Workshop Scenario:
Please think of yourself in the following scenario as you complete this workshop.
You’ve recently applied for a Junior Digital Marketing position with 24/7 Teach. The organization likes you and has given you a basic marketing project to complete before they hire you.
The project requires you to create buyer personas for their Teen Programs.
In order to complete the project, you will have to develop a buyer persona presentation that will be presented to the Vice President of Marketing.
Your objective for today is to understand what Digital Marketing is and isn’t.
Important Questions to Answer While Reading:
In order to be successful in this lesson, you must be able to answer these important questions.
What is digital marketing and how is it different from traditional marketing?
What is the difference between digital marketing and inbound marketing? Is there any overlap between the two?
How are B2B and B2C similar and how are they different?
Prefer to listen to this lesson? Click below:
What is Digital Marketing
Digital marketing is any marketing that uses electronic devices and can be used by marketing specialists to convey promotional messaging and measure its impact through your customer journey.
In practice, digital marketing typically refers to marketing campaigns that appear on a computer, phone, tablet, or other device. It can take many forms, including online video, display ads, search engine marketing, paid social ads and social media posts. Digital marketing is often compared to “traditional marketing” such as magazine ads, billboards, and direct mail. Oddly, television is usually lumped in with traditional marketing.
Did you know that more than 3 quarters of Americans go online on a daily basis? Not only that, but 43% go on more than once a day, and 26% are online almost constantly.
These figures are even higher among mobile internet users. 89% of Americans go online at least daily, and 31% are online almost constantly. As a marketer, it’s important to take advantage of the digital world with an online advertising presence, by building a brand, and providing a great customer experience that also brings more potential customers and more, with a digital strategy.
A digital marketing strategy allows you to leverage different digital channels–such as social media, pay-per-click, search engine optimization, and email marketing–to connect with existing customers and individuals interested in your products or services. As a result, you can build a brand, provide a great customer experience, bring in potential customers, and more.
Inbound marketing versus digital marketing
Digital marketing and inbound marketing are easily confused, and for good reason. Digital marketing uses many of the same tools as inbound marketing—email and online content, to name a few. Both exist to capture the attention of prospects through the buyer’s journey and turn them into customers. But the 2 approaches take different views of the relationship between the tool and the goal.
Digital marketing considers how individual tools or digital channels can convert prospects. A brand's digital marketing strategy may use multiple platforms or focus all of its efforts on 1 platform. For example, a company may primarily create content for social media platforms and email marketing campaigns while ignoring other digital marketing avenues.
On the other hand, inbound marketing is a holistic concept. It considers the goal first, then looks at the available tools to determine which will effectively reach target customers, and then at which stage of the sales funnel that should happen. As an example, say you want to boost website traffic to generate more prospects and leads. You can focus on search engine optimization when developing your content marketing strategy, resulting in more optimized content, including blogs, landing pages, and more.
The most important thing to remember about digital marketing and inbound marketing is that as a marketing professional, you don’t have to choose between the 2. In fact, they work best together. Inbound marketing provides structure and purpose for effective digital marketing to digital marketing efforts, making sure that each digital marketing channel works toward a goal.
Why is digital marketing important?
Any type of marketing can help your business thrive. However, digital marketing has become increasingly important because of how accessible digital channels are. In fact, there were 5 billion internet users globally in April 2022 alone.
From social media to text messages, there are many ways to use digital marketing tactics in order to communicate with your target audience. Additionally, digital marketing has minimal upfront costs, making it a cost-effective marketing technique for small businesses.
B2B versus B2C digital marketing
Digital marketing strategies work for B2B (business to business) as well as B2C (business to consumer) companies, but best practices differ significantly between the 2. Here's a closer look at how digital marketing is used in B2B and B2C marketing strategies.
B2B clients tend to have longer decision-making processes, and thus longer sales funnels. Relationship-building strategies work better for these clients, whereas B2C customers tend to respond better to short-term offers and messages.
B2B transactions are usually based on logic and evidence, which is what skilled B2B digital marketers present. B2C content is more likely to be emotionally-based, focusing on making the customer feel good about a purchase.
B2B decisions tend to need more than 1 person's input. The marketing materials that best drive these decisions tend to be shareable and downloadable. B2C customers, on the other hand, favor one-on-one connections with a brand.
Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. A B2C company with a high-ticket product, such as a car or computer, might offer more informative and serious content. As a result, your digital marketing strategy always needs to be geared toward your own customer base, whether you're B2B or B2C.
Take a look at the audience you serve or want to serve to create well-informed and targeted online marketing campaigns. Doing so ensures your marketing efforts are effective and you can capture the attention of potential customers.
Closing Assessment:
Please respond to the lesson email with answers to the following questions, and one of our digital marketing mentors will respond with feedback.
What is digital marketing, and how is it different from traditional marketing?
What is the difference between digital marketing and inbound marketing? Is there any overlap between the two?
How are B2B and B2C similar, and how are they different?
Advance your understanding by participating in the 24/7 Discussion Forum:
1. Please answer the following question in the comment section below and interact with learners from around the world.
How can digital marketing have positive and negative impacts on society?
2. Please read and reply to other learners’ answers in the forum by stating if you agree or disagree with their answers and why. Your replies should offer new substantiated ideas or thoughtful questions.
Coming in the Next Lesson:
In Lesson #2 tomorrow, we will look at the different categories within digital marketing and why they are important.
See you tomorrow.
Here’s to learning, creating, and changing the world!
PS - Want to complete an exciting project with what you just learned, get real-world experience, and work directly with a mentor and career coach? Click below to learn more about our Digital Marketing boot camp.
“You haven’t learned anything until you can create value with it”
Ready to do Digital Marketing for real and become Career Ready?
Intrigued by a career in digital marketing? We have a Digital Marketing Bootcamp that will take you from complete beginner to job-ready digital marketer. Interested? Then simply click below to learn more.