Marketing 7 min read

Different Types of Digital Marketing and How to use Them

Diggity Marketing / Unsplash.com

Diggity Marketing / Unsplash.com

Main Types of Digital Marketing Takeaways:

  • Digital marketing refers to any marketing activity that requires a digital channel.
  • The different types of digital marketing are content marketing, search engine marketing, and search engine optimization.
  • Content marketing involves creating and distributing relevant content to attract and retain a specific audience.
  • SEO is the process of improving the quality and quantity of a website’s traffic from search engines.
  • Search engine marketing involves promoting websites by increasing their search engine visibility through paid advertising.
  • Affiliate marketing involves promoting other companies’ products or services in exchange for a commission.
  • Email marketing is the practice of sending emails to potential or current customers to request business, solicit sales or ask for donations.
  • Social media marketing is the process of using social media platforms to promote products and services.
  • The best type of digital marketing for your business are those that align with your marketing goals.

Businesses across the world now rely on different types of digital marketing to survive the current pandemic. And it’s working!

According to reports, digital sales surged by 18 percent in the first quarter of 2020 compared to the previous year. Similarly, marketers reported a 12 percent increase in traffic within the same period.

In this post, we’ll explore various types of digital marketing and how to use them in your business. Let’s jump right in.

What is Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing refers to any marketing activity that requires a digital channel. It involves using the internet and other online-based digital technologies — smartphones, tablets, computers — to promote products or services. Digital marketing can also describe offline marketing strategies, such as radio, television, and phone marketing.

The term Digital Marketing was coined as far back as the 1990s. However, the practice did not become popular until the late 2000s, when the smartphone market surge led to more internet users.

According to reports, the number of global internet users increased from 413 million in 2000 to over 3.4 billion in 2016.

Today, you can find more than half of the world’s population online. From connecting with friends on Facebook to watching videos on YouTube, we now rely on the internet in our daily lives.

As you can imagine, this provides an excellent marketing opportunity for businesses.

What are the Different Types of Digital Marketing?

The different types of digital marketing are content marketing, search engine marketing, and search engine optimization. Others include social media marketing, email marketing, affiliate marketing, and pay-per-click. Finally, there are offline digital marketing channels such as television, radio, and phone marketing.

However, in this post, we’ll focus on online channels only. It’s also known as web marketing or internet marketing.

1. Content Marketing

Image shows the words content marketing written on a ehite surface.
Diggity Marketing / Pixabay.com

Content marketing involves consistently creating and distributing relevant content to attract and retain a specific audience. The ultimate goal here is to drive profitable customer action.

It’s no surprise that 86 percent of B2C marketers think content marketing is a crucial strategy. What’s more, 91 percent of B2B marketers use content marketing to reach customers.

Content is king, irrespective of the marketing tactics you choose. Whether it’s social media marketing or email marketing, relevant content could boost sales and save costs. It can also inspire brand loyalty.

Some content marketing examples include blog posts, podcasts, infographics, case studies, white papers, and e-books.

Want to improve your content’s relevance and chance of ranking on SERP? Try INK, the AI-powered web content optimization editor for writers!

2. Search Engine Marketing

Search engine marketing involves promoting websites by increasing their search engine visibility through paid advertising.

First, advertisers bid on keywords that search engine users may use when searching for specific products or services. That way, the ads can appear alongside results for those search queries.

Businesses make an average of $3 revenue for every $1.60 they spend on Google Ads. And that’s partly because roughly 26 percent of users click on paid search ads when it mentions a familiar brand.

These pay-per-click ads come in various formats. While some are small and text-based, others are such as Shopping ads, are more visual. Such product-based ads allow consumers to see information such as price and reviews at a glance.

3. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Image shows search engine optimization written on a computer.
Diggity Marketing / Pixabay.com

Search engine optimization is the process of improving the quality and quantity of a website’s traffic from search engines. Unlike search engine marketing, SEO focuses on boosting a site’s visibility organically.

According to a study, 70-80 percent of search engine users ignore paid ads and focus on organic results. What’s more, 70 percent of marketers say that SEO is more effective at driving sales than PPC.

Some SEO practices include:

  • Researching relevant keywords
  • Creating keyword-optimized content
  • Building relevant backlinks
  • Optimizing load speed
  • Optimizing metadata

Like the other digital marketing types, expanding your search engine visibility can help you reach and engage more potential customers. Besides, the practice can also improve user experience on your website.

4. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing involves promoting other companies’ products or services in exchange for a commission. Think of an affiliate as a salesperson for the business.

According to a Forrester report, 81 percent of advertisers and 84 percent of publishers have turned to affiliate marketing.

An affiliate performs three basic things, and these are:

  • Drive traffic to a company’s site
  • Get clicks on the affiliate link
  • Convert clicks to sales

It begins with the merchant giving each affiliate a unique link. That way, they can track who was responsible for the sale and reward the affiliate accordingly.

Note that this marketing strategy is useful for bloggers and creators on video platforms such as YouTube. That’s because they can create content on a specific topic and include affiliate links naturally.

5. Email Marketing

Illustration of messages on a computer and a magnifying glass hovering above.
talha khalil / Pixabay.com

Email marketing is the practice of sending emails to potential or current customers to request business, solicit sales, or ask for donations.

As you may have guessed, the process begins with collecting the email addresses of the target group. After that, you only have to do the following:

  • Define the email concept
  • Produce the content
  • Send the email
  • Measure performance

Not only can a compelling message convert prospects into customers, but it could also turn one-time buyers into loyal fans. In fact, 80 percent of business professionals believe that email marketing increases customer retention.

6. Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is the process of using social media platforms to promote products and services. Along with driving traffic to websites, brands use social media to connect with an audience and increase sales.

The social media marketing process involves the following.

  • Listening and engaging followers
  • Analyzing your results
  • Running social media advertisement

Over 50 million small businesses now use Facebook Pages to connect with their customers. Meanwhile, more than 4 million of those businesses pay for social media advertising.

The major social media platforms include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Snapchat, to name a few.

After exploring the major types of digital marketing, there’s just one last question.

Which Type of Digital Marketing is Best?

Image of various types of digital marketing written on a board.
Gerd Altmann / Pixabay.com

All of these types of digital marketing are beneficial to most companies. However, to identify which one is best for your business, you must define your goals clearly. For example, if you’re looking to increase search traffic, you must decide whether to use SEO or SEM. Similarly, if your goal is to connect with your audience, social media marketing, and email marketing may be your best options.

Whichever digital marketing channel you choose, it must address your business’s individual and unique needs. Although various businesses require different types of digital marketing, they tend to crossover.

For example, search engine optimization and content marketing work hand-in-hand. So, identify the web marketing channel that works for your business.

At the same time, research other digital marketing strategies that may prove useful in your industry. Along with helping you stay ahead of the curve, such knowledge could improve your marketing effort.

Read More: Artificial Intelligence Marketing: Why you Should use AI in Marketing.

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