Difference between online and digital marketing

What is the difference between online and digital marketing?

Online marketing refers to advertising on the internet. Digital marketing is a broad term which includes online marketing. However, digital marketing includes all forms of marketing through electronic media.

An online marketer creates pay per click advertising or digital products, marketing via online or through social media. Digital marketers might show you an ad on TV.

Luckily for you, I’m going to break down the difference between online advertising and digital marketing. 

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What is the difference between online and digital marketing?

Digital marketing is a broad term which intends to provide advertising material through digital means. Online marketing is a subset of digital marketing. An advertisement found online is both online and digital marketing.

What is online marketing?

Online marketing is specific to advertising found on the internet. Ads found on Google search engine, Facebook, or any online medium is online marketing. Online marketing can be done through paid advertising for free organic traffic.

For example, a company may host their product for sale on Amazon or a Shopify store. A company will need advertising to get people to discover their product.

Since the product is available online, online marketing is the ideal choice. Advertisers will attempt to find people already online and send them to their store. Doing so is much easier than getting someone to go online and then to their store.

Paid advertising is the fastest way to get traffic to the product page. The company can simply create a Facebook advertisement which leads to their product. Should someone be interested, they click the ad and go learn more about the product.

Paid advertising can be really expensive. The benefit of paid traffic is it can generate sales quickly. However, every cent spent on Advertising takes away from the company’s profit.

Organic traffic is when someone finds your product through free sources. The company doesn’t have to pay for advertising, but people find the product anyways.

With online marketing, social media is the ideal place to get organic traffic. You can generate sales by building a following. Additionally, some companies may have a blog where people find articles and then discover the company’s products. 

What is digital marketing?

Digital marketing is a broad term used to define electronic advertising. Any form of advertising done in a digital manner is considered digital marketing. Online marketing is simply a subset digital marketing.

Examples of digital marketing include:

  • Email Marketing
  • Search Engine Optimization
  • Pay Per Click Ads
  • Content Marketing
  • Podcasts
  • Broadcasting
  • TV Advertisements
  • Text Message marketing
  • Push Notifications
  • Video Marketing
  • And so much more!

Digital marketing is very broad. If you use an electronic device and you see an advertisement, it is digital marketing.

Why is digital marketing so important?

Digital marketing is important because it allows companies to sell products. The more products a company can sell the higher revenue they will generate. Digital marketing makes it much easier for companies to find customers to purchase their products.

Individuals can also take advantage of digital marketing. You no longer have to be a major Advertiser to make money online. Everyday people are making money through advertising.

You can start your own online business and quit your 9-5. 

As a matter of fact, many companies are moving towards influencer marketing. Companies would much rather pay you to advertise their product.

Why would a company want to pay you? Influencer marketing is much cheaper then spending money on paid ads. Having someone else advertise a company’s product builds trust between the company and your audience.

In addition, your audience may be super relevant to the product. For example, let’s say you have a massive Twitter following around shoes. Nike might want to advertise to your audience because they can naturally love shoes.

How can I learn digital marketing?

You can learn digital marketing by purchasing courses, consuming online content, and through trial and error. Purchasing courses is often a shortcut and will teach you faster than self learning. However, learning digital marketing on a budget is best learned watching other successful people.

Personally, I learned blogging by teaching myself. I consumed blog content and YouTube videos and tested the advice on my own website.

Purchasing a course could have made me more successful and much faster. However, I do believe with enough consistent effort anybody can figure out their problems. After 3 years of blogging, I learned how to do it correctly.

You can do the very same.

The first step is to decide what style of digital marketing you’re interested in. Maybe you want to be a pay-per-click advertiser, social media guru, or top blogger.

You have two options. Either pay for the advice in the form of a course which walks you through step-by-step. Alternatively, you can try and reverse-engineer advice you find online.

It all depends on your personal preference. If you don’t have a lot of money to spend on courses, that’s okay. Courses are just a good way to learn a new skill from someone who has done it. 

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Summary: Difference between online and digital marketing

As you can see, the difference between online marketing and digital marketing is simple. Digital marketing is an umbrella term for advertising through electronic means. Online marketing is a subset of digital marketing which focuses on online advertising. 

Online marketing examples include Facebook advertising, content marketing, and social media promotion. Digital marketing can include tv ads, push notifications, email marketing, and much more.

Digital marketing is important because it allows companies to sell their products. Obviously, the more products they sell the higher their revenue will be. 

Companies sell their product in two ways. Organic traffic is when people find their product naturally, like through social media. Paid traffic is when companies purchase ads to try to make a sale.

You can also be a digital marketer and start a side Hustle which makes more money than your 9-5.

You can learn digital marketing by purchasing courses, watching online content, and trial and error. Consider purchasing a course if you want to reach your goals faster. Otherwise, learn about the subject and test it out for yourself.

John is the founder of TightFist Finance and an expert in the field of personal finance. John has studied personal finance for over 10 years and has used his knowledge to pay down debt, grow his investment portfolio, and launch a financial based business. He is committed to sharing content related to personal finance based on his experience in his career, investing, and path towards reaching financial independence.