You're in the proper place if you're wondering "what is digital marketing"! We've covered the fundamentals of digital marketing in this tutorial to make sure you know everything!

Here’s a quick overview of everything we’re going to cover:

  • What is digital marketing?
  • How does digital marketing work?
  • Inbound marketing vs. digital marketing: What’s the difference?
  • Why is digital marketing important?
  • Types of digital marketing

What is digital marketing?

The promotion and advertising of a company, person, good, or service through the use of digital technology, electronic devices, and online platforms is known as digital marketing. Social media, email, pay-per-click (PPC), search engine optimization (SEO), and more are a few instances of digital marketing.

 

How does digital marketing work?

You know the definition of digital marketing, but how does digital marketing work?

Online marketing works by developing a coordinated, omni-channel strategy that supports your target audience’s unique buying journey. That means your business uses multiple channels, like social, email, and search, to support an overarching strategy, like generating brand awareness, leads, or sales.

For perspective, think about this digital marketing example:

  • Goal: Earn leads
  • Channels: Search, email, digital advertising
  • Strategy: Write a blog post that targets a middle-of-the-funnel (MOFU) need. Optimize the blog post for search engines and users. Include a downloadable resource that requires users to share their email address. Build a drip campaign for those email subscribers to move them to conversion.

 

Inbound marketing vs. digital marketing

Let's compare digital marketing to inbound marketing now that you are familiar with its definition and the answer to the question, "what is digital marketing?"

The terms "inbound marketing" and "digital marketing" are frequently used interchangeably. Digital marketing strategies are used as part of the inbound marketing methodology to draw in new clients or customers.

In contrast, digital marketing is a catch-all phrase that refers to all kinds of online advertising, including inbound marketing.

 

Why is digital marketing important?

Digital marketing is a critical element for businesses in the modern age, providing a vast platform to reach a global audience efficiently and cost-effectively. It allows precise targeting to communicate with potential customers who are most likely to convert, improving marketing ROI. Digital marketing facilitates two-way communication, enabling businesses to engage with their audience, build relationships, and enhance brand loyalty. Importantly, it provides access to data and insights, enabling businesses to optimize their marketing strategies based on actual consumer behavior.

Types of digital marketing

  1. Search engine optimization (SEO)
  2. Content marketing
  3. Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising
  4. Social media marketing
  5. Email marketing
  6. Social media advertising
  7. Video marketing
  8. Web design and development

 

Search engine optimization (SEO)

SEO is an online marketing strategy that improves your visibility or ranking in search results relevant to your business and target market.

Using SEO as a digital marketing strategy, companies can increase their visibility in search results on Google and other search engines. With a better spot in search results, your business can earn more website traffic, leads, and sales. Since 93% of online experiences start with a search engine, SEO is a must.

There are many SEO strategies you can implement to increase your rankings in the search engine results pages (SERPs), such as:

  • Auditing your website’s SEO performance
  • Researching keywords
  • Creating quality content
  • Making your website mobile-friendly
  • Earning backlinks
  • And more

2. Content marketing

Content marketing is a digital marketing technique that focuses on creating original and helpful content for users. In most cases, this content, which can range from blog posts to videos to online guides, will get optimized for search, shared on social media, and promoted to increase its reach and exposure.

Content marketing offers companies a cost-effective and long-term strategy for reaching, nurturing, and converting their target audience, as well as supporting their SEO strategy.

If you use content marketing, you can get creative and create a range of content types, including:

  • Blogs
  • Articles
  • Guides
  • Infographics
  • Video
  • Podcasts

 

3. Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising

PPC advertising is a digital media marketing tactic that promotes your business, products, or services on search engines, websites, apps, and more. PPC operates on a pay-per-click business model, which means you only pay when someone clicks on your ad, which can include text, images, and video.

 

4. Social media marketing

Social media marketing is a type of digital marketing strategy that makes use of social media platforms to advertise your company, interact with your target market, and offer personalised customer service. The majority of strategies involve promoting postings, responding to comments, and sharing information.

There are several social media platforms you can utilize to reach your audience, such as: