Beyond Likes and Clicks: Understanding the Differences Between Digital Marketing and Social Media Marketing

Digital marketing is an umbrella term. It includes social media, but it also includes SEO (search engine optimization), analytics, email marketing, content creation, and public relations using various digital channels.

I know, I just threw out a lot of general marketing terms.

Here are a few simple explanations.

SEO: Using the right keywords on your website and in your content so you will show up on search engines like Google, Bing, etc.

Analytics: Using data like engagement (comments, follows, subscriptions, and other interactions) to track how well your marketing strategy is going and if you need to change anything.

Email Marketing: Using your email newsletter to provide valuable information to your audience creates trust and loyalty in your brand. You should also be using your email newsletter to advertise your product and service and bring your customers back to your website.

Content creation: This is what it sounds like, creating blog posts or articles, specific pages on your website, E-Books or workbooks, and social media posts. This is all valuable, educational content that, again, creates trust and loyalty in your brand.

Public Relations: Getting other people to talk about or promote your brand. This could mean a collab on social media, working with an influencer, writing articles on other blogs, or having your articles published in a magazine or newspaper (or on their website). This is a way to expand your reach to other audiences and a way to show that someone they trust and respect supports your brand.

Digital channels: This includes, but is not limited to social media, blogs, websites, TV, radio, and paid advertising.

To sum it up, digital marketing consists of tracking how well your sales are doing, figuring out what you could be doing better, learning what customers are looking for, and how you could be engaging more or better with your audience.

Social media marketing is a part of digital media but specifically using social medias including, but not limited to, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok.

Social media is how your brand can interact with your customers on a more personal level, provide education and other content and creating trust and loyalty while marketing your product or service.

Make a plan for your business. You may not need to use every digital channel or social media. Learn who your target audience is and what digital channels they use.

Remember, the goal of any type of marketing is to bring them back to your website, to advertise and promote your brand, and ultimately to make sales.

Now start taking some notes, figure out who your target audience is and what digital channels they use.

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