Currently, digital marketing has become a key component in most companies’ marketing strategies due to its level of productiveness over the years.
It is the combination of various activities in creating a brand’s awareness on the internet. This marketing model is so broad and is divided into several types which I will be sharing with you in this post.
However, before we dive into the types of online marketing, let’s get familiar with the definition of Digital marketing.
What is Digital Marketing?
This is simply a form of marketing that involves the use of the internet and other digital channels, to promote products or services and also drive traffic to your website.
It allows you to reach out to your target audiences and establish your brand’s identity online.
(Kotler and Armstrong, 2009), defined it as a form of direct marketing that links consumers with sellers electronically using interactive technologies like emails, websites, online forums and newsgroups, interactive television, mobile communications, etc.
Note that, the difference between traditional marketing and digital marketing is the channel through which the marketing campaign is conveyed. You can also check out this post for some of the major benefits of digital marketing.
Types of Digital Marketing
1. Search Engine Optimization
This involves improving the visibility of your website to rank higher on the search engine result page. This process helps you drive quality traffic to your site organically.
There are a number of different types of SEO and they include:
- On-page SEO: This involves every activity carried out on the page which contributes to the optimization of the site. This activity includes searching for keywords and creating content that is relevant to your target audience.
- Off-page SEO: This type of SEO focuses on all activities that take place “off the page” while optimizing your website. This activity does not include updating or publishing content to your website. It helps search engines and your users understand your website and also increases your site’s authority. Some examples of this type of SEO are; building backlinks, digital PR, etc.
- Technical SEO: This type of SEO involves improving the technical aspects of your website in order to increase your ranking in search engines. It focuses on the backend of your website, and how your pages were created. Examples of technical activities include improving the speed of your website.
2. Social Media Marketing
This is the process of promoting your brand through social media platforms in order to increase brand awareness, drive traffic, and generate leads for your business.
These platforms include; Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Pinterest. They are also used to engage with your audience at any given time.
In this type of marketing, you have to be consistent and coordinated in order to be effective using any of these channels.
There are tools you can use to schedule your content for multiple channels and they are; Hootsuite, Buffer, etc.
3. Email Marketing
This is the method of communicating and promoting your brand to your audiences via Email.
It is often used to create awareness of new products, discounts, and events, as well as to direct people toward the business’s website.
In email marketing, you can send the following emails to your audiences: Blog subscription newsletters, tips on how to use your product, customer welcome emails, and follow-up emails.
Affiliate Marketing
This is a type of online advertising where you receive a commission for promoting a company’s products or services on your website. It is also known as influencer marketing.
In this model of marketing, you influence your audiences to purchase the product you are promoting using your affiliate link.
This could be done using your blog, social media account, or website.
5. Mobile Marketing
This is the process of reaching your target audience on their smartphone or tablet. In this marketing, your audiences are reached through text messages, social media, websites, email, and mobile applications.
Also, you can target your offers or special content to a geographic location or time.
6. Pay Per Click (PPC)
This is the process of promoting your brand through paid Ads. It involves driving traffic to your website by paying a publisher every time your ad is clicked.
Just like SEO is used to drive traffic to a site organically, driving traffic through PPC is achieved by paying a certain amount of money.
The cost of running an ad using pay-per-click depends on the keyword difficulty. A keyword with high competition is more expensive than a low competition keyword.
Examples of PPC include:
Google Ads, Facebook Paid ads, Twitter Ads Campaigns, and sponsored messages on LinkedIn.
7. Content Marketing
This involves creating relevant and valuable content for the purpose of creating brand awareness, generating leads, and driving traffic to your page. You can always use storytelling in this type of marketing.
Content marketing comes in different ways such as videos, blog posts, e-books, or images.
The goal is for you to educate, entertain and inspire your people to earn their trust and build your brand’s awareness.
Content marketing is another great way to drive traffic to your site at every stage of the buyer’s journey. All you need to do is to create well-optimized content that targets those in the awareness, consideration, or purchase phase.
Conclusion
In order to produce an effective result in promoting your products or services online, it is important to engage the various types of digital marketing listed in this post. Because they all work together to ensure that your online marketing goals are achieved.
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