Atruvia AG
Digital Engagement
Book

Digital Engagement

Internet Marketing that Captures Customers and Builds Intense Brand Loyalty

Leland Harden and Bob Heyman
AMACOM, 2009
Buy book or audiobook

Read or listen offline

Amazon Kindle
  • 0.5×
  • 0.75×
  • 1×
  • 1.25×
  • 1.5×
  • 1.75×
1×

Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable

Recommendation

Leland Harden and Bob Heyman’s authoritative guide is exciting some of the time, rather boring other times, and absolutely essential for anyone working in online marketing, branding, public relations (PR) or community building. getAbstract recommends it to all contemporary marketing professionals and anyone else who is trying to shape a coherent policy for engaging consumers online. When the book is dull, it is dull for the same reasons it is so essential: In places, it is a reference work, which you might consult regularly in short bursts, rather than read through in its entirety. Given that, the index should include each person and Web site the authors mention but, alas, it does not. The book is exciting because it provides two related, necessary pieces of information: specific guidelines for developing online campaigns and tools for measuring their success. If you read it, you’ll be able to plan consistently, maximize your online PR investment and track how you’ve done.

Summary

The Foundations of Engaging People Online

Online marketing, advertising and sales are growing so quickly they’re threatening the established media, making it reassess its approaches and fight for its life. “Digital engagement” offers new possibilities, but taking advantage of them “requires a twist to the entire corporate mindset.” For example, about 40% of advertising spending online through 2011 will focus on “paid search” positioning, something that doesn’t even exist in traditional marketing. Digital engagement works best in these areas:

  • Building your brand – Your Web site is your primary tool for building your brand online. Make it well-designed, interactive, appropriate and up-to-date so it can work with your print ads to bolster brand loyalty, especially in younger buyers. Top sites draw millions of visitors: Pampers.com had 1.7 million U.S. visitors in 2007.
  • Creating leads – Use e-mail to reach Web users. You can spam or use more palatable methods, like “search marketing,” “affiliate marketing” and link swapping.
  • Selling – More people are buying online: In the U.S., Christmas 2007 online...

About the Authors

Leland Harden and Bob Heyman co-founded Cybernautics, a new economy marketing firm, and co-authored Net Results. Harden is vice president of Institutional Advancement at Hardin-Simmons University. Heyman is chief search officer at Mediasmith.

Comment on this summary