Diploma in Digital Marketing

Purpose

The purpose of this Diploma in Digital Marketing is to equip qualifying learners with a detailed knowledge base and the necessary practical workplace skills critical for the digital marketing environment. This qualification will enable qualifying learners to implement digital marketing strategies and use analytics and tools to refine these strategies. The demands of the digital marketing environment necessitate the development of integrated competencies as it draws on various skills and disciplines, including marketing, business management, the effective use of the English language in the context of digital communication, analytical skills, and specific technical skills. The depth and specialisation of knowledge gained in this qualification, including the experience gained in a simulated workplace context, enables successful learners to enter several career paths within the digital marketing environment and to apply their learning to particular employment contexts from the outset.

The qualification provides learners with the foundational knowledge of marketing theories and principles to support both the general marketing and specific digital marketing processes and the application, thus equipping learners with the necessary skills to be employed in the marketing sector specialising in digital marketing. Learners enrolled in the Diploma in Digital Marketing undertake a qualification that is vocational in its orientation, which includes vocational and industry-specific knowledge that provides a sound understanding of digital marketing principles, as well as a combination of digital marketing tools and techniques and their application.

Rationale

Digital technology is integrated into many aspects of everyday life and as a result, digital technologies and tools have become core components of business strategy, marketing, and consumer interaction. Businesses recognise the importance and strategic value of management and maintenance of their online digital activities and profile, and the use of digital technologies to connect with current and prospective customers. With increased competition, market leaders and innovators are looking for new ways to engage with their audience, and developments in various technologies drive this trend, thus creating opportunities for digital marketers. This statement is evidenced by the findings of the Department of Higher Education and Trainings (DHET) list of occupations in high demand 2018 (Government Gazette Vol.636. No.41728, 22 June 2018), where Interactive and Direct Marketing Specialists and Sales and Marketing Managers/practitioners are listed, with digital marketing being a subset of this field.

This qualification has a primarily vocational orientation that aligns intending to produce employable learners with relevant skills within the digital marketing discipline. The combination of knowledge and skills developed in this qualification are designed to address the demands of employers, and learners will be able to find employment within the digital marketing industry.

This qualification provides learners with focused knowledge of the fundamental elements of the digital marketing discipline. Furthermore, it develops learners' ability to practically apply this knowledge in an integrated manner, ensuring that the vocational skills and competencies needed within the South African e-commerce/digital marketing industry are met. The outcomes of this qualification were designed to equip qualifying learners to work within a variety of digital marketing and related positions through the development of demonstrable hands-on skills in functions related to, for example, social media marketing, digital content creation, and web analysis.

In keeping with the purpose of a diploma, a range of vocational and industry-specific competencies are included in the various modules offered in this qualification. This will allow learners to pursue further specialisation within areas of digital marketing, or to apply their learning within particular employment contexts after graduation. Career opportunities for immediate graduates of this Diploma exist as:

• Digital marketing coordinator.
• Social media designer/marketer.
• Digital marketing assistant.
• Junior pay-per-click (PPC) manager.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

The institution's Credit Accumulation and Transfer, Recognition of Prior Learning and Qualification Completion Policies distinguish between RPL for access, that provides an alternative access route into a programme of learning, and RPL for credit, which provides for the awarding of credits for, or towards a qualification or part qualification registered on the NQF.

The prior learning assessment seeks only to establish if the learner has, through a process other than the "ordinary formal certificated educational route" acquired the knowledge, competence and skills that would normally be expected for those being granted admission. Content knowledge is often not the primary consideration if it is something that can be readily acquired and will not inhibit progression, therefore, a Portfolio of Evidence (PoE) is presented. This Portfolio of Evidence seeks to recognise:

• Learning resulting from experience, and not for the quantum of experience per se;
• Learning that is on the level of the qualification/module for which admission is sought;
• Learning that is in line with applied competence and has a balance between theory and practical application, appropriate to the qualification the candidate wishes to pursue.

How the learners' prior knowledge and skills will enable them to gain credits and admissions to the qualification and/or how they will be awarded credits for such learning is explained below:

• To be awarded a qualification, a learner must complete the requisite academic modules resulting in the completion of sufficient approved credits in the approved period. Some of the credits for these modules can be granted in recognition of formal learning from another qualification or approved short learning programme.
• For a module to be recognised for academic credit there needs to be sufficient equivalence between the module completed and the outcomes and level of the module for which credit is sought.

Entry Requirements

The minimum entry requirement for this qualification is

• National Senior Certificate, NQF Level 4 granting access to Diploma studies.

Or

• National Certificate (Vocational), NQF Level 4 granting access to Diploma studies.

Or

• Senior Certificate, NQF Level 4.

This qualification consists of the following compulsory modules at NQF Level 5, 6 and 7 totalling 360 Credits.

Compulsory Modules, Level 5, 135 Credits

• Digital Marketing 1A: Introduction to Digital Marketing, 15 Credits.
• Marketing 1A, 15 Credits.
• Quantitative Thinking and Techniques, 15 Credits.
• Digital and Academic Literacies, 15 Credits.
• Digital Marketing 1B: Introduction to the Digital Marketing Plan, 15 Credits.
• Marketing 1B, 15 Credits.
• Business Management 1A, 15 Credits.
• English Language Practice, 15 Credits.
• Work Integrated Learning 1, 15 Credits.

Compulsory Modules, Level 6, 195 Credits

• Digital Customer Experience Management, 15 Credits.
• Digital Marketing 2A: Content Marketing and Digital Copywriting, 15 Credits.
• Digital Marketing 2B: Email Marketing, 15 Credits.
• Introduction to Website Design and Development, 15 Credits.
• Digital Marketing 2C: Paid Search Marketing, 15 Credits.
• Digital Marketing 2D: Social Media Marketing, 15 Credits.
• Search Engine Optimisation, 15 Credits.
• Digital Advertising, 15 Credits.
• Introduction to Statistics, 15 Credits.
• Digital Marketing Research, 15 Credits.
• Digital Communication Law, 15 Credits.
• Data Analytics for Digital Marketing, 15 Credits.
• Work Integrated Learning 2, 15 Credits.

Compulsory Modules, NQF Level 7, 30 Credits

• Digital Marketing 3A: Digital Marketing Strategy, 15 Credits.
• Digital Marketing 3B: Trends and Developments, 15 Credits.

1. Demonstrate detailed knowledge of the digital marketing discipline and how it relates to other aspects of business, including an understanding of, and the ability to apply, key theories, principles, processes, tools and techniques to unfamiliar contexts.
2. Demonstrate foundational knowledge of the theories, principles, processes and concepts of the marketing discipline.
3. Apply appropriate marketing and digital marketing methods, tools, procedures or techniques to the implementation of digital marketing strategies or to provide digital marketing solutions within a business environment.
4. Analyse and evaluate appropriate and relevant data and information for a given purpose, and effectively communicate and disseminate this information.
5. Comprehend the cultural, ethical, and legal implications of decisions within the context of digital marketing.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1

• Apply digital marketing theories, principles, processes, tools and techniques to a variety of scenarios.
• Examine the relationship between marketing and digital marketing.
• Apply marketing and business management principles to the development of a basic digital marketing plan.
• Evaluate the digital marketing strategies employed by an organisation.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2

• Discuss the micro, market and macro environment of a business enterprise as it relates to marketing.
• Apply marketing concepts and principles to a given scenario.
• Discuss the relationship between the marketing function and other business functions.
• Assess the influence of information systems on the competitive advantage of an organisation within the marketing environment.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3

• Evaluate digital marketing practices within organisations to identify and define digital marketing problems.
• Use digital marketing methods, tools, procedures or techniques to provide digital marketing solutions to an identified problem.
• Implement a digital marketing strategy that meets given business objectives.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4

• Outline best practices associated with data collection for data analytics within the digital marketing environment.
• Undertake the process of setting up and configuring analytical tools and install tracking codes to gain insights about traffic and the audience of a website.
• Evaluate the performance and customer conversion journeys against pre-set campaign goals.
• Interpret analytical reports and features to monitor and analyse the success of digital campaigns.
• Communicate the interpretation of data to stakeholders using an appropriate format.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 5

• Demonstrate an understanding of the legislative framework affecting and governing the digital marketing environment.
• Apply an ethical decision making to digital marketing activities.
• Evaluate and respond to cultural insensitivity within the digital marketing environment.

Integrated Assessment

Learning and assessment are integrated. Continual formative assessment is required so that learners are given feedback on their progress in the achievement of learning outcomes. The scheme of work includes assignments, real-world briefs, tests and an integrated programme portfolio based on the learning material and learners are given feedback. The process is continuous and focuses on smaller sections of the work and limited numbers of outcomes.

Summative assessment is concerned with the judgement of the learning concerning the Exit Level Outcomes of the qualification. Such judgement must include integrated assessments that test the learner's ability to integrate the larger body of knowledge, skills and attitudes that are represented by the exit level outcomes as a whole. Examinations, projects, reports or equivalent assessments, such as a portfolio of evidence, assess a representative selection of the outcomes practised and assessed. The summative assessment also tests the learner's ability to manage and integrate a large body of knowledge to achieve the stated outcomes of a module.

Integrated Assessments will be designed to achieve

• Integration of the achievement of exit level outcomes in a way that demonstrates that the purpose of the qualification as a whole has been achieved.
• The evaluation of learner performance that can provide evidence of applied competence.
• Criterion-referenced assessment that is clearly explained to, and understood by, the learners and which can be applied in the Recognition of Prior Learning.