If you’re looking into becoming a digital marketer, it’s important to learn about the field before diving in. And, while you might assume that learning to code would be a pre-requisite for entering the field, that isn’t true. But, before diving in, it’s important to understand the basic principles of digital marketing.

There are four basic principles that every digital marketer needs to know: digital marketing, SEO, content marketing, and social media.

Understand Digital Marketing

At its most basic level, digital marketing is the effort you make to attract people to your cause, product, or service, using digital tools. It involves creating content (that is, information, educational content, or creative work) to attract potential customers and encouraging them to perform a specific action (for example, subscribe to your newsletter, make a purchase, or fill out a form).

The term “digital marketer” doesn’t have to apply to everyone who deals with digital marketing; rather, it’s a title that describes someone’s job. A “digital marketer’s” job is to set up automated systems to attract potential customers to a company or product and convert them into paying customers. He or she creates content to encourage potential customers to take a specific action (for example, subscribe to a newsletter or follow a company on social media). Once the customer takes that action, the “digital marketer” uses analytics to track the person’s behavior to determine what else can be done to retain or gain that business.

SEO Basics

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing your content (that is, the “body” of text on your site) to increase your rankings on search engines like Google. The higher you can get your content to rank, the more opportunities you have to attract potential customers to your site.

To get started, first you need to determine the main keyword or keywords for your site. Then, you can create content around those keywords using SEO-friendly language. When creating content for SEO, keep in mind the big search engine companies like Google and Bing look for content that is easily accessible to users. Short and sweet articles frequently do well on search engines because of their easy to understand and convenient nature. These types of articles tend to do best when paired with pictures as well.

Content Marketing Basics

If you’re a business owner or manager and aren’t sure what content marketing is, consider it the effort you make to engage with your audience via digital channels (for example, blogs, forums, and social media channels).

The basic idea behind content marketing is to create content (that is, articles, white papers, and other similar materials) to attract and retain customers. This type of content is usually created to encourage potential customers to take a specific action (for example, subscribe to a blog or follow a company on social media).

Unlike SEO, content marketing doesn’t necessarily require you to go in and update your website’s content every week. However, it is important to keep in mind the content you create for this channel will eventually appear on your website, so it’s best to put in the time now to make sure the content is good.

Social Media Basics

Social media is the medium through which you can engage with your audience online. It can be incredibly effective in terms of attracting potential customers and encouraging them to take a certain action (for example, subscribe to your newsletter or follow you on Twitter).

The basics of social media marketing are quite easy to understand. You can have a look at the top social media platforms (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) and get a general idea of how these platforms work. To get started, simply find a relevant niche on one of these platforms and use it to engage with your audience.

Keep in mind that, on social media, your content will only be as good as your connections. So, if you want to really stand out, you need to make sure you engage with your audience on a regular basis.

The Role of the Digital Marketer

Now that you have a basic idea of the four pillars of digital marketing, let’s take a look at the role of the digital marketer. Just as there are many different careers in marketing, there is no one-fits-all approach when it comes to being a digital marketer. But, generally, the job entails the following responsibilities.

First, you’ll need to set up the systems to track and analyze marketing performance. You’d be surprised how many companies don’t even know how to properly track their own marketing performance, which makes it really difficult to improve. For instance, did you know that 74% of businesses don’t know what key metrics to use to measure the success of their marketing efforts?

Once you have that set up, you can dive into working on content for digital marketing platforms like Google, Bing, and Amazon. Creating content for these platforms is free, so there is no reason not to give it a try. You can also look into paying affiliates to promote your product or service using creative marketing techniques. Affiliates will work with you to find complementary products and/or services for product promotions, special offers, and more.