• University of Southampton

Digital Marketing: Challenges and Insights

Go beyond the hype and explore the latest trends in digital marketing and understand their implications to your work.

40,297 enrolled on this course

Marketing team members
  • Duration

    3 weeks
  • Weekly study

    3 hours

Explore exciting new concepts and applications in digital marketing

On this course, you’ll learn about emerging trends in digital culture and online consumer behaviour, data analytics and privacy.

Throughout the course, you’ll consider the implications of these developments for both marketers and consumers.

You’ll explore evolving changes in how we behave online and what this means for organisations. You’ll discuss developments in technologies and the relationship between marketing online and offline.

You’ll discover the opportunities and challenges in obtaining value from data at a time when much uncertainty exists about personal privacy and control of online assets.

You’ll also create and share digital assets through interactive exercises and games and post a short video at the end of the course reflecting on what you’ve learned and how you’ll make use of your new skills.

Download video: standard or HD

What topics will you cover?

  • How businesses can benefit from digital storytelling
  • How marketers can draw upon a variety of social tools to share their stories
  • Impact of evolving changes in how we behave online
  • The challenges and opportunities that social media offer to marketers
  • The ‘customer journeys’ we make when purchasing goods and services
  • How marketers can draw upon these developments to start thinking beyond standard ‘online’ versus ‘offline’ distinctions
  • How marketers can add value to customers by providing useful and relevant location-specific services without being intrusive
  • The true ownership of digital assets and what this status means for how we access and manage our digital possessions over time
  • Basic analytical tools and how they can help measure marketing effectiveness
  • Examination of privacy issues from the perspective of both consumers and marketers
  • How marketers can encourage existing customers to recommend an organisation to their friends by using gamification techniques

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Explore how the way people behave online is evolving and what this means for the organisations they support and do business with
  • Discuss developments in the technologies people use and the ways in which this is enabling creative integration of 'online' and 'offline' by marketers
  • Evaluate the opportunities and challenges for marketers in obtaining value from social data, at a time when uncertainty still exists about personal privacy and control of online assets
  • Reflect upon the topics discussed in the context of your own experiences and use a variety of social tools to share your stories with other learners

Who is the course for?

This course is intended for those with an interest in digital marketing courses, and does not require any previous experience of the subject.

However, the depth of thinking and analysis will be at an undergraduate level, thus making this an ideal taster course should you be:

  • considering whether to pursue a more formal study programme in this subject area
  • wondering if digital marketing is the career for you
  • currently working in a more “traditional” marketing role and wanting to find out more about what’s changing

What do people say about this course?

"Thank you, there were some points - the story, for example - that I will put into practice immediately as I work on the final steps of my new mobile site which I have had developed. I will try to make changes to the text to make it more inline with that unit."

"Thoroughly enjoyed this MOOC, which has given me a glimpse into the ever growing world of Digital Marketing. Will expand on what I have garnered and make use of some of the very helpful "take away" tips on narration and the future of DM. It looks like it's going to get even more"personal" and I'm thinking perhaps giving more back to the consumer, to control their overall Digital space and experience. Which can only be a "good thing." Big thanks to all the DM team at Soton Uni, for the "toe dipping" and making it all more accessible and engaging. Cheers! "

Who will you learn with?

Director of Digital Learning @UofEBusiness @UniofExeter. I champion Digital Literacies, Social Learning, Open Access & MOOCs. #PFHEA #JISCsocial50 #Innovator #Disruptor

I lecture in marketing at the University of Southampton and I've been teaching and researching online consumer culture for about 16 years.

Who developed the course?

University of Southampton

Southampton is a place for ambitious people keen to stretch their intellectual abilities and help change the world.

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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