What is Digital Marketing? Everything you need to know to create your online strategies

Digital marketing, despite being a well-known concept, still has a certain complexity that makes it difficult to understand.

After all, what are the purpose and characteristics of a digital marketing strategy? How can it be applied? And what are its advantages?

Whether you are a professional in the field or someone who is researching the subject, you should already know about the importance of techniques involving digital marketing. So, the time has come to delve deeper and clear up all your doubts on the subject!

Come on?

What is digital marketing?

Digital marketing is the set of marketing strategies and actions carried out through online channels to promote products, services and brands. Therefore, it is one of the main ways that companies can communicate with the public in a direct, personalized way and at the right time.

As we know, digital marketing is a broad term that encompasses a variety of strategies and channels. This way, it is not tied to certain processes, as it takes advantage of all the advantages that the internet has to offer.

According to Philip Kotler, considered the father of marketing, this technique is characterized as “the social process through which people and groups of people satisfy wants and needs by creating, offering, and freely exchanging products and services of value with others.”

Currently, it is impossible to talk about marketing, without mentioning the role of the internet in this process. After all, as we saw previously, the public is increasingly connected and carries out tasks such as shopping easily online.

The internet in the development of digital marketing

Therefore, we see a multitude of alternatives to take advantage of digital channels such as blogs, websites, search engines, social media, email and others.

The marketing concept taught by Kotler is based on the assumption that this tool works as a kind of agreement between two parties, in a naturally social process.

In this way, digital marketing is based on details such as: culture, psychological, geographic and legal factors that, in most cases, influence people when making a purchase.

We are talking here about an infinitely encompassing space, with equally infinite possibilities. This is why companies from different segments are constantly looking for the best opportunities within this scenario.

In short, let's think of marketing as the set of marketing strategies and actions carried out to promote products, services and brands. Add the internet to this sum, and you will have digital marketing as the main result.

In other words, it is the process of promoting a solution through digital channels, in the most varied formats and also with objectives that can go beyond sales. But we can see that later. Before we delve deeper, we need to understand how digital marketing was formed and, to do so, we need to remember a little history.

The history of digital marketing

Marketing arose with the need for companies to communicate with their customers to promote their products and services. In the beginning, marketing strategies were quite simple and based on advertising. Over time, it became necessary to reinvent them, as companies also began to worry about customer satisfaction and relationships with the public.

We can associate the need for means to disseminate products and solutions with industrial development. After all, with the high supply of goods and services, companies needed to stand out among their competitors.

Ok... it is possible to identify this type of practice during the 1960th century, but it was only in XNUMX that this concept took shape, through direct mail and also telemarketing techniques.

Between the 1970s and 1990s, we witnessed the advancement of technology and the emergence of Web 1.0, which established a one-way communication process, still very rudimentary. It was during this period that we experienced the emergence of what we know today as the biggest search engine today, Google.

With computers becoming more common and the presence of a loyal audience expanding rapidly, it didn't take long for the term digital marketing to begin to be used.

To give you an idea, in 1993, when the first clickable ad was published, the internet had around 130 websites. Something that is light years away from the experience we have today, with content being generated every second.

With the emergence of what we know today as digital marketing, at the end of the 2000s, the internet already had around 17 million websites. Currently, it is almost impossible to determine this number exactly, after all, it can change in a matter of seconds.

The influence of marketing in the digital scenario

We have talked so far about marketing carried out through digital media. However, we cannot forget the influence that these strategies can have on the internet.

In this way, many of the concepts that emerged with the development of specific techniques were improved and adapted to the digital environment.

One of them, which you should know, is the 4Ps of marketing. Let's remember this concept?

4Ps of marketing

As we know, the 4 Ps marketing These are fundamental concepts that represent the essential elements of a marketing strategy, both in the digital environment and outside it.

Product: refers to the actual product or service that a company offers. This includes quality, design, features, packaging and all the features that make the product or service attractive to customers.

Price: involves determining the price at which the product or service will be sold to consumers. This includes strategies, discounts, promotions, and how the price compares to the competition.

Distribution (Place): Known here in Brazil as “square”, it is the way in which the product or service reaches consumers. This involves the selection of distribution channels, logistics, storage and all aspects related to product availability on the market.

Promotion: refers to the marketing activities used to promote the product or service. In other words, advertising, sales promotions, public relations, digital marketing, events, among others, aimed at informing, persuading and convincing consumers to buy.

Over time, we saw the development of the processes involved in selling a solution. Thus, the evolution of this concept became inevitable. Today, we have already talked about 8 Ps marketing, which cover terms such as: people, processes, positioning and performance.

Concepts you find in digital marketing

Like any new strategy, there are concepts that are part of the routine of professionals who apply it. This would be no different in digital marketing.

So, let's understand a little more about the processes of creating a digital marketing strategy, through the base etymology for these techniques.

Persona

To speak to a specific audience, especially with internet targeting options, we need a fictional representation of that customer, based on demographic and behavioral data. This is the role of the persona in a marketing campaign.

Lead

Leads are individuals or companies that have expressed interest in a product or service, often by providing their contact information. This is a fundamental step in the sales process, as it is at this point that you identify business possibilities for your company.

To better understand the subject, you can check out a little more about the lead conversion strategy through the digital marketing we use here at Beatz.

Sales Funnel

The sales funnel is a term that indicates the process a potential customer goes through, from becoming aware of the brand to completing the purchase. In this way, through specific techniques for defining the sales funnel, you can map the journey that your visitors and leads take through your digital marketing campaign.

Landing Page

You have certainly come across a Landing Page while browsing the internet. This is a web page specifically designed to receive visitors and direct them to a specific action, such as filling out a form or making a purchase.

To do this, in general, it offers a certain item, be it valuable material or the possibility of a contact, in exchange for information so that this visitor can be included in a list of leads.

SEO

O SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a set of practices to improve a website's visibility in search engine results. With it, we can assign characteristics that favor the ranking of a given page in the main search engines.

It is through coherent SEO strategies that you can conquer the first pages of results on Google, or any other search engine on the internet.

CRM

CRM (Customer Relationship Management – Customer Relationship Management) is a set of strategies, processes and technologies that companies use to manage and improve relationships with their customers. This involves collecting, analyzing and using data to understand customer needs, deliver more personalized service and, ultimately, strengthen customer loyalty and satisfaction.

Nutrition flow

A nurturing flow, in the context of digital marketing, is an automated sequence of messages or content targeted at a specific group of leads or contacts with the aim of nurturing them throughout the purchasing cycle.

Benefits that the internet has brought to digital marketing

In fact, if you have followed our article so far, you know that online marketing has brought a multitude of solutions to the impasses that have arisen in the process of propagating an idea, a product or a service.

Certainly, some of these benefits stand out when we think about a marketing strategy that has digital media as its main vehicle. After all, this is an area with many nuances and information about consumption and behavior.

With this in mind, we have separated some of the main advantages of investing in digital marketing strategies. Check it out below!

Interactivity

We talked previously about the advent of Web 1.0. During this period, the main characteristic of the internet was one-way communication. However, one of the main factors that resulted in the advancement of the internet for personal use and later for marketing, was interactivity.

In this way, we entered what we know as Web 2.0, which promoted a two-way street for communication between advertisers and consumers. Furthermore, over time, the evolutionary process of the internet improved interactivity. This is one of the main resources for brands to engage their audience and for consumers to have an active voice in the growth of a company.

Concrete metrics

Without a shadow of a doubt, something that is at the side of any marketer is quality information. The internet is a space prepared to give you everything you need to analyze your strategies and improve them through based on reliable information.

targeting

When thinking about a space with so many connected people, you certainly think about the number of consumers your company can reach, right?

Well... that's a valid thought, but we can't forget the real benefit of digital marketing. In this case, segmentation. In the same way that the web can provide a multitude of metrics for monitoring results, it can also give you direction.

Remember when we talked about persona? This is essential for the right person to reach you, which is only possible through concrete information and a coherent target audience definition for your solution.

Digital marketing cases to inspire you

One of the points to be defined when thinking about digital marketing is your objective with a campaign. Not everything will be about generating sales. You can also prepare the ground for your company to set up camp in the immensity that is the internet.

This is why branding campaigns in the digital space are so successful. But, for those of you who think about sales and concrete results, you can rest assured, because digital marketing is also for you. Proof of this are the Beatz Marketing Digital cases. Through results-focused strategies, we are able to deliver increased conversion of leads, users and qualified opportunities for all of our clients.

To check more details, you can access the our cases page and stay up to date with everything we produce here!

Always “Like a girl” campaign

This campaign by the tampon brand Always was launched in 2014 and became a worldwide success because it addressed a delicate and important topic: female empowerment. The campaign video, which shows girls and women of different ages and cultures doing everyday activities, has been viewed more than 100 million times on YouTube.

The campaign was a success because:

• Addressed a relevant and important topic for the brand’s target audience;
• He used simple, direct language that resonated with the audience;
• It was creative and impactful, generating a lot of buzz on social media.

Metro Trains “Dumb Ways to Die” campaign

This campaign by the public transport company Metro Trains, in Australia, was launched in 2012 to make people aware of the dangers of walking on the train line. The campaign video, which shows cute and funny characters dying in stupid ways, has been viewed more than 1,8 billion times on YouTube.

The campaign was a success because:

• He used dark humor to attract the public's attention;
• It was creative and memorable, generating a lot of buzz on social media, especially on TikTok;
• It was effective in the message it wanted to convey.

Dove “Real Beauty Sketches” Campaign

This campaign by beauty brand Dove was launched in 2013 to promote acceptance of natural beauty. The campaign video, which shows women being drawn by a forensic artist before and after being put on makeup, has been viewed more than 600 million times on YouTube.

The campaign was a success because:

• It addressed an important topic for the brand’s target audience;
• It was creative and impactful, generating a lot of buzz on social media;
• It was effective in the message it wanted to convey.

We see then that, in all campaigns, companies took advantage of the resources that the internet has to offer, and engaged the right audience to generate brand recognition and, consequently, greater demand for their products and/or services.

Another company that stands out when it comes to using the internet for marketing is Netflix. Throughout its development process, digital has always been the core of what built the company, so nothing more fair than understanding the great marketing feats they are doing to this day!

Strategies you find in digital marketing

As we saw at the beginning of this article, digital marketing is formed from a set of strategies aimed at promoting an idea, product or service, through digital media.

But what are these strategies? We have separated the main ones here, so that you better understand how digital marketing is applied in practice.

Inbound Marketing

This is a marketing strategy that aims to attract potential customers to a company through the creation and distribution of relevant and valuable content. The objective is for potential customers to find the company naturally, without having to interrupt their purchasing journey. In this way, differentiating itself from the often intrusive techniques of traditional marketing.

Content Marketing

Content marketing is a fundamental part of inbound marketing. It consists of creating and distributing high-quality content that is relevant to the company's target audience. The content can be in different formats, such as articles, videos, e-books, infographics, among other materials.

SEO

As we saw previously, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, and it is a set of techniques and strategies that aim to improve the positioning of a website in the results of search engines, such as Google.

SEO is a fundamental part of digital marketing, as it helps to increase the website's organic traffic, that is, people who found your page in the search results, without the company having paid for it.

There are some positive practices that can help you on this journey, to reach the first page of Google results. Among them, we can mention:

• Use the right keywords
• Create quality content
• Optimize page titles and descriptions
• Build internal links
• Build external links

You can learn everything about SEO through the articles we publish here on the blog. We have Complete Guides to help you better understand this process!

Marketing Intelligence

Marketing intelligence, also known as market intelligence, is the process of collecting, analyzing and interpreting data relevant to a company's marketing. The objective of marketing intelligence is to provide information that helps companies make more assertive marketing decisions.

Trust Marketing

Trust Marketing, or Trust Marketing, is a data driven marketing strategy, developed by Beatz Digital Marketing and focused on the Customer's Shopping Journey. In this way, it aims to generate trust (authority) before demonstrating the commercial offer. To do this, it uses branding, content marketing, SEO, paid traffic, automation and social media tools to attract, relate and sell.

Beatz's recommendations: books and films for you to understand more about the world of Digital Marketing

Creativity and technique must always go hand in hand when it comes to marketing. Therefore, we cannot fail to consider increasing our repertoire in the process of defining a strategy. In the same way that we analyzed some of the successful pieces created by companies that achieved great results through digital marketing, we need to expand this.

Therefore, we have brought you some tips that can help you understand more about how marketing can strengthen a company and make it grow and stand out in the market. Check it out and take the opportunity to update your lists!

Films about digital marketing

The Social Network (2010)

Discover the process behind the creation of Facebook, one of the most successful technology companies in the world, and the impasses behind what became one of the greatest marketing tools in history.

Jobs (2015)

Great chance to meet the founder of one of the best-known brands on the market, Apple.

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Discover the story of Jordan Belfort, a stockbroker who became one of the richest men in the world through persuasive selling. Although contradictory, his methods show that knowing your audience can take you to unimaginable levels.

The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

The film tells the story of Andrea Sachs, a young journalist who begins working as an assistant to Miranda Priestly, editor of the fashion magazine Runway. In this work we can analyze behind the scenes of one of the biggest scenarios that marketing takes over to stand out and dominate the market, the world of fashion.

Books on digital marketing

The Digital Marketing Bible

By Cláudio Torres, this is a complete book on digital marketing, which covers the main strategies and tools for effectively implementing a campaign for your company.

Content Marketing

Seth Godin talks about the importance of creating relevant and valuable content to attract customers. As we have seen, this is a fundamental step in the process of implementing a digital marketing strategy.

Traction

Discover what Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares, founders of successful startups, think about digital marketing, in a book that teaches you how to build a successful business.

Marketing 3.0

We've already talked about Philip Kotler, and we couldn't help but comment on his book on the marketing of the future, which focuses on creating relationships with customers.

With this article you can even know everything about digital marketing, but nothing stops your company from starting off on the right foot, with the help of an agency with its own methodology and years of experience in delivering satisfactory results to numerous segments. Talk to our team right now and see how Beatz can help your business grow and stand out among competitors!