An introduction to digital marketing | Marketing insights

It’s no secret that digital marketing is the major marketing method nowadays. Long gone are the days of placing a print advertisement and waiting for the phone to ring. Instead, businesses are having to double their efforts, hire expertise, and implement solid strategies that deliver results.

So, without further ado, let’s get started with an introduction to digital marketing. We’re going to assume you have little or no knowledge of what digital marketing is.

If you’re looking for something more detailed around marketing strategies or how to execute in certain ways, we’d recommend heading over to our marketing hub.

What exactly is digital marketing?

Digital marketing, which is also often called “online marketing,” is the promotion of brands through the internet and other forms of digital communication to reach potential customers. This includes not only email, social media, and web-based advertising, but also text and multimedia messages.

Digital marketing’s roots link back to the 1990s when technology began to become a lot more mainstream, particularly with the creation of the internet in around 1995. Businesses like Google and Yahoo! were quick off the mark, creating search engines, which helped brands market products and services. Similarly, Amazon and eBay were created around this time too, selling products online.

What does a digital marketer actually do?

The term digital marketing is so broad, so the role of a digital marketer will change quite substantially on a business-by-business or organisation-by-organisation basis.

Size is a factor too; larger consumer businesses. For example, will likely have a much greater digital marketing team than, say, a small family business. Their scale, reach and profitability will differ significantly, so the team is made up in a way that enables the business to resource its requirements effectively.

Alongside size, the type of digital marketing required is also a factor. A small family business, for example, might have one digital marketer, who has to wear many hats. Whereas a much bigger B2C (business-to-consumer) business might have a team of digital marketers, who each have a very specific role to play, playing to their relevant skills and experiences.

What are the types of digital marketing?

As we’ve already discussed above, digital marketing is a broad arena. But here are some of the things that a digital marketer can expect to do or be involved in:

• Website management – ensuring websites are up-to-date and engaging for relevant target audiences.
• SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) – ensuring their websites are visible within search engines, such as Google or Bing.
• PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising – typically Google or Microsoft Ads.
• Social Media management – posting organically across relevant social channels, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or TikTok.
• Paid social advertising – posting paid adverts on the social channels above, targeting specific audiences who may not be familiar with the brand.
• Email marketing – communicating with segments of people through the means of email.
• Affiliate & influencer marketing – using others to propel brand reach. Can include paid or incentivised working.
• CRO (Conversion Rate Optimisation) – interrogating data with a view to making informed decisions around testing and how to make websites, user journeys and the like more accessible and engaging, with a view to boosting conversion rates.

As you’ll see, digital marketing covers so many different areas. In further articles, we’ll break down these areas into more digestible information. View our marketing hub for more info.