What is digital marketing? Explained

Table of Contents

Digital marketing is the process of using digital channels to promote and sell products or services. This type of marketing uses online platforms, such as websites, social media, and search engines, to reach potential customers. As the internet became more commonplace in the 1990s, digital marketing began to take off.

This form of marketing incorporates many of the same principles as traditional marketing but is often seen as a more modern way for companies to connect with consumers and understand their buying habits. Digital and traditional marketing techniques are often use together by companies in their marketing strategies.

Understanding Digital Marketing

To be successful in marketing, a company needs a mix of advertising expertise, sales skills, and the ability to get products to customers. This is typically done by specialists or marketing professionals who can work for companies or with other marketing agencies.

Historically, businesses have concentrated on marketing through print, television, and radio. The internet has changed the way companies reach consumers. Digital marketing has become increasingly important as a result.

Learn More – Top mobile payment apps for 2022

This form of marketing uses websites, social media, search engines, apps, and anything else that involves marketing with customer feedback or a two-way interaction between the company and customer.

As technology and trends evolve, so too must the way companies market themselves. What was once accomplished through email marketing is now done through newer, more effective methods.

As the focus shifted to search engines like Netscape, businesses were able to take advantage of tagging. Keyword stuffing to improve their visibility. The emergence of sharing sites like Facebook then made it possible for companies to collect data. Better cater to consumer trends.

Digital devices such as smartphones are making it easier for companies to market themselves and their products or services to consumers. Studies suggest that people prefer using their phones to go online. It should come as no surprise that 70% of individuals make buying decisions before they hit the purchase button.1 This is usually done on their phones.

Special Considerations

Advertisers are the ones who create the ads, while receivers are the ones who see the ads. Sources usually target a specific group of people with their ads, while receivers are often just people who come across the ad.

For example, after extending the late-night hours, McDonald’s decided to target shift workers. Travelers with digital ads because the company knew these people made up a large segment of its late-night business.

The company encouraged them to download the Restaurant Finder app by targeting ads at automated teller machines (ATMs), gas stations, and websites that its customers commonly frequented.

Digital Marketing Channels

As previously mentioned, marketing has traditionally have done through print (newspapers and magazines) and broadcast ads (TV and radio). These are channels that still exist today. Digital marketing channels are constantly evolving, and there are many different ways that companies can use them to boost their marketing efforts. Here are eight of the most common channels that companies use:

Website Marketing

A website is a powerful tool for digital marketing. It can use on its own to reach a wide audience, or it can be used to execute a variety of online marketing campaigns. A website is a key tool for representing a brand, product, or service. It needs to be clear and memorable, while also being fast and mobile-friendly.

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising

PPC advertising is a great way for marketers to reach Internet users on several digital platforms. By placing ads on these platforms, marketers can reach a wider audience and generate more leads. PPC campaigns on Google, Bing, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, or Meta can be set up by marketers to target potential customers searching for terms related to their products or services.

Demographic segmentation in PPC campaigns allows you to target ads specifically to users based on characteristics like age or gender. This can be done through platforms like Google Ads or Meta Ads.

Content Marketing

The goal of content marketing is to engage potential customers through the use of compelling and interesting content. Content is typically published on a website and then distributed through social media, email marketing, search engine optimization, or even PPC campaigns.

Content marketing tools include blogs, ebooks, online courses, infographics, podcasts, and webinars. These tools can help you reach your target audience and deliver your message effectively.

Learn more – Contrast Between Windows 10 Cumulative And Feature Updates

Email Marketing

Email marketing continues to be one of the most effective digital marketing channels. Many people think of spam email messages when they hear the term email marketing, but that’s not accurate.

Email marketing is a tool that can use to reach out to potential and current customers with personalized messages. This marketing technique enables companies to contact potential customers and anyone else interested in their brands.

Email marketing is often use by digital marketers to add leads to their customer acquisition funnels. By using other digital marketing channels, they can generate a list of potential customers which they can then convert into paying customers through email marketing strategies.

Social Media Marketing

The main aim of a social media marketing campaign is to increase brand awareness and create social trust. By delving deeper into social media marketing, you can use it to generate leads or even use it as a direct sales channel.

There are many examples of social media marketing, such as promoted posts and tweets. By utilizing social media platforms, businesses can reach out to a wider audience and promote their products or services.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is an age-old form of marketing that has been revitalize by the internet. In affiliate marketing, influencers promote other people’s products in exchange for a commission every time a sale is made or a lead is introduced.

There are many companies, like Amazon, that have affiliate programs that pay out millions of dollars per month to websites that sell their products. These programs are well-known and generate a lot of income for the participating websites.

Video Marketing

YouTube is a hugely popular search engine, with many users turning to it before making a purchase, to learn something new, read a review, or simply relax. There are several video marketing platforms you can use to run a campaign, including Facebook Videos, Instagram, and even TikTok.

The most successful companies integrate video into their SEO, content marketing, and social media marketing campaigns.

SMS Messaging

SMS or text messages are also use by companies and nonprofit organizations to send information about their latest promotions or give opportunities to willing customers. Message campaigns are also use by political candidates running for office to spread positive information about their platforms.

With the advancement of technology, many text-to-give campaigns also enable customers to pay or donate through a straightforward text message.

Digital Marketing Challenges

Digital marketing provides unique challenges to those who sell online. With new digital channels appearing constantly, online marketers have to stay up-to-date with how these channels work, how consumers use them, and how to best utilize them for marketing purposes.

As receivers are inundate with more and more ads, it becomes increasingly difficult to capture their attention. Digital marketers also face challenges when it comes to analyzing the vast amounts of data they capture and then using this information to create new marketing efforts.

The challenge of effectively capturing and utilizing data underscores the need for a digital marketing approach based on a thorough understanding of consumer behavior. For example, a company may need to analyze new forms of consumer behavior, such as using website heatmaps to learn more about the customer journey. By doing this, they can improve their website and better cater to their consumers.

Learn more – A Guide to NFT Collecting and How to Make Money with NFTs

What Is a Digital Marketing Agency?

An agency that specializes in marketing to consumers through digital channels. This involves developing and executing marketing campaigns for corporate clients through social media, pay-per-click advertising, videos, and websites, to name a few.

What Is SEO in Digital Marketing?

There are many ways that companies can increase their traffic through search engines, but SEO is perhaps the most effective. By optimizing their websites and Names for search engines, companies can push their way to the top of any search results page.

There are two ways companies can make their names and websites more visible to consumers: through organic search results or editorial content. When companies can successfully apply SEO to their digital marketing strategies, they see a significant increase in traffic and engagement.

What Is Internet Marketing?

Internet marketing is a marketing strategy that uses the internet as its primary promotional tool. This means that it focuses on creating and maintaining a presence on websites. Digital marketing is distinct from traditional marketing in several ways, most notably in its inclusion of internet marketing as well as marketing on social media sites and mobile apps.

These marketing campaigns can take place through smartphones, digital devices, and other platforms.

The Bottom Line

Some of the world’s most popular advertising campaigns were execute through traditional means. The Marlboro Man was widely recognize in print while Wendy’s impressed individuals with its “Where’s the beef?” tagline. However, alterations in the way people take in media made businesses change their focus.

Digital marketing is now just as significant, if not more so than traditional advertising and marketing techniques. And you can anticipate things to keep progressing as technology keeps on evolving.