Digital marketing can seem overwhelming. With so many channels, it’s tough to know where to begin. What exactly do SEO and PPC mean? How do you choose the right strategy for your business? Most importantly, where should you start?
To simplify things, we’ve compiled a guide to the top 10 types of digital marketing, including their pros and cons and some practical steps to get you started. Let’s go!
Everything you need to know about the different type of digital marketing strategies
- What is a digital marketing strategy?
- Content marketing
- Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
- Display advertising
- Mobile marketing
- Social media marketing
Digital marketing is much more than just a website and a fun ‘viral’ video… Design by Spoon Lancer via 99designs by Vista.
What is a digital marketing strategy?
A digital marketing strategy is a plan that outlines how your business will achieve its marketing goals via online channels like search engines, social media, email, and websites. It encompasses a range of tactics designed to attract, engage, and convert your target audience. A well-crafted digital marketing strategy can help you:
- Increase visibility: Improve your brand’s presence online.
- Engage customers: Build relationships through various digital touchpoints.
- Drive conversions: Turn website visitors and social media followers into paying customers.
- Measure success: Track and analyse performance to optimise future efforts.
With the right strategy, digital marketing can drive significant growth for your business, no matter its size or industry.
1. Content Marketing
Content marketing is all about creating and sharing valuable content to attract and engage your audience. Think blog posts, videos, infographics, podcasts, courses and social media content – the list is endless.
With content marketing, the goal is to turn new leads into meaningful actions. Think of it as a value exchange: you offer something valuable, such as helpful information or engaging content, and in return, they may share something with you, like their contact details.
Pros:
- Increases brand awareness: Boosts brand visibility and recognition online
- Builds trust and credibility: Establishes your brand as an industry expert.
- Cost effective: Provides long-term benefits with relatively low investment.
- Improves SEO and organic search visibility: Versatile content enhances search engine ranking and organic search traffic.
- Evergreen and long-lasting: Content can be repurposed for new marketing materials, used to support other marketing strategies and continue to drive traffic over time with minimal edits.
Cons:
- Time-consuming: Requires significant effort to create consistent and quality content.
- Initial Slow ROI: Takes time to see tangible results.
- Saturated market: The online space is crowded, making it hard to stand out.
- Quality vs. quantity dilemma: Balancing high quality with regular publishing can be tricky and require expertise.
Next steps:
- Develop a simple content strategy with 4-5 core themes that resonate with your audience and brand.
- Choose your formats (e.g., articles, videos) and channels (e.g., your website, social media).
- Creating a realistic posting schedule that works for you and is not overwhelming.
- Start simple — if you’re good at writing, publish a weekly blog post or if video is your thing, create an exciting and informational series — and expand from there.
- Get posting and remember to repurpose your content to lessen your work load!
Content sits right at the heart of your entire digital marketing eco-system. Design by aran&xa via 99designs by Vista.
2. Search engine marketing (SEM)
Search engine marketing, or SEM, revolves around optimising your online presence to ensure your business appears prominently in search engine results pages (SERPs) when users search for relevant keywords. It covers two key strategies: organic (search engine optimisation or SEO) paid search (pay-per-click or PPC) advertising.
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
SEO is like fine-tuning your online storefront to attract visitors organically. It involves:
- Keyword magic: Uncovering the words and phrases your customers use when searching for products or services like yours.
- Page power-up: Enhancing your website content with these keywords and ensuring everything is tip-top for search engine bots.
- Connection collection: Earning trust from other reputable websites through backlinks and mentions.
Pros:
- Cost-savvy: No direct fees for clicks means your investment is more about time and strategy.
- Trust factor: Showing up in natural search results tells customers you’re a credible choice.
Cons:
- Time-consuming: it can take a while to see results due to the competitive nature of SEO.
- Expertise: While SEO is definitely an accessible strategy for everyone, it can take time to understand how it works and sometimes require investment in specialist assistance.
- Algorithm changes: Search engine algorithms frequently update, impacting rankings unpredictably.
The point of search engine marketing is to make sure your customers can actually find you. Design by Untungs* via 99designs by Vista.
Next steps:
- Conduct thorough keyword and phrase research to inform a content strategy that aligns customer queries with your expertise (see content marketing above).
- Polish up your site’s technical aspects to make it super-easy for search engine crawlers to find and love.
- Keep tabs on performance metrics using tools like Google Analytics to track your progress.
PPC (Pay-per-click)
PPC is paid search advertising, for instance, Google Adwords or Bing Ads. It looks almost the same as the natural search results, except that it appears at the top of the page with a little box that says ‘Ad’. You can buy a top-ranking position via auction based on keywords, geographical location and demographics and you will only pay if someone clicks on the ad.
Pros:
- Immediate results: Ads can be launched quickly meaning you can start seeing results right away.
- Targeting options: Ads can be tailored based on demographics, location and user behaviour.
- Budget control: as it says in the name, you only pay when someone clicks on the ad, putting you in control of your budget.
Cons:
- Costly: Competitive keywords can lead to high bidding costs, requiring careful budget management
- Time investment: PPC requires ongoing optimisation and monitoring to ensure you are getting the best out of your investment.
- Consumer scepticism: Some users may prefer or trust organic results over paid ads, affecting click-through rates.
Next steps:
- Conduct in depth keyword research to identify high-performing keywords that resonate with your target audience.
- Write compelling ad copy that speaks directly to what your customers are looking for – remember to keep it simple and use language that your audience will understand.
- Keep a close eye on your campaigns, making sure to tweak as needed to get the most from your budget.
3. Display advertising
You can think of banner ads as billboards on the internet highway… Design by MindArt89 via 99designs by Vista.
Display advertising is the digital equivalent of a billboard on a busy road, but with the added benefit of precise targeting. These ads, also known as banner ads, can appear across various websites, apps, and social media platforms where your potential customers are spending their time. The goal is to capture their attention with visually appealing ads and entice them to learn more about your products or services. Types of display advertising include banner ads, rich media ads, video ads and native ads.
Pros:
- Target precision: Use data to place your ads on websites your ideal customers are likely to visit.
- Retargeting power: Re-engage visitors who’ve previously interacted with your site but didn’t make a purchase, keeping your brand top of mind.
- Visual appeal: Creative and eye-catching designs can make a lasting impression and build brand recognition.
- Measurable impact: Track impressions, clicks, and conversions to gauge your ad performance in real time.
Cons:
- Ad blindness: Some users may ignore banner ads, focusing instead on the main content of the page.
- Creative challenge: It requires creativity and testing to make ads that stand out and resonate with your audience.
- Cost consideration: Depending on your targeting and placement, display ads can become costly, especially for premium placements.
- Time investment: Crafting, testing, and optimising effective display ads requires a significant time investment.
Next steps:
- Define your goals: Decide if you’re aiming for brand awareness, lead generation, or direct sales.
- Know your audience: Use data to target your ads precisely based on demographics and behaviour.
- Craft compelling creatives: Invest in high-quality visuals and clear messaging that resonate with your audience.
- Choose the right platforms: Select platforms where your target audience spends their time, like Google Display Network or social media.
- Implement retargeting: Set up campaigns to reach users who visited your site but haven’t converted.
- Monitor and optimise: Regularly review performance and use A/B testing to refine your approach.
4. Mobile marketing
Given the amount of time your customers are spending on their phones, mobile marketing has to be a key ingredient in your digital marketing strategy. Design by Sandeep Kasundra via 99designs by Vista.
Mobile marketing is a crucial component of any digital strategy, given that a significant portion of online activity now takes place on mobile devices. It encompasses everything you do on desktop but tailored for mobile, plus mobile-specific tactics like in-app advertising, SMS campaigns, and social messaging apps. This approach is particularly vital for reaching younger audiences who are constantly on their phones.
Pros:
- High reach: Mobile devices are now the primary way people access the internet, so mobile marketing ensures you reach your audience where they spend most of their time.
- Precise targeting: Mobile marketing allows for hyper-targeted campaigns using specific audience segments or geo-fencing to reach people in particular locations.
Cons:
- Limited space: Creative space is limited on mobile screens, making it challenging to craft impactful ads.
- Lower engagement: Mobile ads often have lower click rates, and many apps are downloaded but then quickly forgotten.
- User experience: People generally dislike being interrupted by ads or marketing messages while using their phones for personal communication.
Next Steps:
- Optimise your website: Ensure your site is fully mobile-friendly. This means it should load quickly, be easy to navigate, and look good on all devices.
- Create mobile-specific content: Develop content that’s concise and engaging for mobile users. Use clear text, large buttons, and add captions to videos for those watching without sound.
- Explore mobile advertising: Consider mobile-specific ads on social media platforms and search engines, tailored to fit the smaller screen and user behaviour.
- Utilise location-based services: Take advantage of geo-fencing to send relevant offers to users based on their location.
- Monitor and optimise: Continuously track the performance of your mobile marketing efforts and refine your strategies to improve results.
5. Social media marketing
Social media creates a unique opportunity for you to have a two-way conversation with your customers. Design by DesignVero via 99designs by Vista.
Social media marketing brings a unique level of engagement and interaction that traditional channels like TV, print, and online display advertising can’t match. Unlike broadcasting messages to a wide audience, social media allows for direct interaction with your customers, enabling you to listen and respond to their feedback. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, and Snapchat offer various ways to connect with your audience. These range from organic methods, like Facebook groups, page posts, stories, and Messenger, to paid options, such as Facebook ads. Every business can benefit from an active presence on at least a few of these social channels.
Pros:
- Enhanced engagement: Social media allows for direct interaction with your audience, making it easy to listen to their feedback and engage in real conversations.
- Viral potential: The effort you put in can be amplified as users like, comment, and share your content with their networks, extending your reach organically.
- Advanced targeting: Platforms like Facebook offer sophisticated ad targeting, allowing you to reach specific customer segments and ensure your message is seen by the right people.
Cons:
- Constant changes: Social media platforms frequently update their algorithms and policies, making it challenging to keep your strategy effective and up-to-date.
- Time-consuming: Managing social media effectively requires a well-thought-out strategy and a significant time investment to maintain consistent, high-quality posting and engagement.
Next steps:
- Integrate with content marketing: Your social media strategy should be part of your broader content marketing plan. Decide on the types of content you want to create, their formats, and which platforms to use for distribution.
- Create a content calendar: Develop a schedule for posting content on different social channels to ensure consistency and relevance.
- Engage with your audience: Social media is about interaction, not just broadcasting. Make sure to respond to comments, messages, and mentions to build relationships and trust with your audience.
- Measure and adjust: Regularly analyse the performance of your social media efforts and adjust your strategy based on what’s working and what’s not. Use analytics tools provided by the platforms to track engagement, reach, and other key metrics.
6. Email marketing
Who can resist a Black Friday deal?! Design by VisualMedia via 99designs by Vista.
Email might seem old-fashioned in a world of instant messaging and social media, but it remains one of the most powerful digital marketing tools available. E-commerce sites and retail brands, in particular, find great success with email campaigns for seasonal promotions and discounts, such as Black Friday or Mother’s Day deals. Additionally, email newsletters are a fantastic way to nurture prospects by providing value beyond just promoting your products and services
Pros:
- Direct communication: Owning an email list allows you to maintain direct contact with your audience, unaffected by changes in social media algorithms or platform policies.
- Relationship building: Regularly communicating with your email list helps build strong relationships and keeps your brand top-of-mind for when subscribers are ready to make a purchase.
Cons:
- Low open rates: Many emails go unopened, so crafting compelling subject lines is essential to capture attention in cluttered inboxes.
- Value consistency: To keep subscribers engaged and prevent unsubscribes, you need to consistently provide valuable content.
Next steps:
- Select an email marketing platform: Choose a reliable email software such as Mailchimp, ConvertKit, or GetResponse to manage your campaigns.
- Build your email list: Start collecting email addresses by offering an enticing incentive for opt-ins, like a step-by-step PDF guide or a set of free design templates. Ensure you comply with regulations in your region.
- Create valuable content: Develop a weekly newsletter that provides genuine value, combining useful content with occasional promotions. This balance will keep your audience engaged and less likely to unsubscribe.
- Craft compelling subject lines: Focus on creating strong, attention-grabbing subject lines to improve open rates and ensure your emails are noticed.
- Analyse and adjust: Regularly review the performance of your email campaigns, including open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates, and adjust your strategy accordingly to maximise effectiveness.
7. Influencer marketing
Getting one of these top influencers to promote your brand might be the dream — but a smaller influencer can be much more effective (and cheaper!) when targeted to the right audience. Design by Daria V. via 99designs by Vista.
Influencer marketing involves collaborating with individuals who have a dedicated and engaged audience. These influencers — be they celebrities, industry experts, or popular content creators — can effectively promote your product to their followers on platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. When they endorse your product, their loyal followers are more likely to trust the recommendation and make a purchase. While we often think of influencer marketing in the context of B2C (business-to-consumer) scenarios, it can also be highly effective in B2B (business-to-business) environments by partnering with thought leaders or industry experts.
Pros:
- Trust and authenticity: Influencers have built trust with their audience, and their endorsement can lend credibility and authenticity to your brand.
- Wide reach: Partnering with influencers can help you reach a larger and more targeted audience than traditional advertising methods.
- Engagement: Influencer content often sees higher engagement rates, as followers are more likely to interact with posts from people they follow and admire.
Cons:
- Cost: High-profile influencers can be expensive to collaborate with, and there’s no guaranteed return on investment.
- Reputation risk: Your brand’s reputation is tied to the influencer’s behaviour. Any negative publicity surrounding the influencer can affect your brand.
- Measurement challenges: It can be difficult to measure the direct impact of influencer marketing campaigns on sales and brand awareness.
Next steps:
- Identify relevant influencers: Look for influencers whose audience aligns with your target market. Consider using influencer marketing platforms to find suitable partners.
- Build relationships: Engage with potential influencers organically before pitching a collaboration. This helps in building a genuine connection.
- Define clear objectives: Set specific goals for your influencer marketing campaign, such as increasing brand awareness, driving website traffic, or boosting sales.
- Create authentic content: Collaborate with influencers to create authentic, engaging content that resonates with their audience while promoting your brand.
- Monitor and evaluate: Track the performance of your influencer campaigns using metrics like engagement rates, reach, and conversions. Adjust your strategy based on these insights to improve future campaigns.
8. Affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing involves partnering with individuals or companies who promote your products in exchange for a commission on sales. This model is particularly popular among bloggers and e-commerce sites, with one of the most well-known programs being Amazon Associates. Affiliates showcase your products on their platforms, and when a customer clicks through their referral link and makes a purchase, the affiliate earns a commission.
If you want to make money in your sleep, then affiliate marketing might be for you! Design by Corne via 99designs by Vista.
Pros:
- Cost-effective: You only pay affiliates when they successfully drive sales, making it a performance-based and cost-effective marketing strategy.
- Extended reach: Affiliates can help you reach new audiences and markets that you might not have access to otherwise.
- SEO benefits: Quality backlinks from affiliate sites can improve your website’s search engine ranking.
Cons:
- Quality control: You have limited control over how affiliates present your brand, which can sometimes lead to inconsistent messaging.
- Commission costs: While you only pay for results, commissions can add up, especially if you have a large network of affiliates.
- Fraud risk: There’s a potential for fraudulent activities, such as false leads or fake sales, which can affect your marketing budget and results.
Next steps:
- Choose a platform: Select a suitable affiliate marketing platform (e.g., Amazon Associates, ShareASale).
- Set commissions: Define competitive commission rates to attract quality affiliates.
- Recruit affiliates: Identify and onboard affiliates aligned with your brand and audience.
- Provide resources: Equip affiliates with necessary tools like banners and links.
- Monitor performance: Track affiliate performance using analytics.
- Build relationships: Foster long-term partnerships with top-performing affiliates.
9. Video marketing
Video is the ‘darling’ of digital marketing right now. Design by 99Spy via 99designs by Vista.
Video has become a cornerstone of digital marketing strategies, offering versatile and engaging content formats tailored for online consumption. Whether it’s a brief clip or a detailed presentation, educational or entertaining, live-streamed or pre-recorded, video content allows businesses to connect directly with their audience in real time. Today, it’s not just about repurposing TV ads; it’s about crafting unique, channel-specific content that resonates with digital audiences.
Pros:
- Engagement: Video content tends to capture and maintain viewer attention more effectively than text or images alone.
- Versatility: From tutorials to product demonstrations, videos can showcase your offerings in dynamic ways.
- SEO boost: Videos can improve your search engine rankings and increase your online visibility.
- Brand personality: They allow you to convey your brand’s tone, values, and personality more effectively.
- Shareability: Compelling videos are highly shareable across social media platforms, extending your reach organically.
Cons:
- Resource intensive: Producing high-quality videos requires time, effort, and often financial investment.
- Technical challenges: Editing and optimising videos for various platforms and devices can be complex.
- Content saturation: With the abundance of video content online, it can be challenging to stand out and capture audience attention.
- Measurement and ROI: Measuring the effectiveness and return on investment (ROI) of video marketing efforts can be difficult.
- Accessibility: Not all audiences may have the bandwidth or devices to consume video content easily.
Next steps:
- Integrate into strategy: Incorporate video into your content marketing plan.
- Define objective: Determine if your video aims to inspire, educate, or entertain.
- Use available tools: High production values aren’t necessary; smartphones can suffice. Focus on good lighting and sound for a professional finish.
10. Audio marketing
Radio has come a long way since the Golden Age of commercial broadcasting back in the 1920s, 30s and 40s. As much as radio was replaced by television, most people still listen to the radio every week — especially now with the growth of internet radio. You still have the option to do traditional radio advertising or similar ads on channels like Spotify; but audio marketing can be much broader, including podcasts and smart home assistants like Amazon Alexa or Google Home.
Podcasts can be a great way to market to your audience — whether by launching your own, or simply being a guest on someone else’s. Design by Spoon Lancer via 99designs by Vista.
Pros:
- Reach a diverse audience: Podcasts and streaming services offer broad access to listeners.
- Targeting capabilities: Platforms like Spotify and podcast ads can be tailored to specific demographics.
- Engaging content: Podcasts and smart assistant skills allow for deep, immersive storytelling and content that can even be repurposed.
Cons:
- Limited visibility: Audio ads don’t provide visual impact.
- Audio quality: Potential challenges in ensuring consistent sound and voice quality.
- Ad avoidance: Listeners may skip or ignore ads, impacting engagement metrics.
Next steps:
- Choose the right platform: Identify where your target audience spends their time.
- Develop compelling content: Create engaging audio content that resonates with listeners.
- Track performance: Monitor metrics like listens, engagement, and conversion rates to refine your strategy.
Mastering today’s digital marketing landscape is essential for any business looking to thrive. From SEO and social media to email and video marketing, each channel offers unique ways to connect with your audience. By understanding these tools and crafting a tailored strategy, you can effectively engage customers across various platforms. Consistency and relevance are crucial — keep adapting to new trends to ensure your message resonates. Welcome the diversity of digital channels, stay agile, and watch your business flourish in the digital age. Happy marketing!
Author: Anna Lundberg
