Wondering where to begin online? This what is digital marketing guide for beginners gives you the short answer. It is promoting a business through internet and digital channels, and you can learn it one channel at a time.
This page is part of our wider coverage of digital marketing, so use it as a starting point before you move to more specific topics.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Internet users worldwide (Oberlo, December 2022) | 4.05 billion users |
| Americans who own a smartphone (Oberlo, December 2022) | 77 percent |
| Stages in the digital marketing funnel | 6 stages |
| Channels in ReliableSoft’s beginner list | 8 channels |
| Ways to group channels by who controls them | 3 types (owned, paid, earned) |
These figures come from Oberlo’s beginner’s guide and ReliableSoft’s channel guide. They can change, so check the sources before you rely on them.
What does digital marketing mean?
Oberlo quotes Wikipedia’s definition: “Digital marketing is the marketing of products or services using digital technologies, mainly on the Internet, but also including mobile phones, display advertising, and any other digital medium.” In plain words, it is any promotion that happens through the web, phones or other digital tools.
The building block is the marketing channel. CareerFoundry’s guide, updated in September 2021, describes a channel as a tool or a platform used to communicate with your audience, whether to promote a product or service or to create a buzz around your brand.
Digital channels are the ones that involve the internet or digital technology. Examples include search engines, social networks, websites and email.
Why businesses use digital marketing
The first reason is cost. Oberlo says the barrier to entry is low, and CareerFoundry points out that anyone can afford to set up Google or Instagram ads on a shoestring budget, while large-scale television commercials need far more capital.
The second reason is reach. As of Oberlo’s December 2022 article, there were 4.05 billion internet users worldwide, and 77 percent of Americans owned a smartphone.
The third reason is measurement. Oberlo notes that digital marketing lets marketers accurately measure their activities in real time, unlike a magazine ad where you cannot tell who paid attention. CareerFoundry likewise credits digital marketing’s ability to zero in on niche markets and track results for changing how businesses split their budgets.
The digital marketing funnel
Oberlo describes digital marketing strategy as a sales funnel. You use tactics to bring people in, then move them through stages until they become customers and then advocates of your brand. Its version has six stages:
- Exposure: you get people’s attention, for example through pay-per-click ads, search optimisation or social media.
- Discovery: prospects explore their needs and the offers available.
- Consideration: people weigh up what to buy and who to buy from.
- Conversion: the buyer takes an action, such as joining a mailing list or purchasing.
- Relationship: you reassure them they made the right choice, with useful information or a positive customer experience.
- Retention and advocacy: you encourage repeat purchases, reviews and sharing.
Treat the funnel as a map. It shows you which stage a given channel is meant to serve.
Inbound and outbound marketing
Oberlo splits digital marketing into two approaches. Outbound marketing is essentially advertising, also called interruption-based marketing because consumers rarely choose to seek it out. Examples it lists include pay-per-click ads on Google and Facebook, and email blasts to people who have not subscribed.
Inbound marketing is also called permission-based marketing. Oberlo quotes HubSpot’s definition: it is focused on attracting customers through relevant and helpful content, so potential customers find you through channels like blogs, search engines and social media.
Neither approach is “better” in the sources. They simply suit different goals and budgets.
The main digital marketing channels
ReliableSoft’s guide lists 8 channels: your website, SEO, social media, pay-per-click advertising, content marketing, email, affiliate marketing and influencer marketing. It groups them in three ways, depending on who controls them:
- Owned channels are the ones you control, like your website, your blog and your email list.
- Paid channels are the ones you pay to appear on, like search ads, social media ads, and influencer or affiliate commissions.
- Earned channels are attention you win without paying, like organic search rankings, shares, reviews and press mentions.
The same guide says most successful businesses combine all three: paid and earned channels bring people in, and owned channels keep them coming back.
Paid search and SEO
With paid search, also known as pay-per-click, CareerFoundry explains that you pay every time someone clicks on one of your ads. Search engine optimisation works differently: ReliableSoft says that once your site ranks, you get “free” traffic because you do not have to pay for it to stay visible.
Social media and content
ReliableSoft warns that organic reach on social media has fallen a lot over the years. It says most businesses combine consistent posting with paid social ads to get predictable results. For the content side, read content marketing for beginners to see how publishing helpful material fits the inbound approach.
Email and your website
ReliableSoft calls your website the hub of your digital marketing because search rankings, ads, emails and social posts all send people there. It is also the one channel you fully own, along with the email list you build through it.
How to get started
You do not need every channel at once. ReliableSoft’s advice for the website, the hub of the other channels, gives you a sensible first checklist:
- Choose a platform and a short domain name that matches your brand.
- Make pages fast and mobile-friendly, because most visitors will see your site on a phone first.
- Give every page a job, so visitors know what you offer and what to do next.
- Add ways to convert, such as contact forms, email sign-up forms and clear calls to action.
- Track what happens by setting up analytics.
When you are ready for that last step, google analytics 4 for beginners explains how to see which channels bring visitors.
If you try paid social later, ReliableSoft says a campaign in Meta Ads Manager starts with choosing one of six objectives: awareness, traffic, engagement, leads, app promotion or sales. Pick the one that matches your goal rather than the one that sounds biggest.
Frequently asked questions
What is digital marketing in simple terms?
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It is promoting products or services through digital technologies, mainly the internet, using channels such as search, social media, email and websites. The definition above is the one Oberlo quotes from Wikipedia.
Is digital marketing only for big companies?
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No. CareerFoundry says digital channels are accessible to small businesses and entrepreneurs, and that anyone can afford to set up Google or Instagram ads on a shoestring budget.
Does digital marketing always cost money?
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Not always. Oberlo says many forms of digital marketing, like content marketing, do not cost any money at all. Paid channels such as pay-per-click charge you each time someone clicks your ad.
Which channel should a beginner look at first?
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ReliableSoft treats your website as the hub that most other channels send people to, and the one channel you fully own. Starting there gives every later channel somewhere to point.
