (2/19/13). The case is set in July 2009, a few months into the original Fiesta Movement. The article from 2013 talks about a more recent version of the campaign, so it tells you what happened with the original campaign, and what they were planning for the 2014 model year. 2. Come prepared for a class discussion around the questions raised by Chantel Lenard on p. 2 of the case, as of July 2009: What are we doing to control the messages and activities of the Movement, and is it enough, too little, or too much? What do we need to measure to decide whether it is performing? 3. And come prepared to discuss the more recent developments, from the information in the article: How different is the new campaign (Remix), as described in the article, from the original Fiesta Movement, as described in the case? What are the similarities and differences? Is Ford using lessons learned from the original Fiesta Movement? Specific Assignments After reading the case, find a video online created by an agent from the original Fiesta Movement campaign in 2009. To ensure that the video comes from the original campaign, look for a 2009 post date, and find the agent who created the video on the list in Exhibit 7 in the case. Post your link to the video, a short comment on the video, the name of the agent, and your name(s), to the Google Doc (link in D2L). If you can also find the agent’s video that he/she submitted in applying to be an agent, post that link as well. We will watch some of the videos in class. For the video you found, come prepared to share whether you think the video is “good content” from Ford’s perspective. Make your post before class. 9 Provisional Schedule: see D2L for Official Schedule Class 11. GRAMMYs Assignment Debrief; Content Creation We share and debrief your GRAMMYs analysis and recommendations. I will also talk about the Driving Traffic Assignment and talk about content creation in the context of that assignment. Prepare 1. GRAMMYs Assignment due. Upload PDF and Excel file to D2L dropbox before class. 2. Read the Driving Traffic Assignment and check out some of the student examples I posted. Class 12. Online Advertising Today we will talk about different ways that advertisers can show their ads on publishers’ sites. The focus of today is primarily display and video ads, and we will look at important trends like real‐time bidding (RTB) on ad exchanges. First, we will hear from the classmates with the specific assignment about their articles. Then, we will do an in‐class activity. If you have your computer with you, you will use it for this. If not, sit near someone who does. I will distribute hard copies of the handout in class. And I will post a link to the Google Doc for the activity. At the end of class, we will watch a video on cookies: http://online.wsj.com/video/how‐advertisers‐use‐
internet‐cookies‐to‐track‐you/92E525EB‐9E4A‐4399‐817D‐8C4E6EF68F93.html (7:14). Prepare 1. Optional: Bring a computer. If you have your computer in class, we will use it for an activity near the beginning of class. If you don’t have one, you should sit next to someone who does. 2. Read the sections Delivery Methods and Compensation Methods on the Wikipedia entry for Online advertising: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_advertising 3. Read the Wikipedia entries for Ad exchange (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_exchange), Real‐
time bidding (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real‐time_bidding), and Ad networks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_networks). Specific Assignments Find a recent article about online advertising in the Wall Street Journal,the New York Times, or other major media source. (Try to get one from the last two weeks, but any time in the last two months is fine.) It can be about a specific platform (e.g., Facebook ads, search ads); about a brand, company, or industry’s use of a particular type of ad; about one or more companies that help sell, create, or provide online advertising; or an overview of trends in online advertising. Post a link to the article in the designated thread in the discussion forum in D2L, along with a one‐or‐two‐sentence description of what the article is about. You will summarize the article for the class and answer classmates’ questions about it. Make your post before class. 10 Provisional Schedule: see D2L for Official Schedule Class 13. More on Online Advertising; Start Search Engine Optimization (SEO); Today we will continue our discussion of Online Advertising. (Remember to bring the handout from last time, as we will finish going over the terms.) Totally optional, but useful: check out https://www.newmarketinginstitute.com/videos/. Today we will cover the basics of SEO, with an emphasis on what marketers need to know about SEO. The basics of SEO: on‐page (crawlability, keywords, fresh and unique content) vs. off‐page (getting links). Prepare 1. Read the first two pages of “Who Do Online Advertisers Think You Are?” (NYT, 11/30/12). http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/magazine/who‐do‐online‐advertisers‐think‐you‐are.html 2. Read “Inside the Box: How Google’s Algorithm Rules the Web,” Wired, Levy, March 2010. http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/02/ff_google_algorithm/ Specific Assignments Look at the Google Ads Settings page (formerly known as the Google Preferences Manager) on the computer you use the most and post a screenshot of who Google thinks you are to the D2L discussion forum before class. Come prepared to share with the class how accurate the “preferences” are. Use the Google search engine to search for Google Ads Settings to find it. I will make sure that I only select students who feel comfortable sharing this information. I think most of you will find that the information stored there is relatively innocuous, or, even better (?!) inaccurate. These specific assignments are questions about Search Engine Optimization. The assigned students should give a short answer (1‐5 sentences) written in your own words, plus one or two links to good sources of information to learn more about the topic. Post both the text of your assigned question and your answer. Each person should create a new thread in the designated discussion forum in D2L. Make your post before class. You will explain your answer to your question in class and answer classmates’ questions about it. Question 1: What does Search Engine Optimization mean? Question 2: When you type a search query into Google, how does it determine what results to show? Question 3: True or False: Between the releases of new versions of the ranking algorithm, Google keeps the ranking algorithm completely unchanged to allow for the best benchmarking and performance improvement measurement. Explain why you gave the answer you did. Question 4: What does it mean for a website to be "crawlable"? 11 Provisional Schedule: see D2L for Official Schedule Class 14. More on SEO; Prep for Company Fair We continue our coverage of SEO. We will also prepare for the Company Fair—what companies are coming, what the purpose is, what you are supposed to do, and what I expect of you. I will distribute a handout in class, explaining my expectations. Prepare (for this class and the next one on SEO) 1. I want you to be conversant in SEO principles and tactics. The best way to get up to speed is to read Moz’s “The Beginners Guide to SEO,” http://moz.com/beginners‐guide‐to‐seo. The guide is pretty long, but it is important, and while I would love to assign you the entire thing, I know you will probably actually read more if I am more selective. In that spirit, I am assigning Chapter 1, Chapter 4, Chapter 7, and Chapter 9. You have a few classes to get through it, and you need to read this strategically...trying to figure out what is important as you read it. I understand that it is hard to know what is important when you are new to a topic, but this strategic reading is an important skill in keeping up to date with new developments in digital marketing. 2. Read these posts on Google algorithm updates in 2013: a. Penguin: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2279845/Googles‐Penguin‐2.0‐
Algorithm‐The‐Definitive‐Guide b. Hummingbird: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/26/google‐changes‐search‐to‐
handle‐more‐complex‐queries/. 3. Due date for posting Driving Traffic Assignment link. See the link in D2L to the Google Doc. Specific Assignments These specific assignments are questions about Search Engine Optimization. The assigned students should give a short answer (1‐5 sentences) written in your own words, plus one or two links to good sources of information to learn more about the topic. Post both the text of your assigned question and your answer. Each person should create a new thread in the designated discussion forum in D2L. Make your post before class. You will explain your answer to your question in class and answer classmates’ questions about it. Question 1: What are meta keywords? Are they useful for SEO? Question 2: What is the meta description? Is it useful for SEO? Question 3: What are long tail keywords in the context of SEO? Question 4: How did J.C. Penney get in trouble for its SEO tactics in late 2010/early 2011? Question 5: How did Rap Genius get in trouble for its SEO tactics in late 2013? Class 15. Company Fair Today we will meet in the atrium of Koelbel. People from companies with connections to digital marketing, including some former students of this class, will be there to talk to you about what they do. As I finalize the list of companies and attendees, I will post it. Come prepared to ask intelligent and genuine questions. Dress somewhere in the range of not sloppy to business casual. You will fill out a worksheet as you talk to our guests. Hand it in to me before you leave. 12 Provisional Schedule: see D2L for Official Schedule Class 16. More on SEO; Content Marketing We will continue our discussion of SEO and discuss what makes good content. That discussion will tie into coverage of Content Marketing. Hopefully we will have time to watch the video for this WSJ article about how Google is trying to crack search within mobile apps. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304732804579425302808391142 (video is 3:37). Prepare 1. Finish reading the SEO material assigned earlier. Specific Assignments The assigned students should give a short answer (1‐5 sentences) written in your own words, plus one or two links to good sources of information to learn more about the topic. Post both the text of your assigned question and your answer. Each person should create a new thread in the designated discussion forum in D2L. Make your post before class. You will explain your answer to your question in class and answer classmates’ questions about it. Question 1: What does Content Marketing mean? Class 17. Midterm Note: you need a calculator for the midterm. I want you to bring a non‐Internet‐connected calculator, i.e., please don't use your phone as a calculator. I will post detailed information in D2L about the exam coverage and types of questions. Class 18. Influencers; Sharing for Driving Traffic We will discuss various perspectives on influencers: what are they and how important are they? We will also hear from a few people for sharing their content and traffic generation strategies for the driving traffic assignment. Prepare 1. Reading/video on influencers TBD. Specific Assignments Come prepared to share your content, your driving traffic efforts, and your results so far for the Driving Traffic Assignment. We may ask you to show your Google Analytics in class, so be prepared to do that. I'd like you share your thoughts about what makes "good content" on your topic of choice, and how we might think about determining what is "high quality" traffic. You'll show the class what you have done (plan for 3‐5 minutes) and then answer questions. 13 Provisional Schedule: see D2L for Official Schedule Class 19. Case: eBay Partner Network (A), HBS 9‐910‐008 This is one of the cases that you need to purchase from the HBSP site. In this case, we look at eBay’s use of an affiliate marketing program. At the time of the case, eBay was deciding whether to continue to use Commission Junction, the largest affiliate network, to manage its affiliate program, or to move the program in house. If you come to class, you MUST be prepared. Being prepared means reading the case and jotting down notes to the discussion questions below. We can't have a case discussion if people aren't prepared, so I will ask people who have not read the case to leave. Prepare 1. Come prepared to discuss the following questions:  What is an affiliate program?  Why would a site like eBay use one?  What are the major drawbacks of an affiliate program (to the website trying to market itself)?  What are the key reasons that eBay should bring its affiliate program in house? What are the key reasons that they should keep it outsourced? Class 20. Guest Speaker on Affiliates (subject to confirmation) TBD Class 21. Search Ads In addition to organic search rankings, companies also use search ads, the sponsored links that show in search engines in response to search terms. Google’s system is called AdWords, and we’ll cover how to set up campaigns, how the bidding system works, and how to interpret the data. We will be doing some exercises in class. I will bring hard copies of the handout. Please bring a calculator. (Your phone is a fine calculator for the in‐class exercises today. But still…no texting!) We have a few class days on search ads. Over those days, here are my learning objectives. Things to know  What is the structure of an AdWords campaign: what are the relationships among the campaign, the ad groups, and the keywords?  What are the different parts of an AdWords ad?  What rules govern AdWords ads?  What determines when and where your ad shows?  How can you tell if your ads are performing well?  How should you adjust your campaign in response to performance data? 14 Provisional Schedule: see D2L for Official Schedule Things to be able to do  Calculate performance metrics like click‐through rates (CTRs), conversion rates, net value, and return on ad spend.  Use Excel efficiently (dragging formulas, using Pivot Tables) to analyze the performance of search ad campaigns. Notes on Preparation There is no assigned preparation for the whole class today. I want you to have time to devote to your Driving Traffic Assignment. Although there is no assigned reading, the questions above serve as a guide to what you need to know. If you want something authoritative to read, somewhere to start, go to the AdWords Learning Center (https://support.google.com/adwords/) and poke around. Specific Assignments The assigned students should give a short answer (1‐5 sentences) written in your own words, plus one or two links to good sources of information to learn more about the topic. Post both the text of your assigned question and your answer. Each person should create a new thread in the designated discussion forum in D2L. Make your post before class. You will explain your answer to your question in class and answer classmates’ questions about it. Question 1: Give one reason to have multiple ad groups within an AdWords campaign. Question 2: How many lines are there in a standard AdWords text ad? What is the difference between the Display URL and the Destination URL? Question 3: What is keyword insertion in an AdWords ad? Find a Google search query that shows an ad that you are pretty sure is using keyword insertion. Post a screenshot of the query and the ad to the discussion forum. Question 4: What's the difference between broad match and exact match for AdWords keywords? Question 5: Besides broad match and exact match, what are the other types of matches for AdWords keywords? Question 6: One of Google's rules for AdWords ads is no inappropriate language. Give three more rules regarding the content of AdWords ads. Question 7: If you bid $2.00 on a keyword, and your ad shows in response to a search query on that keyword, how much do you pay when the ad is shown? How much do you pay when someone clicks on the ad? Question 8: List three things that determine ad position of an AdWords ad. Question 9: Give two ways to control the amount you spend on an AdWords campaign. Question 10: What does CPC stand for? How do you calculate it? What does CTR stand for? How do you calculate it? Class 22. Interpreting the Results of Search Ads We return to our discussion of search ads by going over the pencil and paper exercises from the previous class. Today we will cover more about interpreting the results of search ads. I will be showing you how to interpret the results of search ad campaigns using Excel. There will be a handout posted and distributed for the in‐class exercises. 15 Provisional Schedule: see D2L for Official Schedule To do the in‐class exercises, you will need the spreadsheet with the complete set of Dorje Designs data. (We looked at a bit of that data last class.) I will also get you started analyzing the data for the Air France case; we will continue that analysis and discuss the case next class. Prepare 1. We will go over the pencil‐and‐paper calculations from the Dorje Designs example from the previous class. Make sure you have them done so we can go over them at the beginning of class. I will be calling on people to share their answers. 2. Bring a computer with Excel to class today. If your computer is relatively old, make sure you don’t have Excel 2003 or Mac Excel 2008. The Pivot Tables in those versions don’t have the capabilities you will need. 3. If you want to get a head start on some of the Excel demos I will do in class, you can watch the videos posted in D2L (see the links for the next class). Class 23. Case: Air France Today we will work on and discuss the analysis of the Air France search ads data. Note: today is the last day to count traffic for the Driving Traffic Assignment. I will spend some time at the beginning of class answering any questions you may have about your write‐ups (which are due before the next class). Prepare 1. One of the exercises from the handout from the last class guides how we are going to analyze the Air France data. Please make your very best attempt before class today to build the Pivot Table described in that exercise. That is, build the Pivot Table that shows the seven publishers and the seven KPIs. To help you do that, here are some flash videos on to help you with useful Excel functions for this case, created by my (former) TA, Nurit ("Nur‐eet"). Flash may not work well on Apple devices. Please let me know if you are having technical difficulties with these videos. There are four videos: VLOOKUP (2:59), Pivot Table creation (1:43), CPC calculation in the Pivot Table (2:11), ROA calculation in the Pivot Table (2:21). 2. Bring a computer with Excel to class today. If your computer is relatively old, make sure you don’t have Excel 2003 or Mac Excel 2008. The Pivot Tables in those versions don’t have the capabilities you will need. Specific Assignments Demo 1: Demonstrate the VLOOKUP function to look up the Publisher Name from the Publisher ID. Demo 2: Demonstrate creating the Pivot Table and putting the Publisher Name in the rows. Demo 3: Demonstrate adding a Calculated Field to the Pivot Table to find CPC. Demo 4: Demonstrate adding a Calculated Field to the Pivot Table to find Net Revenue. 16 Provisional Schedule: see D2L for Official Schedule Class 24. Regulations Relevant for Digital Marketing; Introduce Ethical Dilemma Assignment In this class, we will look at regulations in two areas highly relevant for digital marketing: social media endorsements and email marketing. In addition, we will look at another area with little legal oversight, but much discussion about industry self‐regulation: privacy. If time allows, I'll comment on other legal issues that come up in digital marketing such as use of other people's content and use of competitors' names in search ads. I will also introduce the Ethical Dilemma Assignment, and we will talk about the connections between what is legal, what is ethical, and what is strategic. Prepare* * Many of you will be busy writing up your Driving Traffic Reports. It's not absolutely essential that you read this material before class today, but you will need to have read it before the exam. I've left several days of class this month with little reading, so can spread it out if that works better for you. 1. Read the FTC Endorsement Guides, 2009. http://ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf 2. Read the list of seven provisions of the CAN‐SPAM Act. http://www.business.ftc.gov/documents/bus61‐can‐spam‐act‐compliance‐guide‐business 3. Read the main text of the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s summary of Do Not Track https://www.eff.org/issues/do‐not‐track 4. Skim the WOMMA privacy guidelines http://www.womma.org/ethics/privacy‐guide 5. Skim the Interactive Advertising Bureau privacy principles http://www.iab.net/guidelines/508676/1464 6. Driving Traffic Assignment due. Your reports for the Driving Traffic Assignment are due before class today. Review the instructions about what to include (basically, you need to include enough detail so I can see what you did: screenshots of your driving traffic posts, emails, links, etc. are very helpful.) Please upload your report to the D2L dropbox before class. Specific Assignments The assigned students should either give a short answer (1‐5 sentences) written in your own words, plus one or two links to good sources of information OR post the requested screenshot or link. Post both the text of your assigned question and your answer. Each person should create a new thread in the designated discussion forum in D2L. Make your post before class. You will explain your answer to your question in class and answer classmates’ questions about it. Question 1: Post a link to a blog post that has a product review AND makes a clear and conspicuous disclosure about receiving the product for free, consistent with the FTC Endorsement Guides. Question 2: Post a link to a blog post that has a product review and does NOT clearly explain or imply where the blogger got the product. Question 3: Post a screenshot of a commercial email you received. Come prepared to class to say whether it does, or does not, comply with the first five provisions of CAN‐SPAM as listed in the link above, http://www.business.ftc.gov/documents/bus61‐can‐spam‐act‐compliance‐guide‐
business. Question 4: In September 2013, Gov. Jerry Brown of California signed AB 370, referred to by some as a “Do Not Track” law. What does it require in terms of Do Not Track? 17 Provisional Schedule: see D2L for Official Schedule Class 25. Guest Speaker on Email Marketing (subject to confirmation) TBD Class 26. Marketing Automation; Introduce Case Study Assignment Today we will discuss the capabilities of current Marketing Automation platforms. If necessary, we will also tie up any loose ends about regulations relevant to digital marketers. Finally, I will discuss the Case Study Assignment and answer any questions you have on it. Prepare 1. Read the Case Study Assignment carefully and come prepared to ask questions. 2. Reading TBD on Marketing Automation. 3. Ethical Dilemma Assignment due. Be sure to follow the instructions in posting your dilemma to the D2L forum. Class 27. Discussion of Ethical Dilemmas If we have the FCQ forms by now, you will fill them out at the beginning of class. Today we will discuss the ethical dilemmas posted by the class. I will post links to the Google docs we will use for the activity at the start of class. Prepare 1. I want everyone to read a dozen of your classmates' ethical dilemmas. Starting with the post AFTER your post (considering the posts in chronological order), read the next 12 posts. If you were one of the last 12 posts in your section, "loop around," and start from the first post so you can get your 12. As you read, please form an opinion about the scenarios described in the posts you read: are you sure of the right course of action (i.e., what you would do if you faced the dilemma described)? Or are you not sure...and if you are not sure, what would your decision depend on? Come prepared to discuss your views in class. See the explanation of the in‐class activity below: it's a good idea to jot notes as you read the 12 posts so you can be prepared to classify the posts. 2. Optional: Bring a computer. If you have your computer in class, we will use it for an activity near the beginning of class. If you don’t have one, you should sit next to someone who does. In this activity, I'll set up a grid in a Google doc so each person will categorize the 12 posts that he/she read as a) TD (thorny ethical dilemma = "hmmm...I'm not sure what I would do in this situation"), b) ED (easy ethical dilemma = "I recognize that this could be an ethical dilemma for some people, but it wouldn't be a hard call for me"), or c) NC (not clear = "it's not clear who faces an ethical dilemma in this scenario or it's not clear what the ethical dilemma is"). I'll give you enough time to categorize, but not to fully read the 12 posts, so make sure you read them before class. Specific Assignments 18 Provisional Schedule: see D2L for Official Schedule Write two or three "good" True/False questions, on a topic or topics we have covered so far, that could appear on the final exam. A good question is one that tests understanding of something important...and is not obvious to someone who is just guessing. You can write questions on topics from before the midterm (Listening, Analytics, Social Media Measurement, Content Creation, Online Advertising, SEO) or after (Affiliates, Search Ads, Regulations, Email Marketing/Marketing Automation). Just post the questions, not the answers. Other students may respond in the discussion forum with answers, follow‐on questions, or comments. Post your questions before class today. As time allows in class and in the remaining classes, we will discuss the questions. Unlike the other specific assignments, you can still get credit for this one if you are not in class on this day, as long as you do your post before class. The standard for this specific assignment is different from others because we will not be discussing all the posts in class today. Of course, I still want you to come to class! But I just wanted to be totally clear about the expectation. Class 28. Catch Up Day Class 29. Naming Naming companies and products has always been important. In an online environment, names affect search results, and names affect a company's ability to do web‐based listening and monitoring. We will discuss what you need to know about names. Because you have your case studies due this week and finals coming up, there is no required reading to prepare for today. We will do an in‐class exercise where you generate and evaluate names for a new business. Prepare 1. Optional: Skim the Igor Naming Guide http://www.igorinternational.com/process/igor‐naming‐
guide_short.pdf 2. Optional: Naming blog post at http://messymatters.com/nominology/ 3. Optional: if you took Product Strategy from Emily Edwards, here's the nice reading she assigned about what makes a great name: https://wharton.instructure.com/courses/140948/wiki/naming‐your‐business 19 Provisional Schedule: see D2L for Official Schedule Class 30. Discussion of Student Case Studies; Wrap‐Up We will hear about case studies from some of your classmates. Finally, we will review the course's learning objectives (see p. 2 of the syllabus) and discuss strategies for continuing to build one's skill base and experience with those objectives. Prepare 1. Case Study Assignment due. Be sure to follow the instructions. Specific Assignments Come prepared to tell us about your case study. Tell us who the client is, how they are using digital marketing, what you think they are doing well, and what you recommend they do differently. You will stand in front of the class for a short (few minutes) presentation, but this is an informal briefing—you do not need to prepare slides or dress up. Final Exam The final exam will be an in‐class exam, during finals week. You will need a non‐Internet‐connected calculator. 20