The term digital marketing refers to the use of digital channels to market products and services in order to reach consumers. This type of marketing involves the use of websites, mobile devices, social media, search engines, and other similar channels. Digital marketing became popular with the advent of the internet in the 1990s.
Digital marketing involves some of the same principles as traditional marketing and is often considered a new way for companies to approach consumers and understand their behavior. Companies often combine traditional and digital marketing techniques in their strategies.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Digital marketing involves marketing to consumers through any number of digital channels.
- This form of marketing is commonly executed on websites, mobile devices, and social media platforms.
- This form of marketing is different from internet marketing, which is exclusively done on websites.
- Digital marketing is a broad field, including attracting customers via email, content marketing, search platforms, social media, and more.
- One of the biggest challenges digital marketers face is how to set themselves apart in a world that is oversaturated with digital marketing ads.
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Traditionally, corporations focused on marketing through print, television, and radio. Although these options still exist today, the rise of the internet led to a shift in the way companies reached consumers. That’s where digital marketing came into play. This form of marketing involves the use of websites, social media, search engines, apps—anything that incorporates marketing with customer feedback or a two-way interaction between the company and customer.
Increased technology and newer trends forced companies to change the way they marketed themselves. Email was a popular marketing tool in the early days of digital marketing. That focus shifted to search engines like Netscape, which allowed businesses to tag and keyword stuff to get themselves noticed. The development of sharing sites like Facebook made it possible for companies to track data to cater to consumer trends.
Smartphones and other digital devices are now making it easier for companies to market themselves along with their products and services to consumers. Studies show that people prefer using their phones to log on to the internet. So it should come as no surprise that 70% of individuals make buying decisions (usually on their phones) before they actually hit the purchase button.
