What are the basics of digital marketing?

“Good marketers see consumers as complete human beings with all the dimensions real people have.”
Jonah Sachs, author of the Story Wars

Digital marketing isn’t just about taking your traditional marketing techniques and transposing them into a digital environment. Yes, there are particular elements of traditional marketing that are very relevant in the digital space, however, what’s changed is the way in which the consumer approaches the buying process. Nowadays, the consumer is far more clued up when they approach purchasing a product and/or service that they often know more than the shop assistant in a bricks-and-mortar store.

This means that, as a business owner or digital marketing manager, you need to be providing information about your product on various digital platforms where your target market will go to research what they’re looking for. The basic platforms that you need to be making use of in order to transmit your message – in a digital marketing space – are social media marketing, search engine optimisation, PPC advertising, content marketing and digital public relations.

Digital marketing basics

What is social media marketing?

‘Social media marketing’ is about using social media is order to market your product and communicate the message about your company to your potential/current target market. The basic messages that you should be using social media to put out into the market are:

• Who we are
• What we do
• Why you should choose us

Remember that the various social media platforms are best suited for different audiences and platforms. So make sure that you choose wisely when deciding to invest in this digital marketing medium.

What is search engine optimisation?

Search Engine Optimisation – or SEO – is all about getting your content to rank organically in search engines. It uses various techniques to make this happen but, at the crux of it all, is using the correct keywords that clients will search for (when wanting to find a product and/or service  like yours) and positioning them strategically on your site. This is to ensure that when search queries are made – containing your keywords – your site will be returned as being a relevant answer to the person’s query.

What is PPC advertising?

PPC advertising are adverts that an advertiser pays for based on the number of times a person clicks on it. These types of adverts are available on Google in addition to social media platforms.

What is content marketing?

Content marketing is about using strategically designed pieces of content in order to market your business. This type of marketing has been widely touted as producing a higher ROI than any other type of digital marketing. The reason for this is that with content marketing, you have more space in order to communicate your message as opposed to a small advertisement.

What is digital public relations?

A concept that goes hand in hand with content marketing, digital public relations is about using written pieces of content in order to market your business. However, the difference between this and content marketing is that while content marketing publishes content on a company’s owned platforms, public relations publishes content in third party publications – be they online or offline.

Get in touch with the Digital School of Marketing

Want to learn more about digital marketing and the power that it can give to you and your brand? Do you want to harness this and make your business soar? The Digital School of Marketing’s Digital Marketing Course is the perfect qualification to help you get there. For more information about this and our other digital marketing courses, visit our website.