What is digital marketing in simple terms?

Digital marketing, or online marketing, is more important than you realize. It is crucial for succeeding on the internet.

By  mastering all the 8 types of digital marketing, you can outshine your competitors. This will strengthen your online presence and help you drive more sales.

 In 2024, Statista estimated that the average global internet user spends over six hours online. This is a big plus for anyone using digital marketing in their business.

Digital marketing is a mix of strategies. It uses various tactics to boost brand awareness, draw in customers, and increase conversions.

If you’re wondering, what are the 8 types of digital marketing, you’re in the right place. This is a complete guide of everything you need to know.

Digital marketing means promoting your services or products online to a specific audience. You can use channels like social media, search engines, websites, mobile apps, and emails to do this.

Why is digital marketing important?

Digital marketing lets you reach a wider audience. It also helps you turn prospects into customers who buy your products or services.

Unlike traditional marketing (TV, radio, billboards), digital marketing offers greater cost-effectiveness, measurable results, and precise targeting.

The online marketing industry is on the rise. It’s growing as more people use digital media and businesses shift online. This shift allows brands to connect with their audiences like never before. On April 3, 2024, Statista said global spending on online advertising will hit 870 billion dollars by 2027.

Why should you start using digital marketing in your business?

• It’s more cost-effective. Traditional methods, like print advertising, make it hard to see if a campaign is working. In contrast, digital marketing lets you track your campaigns easily. You can tell which ones succeed and which ones don’t. This information will help you boost your campaigns and gain a high return on investment (ROI).
• You can compete with bigger brands. If you have a small business, you might feel that you can’t compete with the big brands. They often spend millions on their advertising, making it tough for you. Targeting a long-tail keyword and creating quality content are key. Search engines like Google and Bing focus on whether your content fits the target audience, not on your brand size. This will help you beat big brands in your industry.
• You can target audiences all over the world. In 2024, over 5 billion people were using social media worldwide. This number could rise to 6 billion by 2028. This growth means you can reach more potential customers and increase your business success with less effort.

• It is measurable. Free tools like Google Search Console and Google Analytics let you see views, impressions, clicks, and time spent on your page. This data gives you quick feedback and highlights what to improve for a better campaign.

What are the 8 types of digital marketing?

You now have a good grasp of digital marketing and its benefits. You might be asking, which type of digital marketing should I use for my strategies?

Here’s a brief overview of  the 8 digital marketing types. They can enhance your business growth and establish a strong connection with your audience.

Search engine optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization (SEO), is about improving your website and content. This helps you rank higher on search engine result pages (SERPs) like Google and Bing.

Good SEO can boost the organic (free) traffic to your website. SEO is always changing, but its essential components do not. It has three main pillars:

• Technical optimization: this type of SEO focuses on improving your website’s backend and structure. This helps search engines crawl and index it better. For instance, submitting your sitemaps to Google Search Console, enhancing your website’s speed and mobile friendliness.
• On-page optimization: On-page SEO aims to enhance your page’s content for a better user experience and relevance. It involves using the right keywords, optimizing headings and meta descriptions, and improving readability. You can use content management systems like WordPress, Shopify, Blogger, or Wix.
• Off-page optimization: means doing things outside your site to boost authority and rankings. This originates from link building as the main source. When other relevant websites link to your content, it shows search engines that your site is trustworthy.

SEO takes time, but it is worth it. Many beginners want quick results from SEO. But it requires time and steady effort to achieve high rankings on search engines.

Focusing on technical, on-page, and off-page optimization helps you create a solid SEO foundation. This foundation drives long-term organic traffic.

As NEIL PATEL (co-founder of NP Digital) puts it, “SEO is like a marathon, not a sprint. It takes time to build momentum, but once you’ve got it, the rewards are amazing.”  Successful companies like Ahrefs and Shopify have used SEO to drive huge growth.

Content Marketing

Content marketing means making, sharing, and publishing content for your target audience.

It features a range of formats, such as videos, blog posts, infographics, social media updates, emails, newsletters, E-books, and white papers.

The main goal is to boost brand awareness, engagement, and loyalty.

With this type of digital marketing, don’t push for direct sales. First, entertain your audience and build a connection. This way, they will be more likely to buy from you.

Focusing on quality content attracts visitors and builds trust. This trust leads to real business growth over time. Andrew Davis, a marketing strategist and author of *Brandscaping*, says, “Content builds relationships, and relationships are built on trust. Trust drives revenue.”

Here’s a case study that highlights the impressive effects of content marketing. This company’s success shows how effective content can lead to significant growth.

Take a look at the image below:

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Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.

PPC is an online marketing method where you advertise your website and pay every time a user clicks on your ad.

Like the ads you see on Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social media sites.

This is how pay-per-click (PPC) works:

• As an advertiser, you choose a keyword for which you want to be found and place a bid on it.
• Search engines like Google will rank your ad. This ranking relies on three factors: the bid amount, ad relevance, and quality score.
• The ad appears at the top of Google when users search for relevant terms.
• Then they will only charge you when someone clicks on your ad.

PPC comes with some advantages. If you pick Google Ads for your marketing campaign, you can display your ads to people in a specific area, location, or country. This lets you reach a specific audience that will help promote your business.

With PPC, you can see instant results. But it can be costly, and once you stop paying, your campaign ends too.

Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is about using social media platforms to promote your brand and content.

More than 4.5 billion people use social media. Each user spends over 2 hours on different platforms. Businesses should optimize social media. This can boost traffic, raise brand awareness, and generate leads.

Social media channels to use:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter (X)
• Pinterest
• Tiktok
• Linkedin
• Snapchat

As per “GWI social media statistics,” Facebook is still the leading platform for engagement with millennials, Gen X, and baby boomers. While Gen Z uses Instagram most of the time.

(image source)

Using social media in marketing is important for businesses of all sizes. Check out this case study. It highlights how major brands like Nike, Dove, and Starbucks use social media marketing (SMM) to build strong brand identities and drive significant business growth.

Instead of scrolling, think about using social media for personal branding and business marketing. Also, make sure to leverage the right platforms.

Influencer marketing

Influencer marketing happens when you team up with an influencer, celebrity, or popular social media figure. They assist in promoting your products or services.

Brands use trusted influencers in their fields to boost awareness.

A report by Sprout Social shows that 49% of consumers make purchases influenced by posts from influencers. This happens daily, weekly, or monthly. Also, 30% of consumers trust influencers more now than they did six months ago.

You might think you can’t afford an influencer right now. Some micro-influencers provide their services at a good price. Make sure you select the right influencer for your niche. They should have a proven history of driving sales for businesses.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a way for affiliates to promote products or services. They earn a commission for each sale or lead they generate.

They earn a commission for every sale, lead, or action they bring to your business using their referral links.

This is the basic way affiliate marketing works:

1. Join an affiliate program
2. You will receive a unique affiliate link to promote the products or services.
3. Promote the products on your website, blogs, social media, or YouTube.
4. Now, you can earn commissions whenever someone buys through your affiliate link.

Affiliate marketing isn’t limited to one platform. You can join many affiliate programs and start earning. Some of my favorite affiliate platforms are:

• Amazon Associates – to promote millions of products and earn commissions.

• Ubersuggest and Semrush affiliate programs – you can recommend their SEO tools and earn commissions.
• Shopify affiliate programs– they pay you for bringing in new businesses to Shopify.
• Tripadvisor affiliate programs – lets you earn commissions by referring users to book hotels and experiences.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is about sending emails to promote your products and services. It helps you build relationships and connect with your customers, too.

It’s one of the oldest ways to communicate online. It still moves customers through the sales funnel and improves conversions.

Managing bulk email campaigns can be tiring for large companies. Here are some reputable companies and tools to consider:

Some of the tools that offer free plans for bulk emails include:

• Moosend
• Brevo

Here are some companies that provide bulk email marketing services:

• Constant Contact
• Flowium 

Here’s a case study from Flowium, a marketing agency. It shows how they helped a new beauty brand boost revenue and enhance customer engagement.

(image source)

Email marketing can be cost-effective, but you must follow the CAN-SPAM Act. This law has rules for businesses using emails in their campaigns. Breaking these laws can result in high penalties.

Mobile Marketing

Mobile marketing is a strategy that focuses on users with mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets.

The best digital marketing strategies now target mobile users through:

Short Message Service (SMS) marketing

SMS marketing is about sending text messages straight to people’s phones. These messages often have promotions, reminders, or updates on special time-limited offers.

Statistics reveal that 75% of consumers prefer offers sent via SMS. Additionally, 90% of people check their SMS within 3 minutes.

There are several SMS platforms you can consider using:

• textitute
• Plivo
• Click send
• Twilio
• Sinch

Textitute stats show that Napoli restaurant boosted its customer rate after starting SMS marketing. They asked customers to join their SMS campaign, and then offered a discount on the next pizza.

SMS marketing is a powerful tool for every modern business today. Start using it to create campaigns that connect with your target audience.

Mobile app marketing

Mobile app marketing is the promotion of your products or services via mobile apps.

This could be an in-app ad, a push notification, or a special offer for users who have got the app.

Mobile app marketing is an ongoing process. To ensure success, you must focus on these four key stages:

1. Awareness – this means letting people know about your app. You can do this using social media, ads, or content marketing.
2. Acquisition – you have got to make users download and install your app.
3. Engagement – means getting users involved. You can do this by sending push notifications, offering rewards, and ensuring a great user experience.
4. Retention – means keeping users engaged with your app. You can do this by providing great customer support, regular updates, and loyalty programs.

Optimizing these areas can help your app grow, attract more users, and earn more revenue.

FAQs about the 8 types of digital marketing

Conclusion

You now know what is digital marketing and types of digital marketing. No matter your budget, digital marketing offers various ways to reach your audience and grow your business online.

By leveraging all the 8 types of digital marketing, your brand can boost its visibility and drive conversions. 

You have to choose the strategy that best fits your goals and expand over time.

If you have questions or insights, please leave a comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts!