What is Digital Marketing : Key Types, Examples, and Benefits You Need to Know
Digital marketing is when businesses advertise products or services online. It can involve videos, banner ads, ads on search engines, paid social media promotions, and posts on social media. This is different from traditional marketing like magazine ads or billboards. TV ads are also considered traditional marketing, even though TV is digital.
Nine out of ten adults in the U.S. go online every day. 41% are online almost all the time. This shows how important it is for businesses to be online. Digital marketing helps businesses connect with customers, build their brand, and get more buyers.
A good digital marketing plan uses tools like social media, SEO, pay-per-click ads, and email marketing. These tools help businesses reach the right people. With the right plan, businesses can create a strong brand and attract more customers.
Marketers today also use automation and AI to improve their work. A study by Forrester Consulting found that 88% of marketers think automation and AI help them meet customer needs and stay ahead. Digital marketing is a great way to use automation and AI to make ads more effective.
What is Digital Marketing ?
Digital marketing is the practice of promoting products or services online. It involves strategies like search engine optimization (SEO), paid ads, social media, content creation, and email marketing. These tactics help businesses connect with their audience across different digital platforms such as websites, search engines, and social media channels. Unlike traditional marketing, digital marketing provides clear and measurable results, making it easy to track campaign performance. It also enables businesses to send tailored messages, which helps strengthen relationships with customers. In the end, digital marketing is a powerful tool for growing a brand, gaining customers, and driving sales.
How does a business define digital marketing?
Digital marketing is important for growing your business and increasing brand awareness. Most companies have a website, and if not, they likely use social media or online ads. Digital marketing helps businesses connect with customers on the internet, where they are active.
Good digital marketers know how each campaign helps their overall goals. Depending on the strategy, they can use free or paid channels. For example, a content marketer might write blog posts to attract leads through an ebook. A social media marketer could promote those blogs using both paid ads and free posts. An email marketer might send emails to people who downloaded the ebook, giving them more details about the company.
Inbound Marketing vs. Digital Marketing: Understanding the Difference
Digital marketing and inbound marketing are often confused because they use similar tools, like email and online content. Both aim to capture potential customers’ attention and guide them through the buying process. However, they look at how tools and goals connect in different ways.
Digital marketing focuses on using specific tools or channels to convert prospects. A company’s digital marketing strategy might use many platforms or focus on just one, such as social media or email marketing.
Inbound marketing takes a bigger-picture approach. It starts with the goal and then chooses the right tools to reach the target audience at the right stage of the buying process. For example, you might focus on SEO to improve your content, like blogs and landing pages, to increase website traffic.
The main point is that you don’t have to choose between digital and inbound marketing. Inbound marketing gives your digital strategy a clear direction, ensuring each channel supports your goal.
B2B vs. B2C Digital Marketing: Key Differences Explained
Digital marketing works for both B2B (business-to-business) and B2C (business-to-consumer) companies, but the strategies are quite different. Here’s how they differ:
B2B clients usually take longer to make decisions, so their buying process takes longer. B2B marketing focuses more on building relationships. On the other hand, B2C customers often respond better to quick offers and short messages.
B2B purchases are usually based on logic and facts, so B2B marketers provide evidence and detailed information. B2C content, however, often focuses on emotions, aiming to make the customer feel good about their purchase.
In B2B, decisions often involve more than one person. Marketing materials are usually shareable and easy to download. B2C customers typically prefer more personal connections with a brand.
There are exceptions. For example, a B2C company selling expensive items like cars or computers may provide more detailed and serious content. Your digital marketing strategy should always be tailored to your specific audience, whether you’re a B2B or B2C business.
To create successful marketing campaigns, understand your audience and use targeted approaches to grab their attention.
Why is digital marketing important?
Digital marketing helps you reach more people than traditional methods and target those most likely to buy your product or service. It’s usually cheaper than traditional ads and allows you to track your success every day. This allows you to make changes to your strategy when necessary.
There are several key benefits of digital marketing
1. Focus on High-Value Prospects
Digital marketing helps you target a specific group of people with messages that are likely to lead to sales. For example, you can use social media ads to reach people based on age, gender, location, interests, or behaviors. You can also use PPC or SEO to show ads to people who have searched for keywords related to your product. Digital marketing helps you understand your customers better and adjust your strategy to reach the right people.
2.It’s more affordable than traditional marketing
Digital marketing lets you track your campaign’s performance every day. This helps you see which channels are working well and which aren’t. With this info, you can adjust your budget to get the best results. A good digital marketing plan lets you make changes quickly, so you don’t waste money on ineffective channels. For example, if you have a small budget, you might focus on social media, blogging, or SEO, as these can give good results without spending a lot.
3. Online marketing levels the playing field, helping you compete with larger brands.
If you run a small business, competing with big brands that spend millions on marketing can be tough. But digital marketing offers ways to stand out. For example, using long-tail keywords can help you create quality content that ranks higher on search engines. Search engines don’t focus on the biggest brands—they prioritize content that connects well with the audience.
4. Digital marketing is measurable.
One of the best things about digital marketing is that it lets you track everything that matters—like impressions, shares, views, clicks, and time spent on your page. Unlike traditional marketing, digital marketing lets you see results instantly. For example, with a newspaper ad, it’s nearly impossible to know how many people noticed it or if it resulted in any sales. But with digital marketing, you can clearly see how your efforts are performing and measure the return on investment (ROI) for almost anything.
Here are some examples:
- Website Traffic
Digital marketing lets you track exactly how many people visit your website’s homepage in real time using tools. You can also see details like how many pages they viewed, what devices they used, and where they came from. This data helps you decide which marketing channels are worth focusing on based on the traffic they bring to your site. It also allows you to spot trends and understand customer behavior early in their journey, so you can make smarter decisions about how to attract them to your website from the start.
- Content Performance and Lead Generation
Think about creating a product brochure and delivering it to people’s homes—that’s offline content. The problem is, you have no way to know if anyone read it or just tossed it in the trash.
By putting the brochure on your website, you can see how many people view it and collect their contact information through a download form. This way, you not only see how many people engage with your content but also gather leads from those interested in it.
5. Online marketing strategies are easier to adjust
A key benefit of digital marketing is how quickly you can adjust your strategy. Unlike traditional methods like mailers or billboards, you can easily tweak or pause online ads if they’re not performing well to get better results.
6.Online marketing boosts conversions and lead quality
Digital marketing makes it easier to track your marketing efforts, which helps you improve your conversion rate. By measuring how well each tactic works, you can adjust your strategies to get better results. Continuously improving your approach leads to more conversions.
Also, not all leads are equally valuable. Digital marketing lets you target the right audience, bringing in higher-quality leads that are more likely to turn into customers. Connecting with the best leads will directly boost your conversion rate.
7. Digital marketing engages audiences at all stages
Reaching out to your audience early is key. Connecting with them at the start of their buyer’s journey helps guide them through the process.
Digital marketing lets you reach them at every stage, from beginning to end. Online channels allow you to track how customers move through their buying journey, which is key to converting leads. Even if they don’t buy immediately, digital marketing helps them build a connection with your business .
Types of digital marketing
Digital marketing includes many specializations, each targeting different ways to connect through digital channels. Here are some essential digital marketing methods.
1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of improving your website so it shows up higher in search results. The higher your website ranks, the more visitors you get for free. Websites, blogs, and infographics all benefit from SEO.
Here are the main ways to do SEO:
- On-Page SEO: This focuses on everything you see on a webpage, like text, images, and videos. You pick the right words that people are searching for and include them in your content. This helps your page appear when people search for those words.
- Off-Page SEO: This focuses on external actions, like having other websites link to yours. When trusted websites link to your content, it helps you rank higher. You can earn backlinks by creating guest posts, working with others, or gaining media coverage.
- Technical SEO: This focuses on the behind-the-scenes parts of your website, like how it is coded. Making your website load faster and fixing things like broken links or large images helps improve your SEO ranking. Search engines like Google care about how quickly your website works.
By doing all these, you can help your website get more organic visitors and rank better on search engines!
2. Content Marketing
Content marketing is creating and sharing useful information to help your brand grow, bring in visitors, and turn them into customers. If you’re interested in learning and using content marketing, HubSpot Academy offers a free training resource.
Here are some simple ways you can include content marketing in your strategy:
- Blog Posts: Write helpful and interesting articles on your business blog. This shows people you’re an expert and helps bring visitors from search engines. These visitors could become leads for your sales team
- Ebooks and Guides: Create detailed ebooks or guides to teach your audience more about a topic. In return, you can ask for their contact information, which helps you get new leads and guides them through the buying process.
- Infographics: Use visuals to explain ideas or data effectively. Infographics created through professional graphic design services help audiences understand and retain information more easily, enhancing engagement and delivering your message with impact.
- Videos and Audio Content: Share videos online or use audio formats like podcasts or radio ads to reach a wider audience. These formats let people connect with your content in an engaging way.
Keep your content simple, helpful, and focused on your audience’s needs to succeed with content marketing.
3. Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing means using social media platforms to promote your brand and share content. This helps you increase brand awareness, get more visitors, and find leads for your business.
You can schedule posts on different platforms and see how they are doing. By linking your social accounts, you can also handle all your messages in one place.
Common social media platforms for marketing are:
- X (formerly Twitter)
- Snapchat
Many marketers create viral campaigns by working with popular content creators or joining trending topics. The goal is to make something so exciting that people share it, and your content spreads on social media.
Not sure where to start? Download a free social media content calendar to plan your posts and build your strategy!
If you’re new to social media management, this detailed social media management guide offers tips and strategies to build impactful campaigns, grow your audience, and achieve measurable results.
4. Pay Per Click (PPC)
PPC (Pay-Per-Click) brings traffic to your website by paying each time someone clicks on your ad. A common form of PPC is Google Ads, where you pay to appear in top spots on Google’s search results, with a fee for each click.
You can also use PPC on other platforms, like:
- Paid ads on Facebook: Pay to share a video, image, or slideshow with the news feeds of people who fit your audience.
- X Ads campaigns: Pay to show posts or badges on X (formerly Twitter) to a targeted audience to reach specific goals, such as getting more website traffic, followers, or app downloads.
- Sponsored Messages on LinkedIn: Pay to send messages directly to users on LinkedIn based on their industry and job role.
5. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a way to earn money by promoting someone else’s business. You can be the person promoting the product (the affiliate) or the business offering the product (the merchant). The process is the same for both.
It works on a basic commission model. As an affiliate, you earn money whenever someone purchases the product you’re promoting.If you’re the merchant, you pay the affiliate a fee for every sale they drive.
Some affiliate marketers focus on promoting just one company’s products, often through a blog or website. Others may work with many different businesses.
To get started, the first step is to connect with a business you want to work with. You can use online platforms to find these connections or join a program with just one company.
If you’re a business looking for affiliates, you’ll need to make your program attractive. This includes giving affiliates the tools they need to succeed, such as rewards for good performance and marketing materials to help them promote your products.
6.Native advertising
Native advertising is a form of digital marketing that blends in with regular content, so it doesn’t stand out as an obvious ad.
It was created because many people today are skeptical of ads. Since ads are paid for by the companies running them, people often think they are biased and ignore them.
Native ads avoid this by providing helpful information or entertainment first, before promoting anything. This makes the ad feel more natural.
It’s important to always label native ads clearly with terms like “promoted” or “sponsored.” If these labels are hidden, people might engage with the content for a while before realizing it’s an ad.
When your audience knows it’s an ad, they’ll feel better about engaging with it. Native ads are designed to be less intrusive than traditional ads, but they should never be misleading.
7. Influencer marketing
Influencer marketing, like affiliate marketing, involves teaming up with an influencer—someone with a big following, such as a celebrity, expert, or content creator—in exchange for brand exposure. These influencers often promote your products or services on their social media platforms.
It works well for both B2B and B2C businesses that want to connect with new audiences. However, it’s crucial to choose reputable influencers, as they are a reflection of your brand. Partnering with the wrong influencer can damage the trust customers have in your business.
8.Email marketing
Email marketing is about sending promotional messages and hoping your audience takes action. But it’s not as simple as it sounds. You need to make sure your emails are welcome. This means choosing an email marketing service that offers features like:
- Personalizing content, including the subject line
- Providing an easy way to unsubscribe
- Sending both transactional and promotional emails
Your goal is for your audience to see your emails as useful, not just as ads.
Email marketing works well on its own, but you can improve it by using other strategies like marketing automation. This allows you to organize your emails better by targeting specific groups and scheduling them to reach customers at the right time.
If you’re starting email marketing, here are some tips to help you create effective campaigns:
- Segment your audience so you send the right message to the right people
- Ensure your emails are mobile-friendly and look great on smartphones
- Plan a schedule for your campaigns
- Try A/B testing to see what works best
If you’re new to email marketing, here’s a comprehensive email marketing guide packed with tips and strategies to help you design impactful campaigns, engage your audience, and achieve better results.
9. Mobile marketing
Mobile marketing is a way to reach your audience through their smartphones and tablets. You can do this with text messages, social media notifications, app alerts, and more.
It’s important to make sure your content works well on mobile devices. Since most Americans own a smartphone, your marketing can be very effective when you create content for both computers and mobile screens.
How to create a digital marketing strategy
For many small businesses and new digital marketers, starting with digital marketing can feel overwhelming. But don’t worry! You can create a strong digital marketing strategy that helps increase brand awareness, customer engagement, and sales by following a few key steps.
1. Set SMART Goals
The first step is to set SMART goals—this means your goals should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely. Having clear, focused goals helps you know exactly what you want to achieve and keeps your strategy on track. It’s easy to get distracted by all the possibilities, so focus on the goals that will really help move your business forward.
2. Identify Your Audience
Before you start any marketing campaign, you need to know who you’re trying to reach. Your target audience is the group of people who are most likely to be interested in your product or service. Think about their age, gender, interests, location, and what they might buy. Knowing your audience helps you choose the right marketing channels (like social media, email, or ads) and lets you create messages that will connect with them.
3. Create a Budget
A budget helps you stay on track and avoid wasting money. You want to make sure your money is being spent in the right places to reach your goals. Look at your SMART goals and think about which marketing channels will help you reach them, and then decide how much money you can spend on each one.
4. Choose Your Marketing Channels
There are many ways to market online, including content marketing, social media, email marketing, and paid ads (PPC). The channels you pick will depend on your goals, audience, and budget. For example, if you want to reach a younger audience, social media might be a great choice. If your goal is to drive immediate sales, PPC ads could be more effective.
5. Refine Your Marketing Efforts
Once your campaign is over, it’s important to look at the results and see what worked and what didn’t. This helps you learn from your experience and improve future campaigns. You can use digital tools to gather data on your campaigns, such as email open rates or website visits, which gives you a clear picture of how well your marketing performed. This allows you to make better decisions next time.
Digital Marketing Drives Growth
Digital marketing should be a big part of your overall strategy because it’s one of the best ways to connect with your customers. With digital marketing, you can stay in regular contact with your audience and provide personalized experiences that traditional marketing methods can’t match. The more you use digital marketing tools and data, the more you can grow your business and reach new customers.
By following these simple steps and using digital marketing the right way, you’ll be on your way to building a strong online presence and growing your business.