What’s the difference between digital marketing vs social media marketing? You might think they are one and the same, but there’s a big distinction between the two.
In this blog post, we’ll explore the differences between digital marketing vs social media marketing, so you can decide which approach is the most effective way for your business. We’ll also look at some of the benefits of each approach. So, let’s get started!
What is Digital Marketing?
Digital marketing is an umbrella term for offline and online marketing made over the internet or digitally. Communication through digital channels such as text messaging, search engines, email, social platforms, and websites can be used as digital marketing efforts.
In comparison, social media campaigns are only a small part of digital marketing channels. Social networks are utilized by digital marketers to create brand awareness. In this way, large and small businesses alike are able to reach their target audience digitally, through social media sites.
The offline world of marketing is usually referred to as traditional marketing. Traditional offline marketing may be highly effective when done correctly, but it’s often dismissed by start-up businesses because of the upfront expense.
Here are some examples of traditional marketing:
- Radio promotions
- Billboards
- TV commercials
- Streaming services like Netflix
- Cold calls, text messages, mobile marketing, and in-app ads
On the other hand, digital online advertising uses the internet for marketing campaigns.
Some of the forms of digital marketing are:
Search Engine Marketing
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a strategy where online content is organized and optimized to appear in search results. This is attained through on-page, off-page, or technical SEO.
Content Marketing
High-quality content is always the priority in order to attain high traffic for a webpage. Very good content creation is usually partnered with SEO strategies to create a higher organic reach. Blog posts and instructional videos that directly or indirectly promote brand recognition are examples of a great digital marketing campaign. This is a form of inbound marketing.
Pay per Click Advertising (PPC)
Google ads are a form of PPC. This strategy allows bidding for keywords to have a better chance that the ad shows up in Google search results. If a business uses banner ads, it would only pay for the service when a user visits the site through the ads.
Email Marketing
An important part of digital marketing is outbound marketing, or communication through email. Promotional emails are usually sent to internet users who sign up through a company’s website to receive future deals, information, or sales.
Affiliate Marketing
Potential customers can be reached through affiliate marketing when bloggers, influencers, or resellers generate leads to a business or product. With this type of digital marketing, third-party publishers receive commissions when they use their websites or videos for the promotion of products or services.
A good digital marketing strategy attracts potential new customers. Since almost half of the global population are internet users, the digital world is the right place for small businesses to create a brand image while attracting new clients and customers.
The Benefits of Digital Marketing
Cost-Effective
The combination of different online digital media can be cheaper than traditional marketing methods. Plus, when compared to traditional advertising, the internet has a much wider audience.
Ease of Access
Almost everyone uses the internet on a daily basis—whether it’s for work-related purposes, doing research, or even for scrolling through different social media sites. Plus, almost every device has internet connection capability. This includes smartphones, smart TVs, tablets, and computers. Also, most users use their devices at all hours of the day for both work and entertainment.
Quantifiable Conversion Rates
With digital marketing, there are metrics used to measure statistics such as engagement, interest, and user activities. For example, companies can monitor data such as how many people visit their website and how many people convert to paying customers who purchase items.
Personalized for Target Customers
Through the use of consumer data, a website can personalize its content based on the interests of its users. For example, Facebook has the capacity to show you recommendations or ads for items that you’ve recently looked at in Facebook Marketplace.
What is Social Media Marketing?
Social media marketing, or SMM, is a part of digital marketing that relies on the use of social media channels. Some of the most popular social media channels include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, Reddit, Quora, and TikTok. These platforms are a great place for strategically placing valuable content and building traffic. In turn, the returns are also measurable and can translate to sales.
Still, social media marketing not only focuses on sales, but it also helps companies gain brand awareness. Plus, it allows companies to know their customers’ preferences and gain feedback through customer service. Collectively, these are the results of well-developed social media management.
How can social media presence help businesses? Here are some of the ways:
The Benefits of Social Media Marketing
Social Media Advertising, or Paid Ads
Since most internet users have social media accounts, a key aspect of SMM is to advertise on social media platforms. These paid ads can increase brand knowledge and lead to more sales.
Organic Reach Through Content Marketing
Through posting consistent content on social media, a brand can create a loyal following. This following can boost visibility while simultaneously establishing the brand’s authority in the market. This is the best social media marketing strategy because it can expand the brand’s clientele base.
Brand Image, Awareness, and Recognition
A good social media marketing campaign can boost brand awareness, thereby creating brand recognition. Once these factors are met, the brand’s image can be established on a personal level to its customers.
Competition Tracking
Through social media marketing, companies can keep track of their competition by learning more about their competitor’s strategies, target markets, and good practices.
Data Gathering
With SMM, business owners can improve and expand their online presence through data collection from existing and new customers. In this way, brands can have better knowledge of the preferences of their target clients.
How Can Shelten LLC Help with Brand Awareness?
Shelten LLC is a brand awareness company. We specialize in social media marketing campaigns for B2B, B2C, and non-profit organizations.
We’ve built our reputation in the business by getting a personal insight into the organizations that we work with. Through this, we can properly position our clients within their market and establish a connection with their target audience.
We work together with you to:
- Build a solid strategy that can help your brand engage with existing and potential clients.
- Set up a strong social media presence where you can reach your audience while piquing their interest to know more about your products and services.
- Create appealing content that works for the different social media platforms.
- Analyze the market, your competition, and your audience.
Click here for a free consultation or to get started with your online presence through Shelten LLC!
Conclusion
Although digital marketing and social media marketing are often used interchangeably, there is a big difference between the two.
At Shelten LLC, we understand this distinction and can help your business create a comprehensive social media marketing strategy that incorporates all of the necessary channels for success.
Contact us today to learn more about our brand awareness services and how we can help you take your business to the next level!
