What Is Digital Marketing?
A Complete No-Trash Guide
No, it's not another trash guide about digital marketing talking about a 10-year-old formula. This article is deeply rooted in the marketing landscape and is a valuable guide for readers. It offers a complete guide to digital marketing and how it can help businesses and individuals in their overall digital growth.
This article will discuss the ever-green fundamentals of digital marketing and the latest trends that all new enthusiasts must know.
So let's start now!
Who is this article for?
- Students who want to learn digital marketing.
- Early digital marketing professionals including Freelancers.
- Individuals who want to create an online presence.
- Small businesses who want to grow online.
What is Digital Marketing?
Digital marketing is advertising and marketing businesses online, building a brand, and creating a community of loyal customers. It involves all the marketing activities that use a smart electronic device and the internet.
Digital marketing is vast in today’s time. It includes several online platforms, strategies, and content for global audiences. Most importantly, digital marketing heavily focuses on personalization and niche-specific activities to get quality leads.
But first, this is about the goals. What does a brand want?
- more brand awareness
- mass appeal
- target a specific audience interested in similar kinds of products or services.
Digital marketing allows brands to create campaigns to fulfill their personalized goals. That is the reason why digital marketing has become so important today.
Benefits of Digital Marketing in Today's Growing Market
- Offers businesses a global reach.
- Empower the ventures to get more local customers.
- It's the most measurable form of advertising.
- Allows multiple marketing strategies with various content types.
- Offers the most cost-effective deals.
- Offers specific targeting of potential consumers.
- Provides flexibility in all aspects of marketing & advertising.
How does Digital Marketing Work?
The internet era has dramatically changed the customer's persona. Digital marketing is more precise and adds another layer of personalisation to audience targeting. Moreover, users also find it easier to use digital platforms to search their required solutions.
However, in several aspects, digital marketing is similar to traditional marketing as well. For example - both methods demand brands to depend on fundamentals of marketing, connecting with the audience, and using stories to evoke emotions. If so, then what has changed?
The methods of approaching consumers have changed. Digital platforms have given brands the power to create content and connect with the audience like never before and it is getting more exciting day-by-day.
There are hundreds of digital platforms out there and digital marketing uses all of them. A brand needs to focus on platforms that resonate with their ideal audience. For example- a travel brand should focus on the platform with a young audience & professionals. Instagram can be a good choice for them.
Later this article will explain the step-by-step guide to create a digital marketing strategy.
Types of Digital Marketing
This article has discussed digital marketing and how it can help businesses grow a loyal long-term consumer base. It has also been discussed that digital marketing uses several strategies to connect with the audience, generate leads, and make profits. Now, here are some of the most common and profitable digital marketing methods worldwide.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search Engine Optimization is the process of optimizing a brand’s website or blogs to rank on SERP results. This is one of the most sought-after digital marketing strategies where the primary goal is to rank higher and boost organic traffic. According to the statistics, 90% of the users click the links on the first page results. SEO is also cheaper than traditional advertising practices and promises long-term returns.
Social Media Marketing (SMM)
Social Media Marketing is promoting products or services through social media platforms. SMM has become the biggest hotspot for young adults & teenagers nowadays. One way or another, all companies are focusing on social media platforms to target ideal customers. But everything depends on which type of audience a brand wants.
The biggest social market is Facebook where brands can find all kinds of people. But if their services resonate with the younger generation, Instagram may be their greatest lead-generating platform.
Content Marketing
Content marketing is a marketing strategy in which brands create engaging and valuable content to reach audiences, build a community, and promote their products or services. This is also a fine way to engage with the audience and nurture them through a sales funnel. Instead of choosing one specific platform, content marketing uses 2 or 3 platforms simultaneously. While most people associate content marketing with written content only, digital marketing performs best with multiple content formats such as videos, reels, and graphics.
Online Ads
Online advertising is a marketing approach in which brands run paid digital ad campaigns on several platforms. Online ads are a great method for generating immediate leads. Notably, there are different kinds of online ads such as pay-per-click, social media ads, display ads (video ads, YouTube ads), search engine ads, etc. One of the biggest advantages of online ads is their traceability. They offer detailed insights into campaigns and generate instant results.
Email Marketing
Email marketing involves brands sending emails to their target audiences and communicating directly to them through written and visual content in bulk. While there are so many methods available to brands, email marketing is the king for generating leads and maintaining professionalism. Email marketing is simple & allows personalization to connect with consumers deeply. Use emails for newsletters, announcements, new product launches, pre-booking, etc.
- Fun Fact- 80% of people tend to purchase with a personalized email experience.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a 21st century method of marketing. It uses third-party individuals to promote a brand’s products or services. These third-party users are called affiliates. For each purchase, the affiliates enjoy a commission.
Influencer Marketing
In influencer marketing, brands hire social media influencers to promote their products or services. Influencers enjoy hundreds of followers on social media and their followers are loyal. This makes them profitable for brands as they can provide real reach to people. There are different types of influencers on social media with a specific range of followers.
Category
No. of followers
Nano-influencer
1,000-10,000
Micro-influencer
10,001-1,00,000
Macro-influencer
1,00,001-1,00,00,000
Mega-influencer
>1,00,00,000
Think about the possibility when more than 1,00,00,000 people watch their favorite creator promoting brands!
Mobile Message Marketing
Mobile messaging is targeting the right audience and sending them promotional messages in bulk. Notably, mobile has turned from a prime communication method to an advertising channel for businesses. It’s one of the preferred methods of connecting with targeted audiences, potential consumers, and existing consumers.
Instant message marketing also integrates with social media which boosts the chances of getting a response.
- Fun Fact- SMS marketing has an open rate of 98%.
Online Press Release (PR)
Online PR or digital PR is a technique that utilizes the reach of online media outlets to promote a brand and gain high-quality backlinks. The idea is to boost brand awareness among the targeted customers through a trustworthy authoritative resource.
- Traditional PR uses traditional channels such as radio, television, or print whereas online PR uses more focused channels through online portals.
How to Nurture Audience with Digital Marketing?
Every marketing campaign starts with a funnel. The marketing funnel consists of three stages: awareness, consideration, and decision. They are also called funnel stages. The popular terms used for them are Top of the Funnel, Middle of the Funnel, and Bottom of the Funnel respectively.
Here is a basic guide to understand these three digital marketing stages.
Awareness
Situation- Target audience knows the problem and is searching for the right solutions. They may or may not know about the brand.
Goals- To help the audience recognize the brand.
Content-Type: Create information-rich content such as social media posts, blogs, research studies, eBooks, etc.
Consideration
Situation- Target audience knows the brand but needs more information to have trust.
Goals- To set up brand authority among the audience.
Content Type- Promoting videos, comparison papers, case studies, and expert guides.
Buying
Situation- Target audience is ready to purchase and looking for a company that offers customers what they want.
Goals- To recognize the pain points of consumers and offer them the best deals, covering all their problems.
Content Type- testimonies, product comparisons, product demos, and reviews.
Repetition/Loyalty
Situation- Brands already have a customer base and want them to buy again.
Goals- Keep in touch with old customers and make them purchase more.
Content Type- Discount offers, loyalty programs, engaging content, asking for reviews, repurchase offers.
Key Metrics to Analyze Digital Marketing Success
- Website traffic.
- SERP ranking.
- Number of unique visitors.
- Bounce rate.
- Conversion rate.
- Inbound links.
- Purchase, sales or conversion.
- Engagement.
- Customer Acquisition Cost.
- Return on Investment.
- View.
- Subscribers/followers.
How Businesses Can Use Digital Marketing?
There are two major kinds of businesses that can enjoy direct benefits from digital marketing- Business to Business(B2B) & Business to Consumer(B2C).
.
B2B Companies
B2C Companies
Audience
Professional decision maker audiences such as managers and owners.
Consumers who want the best price & value from products.
Platform and Voice Tone
Keeps a professional tone and uses platforms such as email and LinkedIn.
A casual approach with content and uses platforms such as Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat.
Size of the Market
Very specific to niche owners and managers.
Massive market size with millions of potential customers.
Relationship with customers
Create long-lasting relationships with customers.
Create brand loyalty and boost revenue.
Digital Marketing Tools for All Skills
Content Writing
- Grammarly
- Hemingway Editor
- Google Docs
- Yoast SEO
Video Editing
- Adobe Premiere Pro
- Final Cut Pro
- DaVinci Resolve
- Filmora
Graphic Designing
- Adobe Photoshop
- Canva
- Adobe Illustrator
- Sketch
SEO
- SEMrush
- Ahrefs
- Moz
- Google Analytics
- Google Console
Social Media Marketing
- Hootsuite
- Buffer
- Sprout Social
- Later
Email Marketing
- Mailchimp
- Constant Contact
- SendinBlue
- HubSpot
Pay per Click (PPC)
- Google Ads
- Bing Ads
- SEMrush
- WordStream
Website Development
- WordPress
- Webflow
- Wix
- Shopify
First Basic Actions in Digital Marketing
This is especially for everyone whether individuals or businesses who want to create a digital presence. No one can create a powerful and rewarding online presence overnight. However, here are a few things that brands or individuals should start their journey with.
- Create a website representing the brand.
- Start investing in SEO.
- Build an email list. (If brands don’t have one, connect with consumers and collect emails.)
- Build online assets.
- Create social media profiles and post regularly.
- Invest in paid ads.
- Use Google My Business profile to attract local customers.
How to Create a Digital Marketing Strategy that Works?
Like traditional marketing, digital marketing strategies follow the basics of marketing and ground research. However, the details here are more specific and transparent. Brands can also apply the SWOT method to learn about the brand’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
- Identify target audience.
- Set measurable goals.
- Choose marketing channels.
- Start developing a strategy.
Digital Marketing Trends in 2025
- Personalization is the key.
- Video content will continue dominating the marketing field.
- AR & VR technology will dominate.
- Voice search and optimization will be in more light.
- Rise of original and helpful content in all formats.
- Entity SEO marketing for better search visibility.
- Social media will serve more as an ecommerce platform.
Follow the given steps for creating a digital marketing strategy
- Do current market research.
- Define short-term & long-term goals.
- Find and clearly define target audience demographics.
- Know the brand's online assets.
- Find the right platform where ideal customers spend most of their time.
- Start creating content that resonates with the targeted audience.
- Establish consistency, set a schedule, and follow it holistically.
- Get insights and keep track of the growth.
Conclusion
This article acts as a complete guide for students, small businesses, and early professionals. Though it covered everything in basics, there is so much to discuss. This article covered the introduction of digital marketing, its types, understanding the role of business types, buying stages, and most importantly, tools for starting a digital journey.
This article is guided by the Vigyapan Mart expert digital marketing team. Vigyapan Mart is an advertising firm working for more than a decade, helping businesses gain more quality and quantity leads through digital marketing and OOH advertisements.
Want to start using digital marketing to grow your business?
Contact Vigyapan Mart now.
