If you are reading this, I assume you’re either an online marketer or someone who knows one; if not, then perhaps it’s time to consider becoming more involved in this rapidly growing area of marketing!

Marketing online is all about advertising your product or service in the most effective and efficient ways possible. To be more precise, it’s all about using digital marketing methods to connect with potential customers, gain their interest, and encourage them to take action – such as making a purchase, filling out a form, or donating to your cause.

Often, marketers will describe marketing online as ‘traditional’ versus ‘digital’ marketing. While both methods utilize digital technologies to achieve their ends, the crux of the difference is in their approaches. Traditional methods include heavily relying on paid advertising, search engine optimization, and social media.

On the other hand, digital marketing methods focus more heavily on attracting, engaging, and converting potential customers through content – primarily in the form of articles, blogs, and videos. At the end of the day, though, it all comes down to the same thing – getting people to do what you want them to do.

Why Should You Care About Marketing Online?

If you’re reading this, it’s likely that you’re either an already established business or in the very early stages of planning your internet marketing strategy. Regardless of your situation, you should care about marketing online because it can be both effective and efficient. And, as we’ve discussed, it can be difficult to measure the results of traditional marketing strategies. This is where digital marketing comes in – offering you the ability to track the effects of your online campaigns in real-time.

On the other hand, digital marketing is highly flexible and can be modified as needed to fit the needs of your business. For example, you might establish a marketing blog to provide helpful tips and tricks on internet marketing – only to find that your target audience is more interested in hearing about your products than in reading general marketing blog posts. In this case, you may want to consider pivoting to provide advice on your specific product range, or, if you’re feeling extra creative, you could even take the opportunity to write an eBook detailing the best practices for your product or service.

Now, if you’re absolutely dying to know what digital marketing is and how it works – both in theory and in practice – then feel free to jump into our digital marketing crash course where you’ll learn everything you need to know in order to succeed!

What Is Digital Marketing?

Simply put, digital marketing is the marketing and sales of products or services online.

This could include anything from running internet marketing campaigns to selling and shipping products, whether physical items or digital files (e.g. apps, eBooks, etc.). It also includes the analysis of online behavioral data to determine marketing effectiveness.

Often, with conventional marketing, you would aim to reach as many people as possible with your advertising. The theory behind this is that even if you’re not necessarily reaching the right audience with your ads, you’ll still be able to reach a larger audience than you would alone. For example, a popular clothing brand could pay for ads to appear alongside popular bloggers or YouTube content creators. This could mean that someone interested in style and fashion could see your ads while browsing YouTube – thus, reaching your intended audience (or future audience!) with no out-of-home ads required!

On the other hand, with digital marketing, you’re not necessarily looking to advertise your product to as many people as possible. Instead, you’re trying to find the right audience for your product or service, and then using various methods to attract, engage, and retain them. The concept behind this is sometimes referred to as ‘attention marketing’. Essentially, you want to grab the attention of your audience – potentially leading them to take action, make a purchase, or simply enjoy your content – something that could boost your sales.

How Is It Different From Traditional Marketing?

Traditionally, marketers will often times use print media to spread the word about a brand or product. They might choose to distribute flyers, brochures, or even posters in order to reach potential customers. These days, though, with companies shifting to digital platforms, marketing has largely moved online. This has opened up the world of marketing to a brand new audience.

While traditional marketing is still around and quite effective, it’s important to keep in mind that your target audience may now be found on numerous online platforms – not on one! This means that, depending on which platform they are using, they may not be seeing your ads (if any at all).

For instance, let’s say you’re a pet store and you notice that many of your prospective customers are searching for information on dogs. If you’re running an ad campaign on a general search engine like Google, you may not see many results for your ads. However, if you’re running ads on specific dog related search engines like ‘Doggy Style’ or ‘Hound Search’, you may start to see some positive effects.

Key Takeaways

If you’re reading this, then you’re either an established business or in the very early stages of planning your internet marketing strategy. Regardless, you should still care about marketing online because it can be both effective and efficient. And, as we’ve discussed, it can be difficult to measure the effects of traditional marketing strategies. This is where digital marketing comes in – offering you the ability to track the results of your online campaigns in real-time.

Now, if you’re absolutely dying to know what digital marketing is and how it works – both in theory and in practice – then feel free to jump into our digital marketing crash course where you’ll learn everything you need to know in order to succeed!