No business can grow without a good marketing strategy. And with the constant growth of technology, marketing efforts also shift towards digital media. Marketers in the United States dedicate 15.8% of their company’s revenue on average towards digital marketing efforts, making it a very popular way of attracting new clients and increasing sales.
The term digital marketing is often used interchangeably with internet marketing. However, these are two different methods. But how to tell the difference? And what is the significance of these two marketing techniques for your business?
In this article, we will dive deeper into the definition and differences between digital and internet marketing. We will also look at some tips to help you determine which marketing method suits your business best.
Digital Marketing and Internet Marketing
The term digital marketing encompasses any promotional method that uses digital technologies, such as television advertising, radio advertising, digital billboards, and SMS promotions.
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While internet marketing, or online marketing, refers to a specific digital marketing method that uses online media. This includes search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising, email marketing, and social media marketing.
Depending on your goals and business type, one marketing method might work better than the other. Let’s look at the benefits of them both to see what will work best for you.
Benefits of Digital Marketing and Internet Marketing
There are many benefits of utilizing digital and internet marketing strategies for your promotion efforts.
Digital Marketing
The main advantage of using offline digital marketing is that it is often impactful and entertaining. For example, some of the most popular and memorable advertisements are TV commercials like Old Spice’s 2010 commercial and Budweiser’s Whassup?! from 1999.
Commercials that appeared during significant events such as the Super Bowl also typically become trending topics for a while. Therefore, having your ads appear on offline digital media like television or radio can also help you build trust with your potential customers.
Advertisements on digital media like billboards or television normally don’t fight for screen space with other content. And this kind of advertising has been a part of people’s daily lives, making it easier to receive.
Internet Marketing
With around 4.66 billion active internet users worldwide, online marketing has the potential to reach a large audience. Unlike traditional marketing, many online campaigns let you engage a specific group of people to increase your conversion rate.
Internet advertising is also more convenient to customers and businesses. With a simple click on an advertisement, people can directly access your online store and make purchases. This also makes it easier to measure the performance of your campaigns using various analytics tools.
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Internet marketing is budget-friendly and more accessible because many methods and tools are available for free. Everyone, including individual professionals, local businesses, and large companies alike, can utilize internet marketing and engage their target market in a more level playing field.
Which Type of Marketing is Good for Your Business?
Now that we discussed the core differences between digital and internet marketing, it is time to find out which method works best for you. Here are five tips on how to determine whether you need digital or internet marketing.
1. Understand the Pros and Cons
Both digital and online marketing come with their own pros and cons. Understanding what they are and how they may affect your business is crucial to help you decide which method suits you better.
Offline digital marketing and internet marketing campaigns may have more chances to reach a broader audience. However, they often cost a lot of money, making them unsuitable for smaller businesses and personal use. Most traditional marketing methods are also harder to measure.
On the other hand, online marketing is cheaper and more customizable. But according to research, most customers tend to actively avoid online advertisements. Other methods that don’t involve advertising, like content marketing or SEO, typically take longer to directly impact sales.
2. Decide Based on Your Business Goals
Once you know the pros and cons of each marketing method, relate them to your business goals and their overall condition. Showing your brand on a billboard can be a great choice if you have enough budget and want to raise brand awareness for people in a specific area.
However, social media and content marketing are better if you are more interested in establishing a positive relationship with the audience. Therefore, it is essential to understand your business goals before deciding on the best marketing channel for your brand.
Consider making a well-structured plan and a road map for your business growth. It can help you determine what your company needs to achieve in the short and long term. Once you know your business’s stage, it will be easier to decide which marketing strategy to practice.
3. Calculate Your Budget
Budget is a crucial factor that determines which marketing type your business will use. Large companies like Pizza Hut or Pepsi have enough financial resources to place their products in popular TV shows or movies. However, this might not be possible for smaller local businesses.
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Internet marketing is a more suitable method for businesses with a limited budget. Most of the channels and marketing methods require little to no cost. Practice social media marketing to promote your brand by utilizing trends and communicating directly with the target customers.
Create high-quality and relevant content that your audience may find useful and boost their trust in your brand in order to establish your position in the industry. Use tools like Canva, Buffer, and HootSuite to help you with your marketing tasks.
4. Consider the Customers
Each marketing channel caters to different groups of people. For example, TV commercials are often more expected and welcomed by older audiences. On the other hand, paying a TikTok influencer to promote your product may attract many younger customers.
Don’t forget to pay attention to where your target market is located. If your goal is to reach people from all across the country, advertising your product on a local radio show might not help you achieve that target. In this case, creating listings on popular eCommerce sites like Amazon or Walmart is a better idea.
One example of a useful tool to help local brands grow is Google My Business. It lets you create a business listing with all necessary information that will appear on people’s local search on Google.
5. Test and Measure
A marketing process doesn’t stop after you launch a campaign. Even though some methods may sound good on paper, they can work differently in practice. Therefore, you still need to do some evaluation and measure how your promotion effort performs.
Don’t hesitate to try other methods if your initial marketing channel is not working as expected. Keep in mind that the marketing ecosystem is constantly evolving, so you must adapt and adjust your approach accordingly.
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Consider asking what your target customers think about your promotional campaigns. Their opinions and preferences are the key factors that determine your marketing success.
Conclusion
In short, internet marketing is a part of the larger umbrella of digital marketing. It includes various methods that utilize online platforms and tools to promote your brand. On the other hand, digital marketing also refers to other marketing mediums such as television, radio, and digital billboards.
Each of these marketing channels has its own characteristics and works best for different businesses and situations. To summarize, here are five steps that can help you decide which type of marketing will work better for your business:
- Understand the pros and cons of each marketing type
- Decide based on your business goals
- Calculate your budget
- Consider where your target market spends their time
- Test some campaigns and measure the results
Ultimately, both marketing methods can give you numerous benefits if you know how and when to use them properly. Analyze various factors related to your business and its audience and make your decision based on the result. Follow the tips presented above and start growing your brand with the best marketing strategies.
