What is Digital Marketing?
Business owners, executives, and marketers understand traditional forms of marketing such as radio, TV, print, and billboard ads. These marketing channels generally increase business which is why they are still used by many companies. However, there are two major shortcomings to traditional marketing.
Firstly, traditional methods are expensive. Compared to digital marketing channels, you could end up spending thousands of dollars more. If you own or run a company with a substantial marketing budget, then it might make sense to invest in radio, TV, etc. For many small businesses, the risks are often too high.
Secondly, traditional marketing channels fail to provide instant feedback and reports about who saw or heard an ad, and took action. This data is collected long after the initial ad impression is made (and still then, the statistics are far from exact numbers).
Digital marketing, on the other hand, refers to marketing methods that allow organizations to see how a campaign is performing in real-time, such as what is being viewed, how often, how long, as well as other statistics such as sales conversions.
What’s the difference with Internet Marketing?
At its core, digital marketing revolves around the Internet, which explains why people tend to believe that digital marketing and Internet marketing are synonymous. Nonetheless, they are different. Internet marketing falls under the category of digital marketing.
Internet marketing encompasses digital marketing services such as search engine optimization, display advertising, and email marketing; nonetheless, what about voice broadcasts, fax broadcasts, podcasting, wireless text messaging, mobile instant messaging, and mobile apps? The latter channels and services transcend the narrow definition of Internet marketing. digital marketing refers to mobile marketing, digital telephony, and digital video recorders as well.
With tighter marketing budgets these days, allocating spending and measuring ROI are paramount for any business. Business owners and managers need real-time statistics to demonstrate the value of marketing initiatives. As a result, digital marketing has become an integral component of company marketing strategies.
The need for traditional marketing channels are converging with digital tracking methods, and in time, what we consider traditional, may transform into completely digital marketing formats.