How Are Digital Marketing and Social Media Different?

To put it simply, digital marketing is like a pie, and social media is one of the slices. While this may seem like splitting hairs, it’s important to understand the differences between digital marketing and social media as you go about planning your overall marketing engagement strategy. The San Diego web design, digital marketing, and social media specialists from Saba SEO share what you need to know.

Digital Marketing

As suggested above in the pie analogy, digital marketing is more of a broad category. It encompasses all the various channels you use to get your message out to your intended audience via digital methods. The main components of digital marketing include: 

• SEM (search engine marketing)—includes organic search and paid advertising (pay-per-click)
• Text message/in-app engagement
• Email marketing
• TV, radio, digital signage, and similar digital channels not involving the Internet

Social Media

Social media is defined as platforms that allow users to create, view, and share content collectively. Facebook and Twitter are the best-known platforms for many people. However, there are many niche platforms, such as Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, and TikTok, that can be used effectively to reach your intended audience. Regardless of which platform you prefer, many of the top social channels have advertising options and an assortment of user data marketers can use to their advantage.

Key Differences

Now that you have a better understanding of digital marketing and social media, let’s zero in on specific key differences. The main ones are listed below:

• Social media is limited to your preferred social platforms
• Digital marketing includes many different mediums
• Social media is mainly focused on communication and engagement
• Digital marketing tends to be more about messaging

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is focusing your online digital efforts primarily on social media and assuming that’s all you have to do. Ideally, you want to make social media part of a more diverse and encompassing digital marketing strategy in which each element is driven by specific goals that are good for your brand and business.

Whether you need a focused digital marketing campaign or an effective social media strategy, the experienced professionals from Saba SEO can help. When they need experts in Internet marketing, San Diego businesses trust us to help them create the perfect mix of tactics that can boost online visibility and improve conversion rates. To learn about our high-quality services, give us a call at 858-277-1717 today.