Many people desire to pursue a profession in digital marketing since it is the new buzzword, but they are perplexed when they consider it.
If you too are in the same group, I assure you that you will have clear thoughts about it by the time you finish reading this article.
Here, I will share my thoughts on digital marketing that I wrote to inspire beginners who want to start a digital marketing career.
This article will teach newcomers everything they need to know about Digital Marketing, including what it is, the scope of digital marketing, different digital marketing channels, its advantages, and disadvantages.
You must be thinking, why I wrote this guide? So, here is the answer.
Digital marketing moves fast. To keep up with the pace, you require a strong base with the ability to think smartly, act individually, and be creative.
That is how I came up with the idea to create a guide on digital marketing basics for beginners.
There are many digital marketing guides, ranging from online videos, textbooks, and blogs, among which you can choose.
But I felt something was missing- a guide that equips one with the right balance of tactical and strategic advice.
Through this guide, I have tried to close that gap. The motto of this guide is to make you clear about Digital Marketing.
What is Digital Marketing?
Why is it creating such a buzz?
And how can you achieve success in it?
In this Digital Marketing Guide for Beginners, I will break it down into small sections so that it is easy for you to understand digital marketing better.
What is Digital Marketing?
Digital marketing, popularly known as Internet or online marketing, is defined as promoting brands to connect with the target readers using the Internet or different forms of digital communication.
It is the blend of all marketing efforts a brand uses to connect with its target audience through digital media.
It helps identify when your target audiences will be online, what devices they use to join, and then accordingly approach them there.
Like traditional marketing, a company has a product or service they want to sell online.
Therefore, try to engage their customers, introduce the product or service to them, and finally try to close a deal.
But, yes, all these are done online.
In simple language, digital marketing is marketing or advertising products or services through online mediums.
It is done organically by curating content about your business that customers read and share or running online ads that make customers take the final action.
Sounds complicated? No worries. Look at this table and get a clear picture of the difference between traditional and digital marketing.
Difference Between Traditional Marketing & Digital Marketing
| Traditional Marketing | Digital Marketing |
| Promotion of products or services through TV, banner, Door to Door pamphlet distribution, broadcast, etc | In Digital Marketing, advertising products or services through digital mediums. |
| It does not help in brand building | A perfect option for brand building |
| Difficult to measure | Analytics tools help to measure the results |
| Not cost-effective | Cost-effective |
| It includes Broadcast, TV ads, Radio Banner ads, Sponsorship | It incorporates SEO, SEM, Content marketing, PPC, Email Marketing, social media |
As you are clear with the differences, let’s know why you should invest in digital marketing.
Importance of Digital Marketing
There was a phase when digital or internet marketing was a new and unique way to advertise a product or service.
It led to a new kind of media used for promoting products and services. However, within the past few years, the significance of digital marketing has risen.
As the Internet is related to whatever we do, the importance of digital marketing is becoming more evident.
To make this point clear, let us first understand why a business needs digital marketing to grow and survive.
Do you think that once your business gets established, then you will include digital marketing strategies?
If so, then you are making a big mistake.
The problem with this attitude is you will lose all your customers who are already online.
Today, there are chances that they might be searching for a business like yours, but if they cannot find you easily, they will probably choose somebody else. As simple as that.
Today, a business runs this way.
When somebody is interested in your business or wants to know more about your company, what will they do first?
They will find information about your company online.
They expect to find your website, social media pages, etc.
Next, they might look for reviews to understand what others think about your company and whether it is the right decision to choose your company.
Today, if a customer does not find your company’s online presence, they may even think that your business is not legitimate and choose any of your competitors.
Once they make the decision, they are not going to come back.
When you see what your competitors are doing, you will get an idea of what is working and what is not.
Check how your competitors established their online presence, what type of content are they writing?
What kind of graphics are they using?
How do they connect with their audience, and what makes them unique?
Do you have any idea to do things better than them?
For finding answers to all these questions, you must get involved in the online world.
If your customers search for a business like yours and find your competitor’s website but not yours, then you are at a considerable loss. Your customers cannot choose you if they do not see you online.
Whatever information they want, they will first start with a Google search. If your business lacks an online presence, they will not find you, and you cannot compete.
On the contrary, despite having an online presence, if your customers are still finding your competitors, then there are also high chances that you might not be visible.
Besides designing a website, learning SEO is a strategy that can help you to move ahead of your competitors.
How?
By being the first name in Google search, a customer finds you with keywords related to your business.
Questions for which your customers may want quick answers should be easily discoverable, like where are you located, what are your working hours, and what is your USP.
By comparing your and your competitor’s website, your target audience may compare things like working hours, special discounts, prices, etc.
It is the reason why it is essential to know what your competitors are doing.
Customers are already comparing you and your competitors. So, make sure they choose you after the comparison.
Building an online presence for your business will be open 24/7 even when it is closed physically.
Customers can send you emails with doubts at their ease, browse your inventory, and make a purchase.
By communicating with customers digitally, you can understand their search motto.
What is their problem?
What solutions do they want?
Instead of guessing, internet marketing lets you find solid answers to your customer’s problems.
This way, a brand starts building a relationship with its customers. With time, a brand becomes much more than just a business. It becomes a trusted partner.
As a result, audiences are more likely to prefer those businesses from which they have already purchased.
Few advertising forms are as cost-effective as digital marketing.
Small businesses try to get as much as possible done using a small budget.
Different forms of digital marketing let you communicate your brand and reach a broad audience even when you have a tight budget.
Compared to marketing on TV, radio, or direct email, digital marketing costs significantly less and reach a broad audience.
As a result, using digital marketing will give you a better chance to make your business a success.
That is, finding the total number of customers who first converted into leads, subscribers, and finally a buyer.
Some digital marketing methods with a high conversion rate include social media, SEO, and Email marketing.
These strategies can generate a fast and effective communication channel with the customers.
All the traffic that you get on your site may not be helpful.
So, in such a scenario, digital marketing will help you reach those looking for the products or services your company offers, which means higher chances of conversion.
Your social media page and website can be a platform where the customer can ask questions, offer their suggestions, and therefore take the connection with you to the next level.
Once you know the advantages of digital marketing, would you like to try it for your business? Why not?
So, without wasting any more time, let us find the different types of digital marketing so that you can make the right choice based on your business type.
Types of Digital Marketing
There are different kinds of digital marketing, each having its unique strategies and digital channels. It has seven categories. These are:
1. Content Marketing – Content marketing creates and promotes different types of content, including written, visual, and audio content.
Content marketing includes case studies, blogs, podcasts, videos, and many more.
A successful content marketing strategy helps in attracting and guiding customers through each stage of the sales funnel.
2. Email Marketing – Email provides a more personal touch while connecting with your customers. It is one form of internet marketing that can make your business stand out.
You can offer special discounts, customized content to your subscribers, making them feel special.
The attractive offers may prompt even the non-subscribers to subscribe.
Email marketing not only helps in driving more sales but also develops a sense of reliability.
It is an online marketing channel that allows you to match your expenditure to individual customers and realize where they stand in their buying cycle.
However, a well-curated and targeted email campaign could even end up in your customer’s spam folder. So, ensure that your program does not ignore spam laws.
3. Social media marketing – There are nearly 2.8 billion social media users worldwide, almost one-third of all internet users. It signifies that a business that ignores social media will suffer in the long run.
Social media is one of the best tools for building a personal connection between a brand and its customers.
Most social media channels have the added benefit of analytics, which gives an ample amount of data about your customer’s composition and preferences.
In simple language, social media is one of the main tools for business growth.
With social media marketing, businesses can connect with customers on their chosen platforms.
For example, one can use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, or LinkedIn to increase loyal followers.
4. Search Engine Optimization- SEO refers to strategies and techniques that make a website more visible in the Google search engine results, ideally in the top 10 search results.
It includes optimization of the website content, structure of a website, including navigation, backlinks, and even coding.
That’s not the only thing in SEO. Many other things matter. In simple language, Google wants to understand that your business is reliable, and for this, it considers certain things like:
And much more. The more positive these signs are, the higher your site will be in search engine results.
5. Pay-per-click- Pay Per Click can prove to be one of the most effective online marketing channels if used in the right way. The main objective of PPC is to convert latent users into consumers.
For instance, a click on an online display ad can take the prospective client to another page whose content offers more information. If they feel attached throughout the experience, they may end up making a purchase.
PPC ads are product listings, sponsored stories, and video ads on sites and different social media platforms.
Scope Of Digital Marketing
The growth of digital marketing has been quite remarkable, and the rising numbers show that it will grow in the future.
More and more opportunities will pour in, and thus, being innovative, creative, and keeping yourself updated with the latest trends can help you become a successful digital marketer.
Over the years, the growth that we have seen on the Internet, especially since this Pandemic started, will stay.
It is so because people are now adapting to the new normal and have become comfortable doing things online, studying, ordering food, shopping, buying medicines, or even doing their banking transactions.
Therefore, to satisfy these new demands, digital marketing is the most crucial thing required.
Moreover, another essential thing to consider is our future generation. It will be a part of the present online world and will be doing everything online.
So, to satisfy the needs of prospective consumers, companies have already started making digital marketing efforts.
With digital marketing becoming popular, companies are looking for digital marketing experts.
Furthermore, as discussed above, considering the present scenario when a pandemic hits us, the job market is now more focused on digital and technology skills as it helps people work remotely.
Therefore, companies are currently looking for people who have the skills to handle digital marketing jobs.
So, it is essential to learn digital marketing.
Another advantage of building a career in this field is that you can expect a high salary at top multinational companies if you are an expert digital marketer.
The scope of a digital marketing career in the Indian online industry alone is expected to be worth $160 billion by 2025, as per a Goldman Sachs report, which is about three times more than its present value.
So, what did you understand by this?
It is simple. The upcoming future of careers in digital marketing is promising, and if you want to learn digital marketing, now is the right time to do so.
Benefits of Digital Marketing Career for Students
By this time, you must have acknowledged a massive demand for digital marketers, but do you know what the miserable part is?
There are not enough digital marketers in the industry. It is something of which you must take advantage.
Digital marketing is one of the popular career fields today.
As a result, many graduate and undergraduate students choose it.
Digital marketing job opportunities are extensive, and it has a vast scope, as far as professional growth is concerned.
Still not convinced?
The perks of a digital marketing career mentioned below will change your thoughts.
India is the second country with the maximum number of internet users, after China, and the number is growing every year.
As more and more organizations join the online trend for a wider reach, job opportunities in digital marketing are also increasing.
It is a growing sector with a lot of possibilities.
Yes, it might be easier for a marketing professional or a student to understand digital marketing principles. Still, it does not mean that somebody who does not know anything about digital marketing cannot become a professional.
While working with a digital marketing company, you will get a chance to work with different clients. You can even work from home. All you need is a powerful internet connection.
As there is a scarcity of expert digital marketers, companies are ready to pay an excellent salary to professionals. You can even earn extra income by doing freelancing.
Some didn’t want to do that, so they started looking for better options. What did they do?
They chose digital marketing. Companies started implementing digital marketing strategies as it is the only and the best method to keep connected with customers.
There are plenty of jobs within this sector like search engine optimizer, content writer, social media expert, digital marketing analysts, etc. You can choose one as per your choice.
By learning digital marketing, you can earn money with the most cost-efficient approach by targeting the right customers. You can even track your progress and come up with better strategies using analytical tools.
All you will need is a desktop or a laptop with a good internet connection. If you think you are not the usual office-going type, this is the right career option.
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If you want to start this journey, here is how you can get started.
How to Become a Digital Marketer?
Apart from the educational degree and professional skills, digital marketers possess a confident attitude. They are creative thinkers and thought leaders. If you aim to become a successful digital marketer, you must start thinking like one. How can you do that?
Just like all other internships, you must take a digital marketing internship as an opportunity to get acquainted with the professional environment that will help you bring your capabilities in front of everybody.
An internship is often challenging, but when the right professionals surround you, you learn many things from them.
Though you can take your own time to discover different facets of digital marketing, an internship will help you face real-world issues you must overcome as a digital marketer.
Many digital marketing experts will not only share with you what they did, but they will also share case studies on which they had worked.
So you must watch them, listen to them, and, if possible, subscribe to their emails. They are going to be of great help.
At such conferences or networking events, you get the opportunity to listen to world-popular industry experts, take suggestions from the best digital marketing professionals, and get a glimpse of the future of this industry.
Usually, these types of events sponsor workshops, exciting events, and lessons. All these will help you to improve your skills and expand your knowledge.
Not only do these conferences and events help you improve your professional skills, but they also help you to build a better interpersonal relationship.
To be a successful digital marketer, you should learn new skills. And the best part is with the growing demand for digital marketing; there is no scarcity of , webinars, and eBooks online.
Skills Required to Become a Digital Marketer
Apart from the methods mentioned above, the most popular way which helps build and improve one’s online marketing skills is by attaining digital marketing certifications. You can accomplish it by undergoing a digital marketing certification course from a reputed institute.
Nowadays, there are plenty of courses available online.
Moreover, as the demand for digital marketers is rising day by day, companies are also becoming specific about their recruitment process.
In such a scenario, attaining a certificate can make a huge difference in getting a job.
If you want to achieve success as a digital marketer, you must have ambition, drive, and a real passion for it, in addition to education, tech, and professional skills.
In addition, you must understand that digital marketing is all about what you do for your customer, not what you are selling to them.
For anyone who wants to choose digital marketing as a career, I would say that Digital Marketing is a great career path as it is an evolving field and has plenty of opportunities.
So, if this sounds like a dream career, start learning today!
Is there something we missed? Share your thoughts. Would you please tell us what you think about our Beginner’s Guide on Digital Marketing in the comments below?
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