The global marketing industry is worth 1.7 trillion dollars. In that mix are various types of marketing, like digital and social.
Most of the time, people use digital and social media marketing interchangeably. But is there really a difference?
The answer is yes. We’ll outline all the reasons why below.
What Is Digital Marketing?
Let’s start with digital marketing first. This type of marketing is described as promoting brands and products through various digital channels.
These channels include (but aren’t limited to):
- Text messages
- Emails
- Pay-per-click (PPC) ads
The goal of digital marketing is to engage and convert visitors. Gaining leads and valuable prospects increase the chances of attracting new customers.
Digital Marketing Benefits
With digital marketing, you’re using a lot of different communication techniques. Keeping constant contact with potential customers means your business is always on their minds. If that sounds like too much to keep track of, find an agency that’ll handle this part for you.
Along with constant communication is building credibility. Your brand, when active, creates trust within potential and existing customers. You can do this by upkeeping a blog and ranking organically in search engine result pages (or SERPs).
What Is Social Media Marketing?
If you’ve heard of platforms like Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram, you’ve heard of social media. Social media marketing takes it a step further by leveraging these platforms and the people who occupy them.
A lot of these platforms have changed the way we connect, interact, and shop. Most of the time, we can do all three using one app.
Social Media Marketing Benefits
Social media marketing, compared to digital, requires less effort. You don’t have to jump through hoops to be connected to potential customers. Instead of vying for email addresses or phone numbers, you’ll focus on building an engaged following.
When people follow your brand, you can send information directly to their feed. They’ll see your message whether it’s a sale or announcement. Not to mention you can both interact with one another through comments or direct messages (DMs).
Digital Marketing vs Social Media Marketing
Utilizing one of these marketing ways depends on your brand and target audience. To better understand which one to use, think of your business’ goals.
If you want to eventually reach customers beyond the online world, digital marketing is the way to go. You can implement geotargeting, which targets customers in a certain area. This is helpful if you have a physical location you want people to visit.
Social media, on the other hand, is vital for online businesses. That is, the digital world is where you conduct most of your business. Content strategy is your best friend, creating eye-catching visuals and promoting useful information to attract customers.
The Difference Between Digital and Social Media Marketing Answered
Digital and social media marketing, at a glance, look and sound similar. When in reality, the two utilize different forms of communication and strategies. Depending on your target audience and the type of business you have works as the deciding factor of which one to use.
If you liked this article, be sure to check out the rest of our blog!