There’s a lot about marketing to know—first you have traditional marketing, which is the old school method of blaring your messages out via billboards, TV commercials, flyers, and so on. Nowadays, there’s all kinds of other marketing strategies to keep in mind: content marketing, social media marketing, inbound marketing, outbound marketing—even digital marketing.
But what is digital marketing? How is it any different from the other kinds, like content and inbound marketing? We’re going to answer that question today.
Some terms to understand
First, we need to address the other kinds of marketing definitions we’ve seen our clients become confused about:
Outbound marketing – i.e. “traditional marketing”.
Inbound marketing – marketing that is more focused on helping customers and encouraging engagement such as a website, a blog, etc.
Content marketing – marketing that involves the creation and publication of online content such as social media posts, blog posts, e-newsletters, etc.
Social media marketing – applying content to ALL major platforms that fit the business’s brand strategy. Curation plays a big part in its success.
E-mail marketing – marketing that takes place in e-mail newsletters such as promotions, specials, etc.
Pay-per-click (PPC) Advertising – paid ads on Google. This is technically also a marketing strategy, albeit with its own rules to keep in mind.
Now, we come to digital marketing.
So…what is digital marketing?
Basically, digital marketing is the term used to encompass ALL of these marketing strategies we’ve just outlined. Why? Because each individual strategy when done properly can be the tool needed to encourage customer interest. According to Google, it’s the umbrella term for the marketing of products or services using digital technologies—basically, on the Internet, but also including mobile phones, display advertising, and any other digital medium.
Another couple of terms you can call digital marketing is data-driven marketing. Or even online or Internet marketing. All of these terms apply. Inbound and outbound marketing also fall under this same umbrella, because with digital marketing it doesn’t differentiate between the two strategies. Rather, it uses both.
What does digital marketing do?
Digital marketing allows you to understand your visitors better than ever before and figure out if you’re attracting the right audience. This means all of the inbound marketing strategies that we mentioned previously—branding, content, social media, etc.—all of these aspects contribute to a well-rounded digital marketing strategy. Without one, your business will not survive.
How do I get started?
If you want to get started on a digital marketing strategy, you’re going to need to take the following steps:
Step 1: Do research. Research, research, research! This step cannot be stressed enough. We’ve heard from companies who failed to do their homework and opened a business that only lasted 6 months. Yikes!
Step 2: Plan it. When you’ve finished doing your homework on what you want out of your digital marketing strategy, you need to create a plan of action. Some good examples would be “I want to sell x amount of products by this date” or “I want to get a better share of this market.”
Step 3: Do it. When all your homework and planning is done, put your words into actions that will benefit your customers and your business. Engage with others, as opposed to talking at them as you would a TV commercial. Above all else, stick to what you promise from your brand and give your customers a positive experience.
Here’s an overview video of the power of digital marketing.
We hope this answers the question “what is digital marketing?” for you! Feel free to leave us a comment if you have any more questions!
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