Table Of ContentReturn on Engagement
Return on Engagement
Content Strategy and Web Design Techniques for Digital
Marketing
SECOND EDITION
Tim Frick and Kate Eyler-Werve
First published 2010 by Focal Press
This edition published 2015
by Focal Press
70 Blanchard Road, Suite 402, Burlington, MA 01803
and by Focal Press
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Focal Press is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2015 Taylor & Francis
The right of Tim Frick and Kate Eyler-Werve to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in
accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
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storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our
understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary.
Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Frick, Tim.
Return on engagement : content strategy and web design techniques for digital marketing / Tim
Frick and Kate Eyler-Werve. – Second edition.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Internet marketing. 2. Social media–Marketing. 3. Strategic planning. I. Eyler-Werve,
Kate. II. Title.
HF5415.1265.F745 2014
658.8’72—dc23 2013051221
ISBN: 978-0-415-84461-1 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-75181-7 (ebk)
Typeset in Minion Pro
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents
1. Digital Marketing Strategy Basics
2. Content Strategy
3. SEO and Content Strategy
4. Design Strategy: An Integrated Approach
5. Measurement Strategy
6. Writing for the Web
7. Producing Web Video
8. Content and Social Networks
9. Creating Usable Designs
10. Climate Ride’s Pedal Power
Index
Chapter One
Digital Marketing Strategy Basics
We’ll start and end this book with Climate Ride. This small, virtual organization, which
produces multi-day endurance sporting events to raise money for environmental causes, has
grown from an idea in 2008 to a vibrant fundraising community that has successfully used
digital tools as a critical component of their growth strategy. With minimal resources, the co-
founders set out to create a cycling event that could transform lives and raise money for a
sustainable future.
Figure 1.1 Climate Ride’s flagship event ends on the steps of the U.S. Capital, sending a clear message to politicians about
the importance of environmentally-friendly legislation.
Just five years after the idea’s inception, Climate Ride has granted over $1.5 million to their
beneficiary organizations, which have a measurable impact on environmentally-friendly
policy, nature conservation, triple bottom line business, bicycle and active transportation
advocacy, and many other national programs committed to a sustainable future for people and
planet. The organization has expanded their event offerings from a single multi-day cycling
event from New York City to Washington, DC to similar events in California, the Midwest,
and a five-day 50-mile hike through Glacier National Park, one of the areas in the United
States hit hardest by climate change.
Climate Ride relies on its community of avid cyclists and environmentalists to fill their
events and raise critically needed funds for these organizations. And they do so mostly
through the strategic use of digital tools.
Figure 1.2 Climate Ride funds a sustainable future in several key areas.
Climate Ride co-founders Caeli Quinn and Geraldine Carter didn’t have much of a
marketing budget, but quickly found that digital tools like blogs, social media, online forums,
photo sharing, mobile apps, and so on would play a key role in fundraising, outreach and
organizational growth. Cost-effective with the “viral coefficient” potential to reach a vast
audience very quickly, these tools and tactics are critical to Climate Ride’s success.
The take-away here? With some knowledge, drive and resourcefulness, building a
successful organization using primarily digital tools and strategy is within anyone’s reach.
Climate Ride is just one example of many that have done this.
It starts with a solid strategy: big picture stuff, setting tools aside and focusing on vision,
mission and messaging. In this chapter, we’ll define what it takes to create a successful
strategy, then apply that strategy to multiple disciplines: marketing strategy, digital strategy,
and content strategy. Then, we’ll outline the steps you can take to begin building out your
own organization’s digital strategy. We will cover Climate Ride’s digital strategy and
execution of many tactics covered throughout the book in detail in the last chapter.
Defining Digital Marketing Strategy
The web is infinite, your budget and resources are not. A good digital marketing strategy
should help you make decisions about how to use resources to achieve organizational goals on
digital platforms.
A digital marketing strategy should do two things:
1. Clearly connect digital platform goals to organizational objectives.
2. Define success, so you can make data-based decisions about when to persevere and
when to pivot.
Of course, “digital platforms” covers an ever-widening array of devices, services and channels,
each one requiring specific skills and insights that often cross disciplines such as UX, content,
development and marketing. As a result, two primary strategic challenges in the digital field
are:
1. Integrating multiple disciplines, including content creation, user experience, web
design, web development, analytics and marketing, into one coherent digital strategy.
2. Developing strategy-driven principles, guidelines, and goals that allow for flexibility
and extensibility.
Figure 1.3 It’s dangerous to go alone—take this book!
