The 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing

In this video lecture, Arman Rousta will bring students through Dimension 1 of The 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing System, the Pillars themselves. After completing this lecture, students will know all about Content, Design, Search, Media, CRM, Social and Mobile.

The 7 Pillars (D1) encapsulate the whole Internet Universe, distilling it down into these vital categories that literally sustain “digital life.” The Pillars (see image to the left) are broad and all-encompassing, and have within them, many levels of sub-specialties, marketing tactics, associated technology platforms and strategies.

The purpose of this lecture is to give a high-level overview of this Universe. After completing this, you will understand their importance and how you should apply within the world of Digital Marketing.

For Traditional and Digital Marketing alike, content is still (and always has been) King! Content is the lifeblood of all marketing, which is particularly apparent online. After all, the entire web is comprised of searchable content. If it weren’t for content, Search Engines would be non-existent, as would Social Networks.

If Content is King, User Experience (UX) Design is Queen. How well they come together determines, to a large part, the quality of a brand’s expression. This lecture covers all aspects of digital UX, including Web Development, App Development, Web Design and even Web Hosting & Maintenance. 

Search highlights a quantum leap that the Internet has enabled marketers and people in general to enjoy. Thanks to the power of this mighty Pillar, finding what one seeks and much more has never been so effortless. Mastery of Search has yielded billions of dollars in revenue for many entrepreneurs and online companies. Meanwhile, our collective dependency on “The Search Gods” (a.k.a. Google) has everyone scrambling to crack the code, spawning new industries, namely Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Pillar 4 comprises all forms of Online Advertising, essentially any paid media placement including banner ads, PPC ads (Pay Per Click), endorsements, sponsored emails and Social Media advertising. This Pillar’s core concept of paid media is present in various forms across several other Pillars (i.e. Social, CRM, Search etc.) again highlighting the interconnectedness of this system. 

Customer Relationship Management (CRM), in the context of the 7 Pillars model, refers to all forms of customer or lead interaction and the associated tools that organizations use to manage their contact data. Segmenting user databases by various demographics and characteristics is a core CRM function. 

Email Marketing, to either prospective or existing customers, is another key CRM tactic. As of late, there is a big trend towards Marketing Automation and Lead Nurturing, both of which fall under the Pillar of CRM. CRM is a very close cousin of its Traditional Marketing counterpart, Sales. Customer Service is also an aspect of CRM and one that is often undervalued.

Pillar 6 includes all forms of organic Social Media activity. This includes communications within all social networks (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Instagram, Snapchat and the plethora of others), relationship building with prospective customers and industry influencers, as well as content distribution. Online PR, an extension of Traditional PR, falls under Pillar 6 as well since it is a form of Social Media, in a sense. 

In this exercise, you will be asked to apply the knowledge you've learned in this section so far and determine how Pillar 1 (Content) relates to the other Pillars.

In this exercise, you will be asked to apply your knowledge of the 7 Pillars from completing the lectures above and create an effective mobile in-app advertising campaign for a company.

In this video lecture, Arman Rousta will bring students through The 7 Pillars of Traditional Marketing. After completing this lecture, students will know all about Content, Branding, Advertising, Public Relations (PR), Sales, Event Marketing and Direct Marketing.

Comprehending Traditional Marketing requires a sense for the history of Marketing. Marketing Communications as an industry has gone through a number of Eras (see chapter discussion on Dimension 7). Marketing has been around in some form or another since essentially the beginning of time. The term – “Communications” – started as far back as the ancient Egyptians, who used hieroglyphic symbols to tell stories and record important data. Ever since human beings could speak, they gathered to hear clan leaders discuss new ideas or traveling merchants pitch their products. Town bazaars and the old Silk Road of the Middle East and Asia reflect the oldest forms of Traditional Pillars 5 (Sales) and 6 (Events).

Traditional Content covers creative writing (i.e. books, screenplays and editorials), promotional copywriting, art, photography (stock and original) for traditional Advertising, radio shows, television shows, movies, sports, music and other forms of live entertainment. In many ways, tP1 is the purest form of creative and artistic expression in the entire 7 Pillars model. Much of it is produced for its own sake, more so than as a marketing vehicle. In fact, the marketing industry has been built and shaped around this creative energy center. 

The Traditional Pillar 2 of Branding pervades all corners of Marketing, including Digital. It is one of the most misunderstood and simultaneously important areas of marketing to “get right” in order to achieve success. Some people view Branding as a straightforward creative process; design a logo, add some taglines and you’re done. While these are indeed elements of Branding, they represent only a small part of the picture. 

Advertising is Pillar 3 in the Traditional sphere and Pillar 4 in Digital. Traditional Advertising (TA) includes television, print, radio and Out of Home (OOH) advertising (i.e. outdoor billboards, bus signage, etc.) In spite of a strong movement towards Online Advertising, TA is far from dead, and in fact as of 2015, still gets a significantly larger slice of the media budget pie. tP3 is here to stay, and is undergoing a renaissance of its own.

Public Relations (PR) is almost a mirror image of its Digital counterpart, Social Media. Both of these monumentally important Pillars have to do with some type of earned media promotion, awareness building and reputation management.

Sales covers a broader array of tasks and specialty areas than what you might imagine. For example, in-store merchandising (i.e. how products are presented and displayed) is a Sales function, which also relates heavily to Branding (tP2). However, this is only the first step of the Sales process. Once a startup company convinces mass merchant buyers to place their new innovation in retail stores, the company then has to develop a Point of Sale (POS) strategy that includes ways to educate store patrons and call attention to the product amidst a sea of other brands. Even with top-notch branding, products rarely, if ever, sell themselves. 

Event Marketing is any pre-planned, live promotional or educational event, appearance or program. This includes trade shows, conferences, seminars, street fairs, concerts, performances, flash mobs and other forms of guerilla or grass roots marketing. Naturally, digital tech has greatly augmented the reach and impact of Event Marketing. This includes supporting features like mobile location-based promotions, live streaming, real- time social media imagery, web product demos, collaborative consumption (i.e. when a group of friends watches an event “together” from separate locations) and webinars. 

Direct Marketing is a low cost method of reaching a particular target audience, relative to most other Traditional Pillars. It is analogous to Email Marketing, which is a subset of CRM (P5) and in general, utilizes a non-media, database driven approach towards targeting potential customers.

In this video lecture, Arman Rousta will bring students through The 7 Modes. After completing this lecture, students will know all about the following concepts and how they relate to Digital Marketing; Brainstorming, ROI, Strategy, People, Tools, Execution and Analytics

The 7 Modes (or Stages) of Marketing or Integrated Marketing represent the 2nd Dimension of the 7 Pillars System. The Modes apply to almost any consulting process or project, and certainly to all of Marketing, both digital and traditional. The Stages can still be referenced when it serves the purpose of a linear project progression, which is possible in very structured operations. The term “Modes” makes more sense as the official designation because “Stages” can (and often do) overlap, take place out of sequential order and be fairly continuous throughout projects.

The Brainstorming Mode involves gathering and generating all types of ideas and information about whatever the vision at hand is, and how this can be attained. This covers research and data gathering from various sources, such as news and industry relevant websites.

This video explains in more depth the Mode 1 Brainstorming _Ideation.

Mode 2 is where we develop and lock-in our forward- looking goals and associated budgets. It is closely related to the Financial Angle (see Chapter on Dimension 3, Angles, for details), although it is not at all a purely financial function. Goal-setting can and should be an inspiring and creative process. 

Please review this Mode 2- ROI Video to go thru a practical example within the 7 Pillars System.

This Mode comes into play when a project is underway. Here, ideas are more well-formed and organized plus areas such as budget and goals are nearly finalized. Now it’s time for more focused research and planning of tactics for the campaign. Some tough decisions need to be made here, as many of the “nice to have” features and ideas are put on the chopping block due to budgetary constraints and/or strategic decisions to focus on more fruitful areas. 

Please review this Mode 3- Strategy Video to go thru a practical example within the 7 Pillars System.

Mode 4 involves HR issues and decisions related to roles within marketing projects and specifically within each Pillar. Mode 4 represents the recruiting, team building, analysis, assignment, incentivizing, management and evaluation of the people involved in the project. From these areas, many questions abound. Who can execute the Strategy? What’s the right mix of people by skill level, location, etc.? How do people and team dynamics impact timelines and ROI? 

Please review this Mode 4- People Video to go thru a practical example within the 7 Pillars System.

Mode 5 refers to the tools and technology that may be utilized to organize, manage and analyze various types of marketing and web development (i.e. Salesforce. com for CRM, Mailchimp for Email, WordPress for website Content Management and Google Adwords for Online Advertising). Picking the right tools, based on project budgets (Mode 2) and the people involved (Mode 4), can save a team hundreds of hours of “wasted,” manual effort, and play a huge role in a campaign’s success.

Please review this Mode 5- Tools Video to go thru a practical example within the 7 Pillars System.

Execution refers to the actual doing of the tactical work. With people, budgets, tools and strategies in place, Mode 6 is where the rubber meets the road. If Digital Marketing was a sports league, this would be actual game day.

The final Mode, which can take place to some degree throughout the whole marketing process, refers to campaign analysis and recommendation generation for optimization purposes. Analytics can be likened to the human brain, as it is the memory and analytical mind within us. Analytics involve taking an objective look at all of the data and signals throughout the marketing process and across whatever Pillars have been utilized. This Mode is critical to making judgments, revisions and other critical decisions about campaigns. 

Please review this Modes 6&& Modes Video to go thru a practical example within the 7 Pillars System.

In this video lecture, Arman Rousta will bring students through an introduction to the 49er Matrix, the 7 Dimensional chess board upon which we play out the game of Marketing.

In this video lecture, Arman Rousta will bring students through more in-depth uses for the 49er Matrix, looking at how it can be specifically used to assess a member of your marketing team or a current campaign.

The Marketing Matrix can be thought of as a 7-Dimensional Chess Board, upon which we play out the strategic game of Marketing. It is a multi-purpose visualization tool that provides a map of the Digital Marketing universe. The first two dimensions (7 Pillars x 7 Modes) generate 49 blocks or marketing elements, which marketers and executives should account for. 

In this video lecture, Arman Rousta will bring students through an introduction to the 7 Angles, showing you the many tracks on which Marketers can choose to ascend The Pyramids of Knowledge. These cover the Flat Angles (Marketing, Creative and Technical) and the Sharp Angles (Management, Financial, Legal and Venture).

Envision a large Pyramid laying on top of the 49er Matrix grid, the pinnacles of which represents the culmination of digital marketing knowledge. The Angles represent the sides or ways up the Pyramids. Individuals choose to ascend the Pyramid (developing their skills) up one of the main sides or one of the corners. 

Angle 1 is the most popular and diverse within the 7 Pillars ecosystem, naturally because this is a marketing system after all! People who take this primary track generally aren’t programmers or designers. Their value comes through having more of a promotional sense of what needs to be done to build brands and generate leads. They are pure marketers (i.e. strategic thinkers, researchers, media buyers, copywriters and general doers of non-technical marketing tasks). 

The Creative Angle (A2) is represented by the right brain artists amongst us. While creativity is certainly a quality that can permeate all Angles, this area is focused primarily on the audio-visual content that dominates our senses. Certain skills, like writing, bisect, falling under A2 for creative content like fiction and storytelling, and A1 (Marketing Angles) for ad and product description focused copy.

Angle 3 includes programmers, technologists and the overall technical backbone of the Internet. This covers the Internet as well as advanced infrastructure required to support apps (i.e. the cloud and mobile technology). Non-technical marketers should remember and respect the fact that Digital Marketing is made possible by the capabilities of A3s, who built all of the software tools that they use. 

Management (A4), the first of four Sharp Angles, keeps projects together and gives direction to them. It is essential, both as a skill and an overall function in any company, and it is something that needs to be developed throughout a person’s career. It can also be a slippery slope, especially if not developed alongside some “hard” skills (i.e. those of the Flat Angles). Digital Marketing is an open field where many resources are accessible and interchangeable.

Every industry has a strong need for Financial folks. In Digital Marketing, they get to have even stronger powers because of the vast toolbox available to them. This Sharp Angle belongs to the Number Cruncher (MPT1), who spend time mostly in Budgeting (M2) and Analytics (M7) Modes. Beyond pure finance jobs (i.e. Accountants and Financial Analysts) the Financial skill set helps guide projects, and keeps them on track and on budget. 

Yes, lawyers have a place in the 7 Pillars ecosystem, as defenders, interpreters and creators of the laws that govern media and the Internet. It is a vast space, which has confounded governments and legal systems that have been, and largely still are, ill-equipped to deal with such a powerful force of inter-connection and cross-border trade. Think back to Napster and other piracy issues, which are difficult to police and raise all types of ethical questions. How about the NSA, Facebook, Google vs. China and Internet privacy? This is another field of debate that A6 specialists moderate for organizations.

A7 is the realm of the entrepreneurs and venture capitalists seeking to create and control how the Internet runs. New ventures, from players who seek to influence and improve web tools, pop up daily within each Pillar.

In this video lecture, Arman Rousta will bring students through an introduction to the 7 Levels of Skill & Difficulty, as they relate to individual marketers and the associated marketing tasks.

Your career - in business and marketing - is analogous to the journey that aspiring Samurai warriors embark upon as they seek personal truth and mastery of their craft. True progress is not easy. It is elusive, which represent the Levels are symbolized by Pyramids (or Temples), which represent the uphill battle required to raise oneself up. Only the most skillful and perseverant digital martial artist ascends to the top and achieves the vaunted Blue Samurai status.

In general, a newcomer enters the dojo (i.e. the marketing realm) with some core skills (i.e. writing, quantitative, research). However, in marketing terms, he or she is still a pure beginner. The teacher or Sensei’s job, assuming the novice is not being purely self-taught, is to assess these skills and then determine what types of basic building blocks they need to learn in order to complement their transferrable skills.

Yellow Belts are on the cusp between Beginner and Intermediate levels of knowledge. They’ve learned something and have minimal experience of at least 3-6 months. A fast learner without a long track record but who has a knack for Digital Marketing could make the jump to Yellow Belt very quickly.

Orange Belts are marketers with solid experience, typically having been in “the game” for at least two years. As individuals progress in their marketing journey, what they know goes beyond theoretical and has the taste of practical experience and real knowledge. This is the most crowded Level in the industry, along with Green Belt. 

Green Belts are on the verge of being true domain experts, and relative to some, may already be considered as experts. They have enough experience (generally 3-4 years) to manage campaigns independently. At the agency level, Green Belts typically project manage (PM) smaller projects and even do some training for clients or entry level staff (White, Yellow and Orange Belts).

An individual can become a Brown belt in anywhere from 2-5 years, depending on the level of real experience they get on a particular track. Brown belts must have authored at least two tangible ‘successes’ that can be clearly demonstrated and potentially replicated by them.

Black belts are typically sought after industry experts, who frequent conference circuits and lead agencies, as well as digital marketing departments. Anyone truly at this level is more than qualified for some kind of leadership role. Most black belts focus largely on Modes 1-4 (Ideation, ROI, Strategy and People).

Blue Samurais are rare beings. These game-changing entrepreneurs and executives are pure geniuses, proven at the highest levels. Think Bruce Lee, Steve Jobs, Michael Jordan - masters of their craft. Blue belts are the creators of the tech and marketing industries, who understand how to navigate and excel in these worlds better than anyone. 

The Pyramids of Knowledge represent the Samurai’s ascension through the various skill levels of the multi-dimensional, digital marketing universe. This is another dynamic infographic-like tool which can be applied in a number of ways, for example to evaluate individuals, teams, products and campaigns.

In this video lecture, Arman Rousta will bring students through an introduction to Dimension 5 of The 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, Markets which covers Geographic breakdowns, Demographics and Psychographics.

Markets (D5) include the vast field of the segmentation and targeting of various audiences amidst the global marketplace (i.e. essentially the 7+ billion people that we currently have on Planet Earth). Unless you are Coca-Cola, you cannot target the whole world. 

In this video lecture, Arman Rousta will bring students through an introduction to Dimension 6 of The 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, Industries.

Great marketing transcends industry-specific nuances. If you are a strong media buyer or copywriter in Healthcare for example, you should be able to port that skill set over to a Financial Services account. 7 Pillars best practices are generally agnostic and hold their value across the board.

In this video lecture, Arman Rousta will bring students through an introduction to Dimension 7 of The 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, Time or Eras.

In simplest terms, D7 (Time) can be broken down into Past, Present and Future. It’s easy to forget that today’s most indispensable tools didn’t exist until fairly recently. Before 2010, most people didn’t have smartphones and mobile apps. The Internet itself is less than 25 years old! Every 5 years is like an entirely new Era, with new players, rules and requisite survival skills. Change is constant and the pace of it is ever-increasing. As marketers, D7 helps us organize our goals, teams, campaigns and knowledge base around specific periods of time, be it quarterly, annually or multi-yearly.

In this video lecture, Arman Rousta will bring students through an introduction to The 7 Marketing Personality Types. This will cover the Number Cruncher, Information Gatherer, Hunter, Farmer, Idea Person, Doer and Visionary.

One of the keys to success in life, and for one to achieve happiness, is knowing who you are. The same goes for your marketing career. The Marketing Personality Types (MPTs) represent a subset of Mode 4 (People). From over twenty years of working with all types of characters, I have distilled the archetypes down to, you guessed it, 7 distinct MPTs. 

A close relative of ROI (Mode 2) and Financial (Angle 6), the Number Cruncher (NC) views the business world through the lens of Excel spreadsheets. Every marketing team needs at least one math and/or coding whiz to bring a quantitative perspective to the table. NCs bring an unbiased, scientific mentality to the evaluation of marketing campaigns, evaluating tactics on their ROI and not their cool factor. 

As a close relative of Brainstorming (Mode 1), Strategy (Mode 3), Business Intelligence (Core Principle 5) and Research (Angle 4), the Information Gatherer (IG) believes in the power of data. They are the fastest and most dynamic web crawlers around, and seem to know how to find information that the rest of us didn’t think was possible to locate. 

The Hunter is actually rooted in one of the Traditional Pillars (tP5 Sales) and reflects a character that is aggressive, proactive and interactive. Good hunters know how to go out and engage decision makers, and convince them to decide in their favor. 

While Hunters bring in the catch of the day, Farmers have to prepare it for the feast. Closely related to the Management Angle (A5), Farmers do just that, manage projects. Good Farmers are generally well-grounded, low key, detail oriented and risk averse.

The Idea Man or Woman (IM or IW) is a spark plug and source of creative energy that shines in the early stages of a project, and Mode 1 (Brainstorming). They can be zany, charismatic characters and potentially company leaders (i.e. aspiring visionaries).

Nike’s “Just Do It” is the motto of the Doer, an action- oriented character who likes to live in Mode 6 (Execution). This type is the most resourceful and is not afraid to learn new things. The Doer is a workhorse, who is not particularly fond of meetings, hierarchy and bureaucracy. They just want to know their tasks, and be given the space to do them in peace. They are not satisfied until things are done and done well. 

The Visionary is the most evolved of all MPTs. They always seem one step ahead of the game. Their clear-sighted comprehension of particular business problems and optimal solutions, when matched by an ability to articulate that vision, yields unparalleled potential. They see the big picture better than anyone, and while well aware of their necessity, rarely fret about the details.

In this video lecture, Arman Rousta will address the importance of knowing your optimal working time, whether it's early in the morning or late at night. Are you an Early Bird or a Night Owl?

While identifying your major and minor MPT, it is also important to know if you are an “Early Bird” or a “Night Owl.” If you are the type of person who wakes up at the crack of dawn to attack the day, you’re probably an Early Bird. You’re most productive and at your sharpest in the beginning of the day.

In this conclusion video, Arman Rousta thanks you for your participation in The 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing course, lets you know of future developments that are upcoming within the system and wishes you the best on your journey as you march forth to conquer the Digital Marketing realm.

As we conclude the 7 Pillars course, it’s time to put what you’ve learned into practice! This is not a theoretical framework, but an actionable, practical guide to marketing that can be applied by and for individuals, companies, campaigns, websites, marketing plans and budgets. I leave you with four quick tips, to aid your path towards marketing excellence. 

Learn more about Arman Rousta, Blueliner CEO and creator of The 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing.