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There are 4 modules in this course
The proliferation of digital technology gives businesses an unprecedented and diverse new set of tools to reach, engage, monitor, and respond to consumers. The aggregated and voluminous digital data can also be leveraged to better target specific consumer segments. Following “Digital Media and Marketing Principles,” this course aims to give you a deeper understanding of core processes of planning a digital marketing campaign and the role of various digital channels in integrated marketing communication.
You will be able to:
- Adopt a holistic and integrated approach to digital marketing planning
- Develop a purposeful content marketing strategy to achieve your business and marketing goals
- Effectively mix paid, earned, owned, and shared media channels to discover, reach, and engage your customers
- Critically evaluate the role social media platforms play in viral and influencer marketing campaigns
- Evaluate and measure the success of digital marketing campaigns
- Identify and manage risks in digital marketing
This course is part of Gies College of Business’s suite of online programs, including the iMBA and iMSM. Learn more about admission into the program and explore how your Coursera work can be leveraged if accepted into a degree program at https://degrees.giesbusiness.illinois.edu/idegrees/.
This module introduces contemporary dynamics of digital marketing, emphasizing that success in today's landscape is not about pushing messages but orchestrating seamless, human-centered experiences across multiple digital touchpoints. The module explores three core shifts defining the modern digital environment: the rise of the attention economy; the critical need for omnichannel, multi-touchpoint strategies; and the transformative impact of AI and automation on marketing execution. Through performing a comprehensive digital audit, assessing visibility, content quality, performance, along with analyzing competitive landscapes and mapping the customer journey. The module concludes by exploring the tools and frameworks for creating actionable marketing objectives grounded in strategic insights. Altogether, this module establishes a strategic mindset, encouraging marketers to think beyond channels and tactics, and instead focus on designing integrated, trust-building experiences tailored to real consumer behavior.
What's included
13 videos7 readings2 assignments1 plugin
Show info about module content
13 videos•Total 84 minutes
Course Introduction•3 minutes
Meet Your Instructor•2 minutes
The Impact of the Gies Community•2 minutes
Interview Series Introduction•3 minutes
Digital Audit: Evaluating Visibility and Discoverability•10 minutes
Digital Audit: Assessing Content and Information Quality•5 minutes
Digital Audit: Measuring Performance and Effectiveness•5 minutes
Competitor and Landscape Analysis: Mapping the Market Context•8 minutes
The Customer Journey: Understanding Behavior and Touchpoints•9 minutes
Persona Development With Empathy: Building Human-Centered Insights•6 minutes
From Audit to Strategy: Defining Strategic Objectives•7 minutes
Interview with David Smalle: How Analytics Supports a Movie Campaign from Start to Finish•6 minutes
Insight to Impact•20 minutes
7 readings•Total 150 minutes
Syllabus•30 minutes
About the Discussion Forums•10 minutes
About the Rubric for Peer Assessment•10 minutes
Getting to Know Your Classmates•10 minutes
Online Education at Gies College of Business•10 minutes
Module 1 Overview•20 minutes
Module 1 Glossary•60 minutes
2 assignments•Total 90 minutes
Orientation Quiz•30 minutes
Insight to Impact Module 1 Quiz•60 minutes
1 plugin•Total 15 minutes
Welcome! Please Tell Us About Yourself•15 minutes
Connecting with Intent
4 hours to complete
Module details
This module focuses on creating cohesive, human-centered digital marketing strategies by exploring the interplay between channels and touchpoints. It emphasizes that modern marketing is no longer about managing isolated platforms but about designing seamless experiences that align with how people actually engage across devices and environments. Key topics include distinguishing between delivery channels (like websites, email, and social media) and customer touchpoints (specific moments of interaction), and understanding how these they combine to shape brand perception. The module highlights the central role of the website as a brand’s experience hub and introduces user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design as essential components of marketing success. It also delves into enhancing discoverability through SEO and SEM, stressing the importance of understanding user intent across different search platforms. Finally, it explores the strategic use of social media, differentiating between organic content, paid promotion, and influencer engagement, and guiding learners to analyze engagement metrics critically. Altogether, this module equips learners to design integrated marketing experiences that feel connected, personalized, and relevant at every stage of the customer journey.
What's included
14 videos3 readings1 assignment
Show info about module content
14 videos•Total 89 minutes
Channels and Touchpoints: A Human-Centered View•7 minutes
Interview with Dwight Caines: Aligning Teams Around a Single Message•3 minutes
Boosting Discoverability Though Search (SEO and SEM) Part 1•9 minutes
Boosting Discoverability Though Search (SEO and SEM) Part 2•7 minutes
Boosting Discoverability Though Search (SEO and SEM) Part 3•10 minutes
Social Media Platforms: Where, Why, and How Part 1•6 minutes
Interview with Rose Phillips: Today’s Digital Marketing Team at a Major Movie Studio•2 minutes
Social Media Platforms: Where, Why, and How Part 2•10 minutes
Interview with Rose Phillips: Putting Audience Insights at the Center of the Plan•2 minutes
Social Media Platforms: Where, Why, and How Part 3•9 minutes
Interview with Rose Phillips: It's Not One-Size-Fits-All — Picking the Right Channels•1 minute
Social Media Platforms: Where, Why, and How Part 4•6 minutes
Interview with Rose Phillips: Behind the Creator-First Campaign for 'Bad Boys'•3 minutes
Connecting with Intent•14 minutes
3 readings•Total 120 minutes
Module 2 Overview•20 minutes
Module 2 Glossary •90 minutes
Digital Media Consultant Activity for Module 4 Peer Assessment•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 60 minutes
Connecting with Intent Module 2 Quiz•60 minutes
Designing Experience
4 hours to complete
Module details
This module centers on the strategic execution of direct-to-consumer (DTC) communication and experience design in digital marketing. It explores how modern brands engage customers through personalized, behavior-driven channels such as email, SMS, and in-app messaging, emphasizing the shift from one-way promotions to relationship-focused interactions. The module underscores the importance of consent-based communication and demonstrates how automation and data insights can power timely, relevant, and human-centered messaging. It introduces experience design (XD) as a core strategic discipline, showing how connected touchpoints from website visits to follow-up messages can be orchestrated through CRM systems to deliver consistent, personalized journeys. By weaving together direct communication, behavioral triggers, and centralized data management, this module illustrates how brands can move from fragmented campaigns to seamless, trust-building experiences that adapt to each customer’s path.
What's included
10 videos2 readings1 assignment
Show info about module content
10 videos•Total 78 minutes
Direct-to-Consumer Communication - Part 1•9 minutes
Direct-to-Consumer Communication - Part 2•6 minutes
Designing Consumer Experience: Building Trust Through Technology and Touchpoints•9 minutes
Orchestrating the Experience: Blending Paid and Organic in the Customer Journey•11 minutes
Behind the Scenes: CRM as the Brain of Experience-Driven Marketing•6 minutes
Behind the Scenes: Tracking Engagement With Pixels•4 minutes
Behind the Scenes: Understanding Campaigns Through UTM Tagging•5 minutes
Behind the Scenes: Managing Privacy and Identity With Cookies and Unified IDs•9 minutes
Interview with David Smalle: The Cross-Functional Team Behind Marketing Insights•1 minute
Designing Experience•18 minutes
2 readings•Total 80 minutes
Module 3 Overview•20 minutes
Module 3 Glossary•60 minutes
1 assignment•Total 60 minutes
Designing Experience Module 3 Quiz•60 minutes
Digital Storytelling
5 hours to complete
Module details
This module focuses on strategic campaign evaluation and the evolving nature of brand communication in the digital era. It begins by emphasizing the importance of moving beyond isolated metrics (like clicks or likes) to assess overall campaign effectiveness through well-defined SMART goals that align with broader business strategy. Using a case study of HoneyCo’s skincare launch, the module illustrates how to measure outcomes across search, social, and CRM touchpoints, tracking real behavior rather than surface activity. It then explores how brand storytelling has shifted from traditional PR models to dynamic, many-to-many communication shaped by audience interaction and cultural context. This module will introduce frameworks for managing brand reputation across predictable and unpredictable events. The module concludes with forward-looking insights into the role of AI in marketing, framing it as a strategic force that must be thoughtfully integrated to support authentic, human-centered brand relationships.
Building Meaningful Brands: Trust, Relationships, and Reputation in a Digital World Part 2•7 minutes
Brand Safety and Risk Management: Protecting Brands in a Connected World•5 minutes
Strategic Thinking in the Age of AI: Roles, Risks, and New Relationships•10 minutes
Digital Storytelling•8 minutes
Final Wrap-Up: Strategic Thinking for a Dynamic Digital World•4 minutes
Interview with Dwight Caines: Tying It All Together: How a Singular Theme Shaped the 'Wicked' Campaign•5 minutes
Learn on Your Terms•1 minute
4 readings•Total 90 minutes
Module 4 Overview•20 minutes
Module 4 Glossary•50 minutes
Congratulations on completing the course!•10 minutes
Get Your Course Certificate•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 60 minutes
Digital Storytelling Module 4 Quiz•60 minutes
1 peer review•Total 60 minutes
Module 4 Peer Assessment•60 minutes
1 plugin•Total 15 minutes
How was the course?•15 minutes
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Build toward a degree
This course is part of the following degree program(s) offered by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. If you are admitted and enroll, your completed coursework may count toward your degree learning and your progress can transfer with you.¹
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Build toward a degree
This course is part of the following degree program(s) offered by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. If you are admitted and enroll, your completed coursework may count toward your degree learning and your progress can transfer with you.¹
¹Successful application and enrollment are required. Eligibility requirements apply. Each institution determines the number of credits recognized by completing this content that may count towards degree requirements, considering any existing credits you may have. Click on a specific course for more information.
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Learner reviews
4.6
3,175 reviews
5 stars
71.78%
4 stars
20.11%
3 stars
4.65%
2 stars
1.76%
1 star
1.66%
Showing 3 of 3175
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FJ
5·
Reviewed on Feb 3, 2021
This is a useful and excellent course. This is where I want my career to go. I want to plan campaigns and also study analytics on helping with strategy as well as seeing results.
A
AA
4·
Reviewed on Dec 25, 2020
i was so happy to take this course where it has added a lot of new information to my digital marketing knowledge. All was clear with good examples! thank you for this course and its content.
Y
YA
5·
Reviewed on Oct 12, 2021
course was very good , i had enjoyed each session and learned a-lot , which i will make sure i can use all what i learn in my career path . a huge thanks to Professor Mike Yao
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What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.