Unsure where to begin with digital marketing? It is all marketing that happens online, through channels like search, social, email and websites, and this guide maps them for you.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Definition of digital marketing | All marketing efforts that take place on the internet |
| Marketers surveyed for HubSpot’s 2025 report | 1,700+ marketers |
| Top-ROI channels in 2024 (HubSpot) | 5 digital channels |
| Common channels listed by CareerFoundry | 6 channels |
| Offline channels digital marketing is contrasted with | Print, direct mail and phone calls |
These figures come from HubSpot’s digital marketing guide and CareerFoundry’s beginner’s guide. Figures can change, so check the source before you rely on them.
What digital marketing means
Digital marketing, also known as online marketing, refers to all marketing efforts that take place on the internet. Businesses use search engines, social media, email and other websites to connect with current and prospective customers. The definition also covers communication through text or multimedia messages.
For a slower start, read the what is digital marketing guide for beginners before returning to this overview. This page is the wider map: it shows how the pieces connect and points you to deeper guides for each one.
The aim is simple. HubSpot describes the practice as using various digital tactics and channels to connect with customers where they spend a significant amount of their time: online. The best marketers understand how each campaign contributes to their overarching goals, so channels are a means and not the goal itself.
HubSpot gives a clear example of how the roles fit together around a single campaign:
- A content marketer could create a series of blog posts that generate leads from an ebook.
- A social media marketer could promote those posts through paid and organic posts on the business’s social accounts.
- An email marketer could send people who download the ebook more information about the company.
Each person works on a different channel, yet all of them serve one shared campaign goal. That is what an integrated approach looks like in practice.
How digital marketing differs from traditional marketing
CareerFoundry explains that traditional marketing relies on offline channels like print, direct mail and phone calls, while digital marketing uses online channels. The channels and methods differ, but the purpose is the same. Both kinds of marketing seek to nurture relationships with leads and get the right message in front of the right people at the right time.
Neither approach cancels the other out. The same guide says traditional marketing is not obsolete, and that businesses often combine the two as part of an overarching marketing strategy. A billboard might make you notice a product, and then search, reviews, ads and email help you decide.
HubSpot lists several benefits that explain why so many teams invest online:
- You can reach a larger audience than you could through traditional methods.
- You can target the prospects most likely to buy your product or service.
- It is often more cost-effective than traditional advertising.
- You can measure success on a daily basis and pivot as you see fit.
The last point matters most for beginners. Because results are visible quickly, you can test a small idea, read the numbers and adjust, instead of committing to a large plan up front.
The main digital marketing channels
CareerFoundry’s guide, updated on May 11, 2023, lists six common channels. Here is each one in plain terms, with a pointer to a deeper guide where one exists on this site.
- Email: messages sent directly to people who have shown interest. The guide to email marketing best practices covers how to do this well.
- Social media: organic and paid posts on social platforms, covered further below.
- Paid ads: placements you pay for, which can be shown to chosen audiences.
- Search engines: both paid search and optimizing your pages so they perform better in results.
- Websites: the home base where most other channels send people.
- Multimedia messaging: text and media messages delivered to phones and apps.
Search deserves a closer look. Search engine optimization involves optimizing web pages so they do better in search engines, and seo basics for beginners explains the starting points.
Content ties many of these channels together. Blog posts, ebooks and emails all depend on useful material, and content marketing for beginners shows how to plan it. If creators and partners interest you as another route to an audience, what is influencer marketing explains how that model works.
Which channels have paid off most?
HubSpot’s 2025 State of Marketing Report surveyed 1,700+ marketers. It found that the top five marketing channels with the biggest ROI in 2024 all involved digital marketing. You can read the report coverage on HubSpot’s guide.
- Email marketing
- Paid social media content
- Social media shopping tools
- Website, blog and SEO
- Content marketing
Treat this list as a starting hypothesis, not a promise. It reflects what surveyed marketers reported, and your audience, product and budget may behave differently.
The way to find out is to measure your own results. The walkthrough google analytics 4 for beginners is a sensible place to learn how website activity gets tracked.
Building a digital marketing plan step by step
A plan keeps channel choices tied to a purpose. This sequence works for most beginners, and each step links to a deeper guide.
- Set a goal. Decide what success means before you pick any tactic. The article on smart goals for marketing shows how to make a goal specific and measurable.
- Map the customer journey. Think about how a stranger becomes a lead and then a customer. A guide to what is a marketing funnel lays out that path.
- Choose your channels. Pick the places where your audience spends time online, and decide which are free and which are paid. HubSpot notes that marketers can support a larger campaign through both free and paid channels.
- Create and publish. Produce the posts, pages and emails that each channel needs, keeping the message consistent.
- Measure and adjust. Review results regularly and change what is not working. Daily measurement is one of the benefits HubSpot highlights.
Targeting is where digital channels differ most from print. HubSpot gives the example of social media targeting that shows ads to an audience based on variables like age, gender, location, interests, networks or behaviors.
That precision is useful, but it also means your message should speak to a specific group. A vague message aimed at everyone tends to waste the advantage.
Where social media and community fit
Social platforms sit at the centre of many campaigns because they combine paid and organic reach. Two of the five top-ROI channels in HubSpot’s 2025 report were social channels: paid social media content and social media shopping tools. The dedicated hub on social media marketing goes deeper into platforms, formats and posting habits.
Audiences also gather and talk with each other, not only with brands. If you want to understand how those groups are looked after over time, online community management covers the practice in detail.
Together, these two areas show that digital marketing is not only about broadcasting. It also involves listening, replying and keeping a relationship going after the first click.
Frequently asked questions
What is digital marketing in simple terms?
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It is all marketing activity that takes place online, also called online marketing. Common examples include email, social media, paid ads, search engines and websites.
Has digital marketing replaced traditional marketing?
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Not entirely. CareerFoundry’s guide says traditional marketing is not obsolete, and that businesses often combine digital and traditional marketing within one overarching strategy.
Which digital marketing channel is best?
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No single channel wins for everyone. HubSpot’s 2025 report named email, paid social content, social shopping tools, website, blog and SEO, and content marketing as the top five for ROI in 2024, but you should test against your own results.
Do I have to pay for ads to do digital marketing?
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No. HubSpot says marketers can support a larger campaign through both free and paid channels, so you can begin with owned channels such as a website and email and add paid activity later.
