We live in a digital world where everything from eating, drinking, and sleeping to working, commuting, and communicating is done online via different mobile applications, websites, or social media channels. In such scenarios, digital marketing and digital advertising are like an open opportunity for businesses to reach their target audience and connect with them in a healthy manner. In order to take advantage of both, it is crucial to the difference between them. And, we are going to analyze both for you in this post.
Meaning and Concept of Digital Marketing
Marketing is an essential tool for any business to prosper. If your marketing domain is weak, there are very little to no chances of your business to survive in the long run. Do you want your business to fail in the future? Obviously, no business owner would want that!
Hence, having a solid marketing plan and marketing strategy is your solution.
In this era of technology, everything we do is digital ― from eating to travelling. So, digital marketing is a great way to push through the competitive market.
Digital marketing, as the name implies, is online marketing which includes several segments such as search engine optimization, social media campaigning, content marketing, creative, email marketing and a few other things. It is a whole ecosystem which is crucial for the survival of your business online.
Meaning and Concept of Digital Advertising
The term digital advertising is self explanatory. It can be deemed as an essential unit of digital marketing. As compared to conventional advertising, digital ads can be found on social media platforms, websites, and mobile applications, etc.
When businesses target their audience via different channels through small commercials and sponsored advertisements on the internet, it is deemed as digital advertising.
The beauty of digital advertising is hidden in its cruciality that is why not everyone can master it. Furthermore, Digital advertising and online advertising are the same terms that are being used interchangeably.
Features of Digital Marketing vs. Features of Digital Advertising
There are a few similarities and a few differences between both of these strategies, a beginner might get confused, so we will define the fine line between both.
Important Characteristics of Digital Advertising
As mentioned earlier, digital advertising is closely connected to digital marketing. In fact, it is an extended branch of digital marketing. The only difference that sets both of these apart is that online advertising is a tool used for communication between a business and its target audience. It is a separate component that is limited to websites and social media platforms only.
For instance, if you are watching a Facebook video, you often get disrupted by unwanted advertisements related to your recent searches or something that is popular among your community. Although most people skip the advertisement, it leaves an impression on the back of your mind. The next time you think of buying a certain product, you will think about that advertisement provided that it had some kind of offer, discount, or any other incentive.
Online advertisements can be disruptive, but there’s no way that they can be stopped. Companies pay hefty amounts to the websites and social media platforms to reach their target audience and as long as you keep using the ‘free’ version of something ― you will pay the cost of being monitored by different brands in the market.
It is a great challenge for digital advertisers that people do not like being disturbed while watching something. Yes, people have found a way to get this problem resolved. There are some softwares and ad blockers that can block the advertisements.
One biggest reason why online advertisement is annoying is that it is targeted towards a whole audience rather than an individual. It might not talk to you, but at some point, it will. When you need it the most.
Important Characteristics of Digital Marketing
In comparison with digital advertising which targets a whole swarm of people, digital marketing is precise, focused, and targeted. It is a high form of advertising that takes place after studying the target audience and their patterns such as interests, income, area, and age, etc.
Digital marketing comprises several components while content marketing is the biggest one. A lot of experts say that content marketing is the soul of digital marketing since it helps carry out the message of a brand to its target audience.
Furthermore, it can be in the form of video, static post, podcast, short film, blog post, email, and anything else. Since it is targeted towards a focused group, the importance of content in online marketing is quite crucial. It should be creative, concise, and comprehensive.
The success of digital marketing is hidden in its focus ― if it’s too broad or too general, it loses its importance and value. It is keyword focused and needs to relate to what your audience might be interested in. Let’s say that you are running a shoe store, you should only promote content that is related to shoes. If you start targeting an audience from the real estate segment just to get more web traffic, your digital marketing strategy is not in proper compliance and needs alignment.
It helps you in making connections with your consumer base, provided that it is done correctly.
All in all, both of them are quite beneficial for growing your business in the online world. Your business should know where to invest, and if you are confused about it ― we are ready to help you. Navigate to our services page to know more about our offerings.