1. What is digital marketing?
Digital marketing is the use of digital channels to market products. Also known as online
marketing, digital marketing promotes brands and connects them to potential customers via
the internet. It takes many forms, including:
Search engines
Websites
Social media
Email
Mobile apps
Text messaging
Web-based advertising
Digital marketing uses the same principles as traditional offline marketing but in a digital
space. It relies on consumer data to find a business’s target audience and deliver the most
relevant messaging possible. This is effective, but digital marketing is so popular that the
biggest challenge today is learning how to stand out from the crowd.
Your company’s use of digital marketing depends on its model. Business-to-business (B2B)
companies sell to other businesses, which requires a longer, more strategic approach.
Business-to-consumer (B2C) companies sell directly to everyday customers, which requires
shorter sales cycles and a larger audience. The main differences between B2B and B2C
include:
B2B decisions involve multiple people, while B2C typically only involves a single person.
B2B clients tend to have a longer decision-making process, so digital marketing should
focus on building relationships.
The B2C buying process is generally shorter, so this requires short-term, urgent
messaging.
B2B transactions are more driven by logic, while B2C is driven more by emotion.
Fortunately, digital marketing works for both approaches. Whether you’re targeting
businesses or consumers, digital marketing will help you streamline the marketing process
for results.
2. Types of digital marketing
Digital marketing is so beneficial because of its flexibility. It comes in various forms, which
gives businesses more opportunities than ever before to connect with their target audiences.
Let’s look at the 12 key types of digital marketing.
Content marketing
Content marketing is a type of digital marketing that aims to educate and share value to
readers instead of promoting a product or service. It isn’t outwardly promotional in nature,
but establishes your business as a thought leader and a trustworthy source of information.