Digital Marketing Implementation: Executing Strategies in a Connected, Data-Driven World

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign via Coursera

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Details

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Provider

Coursera
Pricing

Paid Course
Languages

English
Certificate

Paid Certificate Available
Duration & workload

18 hours 43 minutes
Sessions

On-Demand
Subtitles

German, Hindi, Pashto, Russian, French, Bengali, Chinese, Hungarian, Ukrainian, Indonesian, Urdu, Kazakh, Swedish, Korean, Portuguese, Greek, English, Italian, Spanish, Arabic, Thai, Japanese, Azerbaijani, Polish, Farsi, Dutch, Turkish

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Overview

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The proliferation of digital technology gives businesses an unprecedented and diverse new set of tools to reach, engage, monitor, and respond to consumers. The aggregated and voluminous digital data can also be leveraged to better target specific consumer segments. Following “Digital Media and Marketing Principles,” this course aims to give you a deeper understanding of core processes of planning a digital marketing campaign and the role of various digital channels in integrated marketing communication. You will be able to: - Adopt a holistic and integrated approach to digital marketing planning - Develop a purposeful content marketing strategy to achieve your business and marketing goals - Effectively mix paid, earned, owned, and shared media channels to discover, reach, and engage your customers - Critically evaluate the role social media platforms play in viral and influencer marketing campaigns - Evaluate and measure the success of digital marketing campaigns - Identify and manage risks in digital marketing This course is part of Gies College of Business’s suite of online programs, including the iMBA and iMSM. Learn more about admission into the program and explore how your Coursera work can be leveraged if accepted into a degree program at https://degrees.giesbusiness.illinois.edu/idegrees/.

Syllabus

Insight to Impact

This module introduces contemporary dynamics of digital marketing, emphasizing that success in today's landscape is not about pushing messages but orchestrating seamless, human-centered experiences across multiple digital touchpoints. The module explores three core shifts defining the modern digital environment: the rise of the attention economy; the critical need for omnichannel, multi-touchpoint strategies; and the transformative impact of AI and automation on marketing execution. Through performing a comprehensive digital audit, assessing visibility, content quality, performance, along with analyzing competitive landscapes and mapping the customer journey. The module concludes by exploring the tools and frameworks for creating actionable marketing objectives grounded in strategic insights. Altogether, this module establishes a strategic mindset, encouraging marketers to think beyond channels and tactics, and instead focus on designing integrated, trust-building experiences tailored to real consumer behavior.

Connecting with Intent

This module focuses on creating cohesive, human-centered digital marketing strategies by exploring the interplay between channels and touchpoints. It emphasizes that modern marketing is no longer about managing isolated platforms but about designing seamless experiences that align with how people actually engage across devices and environments. Key topics include distinguishing between delivery channels (like websites, email, and social media) and customer touchpoints (specific moments of interaction), and understanding how these they combine to shape brand perception. The module highlights the central role of the website as a brand’s experience hub and introduces user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design as essential components of marketing success. It also delves into enhancing discoverability through SEO and SEM, stressing the importance of understanding user intent across different search platforms. Finally, it explores the strategic use of social media, differentiating between organic content, paid promotion, and influencer engagement, and guiding learners to analyze engagement metrics critically. Altogether, this module equips learners to design integrated marketing experiences that feel connected, personalized, and relevant at every stage of the customer journey.

Designing Experience

This module centers on the strategic execution of direct-to-consumer (DTC) communication and experience design in digital marketing. It explores how modern brands engage customers through personalized, behavior-driven channels such as email, SMS, and in-app messaging, emphasizing the shift from one-way promotions to relationship-focused interactions. The module underscores the importance of consent-based communication and demonstrates how automation and data insights can power timely, relevant, and human-centered messaging. It introduces experience design (XD) as a core strategic discipline, showing how connected touchpoints from website visits to follow-up messages can be orchestrated through CRM systems to deliver consistent, personalized journeys. By weaving together direct communication, behavioral triggers, and centralized data management, this module illustrates how brands can move from fragmented campaigns to seamless, trust-building experiences that adapt to each customer’s path.

Digital Storytelling

This module focuses on strategic campaign evaluation and the evolving nature of brand communication in the digital era. It begins by emphasizing the importance of moving beyond isolated metrics (like clicks or likes) to assess overall campaign effectiveness through well-defined SMART goals that align with broader business strategy. Using a case study of HoneyCo’s skincare launch, the module illustrates how to measure outcomes across search, social, and CRM touchpoints, tracking real behavior rather than surface activity. It then explores how brand storytelling has shifted from traditional PR models to dynamic, many-to-many communication shaped by audience interaction and cultural context. This module will introduce frameworks for managing brand reputation across predictable and unpredictable events. The module concludes with forward-looking insights into the role of AI in marketing, framing it as a strategic force that must be thoughtfully integrated to support authentic, human-centered brand relationships.