By
Md Tousif
What
Is Digital Marketing?
Digital marketing involves some of the same
principles as traditional marketing and is often considered a new way for
companies to approach consumers and understand their behavior. Companies often
combine traditional and digital marketing techniques in their strategies. But
it comes with its own set of challenges, including implicit bias.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Digital
marketing involves marketing to consumers through any number of digital
channels, including websites, mobile devices, and social media platforms.
- This form of
marketing is different from internet marketing, which is exclusively done
on websites.
- Digital
marketing is a broad field, including attracting customers via email,
content marketing, search platforms, social media, and more.
- One of the
biggest challenges digital marketers face is how to set themselves apart
in a world that is oversaturated with digital marketing ads.
- Digital marketing comes with various challenges, including implicit bias.
How
Digital Marketing Works
Marketing refers to activities that a company uses to promote its products and services and improve its market share. It requires a combination of advertising savvy, sales, and the ability to deliver goods to end-users if it's going to be successful. Professionals, known as marketers, take on these tasks either internally (for companies) or externally with marketing firms.
Corporations
traditionally focused on marketing through print, television, and radio. Although
these options still exist, the internet led to a shift in the way companies
reach consumers. That's where digital marketing came into play. This form of
marketing involves the use of websites, social media, search
engines, and apps—anything that incorporates marketing with customer
feedback or a two-way interaction between the company and its customers.
Increased technology and newer trends
forced companies to change their marketing strategies. Email became a popular
marketing tool in the early days of digital marketing. That focus shifted to
search engines like Netscape, which allowed businesses to tag and keyword stuff
to get themselves noticed. The development of sites like Facebook made
it possible for companies to track data to cater to consumer trends.
Smartphones and other digital devices now make it easier for companies to market themselves and their products and services to consumers. Studies show that people prefer using their phones to go online. So it should come as no surprise that 70% of individuals make buying decisions (usually on their phones) before they actually hit the purchase button.
Sources
and Receivers
Advertisers are
commonly referred to as sources, while members of the targeted ads are the receivers. Sources frequently target highly
specific, well-defined receivers like McDonald's did with shift workers and
travelers.
The company used digital ads because it
knew these people made up a large segment of its late-night business. McDonald's
encouraged them to download the Restaurant Finder app, targeting them with ads
placed at automated
teller machines (ATMs), gas stations, and websites that its
customers commonly frequented.
Types of Digital Marketing Channels
As noted above, marketing was traditionally done through print (newspapers and magazines) and broadcast ads (TV and radio). These are channels that still exist today. Digital marketing channels have evolved and continue to do so. The following are eight of the most common avenues that companies can take to boost their marketing efforts. Keep in mind that some companies may use multiple channels in their efforts.
Website Marketing
A website is the centerpiece of all digital marketing activities. It is a very powerful channel on its own, but it’s also the medium needed to execute a variety of online marketing campaigns. A website should represent a brand, product, and service in a clear and memorable way. It should be fast, mobile-friendly, and easy to use.
Pay-Per-Click Advertising
Pay-per-click
advertising enables marketers to reach Internet users on a number of
digital platforms through paid ads. Marketers can set up PPC
campaigns on Google,
Bing, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, or Facebook and show their ads to people
searching for terms related to the products or services.
These campaigns can segment users based on their demographic characteristics (such as by age or gender), or even target their particular interests or location. The most popular platforms are Google Ads and Facebook Ads.
Content Marketing
The goal of content marketing is to reach potential customers through the use of content. Content is usually published on a website and then promoted through social media, email marketing, search engine optimization, or even pay-per-click campaigns. The tools of content marketing include blogs, ebooks, online courses, infographics, podcasts, and webinars.
Email Marketing
Many digital marketers use all other digital marketing channels to add leads to their email lists and then, through email marketing, they create customer acquisition funnels to turn those leads into customers
Marketing
The primary goal of a social media marketing campaign is brand awareness and establishing social trust. As you go deeper into social media marketing, you can use it to get leads or even as a direct marketing or sales channel. Promoted posts and tweets are two examples of
social media marketing.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is one of the oldest forms of marketing, and the internet has brought new life to this old standby. With affiliate marketing, influencers promote other people’s products and get a commission every time a sale is made or a lead is introduced. Many well-known companies like Amazon have affiliate programs that pay out millions of dollars per month to websites that sell their products.
Video Marketing
YouTube is one of the most popular search
engines in the world. A lot of users are turning to YouTube before making a
buying decision, to learn something, read a review, or just relax.
There are several video marketing
platforms, including Facebook Videos, Instagram, and even TikTok to use to run
a video marketing campaign. Companies find the most success with video by
integrating it with SEO, content marketing, and broader social media marketing
campaigns.
SMS Messaging
Companies and nonprofit organizations also use SMS or text messages to send information about their latest promotions or give opportunities to willing customers. Political candidates running for office also use SMS message campaigns to spread positive information about their own platforms. As technology has advanced, many text-to-give campaigns also allow customers to directly pay or give via a simple text message.
