Digital Marketing: Key Channels and Industry Insights for 2024

What is digital marketing?

Digital marketing  is a general term for marketing products and services that uses digital channels to attract and retain customers. These can be a variety of channels, from online radio advertising to contextual advertising on the Internet. In simple terms, digital marketing is any promotion that uses the digital medium .

Often the concept of digital marketing is confused with internet marketing. But they have a significant difference. More precisely , digital marketing includes internet marketing, but is not limited to promotion on the internet.

Compare: Internet marketing is all channels that are available to the user only on the Internet:

• SEO website promotion ;
• contextual and targeted advertising ;
• social media;
• webinars .

And digital marketing is all of the above plus promotion on any other digital media outside the Internet .

Of course, digital does not include promotion through traditional channels such as newspaper ads, flyers, TV ads, billboards. Although, if a billboard has a QR code that can be used to go to a website, then this is digital marketing. That is, digital marketing implies digital communication that occurs both online and offline.

History: How Digital Marketing Began

At one time, digital was possible without Internet marketing at all. An example of this is the pioneer of this direction, the SoftAd Group company (now ChannelNet). In the mid-80s, the agency came up with and launched an unusual advertising campaign for several car manufacturers at that time.

The idea was this: readers of the magazine had to cut out a special insert from the magazine and send it by mail. In return, they would receive an offer of a free test drive and a diskette with advertisements for various car brands. In this way, the company used digital media in combination with offline promotion tools.

The term “digital marketing” (or “digital marketing”) itself began to be used in the 90s.

Types of digital marketing

A separate article can be written about each of the digital marketing tools and channels listed below. Therefore, we will not analyze them in detail, but will only list the most common types of digital marketing:

• digital television and online radio;
• advertising in applications, messengers, online games;
• SMS mailing;
• email marketing ;
• advertising on interactive and outdoor LED screens, self-service terminals;
• SEO and SEM – search engine marketing on the Internet;
• contextual advertising, banners and teaser advertising;
• SMM;
• audio marketing ;
• affiliate marketing, in which the webmaster receives payment for attracting each visitor or buyer.

Not many companies can afford to implement all the possibilities at once, but this is often not necessary. The choice of strategy depends on the business goals and the approach of the agency managing the project.

Views on digital marketing and the effectiveness of different channels may differ. That’s why we asked several experts in the field for their opinions.

What do digital agencies do?

Generally speaking, digital agencies ensure the presence and promotion of a brand in the online environment. They may employ: marketers , SEO specialists, analysts, project managers, designers, layout designers, programmers, content managers and copywriters. For temporary tasks, such agencies may involve freelancers, such as videographers or photographers.

Digital agencies provide the following services:

• creation of a comprehensive product promotion strategy;
• development and promotion of websites, including design and advertising in media and contextual networks;
• interaction with online communities;
• organisation of offline events;
• preparation of advertisements for digital television or online radio and other methods.

However, there is another important aspect of digital marketing – analytics . Marketers study information about users and their actions: demographic characteristics, interests, online behaviour, sources of transition to the site, and so on. With the help of such data, digital agencies can better understand the target audience and evaluate the effectiveness of a specific advertisement or an entire strategy. Therefore, the most important tool in the specialist’s arsenal are analytical systems.

By the way, some analytical tools can analyse the results of promotion not only in the online space, but also offline. For example, call tracking technology tracks whether advertising (offline and online) brings phone calls (offline action). And collects data on such results in accurate and detailed reports. This is a valuable source of data for companies that combine different promotion tools and different communication channels with clients – both digital and traditional.

Thanks to analytics, digital agency specialists understand what works best, for example, how effective various promotion channels are in specific business niches. For example, the agency’s specialists studied which digital marketing channels are used by about a hundred large online stores from Central and Eastern Europe. It turned out that search engine optimization and contextual advertising bring the most traffic:

Benefits of Digital Marketing

1. Expanded reach . Digital marketing provides reach to both online and offline consumers, including those using tablets and mobile phones, playing games, downloading apps. This allows the brand to reach a wider audience, going beyond the online space.

2. Ability to collect clear and detailed data . Almost all user actions in the digital environment are recorded by analytical systems, which allows you to draw accurate conclusions about the effectiveness of various promotion channels and create an accurate buyer profile.

3. A flexible approach to digital marketing makes it possible to attract offline audiences to the online market and vice versa. For example, using a QR code on a flyer, you can redirect the user to a website. Thanks to an email newsletter, you can invite subscribers to a live seminar or other offline event. And with the help of call tracking, you can evaluate the result of advertising in terms of the phone calls it brings.

Digital marketing is a comprehensive promotion that includes many channels. You should not try to cover everything, but make a thoughtful choice based on the goals and capabilities of the business. Moreover, almost all the experts surveyed believe that there are no universal solutions, and tools should be selected for a specific company.

Where do digital marketers work?

There are two major areas of work for a digital marketer:

• agency;
• in-house.

When working in an agency, a specialist usually manages several projects simultaneously. These projects often represent clients from different business sectors in order to avoid conflicts of interest and competition between clients. This approach allows the specialist to improve his skills without delving into the details of each client’s business.

Working in an in-house team, on the contrary, means that the specialist is an employee of the company and is engaged only in promoting its products or services. Such specialists have a deep understanding of the specifics of the company they work for and are more focused on developing the skills necessary specifically for this company than on general universal promotion methods.

To find a job as a digital marketer in a leading agency, you should consider applying to top digital marketing agencies, which publishes current vacancies in the “Career” section. Here you can also choose the area of ​​work and city you are interested in, indicate your experience to find a suitable vacancy.

FAQ

Why is digital marketing better than traditional marketing?

It can use not only traditional methods of promotion in offline spaces, but also digital ones. And the advantage of digital channels is their easy measurability and accurate analysis of results.

How to move from traditional marketing to digital?

It is necessary to connect digital promotion channels: contextual advertising, SEO, SMM, email marketing, etc. And use web analytics systems to analyze their effectiveness.

What is the most important digital marketing metric?

The main performance indicator is sales made through online promotion channels. End-to-end analytics helps to assess this indicator. In the absence of end-to-end analytics, you can focus on target conversions, such as the number of phone calls, adding products to the basket, or completed online applications.