The Who, What, Why, & How of Digital Marketing

 With how accessible the internet is today, would you believe me if I told you the number of people who go online every day is still increasing?

It is. In fact, "constant" internet usage among adults increased by 5% in just the last three years, according to Pew Research. And although we say it a lot, the way people shop and buy really has changed along with it — meaning offline marketing isn't as effective as it used to be.

Marketing has always been about connecting with your audience in the right place and at the right time. Today, that means you need to meet them where they are already spending time: on the internet.

Enter digital marketing — in other words, any form of marketing that exists online.

→ Click here to download our free guide to digital marketing fundamentals [Download Now].

At HubSpot, we talk a lot about inbound marketing as a really effective way to attract, engage, and delight customers online. But we still get a lot of questions from people all around the world about digital marketing. So, we decided to answer them. Click the links below to jump to each question, or keep reading to see how digital marketing is carries out today.

  • What is digital marketing?
  • Why digital marketing?
  • Digital Marketing Examples
  • What does a digital marketer do?
  • Inbound Marketing vs. Digital Marketing: Which is it?
  • Does digital marketing work for all businesses?
  • Why is digital marketing important?
  • How to Do Digital Marketing
  • I'm ready to try digital marketing. Now what?

So, how do you define digital marketing today?

A seasoned inbound marketer might say inbound marketing and digital marketing are virtually the same thing, but there are some minor differences. And conversations with marketers and business owners in the U.S., U.K., Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, I've learned a lot about how those small differences are being observed across the world.

What is the role of digital marketing to a company?

While traditional marketing might exist in print ads, phone communication, or physical marketing, digital marketing can occur electronically and online. This means that there are far more possibilities for brands to reach customers, including email, video, social media, and search engines.

At this stage, digital marketing is vital for your business and brand awareness. It seems like every other brand has a website. And if they don't, they at least have a social media presence or digital ad strategy. Digital content and marketing is so common that consumers now expect and rely on it as a way to learn about brands.

Long story short, to be competitive as a business owner, you'll need to embrace some aspects of digital marketing.

Because digital marketing has so many options and strategies associated with it, you can get creative and experiment with a variety of marketing tactics on a budget. With digital marketing, you can also use tools like analytics dashboards to monitor the success and ROI of your campaigns more than you could with a traditional promotional content — such as a billboard or print ad.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Negative Impacts of Advertising

 Now you've done it: Your small business has finally gotten to the point where you can commit to regular advertising buys, and now you've opened the door of criticism to people who wish to remind you of the negative impacts of advertising. Yes, some sour grapes may be leading the charge, but there's no denying that bad, manipulative and poorly executed advertising gives all advertising a bad rap. Your best strategy? Size up some of those negative impacts so you can be prepared to quash those sour grapes. Charge No. 1: Advertising Encourages Monopolies Advertising doesn't come cheap. It's never come cheap. And even if you've been indoctrinated in the ways of inbound marketing and the more cost-effective tactics you can use to lure new customers to your website, advertising still represents an investment. For this reason, advertising has long been considered the domain of big businesses with deep pockets, which critics say gives these businesses a competitive adva
Read more

6 Advertising Tips to Draw Customers In

Image
  This ad successfully combines humor and relatable language to compel me to subscribe — additionally, it solved a "problem" (learning how to cook pasta) I didn't know I had. Those are three elements that can make an amazing ad. Oftentimes, marketers assume a good ad can only be made with a big budget. They also believe ads are most effective if they're busy or loud. While these factors   do  contribute to an enjoyable ad experience, ads certainly aren't limited without them. In fact, some of the most effective ads I've come across have none of them. The ad above, for example, isn't busy or flashy at all, yet it's still an example of a good ad. In this post, let's explore six components for creating a good, engaging ad. What makes a good ad? A good ad engages consumers. Whether the ad makes consumers click to learn more or enter a store, it employs different methods to make consumers stop and pay attention. These methods can include customer testim
Read more

How to Use Smart Content to Take Advertisements to the Next Level

  Every publisher wants to stand out from the crowd, but the days of one-size-fits-all content creation are over. The reason why? Content marketing is a double-edged sword. As companies realize that it works, they want to invest in it more—which means that there’s more information being published on the Internet than ever before. Some media companies are responding and trying to outsmart the crowd by producing more content, generating more listicles, and writing more ‘quick wins’ and listicles. But keep in mind: many consumers view these actions as noise. The tech savvy ones, especially, will see more and just get annoyed. Their screening criteria is also becoming stricter: according to one stat, human beings have an attention spans worse than goldfish, according to Microsoft (seriously: check it out—it’s a cool study). That’s why smart content is so important. It’s also a powerful value proposition for advertisers who are looking to reach the right audiences with the right messaging a
Read more