What is digital marketing?
Simply put, digital marketing is any form of advertising that is delivered via online channels.
If you wish to gain a more in-depth understanding of this topic, check out the FAQ section below:
Question #1: What are the benefits of it?
One of the biggest benefits of digital marketing is the reach it provides brands. Unlike offline marketing channels that are location-based, digital marketing channels allow brands to reach anyone, anywhere, at any time.
Another benefit is the level of targeting it provides. Using channels such as Facebook for Business or Google Ads, for example, you will be able to show your digital ads to the exact people you want to see them instead of simply broadcasting them to everyone and hoping that the right people come across them at some point.
The third benefit is that in most cases, it costs significantly less than traditional marketing. And since it is much more targeted, it also allows you to get way more value out of every single dollar you spend.
Another great benefit is the insights it provides. Since most, if not all, digital marketing channels come with built-in analytics tools, you will get access to data you can use to do things such as:
- Identifying market trends
- Optimising your marketing campaigns
- Identifying the best digital marketing channels to use
- Finding out where your target customers spend most of their time online
- Identifying opportunities
Question #2: What channels can I use?
The channels you can use for digital marketing include:
- Social media
- Online advertising platforms
Let us take a closer look at each one:
First, social media refers to platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, which all allow you to not only post content, but also pay to get said content in front of more of your target audience using powerful targeting tools.
Second, aside from social media, you can also send marketing messages to your target audience via email. To be able to do this, however, you need to have a mailing list in place first.
Third, you can also do it via an online advertising platform such as Google Ads. For a small amount, you will be able to run a full-on targeted advertising campaign that shows your marketing messages in front of your ideal customer.
Question #3: How do I know my digital marketing campaigns are working?
The easiest way to know whether or not your digital marketing campaigns are working is by checking your marketing targets against your marketing analytics. If they are, then they are working. If not, then you need to find out why and then make the necessary adjustments.
Another way is to check your cost per click (CPC) and cost for acquisition (CPA). CPC, as the name suggests, is the total amount you pay for every click your digital ad gets. CPA, on the other hand, is the total amount you pay for every successful lead acquisition you get from your digital ads.
As a general rule for either metric, the lower the cost, the more effective the digital marketing campaign is.
Question #4: What are the advantages of digital marketing over traditional marketing?
As we have seen earlier, the advantages of digital marketing over traditional marketing can be broken down into four basic categories:
- Reach
- Targeting
- Cost
- Insights
Let us quickly go over each one again:
First, it allows you to reach a much wider audience than traditional marketing ever could. All you have to do is create a digital ad and show it to anyone, anytime, anywhere in the world.
Second, unlike traditional marketing which relies more on broadcasting promotional messages, it allows you to choose exactly who you want to reach.
Third, it typically costs significantly less than traditional marketing. With it, even if you just had $100 to spend, for example, you would be able to reach tens of thousands of your target customers.
Finally, unlike traditional marketing, it provides you with in-depth analytics data you can use to identify trends and opportunities and make better-informed business decisions.