Unit 3: Digital marketing fundamentals
E-Commerce & Digital Marketing notes · PTU syllabus (PGCA1921)
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Unit summary
Digital marketing reaches customers where they spend their time online. This unit covers the components of online marketing — email, forums, social networks, banners and blogs — affiliate, viral, influencer and referral marketing, online advertising, mobile marketing, web analytics and email marketing.
After this unit you can
- Identify the components of online marketing
- Explain affiliate, viral, influencer and referral marketing
- Explain online advertising and mobile marketing
- Use web analytics and run email campaigns
PTU syllabus topics
- Components of online marketing (email, forum, social network, banner, blog)
- affiliate marketing
- viral marketing
- influencer marketing
- referral marketing
- online advertising
- mobile marketing
- web analytics and email marketing
Search
SEO and paid search
Social media
Organic and paid
Email
Newsletters, automation
Content
Blogs, video
Affiliate and influencer
Partners promote for commission
Mobile
Apps, SMS, push
Topic 1
Digital marketing fundamentals
Media
TV, print, radio, outdoor
Search, social, email, websites, apps
Communication
One-way broadcast
Two-way, interactive
Targeting
Broad
Precise — demographics, interests, behaviour
Measurement
Hard, delayed
Real-time analytics
Cost
High minimum spend
Scalable, pay-per-result
Reach
Mostly local or national
Local to global
Topic 2
Components of online marketing
Direct, personalised communication
Admission reminders, newsletters
Forums and communities
Discussions, support, word of mouth
Reddit, Quora, brand communities
Social networks
Reach, engagement and community
Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube
Banner (display) ads
Visual ads on websites and apps
Google Display Network
Blogs
Content that attracts search traffic and builds authority
College blog on career paths
Topic 3
Affiliate marketing
- Affiliate marketing: affiliates promote another firm's products and earn a commission for each sale or lead generated through their unique link.
- Parties: merchant, affiliate (publisher, influencer), network (Amazon Associates, Cuelinks), customer.
- Models: pay per sale, pay per lead, pay per click.
- Issues: cookie duration, fraud, disclosure of paid relationships (ASCI guidelines for influencers).
Topic 4
Viral marketing
- Viral marketing creates content that people share on their own, spreading a message rapidly like a virus — through humour, emotion, surprise or usefulness.
- Shareable content
- Memes, short videos, challenges
- Easy transfer
- One-tap sharing
- Social currency
- People share what makes them look good
- Seeding
- Release through influencers and communities
- Timing
- Ride trends and events
- Risks: loss of control over the message and backlash; virality cannot be guaranteed.
Topic 5
Influencer marketing
- Identification criteria (3 Rs): relevance (audience and content fit), reach (followers and views), resonance (engagement and trust); plus authenticity (fake follower checks), brand safety and values alignment.
Sponsored posts
Paid content on the creator's channel
Product seeding and gifting
Free products for honest reviews
Affiliate and discount codes
Commission per sale
Brand ambassadorship
Long-term association
Takeovers and co-creation
Creator runs brand account or co-designs products
Events and launches
Creators attend and cover events
- Disclosure: clear labels (#ad, #collab) under ASCI guidelines.
Topic 6
Referral marketing
- Referral marketing rewards existing customers for bringing new ones — refer-a-friend programmes with discounts, cashback or credits for both sides.
Example
A fintech app gives ₹100 to both the referrer and the new user after the first UPI payment; a college offers a fee concession to alumni who refer admissions.
- Why it works: trust in personal recommendations, low acquisition cost and higher retention of referred customers.
Topic 7
Online advertising
Search engine advertising
Paid listings on Google (pay-per-click)
Display advertising
Banners, pop-ups, video ads on websites
Social media advertising
Targeted ads on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn
Email and affiliate marketing
Newsletters; partners earn commission per sale
- Other forms: influencer marketing, native ads, retargeting, in-app ads.
- Pricing models: CPM (cost per thousand impressions), CPC (cost per click), CPA (cost per action/acquisition).
- Advantages: precise targeting, measurable results (click-through rate, conversion rate), low cost, interactivity, real-time changes.
- Limitations: ad blindness and ad blockers, click fraud, privacy concerns, clutter.
Topic 8
Mobile marketing
SMS
Short text messages — alerts, OTPs, offers; DLT registration and DND rules under TRAI
MMS and RCS
Rich media and interactive messages
Mobile apps
Push notifications, in-app messages, loyalty
QR codes
Link offline to online — payments, menus, packaging
AR
Try-on and product visualisation via phone camera
IVR and missed-call marketing
Voice menus; missed-call campaigns popular in India
WhatsApp Business
Conversational messaging, catalogues, payments
Topic 9
Web analytics
Users and sessions
Unique visitors and visits
Page views and events
Interactions tracked (GA4 is event-based)
Engagement
Engaged sessions, engagement time, bounce rate
Acquisition
Traffic sources — organic, paid, social, referral, direct, email
Conversions
Key events — purchases, sign-ups, leads
Funnels and paths
Steps users take towards conversion
- Data collection: tracking code or tag (Google Tag Manager), cookies and consent mode, UTM parameters, server-side tracking.
Topic 10
Email marketing
Consent
Subscriber agreed to receive mail
No prior consent
Engagement
Higher open and click rates
Low; often marked spam
Deliverability
Good sender reputation
Risk of blacklisting
Law and ethics
Meets anti-spam norms and privacy law
Breaches norms; data protection risk
- Types of emails: newsletters, promotional offers, transactional (order confirmations), welcome and onboarding series, abandoned-cart reminders, re-engagement.
- Best practices: double opt-in, segmentation and personalisation, clear subject lines, mobile-friendly design, one call to action, easy unsubscribe, A/B testing.
- Metrics: open rate, click-through rate, conversion rate, bounce rate, unsubscribe rate.
- Tools: Mailchimp, Zoho Campaigns, Sendinblue (Brevo).
Key terms
- Affiliate marketing
- Paying partners commission for sales they generate
- Viral marketing
- Content spread rapidly by users sharing it
- Influencer marketing
- Partnering with creators who sway their followers
- Referral marketing
- Rewarding customers for bringing new customers
- Web analytics
- Measuring and analysing website traffic and behaviour
Quick revision
- Email, forums, social networks, banners, blogs.
- Affiliate commissions and tracking; viral elements and risks.
- Influencer tiers and collaboration models; referral programmes.
- Online ad formats and pricing (CPM, CPC, CPA); mobile channels (SMS, apps, push, in-app ads).
- Web analytics metrics; email marketing process and metrics.
Important exam questions
Practice questions written to the PTU exam pattern for this unit's syllabus: short answers (Section A style) and long answers (Sections B and C style).
Short-answer questions
- Q1.What is affiliate marketing?
- Q2.State two features of viral content.
- Q3.Distinguish micro- and macro-influencers.
- Q4.How does referral marketing work?
- Q5.Distinguish CPM and CPC.
- Q6.What is bounce rate?
Long-answer questions
- Q1.Explain the components of online marketing.
- Q2.Explain affiliate, viral, influencer and referral marketing.
- Q3.Explain online advertising and mobile marketing.
- Q4.Explain web analytics and email marketing.
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