These days, everything has become digitalized. We are always on one device or the other. But have you ever noticed that while being on the internet, you keep seeing one ad or the other? From Facebook to Instagram to YouTube, you see ads everywhere around the internet. And the ads are so catchy that you even end up clicking on them or even buying the product or service.
All of this is the result of digital marketing. Digital marketing has become a very important factor in the growth of businesses these days. Along with this, digital marketing has an endless pool of job opportunities. If you know the skill of digital marketing, then you can work as a full-time digital marketing as well as a freelance digital marketer. Plus you can also build your own brand.
In this article, we will tell you about digital marketing. You will get to know what is digital marketing, how to learn digital marketing, its types, its importance, and basically everything that you need to know. So are you ready to know it all? Great! Let’s Start!
What is Digital Marketing?
The marketing of a product or service done with the help of electronic channels like websites, search engines, social media platforms, mobile, etc. is called digital marketing. It can be done in the form of display ads, video ads, pop-up notifications, social media posts, etc.
With the increased use of the internet, mobile phones, and laptops, digital marketing has gained a lot of importance. Moreover, these days, only those brands become successful who have a strong digital presence. The plus point is, digital marketing does not require that much money. It is cheaper than traditional marketing.
The best part about digital marketing is, when you see an ad, you can take immediate action on it. For example, if you are scrolling through your Instagram and see an ad for a mobile phone, you can directly click on the ad and it will take you to the official website of the mobile phone company and you can check every small detail about the product.
Not just this, but you can also order the product online from the website only. Whereas, in traditional marketing, you usually see ads through billboards, newspaper ads, and posters. In that case, even if you are interested in the product or service, there is no instant call to action. You will need to go to the particular shop or showroom in order to inquire about or get the product or service.
Types of Digital Marketing
Now that you know what is digital marketing, let’s get to know about the types of digital marketing. There are various types of online digital marketing. Each one holds its importance and targets a different audience. For a brand to work, it is very important for them to understand which kind of digital media marketing would work for them. Here are the types of digital marketing online.
1. Social Media Marketing
The most famous online digital marketing in the current times is social media marketing. We cannot deny the fact that the current generation is obsessed with social media. They spend hours using social media, and as soon as they wake up, social media is the first thing they check, and similarly, they scroll social media for hours before sleeping.
Brands take advantage of this social media addiction to promote their products and services online. This digital media marketing can be best used to spread awareness about the brand, product, services, etc. Some of the most common social media sites for digital marketing online are Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
You might have also seen various sponsored ads or paid promotions on social media, all that is a part of social media marketing. Some brands even create special social media campaigns and digital marketing strategy to spread awareness about their brand and its products.
But in order to target the correct audience, it is very important to understand which social media platform would work best for the brand. For example, if you have a clothing and fashion brand and your target audience is people from age 16 to 30 then Instagram would work best for your brand because young people majorly use Instagram.
Whereas, if you are starting a marketing agency or fintech business, then LinkedIn would be best to play your ads. Moreover, if your target audience is between the age of 40 to 70 years then you can use Facebook for your brand’s promotion because elderly people mostly use Facebook.
2. Email Marketing
You must have received promotional emails from different brands and services, which is part of email marketing. In email marketing, the product or service owner sends emails to their previous customers as well as potential customers. But it is different from spam mail.
In email marketing, the mail is only sent to people who especially subscribe to it. For example, whenever you shop from Zara or H&M, while billing, they ask you for your email address and phone number.
After this, you start receiving promotional emails from these brands regarding new offers, sales, collections, etc. However, if you do not want to get these emails, you can also unsubscribe from them through the specific mail itself.
3. Content Marketing
Ultimately, content is king. In content marketing, content is the main focus. The brands try to attract the audience with the help of content that might interest them. You must have seen famous actors and influencers in the advertisement of brands, that is a part of content marketing.
Content marketing can be done with the help of the following things:
- Blogs
- Newsletters
- Video ads
- Online Campaigns
- Audio Transcripts
- Podcasts
In content marketing, the content is created in such a way that it keeps the audience hooked, takes care of Search Engine Optimization as well as tells the audience about the brand’s product or service. In order to get customers with content marketing, it is very important to create catchy content keeping your audience in mind.
4. Website Marketing
In website marketing, the brand’s website is the main focus. It is very important to have a good website that can keep people hooked. Along with this, the brand’s website must have all the information regarding the products, services, how a customer can contact the brand, etc.
Moreover, the website should also have an easy-to-understand user interface and it should also be mobile-friendly. The website should also be unique and memorable so that it can make a mark on the customers.
5. Pay Per Click Advertisement
Pay-per-click advertisements are unique online advertisements where instead of paying the whole advertisement fee at once, you have to pay for each visit or click on your advertisement. You can play your PPC (Pay Per Click) ads on Google, Facebook, Bing, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Twitter.
The best thing about PPC ads is, you can select the specific age and location where you want to play your ad according to your target audience, their age, gender, relationship status, etc. These PPC ads are majorly seen on Facebook and Google. If you want to do local digital marketing then PPC ads would work best for it. Moreover, the Google algorithm prioritizes the ads on the basis of the following things:
- Quality of the landing page
- Use of relevant keywords
- Quality of advertisement
- The amount paid per click
6. Video Marketing
Video marketing is a kind of digital media marketing where the product or service of the brand is advertised through a video. These videos are generally posted on YouTube because most people check the ratings and reviews on YouTube before buying any product.
Along with this, you can also see video ads on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. They work best when optimized with appropriate keywords. However, video marketing is not a new concept. You must have seen many ads on TV, and all of them are a part of video marketing.
7. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing basically works on revenue sharing. In this digital media marketing, one person has a business and the other person helps in promoting the business. This way, the promoter can have a commission on the sales done through their promotion. Affiliate marketing can be done with the help of blogs, reviews, videos, etc.
The most common form of affiliate marketing that you might see in the current scenario is through influencers. You might see various famous people promoting any particular brand or business with their special discount code. Wherever you purchase a product using their discount code, the influencer also gets a share in the sale.
8. SMS Messaging
After making purchases from any particular store, you might start receiving their promotional SMS on your phone regarding the latest discounts, sales, offers, etc. That is because while billing, they ask you for your phone number. Your number gets registered with them and you start receiving SMS. This is one of the oldest kinds of digital media marketing.
9. Influencer Marketing
An influencer is someone who has a big following on social media and educates and influences people about any particular niche. Influencer marketing also works on the revenue sharing system just like affiliate marketing. In this online digital marketing, the influencer promotes a particular brand, product, or service and gets a commission on the sale done through them. Because of the popularity and good income, many people are picking this as a career.
10. Search Engine Optimization Marketing
If you want to be noticed on social media, then all your ads and content must be search-engine optimized. With the help of SEO, you get to know about the particular keywords that users search for on the internet. When you include these keywords in your ads, they help your ad to rank on Google which ultimately increases its visibility and it becomes more visible on the searches.
Benefits of Digital Marketing
Comparing traditional marketing and digital marketing, digital marketing has more perks. These days, some brands do not even get involved in traditional marketing and work only on the basis of online digital marketing.
Here is a list of some of the benefits of digital marketing:
1. Higher Geographical Reach/Specific Geographical Reach
As you know, the Internet has no geographical boundaries, if you upload anything on the Internet, everyone can see it all over the world. It gives a better geographical reach to the product. Moreover, if you want to go for limited and specific reach then you can also opt for local digital marketing.
In local digital marketing, you can select a particular location where you want to show your ads. This is a very good option for businesses like restaurants, hotels, cafes, colleges, or schools which are available only in a particular area.
2. Instant Call to Action
Another benefit of digital media marketing is, they offer an immediate call to action. For example, if you see an ad and are interested in the product or service then you can directly go to the official website just by clicking on the ad. Whereas in the case of traditional marketing, you need to go to the store.
3. Easy Customization
Digital ads are easily customizable. You can change the text, the reach, and the target audience at any point in time. Moreover, there is more opportunity to show creativity and attract the audience.
4. Easy and Convenient
Where it takes a lot of physical work to put something on the billboard, whereas, it takes just a few minutes to post an ad on the internet. Not just this, but these ads are also easily accessible and convenient for both, customers as well marketers.
5. Cost Effective
In comparison to traditional ads that generally go on billboards, newspapers, magazines, etc., digital ads are way cheaper. Moreover, with the PPC (Pay Per Click) ads, the marketer has only to pay when someone clicks on their ad. So the ad fee and the business profit remain proportional.
6. Derives Better Results
With the help of quick calls to action and easy accessibility and visibility, online digital marketing derives better results than traditional marketing. It also allows you to target only a specific audience instead of everyone.
7. Better Customer Care
In digital marketing, customer care services get better. This is mainly because the customers do not need to go to the office in order to get their queries resolved. They can simply just mail the brand regarding any issues. Not just this, but brands even reply to comments, tags, DMs, etc. to support their customer and help with issues that they may be facing.
How Does Digital Marketing Work?
Now that you know what is digital marketing, and what are its types, let’s see how it works. In order to get successful in a business, there are various things that need to be top-tier, including your product, service, customer care, pricing, and its marketing. Marketing is a very important aspect of the business. It helps in spreading awareness about the product and the brand.
In digital marketing, the promotional content is passed to the audience with the help of digital mediums like the internet, social media platforms, websites, Google, Bing, etc. The best part about digital marketing is, it takes less effort to run online ads and it is cost-effective.
With the help of online digital marketing, the potential customers see the ad for the product or service and there is an immediate call to action. If the person is interested, they can click on the link which will land them on the official website with all the required information.
Digital media marketing basically differentiates audiences on the basis of their age, gender, relationship status, and location, and then targets the potential audience with the help of various marketing tactics like video marketing, influencer marketing, content marketing, etc.
How to Learn Digital Marketing?
In order to learn digital marketing, the most important thing is to know what is digital marketing. Moreover, it also depends on why you want to learn digital marketing. If you want to make your career in digital marketing then you can take a specific course. You can easily find various online and offline, paid and unpaid courses that will teach you about digital marketing online.
However, if you just want to know about digital marketing online then you can also learn about it through Google and YouTube. Moreover, if you are looking to grow your business with digital marketing then you can also take the help of digital marketing agencies that will help you grow your business.
Why Digital Marketing has Become Necessary?
For a brand to get successful, digital marketing has become very necessary. If you do not know what is digital marketing and how to use it in your favor, things can get very difficult for you. The importance of digital marketing has mainly increased because of the increase in digitalization.
Now everyone spends most of their time on the internet and they straight go to the internet to check everything, from the weather update to reviews and ratings of any product. In such a scenario, it is very important for a brand to have a digital presence. So that whenever someone searches for it, the brand comes on the top.
FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What is SEO in digital marketing?
The term SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. SEO basically helps you in bringing traffic to your website, when you use particular words in your content that are used by people to search on the internet. If you use SEO in your digital ads, it will improve the ranking of your ad and hence, it will grab more audience.
Q2. Why digital marketing is important?
These days, digital marketing is extremely important for your business because it helps you to reach a larger audience. Moreover, with the help of digital marketing, you can reach the exact and specific audience that would consume your product or service. Along with this, digital is also cheaper and more convenient. Also, in the era of digitalization, when everyone goes to the internet to know even small things, it is very important to have a digital presence in order to grow your brand and overall business.
Q3. What skills are needed in digital marketing?
Here are some of the skills that are required for digital marketing:
- Search Engine Optimization
- Content Writing
- Data Analysis
- Knowledge of Ongoing Trends
- Knowledge of what works on Social Media
- Understanding of target audience and campaigns
