Programme overview
Technical depth: Practitioner · Practical mode: Lab
Introduction
Organisations now place a large share of their marketing budget in digital channels, yet many run those channels as separate activities with no shared plan and report clicks, likes and impressions that management cannot connect to business results. Without clear objectives and consistent tracking, budgets drift to the loudest channel rather than the most effective one. This course gives marketing staff a structured way to plan digital marketing with recognised frameworks and to measure it with Google Analytics 4 and a defined KPI set. Participants practise in hands-on labs and leave with a Digital Marketing Plan and Measurement Framework.
Course Objectives
- Assess an organisation's current digital presence, audiences and competitors with a structured situation analysis
- Set SMART digital marketing objectives and translate them into a KPI tree across the RACE customer life cycle
- Select and plan channel activity across paid, earned, shared and owned media for defined audiences
- Configure a GA4 measurement plan with events, key events and UTM-tagged campaign links
- Build a performance dashboard in Looker Studio and use it to report results and adjust campaigns
- Produce a Digital Marketing Plan and Measurement Framework for a real product, service or programme
Target Audience
- Marketing executives and coordinators who plan and run digital campaigns
- Communications and public relations staff moving into digital channels
- Social media and content staff who report on channel performance
- Product and service owners responsible for their own digital promotion
- Owners and managers of small businesses who run digital marketing in-house
- Marketing reporting staff new to web analytics
Course Outline
Day 1: Digital Marketing Foundations and Situation Analysis
- Digital Channel Landscape: Search, Social, Display, Email and Marketplaces
- SOSTAC Planning Model: Situation Analysis Stage
- Digital Audit Checklist: Website, Search Visibility and Social Channels
- Competitor Benchmarking with Share-of-Search and Social Listening Tools
- Audience Personas and Customer Journey Map
Day 2: Strategy Frameworks and Objectives
- RACE Framework: Reach, Act, Convert and Engage
- See-Think-Do-Care Audience Intent Model
- PESO Media Model: Paid, Earned, Shared and Owned Channels
- SMART Objectives and Digital KPI Tree
- ICC Advertising and Marketing Communications Code: Digital, Influencer and AI Rules
Day 3: Channel Planning and Measurement Set-Up
- Search Engine Optimisation and Paid Search Planning Basics
- Social Media Content Calendar Planning
- Email Marketing Journeys and List Segmentation
- GA4 Measurement Plan: Events, Key Events and Custom Dimensions
- UTM Parameter Conventions and Google Tag Manager Basics
Day 4: Performance Analysis and Optimisation
- GA4 Acquisition, Engagement and Monetisation Reports
- GA4 Funnel Exploration and Drop-Off Diagnosis
- A/B Test Design for Landing Pages and Ads
- Consent Mode and Data Gaps in Privacy-First Measurement
- Budget Reallocation Using Cost per Acquisition and Return on Ad Spend
Day 5: Lab Work and the Digital Marketing Plan
- Lab: GA4 Demo Account Analysis and Insight Summary
- Lab: Looker Studio Performance Dashboard Build
- Lab: Campaign Tracking Plan with a UTM Builder
- Digital Marketing Plan and Measurement Framework Drafting
- Peer Review and Plan Presentation
Skills You Will Gain
- Digital Situation Analysis
- Digital Channel Planning
- KPI Framework Design
- Web Analytics Configuration
- Campaign Tracking
- Performance Dashboard Reporting
- Conversion Rate Optimisation
Why Attend This Course
- Return with a Digital Marketing Plan and Measurement Framework for your own product, service or programme
- Report digital results in terms management recognises, not only clicks and followers
- Set up tracking correctly from the start so that campaign data can be trusted
- Gain confidence with GA4 and Looker Studio through guided hands-on practice
Conclusion
Digital marketing can show its contribution only when strategy, channels and measurement are planned together. This Core Concept course moves from situation analysis and planning frameworks, through channel planning and GA4 measurement set-up, to performance analysis, testing and budget decisions. The final day brings the material together in hands-on labs and a Digital Marketing Plan and Measurement Framework that participants can take back and use to plan, track and report their next campaigns consistently.