The term ‘digital marketing’ is often used interchangeably with online marketing or internet marketing. Therefore, most people simply assume that they are one and the same. While they do share some similarities, the fact is that there are some key differences between the two and they should be considered when you are developing your marketing strategy. In order to understand these differences, it is first essential to take a step back in order to have a clearer view of the two channels. This means first understanding what traditional marketing is.
Put simply, traditional marketing refers to marketing techniques that focus on marketing strategies that have been successful in the past. This includes broadcasting (radio and television), out-of-home (OOH) advertisements (public transport and billboards) and print advertisements (magazines and newspapers). Before the advent of the internet and rise of technology, these were the primary methods of marketing, but since then, marketing has transitioned to digital platforms, especially via the internet.
What is Digital Marketing?
Digital marketing is a broad term that encompasses anything and everything that requires the use of electronic device. It is an umbrella term that also includes online marketing. Some examples of digital marketing include e-books, podcasts, digital OOH advertisements and broadcasting. This form of marketing has replaced traditional marketing in the 21st century due to the dominance of digital platforms.
As far as online marketing is concerned, it is a subset of digital marketing. It cannot be used interchangeably with digital marketing because the former refers to marketing done on electronic devices whereas online marketing requires the use of internet for fulfilling its purpose. There are numerous methods of online marketing, such as blogs, email and social media, amongst others. The focus of online marketing is to attract customers and build an online presence. There are two main ways for attracting customers; lead generation and sales.
The process of naturally attracting people to an organization is defined as lead generation. The people who are attracted become leads, and thus, are considered potential customers. The most prevalent method of building an online presence is Search Engine Marketing (SEM). It is essentially online marketing that is aimed at increasing the visibility of an organization on search engines. SEM itself comprises of two main methods, the first of which is SEO (Search Engine Optimization). This is a long-term strategy that works to make content on web pages more discoverable and accessible via search engines.
Websites are optimized for targeted keywords that are related to a business, which helps the website in ranking higher when potential customers search the keyword. The other short-term strategy is PPC (Pay-Per-Click) ads. Google Adwords are a great example and they provide guaranteed visibility for a cost.
In a nutshell, online marketing falls under digital marketing and refers to content that’s delivered through the internet whereas digital marketing includes any form of marketing that’s performed on electronic devices. Businesses should do their marketing through a variety of mediums, including both digital and online marketing, and keep an eye out for popular trends.
