3. The Beginner's Guide to Digital Marketing

What are the
Types of Digital Marketing?

Depending on where you look, there can be an overwhelming amount of information on the number, kinds, and types of digital marketing. In our guide, we organized the types and strategies of digital marketing into 5 clear categories:

Digital Marketing Involves:

Content
SEO
Social Media
Ads
Email Marketing

1. Content Marketing

Hasn’t content always been involved in all aspects of marketing?

We’re glad you asked. The answer is yes! Creating content to promote a company is truly the essence of marketing, but content marketing is its own strategy to marketing altogether. In definition, content marketing is the process of creating valuable and enriching material for the purpose of stimulating interest and attracting an audience, rather than directly promoting a brand.

And what does that mean?! It means that you need to write and curate content that your customer’s actually want to see without always selling to them! Don’t you hate it when a company is always selling, selling, selling?

Content marketing can take the form of videos, blogposts, photos, or articles. It can make your business boom, if done right. One highly successful strategy is to provide content that entertains potential customers. You never know what may end up going viral! Another rock solid strategy is to become a trustworthy source of industry information so an audience relies on your content and keeps coming back for more. Although content marketing may not directly drive revenue, it can increase traffic and build a trusting face for a business.

A popular example of content marketing is Blendtec’s YouTube channel, with more than 885,000 subscribers, Blendtec posted the ever-so-popular Will It Blend videos that attracted views and an audience. The results? A 700% increase in sales in just three months.

2. SEO

The next type of digital marketing is SEO, which stands for Search Engine Optimization. Now odds are you most likely see SEO Marketing every day in action without realizing it. Every time you use a search engine, whether Google, Yahoo, or YouTube, millions of dollars are at work to push certain websites to the top of the results page.

As reported by, 99 Firm’s SEO Statistics, 93 percent of online experience begins with a search engine. The goal is simple:

If you’re higher up on the results page, the more traffic comes to your website.

The strategy to get to the top of the results page is where it can be difficult. Strategic tools businesses use can include:

search engine ads, (i.e. Google Ads)
paid ads
quality link building
utilizing keyword research

Moz’s Beginner’s Guide to SEO, summarizes the SEO wonderfully, “It’s about understanding what people are searching for online, the answers they are seeking, the words they’re using, and the type of content they wish to consume. Knowing the answers to these questions will allow you to connect to the people who are searching online for the solutions you offer.”

SEO strategy is a must for any company wanting to survive in the digital world. However, without some expertise, SEO can be a complicated and ever changing battle.

3. Social Media

Another form of digital marketing is social media marketing, which is the process of marketing on, you guessed it again, social media! Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Snapchat are examples of dominant social media marketing outlets. Companies can utilize the social aspect of these sites to build a following and create content to inform, entertain, and sell.

The challenge of this form of marketing is that social media platforms can change and move in a blink of an eye. This can discourage companies from investing money into such large and vast platforms. BUT…it’s worth the investment.

According to Sproutsocial insight statistics, just Facebook and Instagram combined show over $40 billion in revenue in 2020. Over 90% of Instagram users reported following at least one business on Instagram. Social media is a must place for a business to be.

The large social media platforms make it easy. Dominant social platforms like Facebook run their own insights for business accounts, including the option of purchasing additional ads or promotional campaigns, that are highly efficient. A promotion can start within minutes of entering credit card information.

Though these sites can extend your profile reach in merely days, the work to retain an audience must come from your content. Content that is consistent, shareable, and engaging make a huge difference in your business following

The most followed business on social media is Nike, with over 90 million followers on Instagram. Their social media success comes from their solid marketing strategy:

Posting consistently
Promoting entertaining and informational content
Utilizing celebrity influence
Posting high quality photos
Shareable content

Knowing the right social media platform to use and the right content to represent a business is crucial right now. Mastering social media marketing can be the difference of reaching a few hundred to a few thousand potential customers.

For further research, here are other brands who have mastered their social media strategy.

4. Ads

Ah yes, ads. We all know them a little too well. According to the multinational ecommerce platform, Shopify, “Advertising is a marketing tactic involving paying for space to promote a product, service, or cause…The goal of advertising is to reach people most likely to be willing to pay for a company’s products or services and entice them to buy.” Search Engine Marketing, or SEM, is what we typically call this type of marketing.

Elements of digital marketing ads include:

Search engine ads campaigns (like pay-per click or better known, PPC)
Display ads
Social media/video ads

PPC is advertising on search engines. The main focus is measuring clicks per ad
and moving up on the search engine results. It is called pay-per-click because
the search engine charges for every click on an ad or promoted link.

CPM, or cost per mille, is when you pay for every 1000 impressions on your ad,
regardless of the clicks. These are the two most common types of Google ads
that you may see on the top of your search results for a given topic

Display Ads

Display ads primarily use text and images and appear on third-party websites, which are usually affiliated with search engines or other ad networks. The goal of a display ad is have the user click the link to go to a landing page or complete a purchase. The most common types of display ads are images, text, banners, mobile, pop-ups and video ads. These are usually charged per click, or CPC (cost-per-click).

Social Media Ads

People are always on social media, and this presents a huge opportunity to advertise your brand. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Reddit, etc. can be used to promote your brand and products. Social media ads can help you generate leads, increase event attendees, boost website traffic, and build a community around your brand.

5. Emails

Email marketing is marketing through, you guessed it, email. In this process, companies can send promos, offers, and blogposts directly into their subscriber’s inbox. With the right strategy and tools, an email could be your best marketing tool.

Email marketing can not only promote a business, but also opens up communication between a company and their customers. In the event of product returns or questions, email can be a sturdy tool to maintain a customer base. The best way to succeed is to have an eye-catching design and craft the right messages, inviting customers to interact with your brand.

Keep reading!
There’s still so much more to learn about digital marketing!