What Is Digital Marketing? A Simplified Guide For Beginners

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In this post we are going to answer one of the most commonly asked questions on the internet today: What Is Digital Marketing?

We’re going to unravel the magic of digital marketing for the online world today. We’ll explore how businesses use websites, social media, emails, and other online tactics and strategies to catch your attention!

In an era where the digital realm is the central hub of modern communication, understanding digital marketing has become so important for individuals and businesses alike.

Digital marketing uses different ways to catch your eye online. It includes things like using social media to get your attention and making websites/blogs show up in online searches. This helps companies and bloggers connect with an audience and build relationships in the online world.

Whether you’re new to starting a business online or already know a bit about digital marketing, this post will help you understand digital marketing that bit better!

We will go over what Digital Marketing is and how to use digital marketing in today’s online world.

This post is going to answer the common question: What Is Digital Marketing? And how can it benefit you!

So to start off, let’s answer the main question first: What Is Digital Marketing?

The technical answer is: “Digital marketing refers to the use of digital channels, such as the internet, social media, email, search engines, websites, and various online platforms, to promote products, services, or brands. It involves leveraging digital technologies to reach and engage with a targeted audience, attract potential customers, build brand awareness, and drive sales or desired actions.”

In more simple terms, digital marketing involves using the internet and online tools to advertise and connect with people who might be interested in what a business or website offers.

It includes things like creating websites, posting on social media, sending emails, and showing up in online searches to get people’s attention and encourage them to learn more about a business or its products/services.

In very simple terms, Digital marketing is like telling the world about something, using the internet to do so!

Digital marketing is like spreading the word about something you love, but instead of using traditional methods like newspapers, you do it online.

Imagine you have an idea, product, or anything else you want to share. Instead of shouting it out on the street, you use the internet to spread the word.

This involves things like making a website, posting on social media, sending emails, and showing up in online searches!

Digital marketing is just the fancy way of saying, “Hey, check this out!” in the online world.

Imagine you have a favourite pizza place. If that business wants more people to know about their amazing pizzas, they may use digital marketing. They could create ads on social media or send out emails with special offers. On top of this they could also make their website show up first when someone searches for “best pizza near me.” (This would be done using a high-quality Keyword Research Tool.)

Basically, digital marketing is all about using the internet’s superpowers to reach and connect with people! It includes a range of things like social media marketing, email marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), and more. It’s an umbrella term for any marketing done online – i.e, digitally!

What Are Some Popular Options For Digital Marketing?

When you look into the centre of digital marketing, it is the science of promoting products, services, or brands using digital channels.

It’s the modern way businesses connect with their audience through the wonder that is the internet.

Digital marketing happens in various online spaces, each with its own strategy and set of opportunities:

Search Engines (SEO)

I would assume you have searched for something on Google at some point! That’s where Search Engine Optimization (SEO) comes into play. It’s all about improving your website’s visibility in search results, so more people can easily discover what you offer. It’s about making your website rank higher in search results, ensuring more people find you effortlessly. Using a Keyword Research tool can dramatically help with this marketing strategy.

Social Media Marketing

As soon as you scroll through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, or LinkedIn, you’ll witness SO many examples of social media marketing. It’s about building communities, engaging followers, and telling your brand story. It could be mixed between text, videos, and even paid ads. Anyone sharing/promoting anything on social media falls into this category!

Content Creation

Whether it be blogs, videos or infographics, content is king in the digital realm. Creating valuable, informative, or entertaining content is the heartbeat of digital marketing.

Blogs serve as an invaluable platform for sharing information, insights, opinions, and stories. (A personal favourite!) They cater to various interests/niches, providing your readers with in-depth knowledge, how-to guides, updates, and engaging articles. A well-crafted blog not only informs but also establishes a brand’s authority and credibility in its field.

Videos are an amazing visual medium that captivates audiences through visual storytelling. From product demonstrations and tutorials to vlogs and brand stories, videos bring content to life, engaging viewers with compelling narratives, visuals, and emotions. They often result in high engagement and better retention of information!

Infographics often present complex or more complicated information in a visually appealing and easy-to-understand format. Combining graphics, images, and text, they convey data, statistics, lists, or step-by-step guides in an easily understandable manner. Infographics are highly shareable, making information accessible and engaging across different platforms.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is a vital component of digital marketing, focusing on sending targeted, personalised emails to subscribers or potential customers.

It includes:

Building an email list through blog/website sign-up forms and things like landing pages.
Tailoring your content to subscribers’ preferences.
Sending engaging emails with clear calls-to-action.
Analysing metrics for continual improvement!

Businesses use email marketing to connect with subscribers, drive sales, and build lasting relationships.

Paid Advertising

We have all seen those sponsored ads on Google or in social feeds! They are everywhere nowadays! That’s the pull of paid advertising. Businesses/Content Creators pay to showcase their products or service to a targeted audience.

How Does Digital Marketing Work?

Digital marketing operates on the principles of understanding your audience, creating compelling content, and strategically placing it where your audience hangs out online. It’s about building relationships, not just selling.

Digital marketing works by utilising various different online channels and strategies to reach and engage with a targeted audience.

Here’s an overview of how digital marketing works:

Understanding Your Audience

It starts with understanding your target audience. This means knowing their demographics, interests, behaviour, and preferences!

Utilising Multiple Online Channels

Digital marketing uses various online platforms and channels such as websites, social media, search engines, email, content marketing, paid advertising, and more.

Creating Engaging Content

The key is to create valuable, informative, or entertaining content tailored to your audience’s needs and preferences. This content can include blog posts, videos, infographics, social media posts, emails, and more!

Strategic Placement

Your content is then placed on different online platforms to reach your target audience where they spend their time online. For instance, using SEO tactics to appear in search engine results or running targeted ads on social media.

An example of this would be, if you are trying to reach an audience interested in recipes, Pinterest would be a more strategic platform to focus on than somewhere like Twitter/X!

Engaging and Converting

Once your audience interacts with your content, as a digital marketer you would then aim to engage them one step further and guide them towards desired actions, such as making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or visiting a different link/website.

Analysing and Optimising

Using data analytics to track the performance of your campaigns, keeping an eye on metrics such as website traffic, engagement rates, conversions, and more, is super important. This data helps you to understand what works and what doesn’t, allowing for optimisation and improvement of your marketing strategies.

What Is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is like being a matchmaker between people who have great products or services and those who might be interested in them!

Here’s a simplified example of how it works:

You love a particular brand of running shoes, and you want to tell your friends about them.

The company that makes those running shoes has an affiliate program.
They say, “Hey, if you bring new customers to us, we’ll give you a small reward.”
You tell your friends about these amazing running shoes and give them a special link provided to you by the company.
When your friends use the link to buy the running shoes, the company knows it’s because of you. As a thanks for bringing in new customers, they give you a commission or reward.

Affiliate marketing is like being a friendly middle-person, connecting people with products they might like and earning a little something in return. It’s a win-win situation for everyone!

Is Digital Marketing The Same As Affiliate Marketing?

Yes and no.

Digital marketing and affiliate marketing are not the same thing but affiliate marketing is under the umbrella of digital marketing. So while affiliate marketing is a form of digital marketing, not all digital marketing is affiliate marketing!

Let’s break down the differences:

Digital Marketing:

Definition: Digital marketing is a broad term that encompasses all marketing efforts carried out through digital channels, such as the internet.
Components: It includes various strategies like social media marketing, email marketing, content marketing, search engine optimisation (SEO), paid advertising (PPC), and more.
Goal: The goal of digital marketing is to promote products, services, or brands online, increase brand awareness, and connect with a target audience.

Affiliate Marketing:

Definition: Affiliate marketing is a specific type of performance-based marketing within the broader scope of the digital marketing umbrella.
People Involved: It involves three main parties: the merchant (seller or product creator), the affiliate (the promoter or marketer), and the customer.
Mechanism: Affiliates earn a commission for every customer they bring to the merchant’s business through their marketing strategies and efforts, usually using personalised affiliate links!
Goal: The primary goal of affiliate marketing is to drive sales and leads for the merchant while allowing affiliates to earn a commission.

Basically, Digital marketing uses various online strategies to promote products or services while Affiliate marketing is a part of digital marketing where individuals earn commissions by promoting others’ products or services through unique links.

I hope that helps explain the difference as I know often the terms get thrown around as if they are interchangeable which makes things confusing!

Why Is Digital Marketing a Good Way to Make Money For Bloggers?

Digital marketing is an amazing way for bloggers to make money because it opens up so many options in terms of revenue streams and allows bloggers to monetise their online presence (and all that hard work!).

Here are some reasons why digital marketing is a good idea for bloggers:

Affiliate Marketing

Bloggers can join affiliate programs and promote products or services they like/enjoy within their blog posts. When their audience makes a purchase through the affiliate links, that blogger earns a commission.

Advertising Revenue

Bloggers can also earn money through advertising, either by displaying ads on their blog or participating in ad networks.

Digital Product Sales

Bloggers can create and sell their own digital products, such as e-books, online courses, or downloadable/printable resources. Digital marketing helps reach a wider audience and promote these products effectively!

Email Marketing

As a blogger you can build an email list and engage with your audience through newsletters, informative or promotional emails. This direct communication channel allows bloggers to promote products, affiliate offers, or their own services!

Selling Merchandise

If you are a blogger who has established a brand or niche, you can sell merchandise related to your blog. Digital marketing strategies help promote and sell these items to your audience.

Consulting or Coaching Services

Bloggers with expertise in a particular field can offer consulting or coaching services. Digital marketing helps to showcase that knowledge, attract clients, and promote their services to a larger audience.

Membership or Subscriptions

Bloggers can create exclusive content or resources for a premium audience and monetise it through membership or subscription models. Digital marketing helps attract and retain subscribers.

Collaborations and Partnerships

Digital marketing enables bloggers to connect with other influencers, brands, or businesses for collaborations and partnerships. These collaborations can involve joint promotions, co-created content, or sponsored campaigns.

Digital marketing provides bloggers with a diversified set of tools and strategies to generate income. By utilising these opportunities, bloggers can turn their passion and expertise into a sustainable source of revenue.

Of course the more the merrier in terms of income streams, so you can absolutely apply many of these strategies, not just one or two!

How To Get Started With Digital Marketing

Getting started with digital marketing isn’t as daunting as it may initially sound! It can be fun and exciting, and there are several ways to get started.

Here’s a quick digital marketing guide for beginners:

Educate Yourself

Take advantage of online resources, courses, and tutorials to learn the basics of digital marketing. YouTube can be an amazing platform for this type of initial research! Learn about key concepts such as SEO, social media marketing, email marketing, and content creation.

Define Your Goals

Clearly define your goals and why you are starting. Whether it’s to increase your website/blog traffic, building up an email list, or boosting sales, having specific goals will help your digital marketing strategy stay on track.

Identify Your Target Audience

This part is super important! Understand who your target audience really is. Knowing their preferences, behaviours, and interests will help you tailor your digital marketing efforts to effectively reach and engage them.

Create a Website or Blog

Establish yourself with an online presence with a user-friendly website or blog. Platforms like WordPress especially make it easy to set up your own blog and give yourself that space on the internet!

Optimise for Search Engines (SEO)

Learn the basics of SEO to improve your website’s visibility on search engines. The aim is to rank as high as possible, no matter what search engines you choose. Focus on keyword research, optimised images, meta tags, and creating high-quality, relevant content that your readers will love and find helpful.

Start Email Marketing

It’s never too early to start building up your email list. Use lead magnets, such as free resources, printables or newsletters, to encourage your visitors to subscribe to your list. There are many free platforms for lists under 1000 emails in size so I would recommend starting as soon as you can.

Engage on Social Media

Choose social media platforms that align with your audience and goals. This ties back in with what I mentioned earlier about if you are aiming to share your content with people looking for recipes, Pinterest will most likely be a better option for you than Twitter/X! Going to where your potential readers are is one of the best ways to promote your content.

Create High-Quality Content

Content is key for digital marketing. Create valuable, high-quality and relevant content that helps or entertains your readers. This can include blog posts, videos, infographics, and more.

Understand Paid Advertising

If you are choosing to go down the paid advertising route, I would recommend familiarising yourself with paid advertising platforms like Google Ads or social media ads. Start small, set a budget, and experiment with different ad formats to see what works for you. Setting your ads to show for those in your target audience will give you the best results over just showing the ads to anyone and everyone!

Monitor Your Analytics

Use analytics tools like Google Analytics to track the performance of your digital marketing efforts. Analysing data will help you understand what’s working and where you can adjust your strategy to make any improvements.

Network and Connect

Connecting with other bloggers and website owners in your niche is an important step. You can join online groups and forums, reach out directly via the other’s website or blog, or you can even attend virtual events to build relationships with others with the same goals or interests as you.

Don’t feel like you have to jump straight in at the deep end! Getting yourself started with digital marketing is a gradual process. Take it one step at a time, experiment, and adapt your strategies based on what works best for you, your goals and your specific audience.

Can Anyone Become a Digital Marketer?

Absolutely! One of the best aspects of digital marketing is its inclusivity and flexibility for anyone who wants to do it.

If you are eager to learn, patient and curious about trying different digital marketing strategies, you absolutely have the potential to become a digital marketer!

There’s no specific experience or qualifications required to get started, as long as there’s a passion for your chosen topic and a willingness to learn and adapt, you can absolutely get into digital marketing!

There are a few reasons why anyone can become a Digital Marketer:

There Is An Abundance of Learning Resources

The internet is full of various learning resources, from blogs and articles to online courses and tutorials. YouTube and online courses are both amazing places to look. Whether you’re a beginner or looking to enhance your skills, there’s a wealth of information at your fingertips!

Accessibility of Tools

Many digital marketing tools and platforms are user-friendly and accessible. A lot are also free or low-cost too! You don’t need a background in technology to get started as often there are walk-throughs or user guides on getting started. All else fails – Google it!

The Flexibility

As digital marketing can be done using various strategies such as SEO, social media marketing, content creation, email marketing, and more. This means you can choose the area that best aligns with your interests or strengths. You can adapt your marketing strategies to fit you and your niche!

Opportunity for Creativity

Digital marketing allows for creativity and a personal touch. No matter whether you’re a blogger, writer, designer, seller or any other title, there’s a role for you. Standing out is important so don’t feel worried about adding a personal touch and using your own unique voice!

Constantly Evolving

Digital marketing is always evolving. Literally always! This constant change means that there’s room for fresh perspectives and ideas. Being adaptable and willing to stay updated on industry trends is more important than a specific educational background.

Freelance Opportunities

Digital marketing offers many freelancing opportunities. If you’re looking to get into freelancing or start your own business, digital marketing is the perfect way to bring in new opportunities, to show others your skills/experience in your niche, and find clients.

Community Support

Online communities, forums, and social media groups (especially Facebook groups) provide a supportive environment for learning more and networking with others. Engaging with other digital marketers can be an invaluable part of your learning journey! Sharing the journey makes things more enjoyable, feel less alone, and is an amazing place to share tips and tricks with others in the digital marketing space!

Overall, digital marketing can be an invaluable tool in growing your brand and presence online. Along with that it can be an amazing way to create one (or a few!) income streams, across various channels.

Digital marketing stands as the main strategy of most modern business strategies. It really helps individuals and companies to connect, engage, and thrive. It helps businesses gain exposure, and helps readers and potential customers to discover new people, blogs and brands!

No matter whether you’re just starting your digital marketing journey, or looking to refine your marketing strategies, the power of digital marketing can open doors to endless opportunities!

Hopefully this guide has helped you understand more about what digital marketing is, how to use and utilise it, and how to get started!

Anyone can get started with digital marketing, as there’s so many options and variables that can be modified to suit you and your own personal brand and business!

If you have any questions on the topic “what is digital marketing?”, or any other digital marketing related questions, let me know below!

Speak soon!