What is Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing is the process of promoting products or services using digital channels such as the internet, social media, search engines, email, mobile devices, and other digital platforms. This form of marketing takes full advantage of the use of technology to reach a larger and targeted audience, track data, analyze data and optimize campaigns for maximum effectiveness.

Digital marketing is comprised of a broad range of strategies to reach audiences including search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click advertising (PPC), social media marketing, content marketing, email marketing and more. Marketing teams use a combination of these various forms of digital marketing tactics depending on the goals set for a campaign, and the target audience that is trying to be reached.

One of the best aspects of digital marketing, compared to traditional marketing, is that it is able to target an audience with more efficiency, precision, and results. Because the use of technology in marketing produces data, businesses can then analyze this data and get their message out to the right people at the right time based on things like age, location, spending habits, and many more nuances. The use of data in digital marketing also allows marketing teams to evaluate the success of their campaigns and make the necessary changes and improvements in order to reach success in branding. Technology makes this possible and that is why digital marketing has become the go-to in the world of marketing.

It goes without saying that digital marketing has become an essential component of modern marketing strategies, and businesses that ignore this progressive channel of marketing risk falling behind their competitors. By staying up-to-date with the latest trends and strategies in digital marketing, businesses can increase their online visibility, attract more customers, build their brand, and attain long-term growth and results.

History of Digital Marketing

The origin of digital marketing, although mostly known to have started in the early ‘90’s actually took place in the 1980’s when people began using computers for business and for use at home. Soon after in 1991 the first internet website was launched and search engines like Yahoo! and Google soon followed. The introduction of search engines and business websites allowed companies to begin reaching consumers through the internet, something that was not possible before.

About a decade later social media platforms like LinkedIn and Myspace began to emerge in the early 2000s creating an even bigger arena for businesses to market. Social media especially launched digital marketing into what it is today with the introduction of Facebook in 2004. This opened up a whole new door for influencing the masses through the use of digital technology.

In recent years, digital marketing has expanded even more and has become more precise and advanced in its effectiveness to reach the masses, obtain data, measure data, and help businesses grow their brands. Anyone would be hard-pressed to find a business that is not using digital marketing because it allows companies to stay on top of the competition.

Digital Marketing Types

There is a diverse pool of marketing channels that businesses can use to promote their products and services. Below are several of the numerous channels through which companies market their brand:

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): SEO is the mechanism by which marketers optimize a website in order to rank higher in search engine results pages for specific keywords and phrases. By optimizing their website, more organic traffic is attracted to the site and this also improves a company’s visibility in search results.

• Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising: PPC advertising involves placing ads on websites like search engines and social media and paying for each click that an ad receives. This type of advertising allows businesses to reach a very specific targeted audience and can be a cost-effective way to generate leads and sales.

• Social Media Marketing: Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn provide companies with a way to reach their target audience and engage with them through posts, ads, and other various content. Social media marketing can help build brand awareness, drive website traffic, and increase engagement and lead to conversions. The use of social media marketing continues to expand and reach new heights and is a significantly popular marketing channel in the world of digital marketing.

• Content Marketing: Content marketing is defined by creating and sharing valuable, informative, and engaging content to attract and keep a target audience. This style of marketing is found in the form of videos, podcasts, blog posts, and much more.

• Affiliate Marketing: Affiliate marketing is the process of partnering with other businesses or individuals to promote your products or services in exchange for a commission on each sale. This type of marketing can be a cost-effective way to drive sales and generate a profit.

• Email Marketing: Email marketing entails sending marketing messages and promotions to subscribers via email. This type of marketing can help build relationships with customers, increase brand loyalty, and drive sales. Opt-in services in email marketing make this a digital marketing style that builds consumer trust because it is less “pushy”.

• Mobile Marketing: Mobile marketing consists of targeting users on their cellphones with ads, promotions, and other forms of marketing content. This form of marketing can take place in many ways including through mobile apps, text-messaging, and more.

Become a Digital Marketer

The Digital Marketing world has become appealing to those looking to create a profession in the space because of its massive success. Those who desire to start a digital marketing agency, or work in the sphere of digital marketing can do so by learning the necessary skills. These skills such as content writing, SEO, data analysis etc, can be learned through a numerous network of opportunities including free courses online, partaking in a digital marketing internship, building a digital marketing portfolio and much more. In most cases a degree is not required to work as a digital marketer and many have found success by simply building their digital marketing experience and furthering their business goals.

Why Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing is cost-effective, reaches a larger and more target audience, and is highly measurable. This combination of benefits makes it a crucial part of any marketing campaign strategy and it is sure to boost marketing efforts.