What is Digital Marketing?

In discussions concerning the modern age and future of work, you will have heard the word ‘digital marketing’ thrown about a lot. If you have ever asked yourself or wondered ‘what is digital marketing?’ This article is for you. What is digital marketing?

Digital marketing is the marketing branch that includes all the procedures implemented by a company through the use of digital tools and channels.

Generally, a company associates a traditional marketing strategy with digital marketing, thus obtaining synergies for integrated, effective, and interactive communication to develop and increase the loyalty of its customer base. Different companies have different digital marketing strategies.

Digital marketing is a very recent branch of marketing, but its importance has grown exponentially. In fact, given the technological progress and the spread and popularity of social network platforms, online marketing activity has undergone an incredible evolution, making this tool a necessary tool for the survival of any company.

When choosing a digital marketer to work with, it is essential with the right digital marketing skills. Some business owners, especially mini, small and medium scale enterprise owners, tend to learn these digital marketing skills and deploy them themselves. Some of the relevant digital marketing skills are video marketing, search engine optimization and search engine marketing, content marketing, data analytics, understanding design thinking and planning, persuasion ability, and other tech skills.

Characteristics of Digital Marketing

Digital marketing differs from traditional marketing in the use of web channels rather than offline tools. Discussed below are the four main characteristics of digital marketing that differentiate it from traditional offline marketing.

• Selectivity of the message: Digital marketing is targeted. It is based on targeted dissemination communication techniques, since it is possible to segment the customer base towards which a particular promotion is addressed. It differs from mass media such as television or newspapers, which offer a wide diffusion (or broadcasting) addressed, precisely, to a mass audience.
• Personalization of communication: Social media communication can be targeted precisely to specific customers. Consumers can be segmented according to their preferences, based on the information given by online behavior tracking, from user registration practices to the various online services or through the company’s proprietary databases. In this manner, the promotion is directed towards customers with the most potential for engagement based on their behavior and the searches they make on the web. Thus, the company saves on the costs of screening its consumers’ needs and can obtain factual and immediate data.
• The interactivity of the communication process: On social networks, it is possible to make a specific post interactive, thus offering an active role to the customer by implementing certain behavioral instructions, such as the famous call-to-action. The role of the consumer in the communication process is active, facilitating the collection of data on the customer’s needs for the business. Therefore, this makes promotions more suitable and satisfying.
• Measurability of online effectiveness: Through social networks, it is now possible to measure the impact of advertising campaigns in relation to their effectiveness. There are two main types of metrics for doing this: Benchmark Metrics and Vanity Metrics.

Benchmark Metrics, otherwise known as Benchmark Assessment Measures, concerns the engagement rates of a given page in relation to the number of comments, visits to the site or landing pages (landing pages of certain advertising campaigns), and filling in online forms.

Vanity Metrics relate to the number of recent likes or followers on a specific page. The most popular in this field are:

• Click-through-Rate (CTR) calculates the number of users who clicked on a specific link compared to the total number of users who viewed the post/web page (impressions).
• Conversion Rate (CR) expresses the percentage of customers who carried out the desired action (call-to-action) out of the total users who viewed the post/web page.
• Return on investment (ROI) measures the returns from an investment for specific marketing activity.
• Open Rate expresses the number of customers who opened an email compared to the total number of customers who received it (effective in email marketing campaigns and newsletters).
• Bounce Rate expresses the rate of customers who leave a page in a few seconds without taking any action on it.

What is Digital Marketing Strategy?

A digital marketing strategy is a plan outlining the manner by which a business will achieve its marketing goals using digital channels like search engines, social media, and online adverts.

The best plans have an outline of the digital marketing tactics and channels to be deployed and how much associated cost will be involved. Common examples of digital marketing strategies are social media influential marketing, content marketing, and email growth marketing.

It is critical to have a digital marketing strategy to define the goals and objectives of your digital marketing investment and provide the metrics for measuring the impact of digital marketing on your business sales generation and bottom line.

How to Create a Digital Marketing Strategy

Like every plan, there are systematic approaches to creating a flexible, productive, and efficient digital marketing strategy. Below are a few steps to consider in creating your digital marketing plan.

• Brand Definition: have a clear definition of your brand’s value, what differentiates your brand from competitors, and how you plan to communicate these values and uniqueness in your online marketing campaigns.
• Customers Definition: Next is to have a clear definition of who your targeted customers are, where they are found, and what are their ages, culture, race, or beliefs. In summary, define your targeted customers along with the demographics that directly or indirectly affect their choice of using your product or services.
• SMART Goals: Ensure that you set smart goals for the strategy. This means the goals must be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. While setting the goals, it is important to have short-term and long-term goals.
• Determine Method: Here, you select the digital marketing type that you want to deploy. Depending on your marketing needs and goal definition, it could be a single method or a combination of two or more online marketing methods. Some examples are SEO (search engine optimization), PPC (pay per click), email marketing, and video marketing.
• Set Budget: After selecting the digital marketing approach(es) that you are deploying, it is time to research and put a price on each approach. Researching helps you determine the best digital marketing tools to use to achieve your different approaches’ goals.
• Plan Deployment: Plan how you will deploy your approaches for best results. Plan the timing of each deployment and the periods of review. Plan a calendar for content and track the progress, engagement, and conversion of the different strategies. Determine how you plan to track performance, which can be achieved using an analytic tool like Google Analytics. Once all these are planned and ascertained, you can proceed with deployment.
• Track Performance: A good plan must yield good results. This can be determined by tracking performance against the plan. Tools like google search console, google ads, google analytics and SEO tools.

What are Some Digital Marketing Strategies?

Businesses using digital marketing for lead generation and sales promotion have prominent use of a combination or one of the following digital marketing strategies.

1. Search Engine Optimization
2. Voice Search Optimization
3. Social Media Marketing
4. Content Marketing
5. Video Marketing
6. Pay per click
7. Email marketing

Wrapping it Up!

By following the steps laid out in this guide, you will be well on your way to creating a digital marketing strategy that will help your business succeed. Remember to focus on your goals, build a strong team of experts, and always keep testing and tweaking until you find what works best for you. With a little effort and dedication, you can create a digital marketing strategy that will help your business thrive.

What are you waiting for? Get started today!

 

General Digital Marketing FAQ

What is meant by digital marketing?

Digital marketing is the process of using online channels to promote and sell products or services. This can include anything from social media marketing to search engine optimization (SEO). businesses use digital marketing to reach a wider audience, generate leads, and build brand awareness.

What are the 4 types of digital marketing?

The four types of digital marketing are:

• Search engine optimization (SEO)
• Social media marketing
• Content marketing
• Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising

Each type of digital marketing has its own benefits and can be used to achieve different goals.

What skills do I need for digital marketing?

The skills you need for digital marketing will depend on the specific role you take on. However, in general, you will need:

• Strong writing and communication skills
• Creativity
• Analytical skills
• Strategic thinking
• Attention to detail
• Project management skills

Is digital marketing a good career?

Yes, digital marketing is a good career. It is a growing field with many opportunities for those with the right skills. The pay can be very good, and there are many options for advancement.

Is digital marketing easy?

No. Is it worth it? Absolutely.

Digital marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach your target audience and grow your business. But it can be overwhelming, especially if you’re just getting started.

What are the 6 digital marketing channels?

The six digital marketing channels that are most commonly used are:

• SEO
• Content Marketing
• Social Media Marketing
• Paid Search Advertising
• Display Advertising
• Email Marketing

Which one should you focus on? It depends on your business, but most businesses should focus on a mix of all six.

What are the advantages of digital marketing?

Some of the advantages of digital marketing are:

• You can reach a large audience with minimal effort.
• It’s cost-effective.
• You can track and measure results easily.
• It’s highly targeted.
• It’s flexible and adaptable.