3 Differences between Digital Marketing & Social Media Marketing

Written by: Jason Mayoral

Posted: November 1, 2017

3 Differences between Digital Marketing & Social Media Marketing

Normally when we talk about Social Networks we refer to platforms such as Facebook or Twitter, and when talking about Social Media, we refer to a more complex concept, which includes dialogue, interactions, platforms, metrics, etc. Once this other difference is made, we can return to the difference between Digital Marketing and Social Media. The main difference is that Social Media is part of Digital Marketing. Many people believe that by getting involved in social networks or Social Media they are already doing Digital Marketing, but this is not 100% true since there are several elements that make up a Digital Marketing campaign.

What is Digital Marketing?

We could define it as a method to create awareness and promote a brand or product by using all available digital channels. Its main components are:

Internet Marketing:

  • SEM (Search Engine Marketing), which includes SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and PPC consultant.(Pay per Click)
  • Smartphones
  • Mobile markets (Google Play, Apple Store, etc.)
  • Email Marketing

Digital channels without Internet:

  • Television,
  • Radio
  • SMS messages
  • Digital signage (indoor and outdoor)

Social Media is an important part of Digital Marketing.

What is social media?

The words social media have been the most talked about in the world of Digital Marketing in recent years. The success of the new generation of social media platforms, mainly Facebook and Twitter, has revolutionized the way in which we interact, socialize, buy and has also provided Digital Marketing with new channels. Social Media is the term we use to describe the platforms that unite people in the exchange of information. The most popular social media platforms are: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Tumblr, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon and YouTube. The social media marketing takes advantage of social networks for marketing communication purposes through different tools. Every social media network has series of different tools that can be used by people and companies to take advantage of them from the point of view of marketing. For example, Facebook has fan pages (Fan Pages) that allow companies or brands to interact with people through them. The same goes for LinkedIn and its corporate pages or Google+ pages.

All in all, social media marketing is the use of social networks as part of the marketing mechanism of a company or business.

What are the main differences?

  1. The Goal

While social media marketing is simply using social networks as part of the communication of companies, content marketing is responsible for developing content that really catches the attention of people.

  1. The means used

Marketing in social networks is only about using social networks, while in content marketing, various elements such as blogs, videos, images, etc. are connected.

  1. The planning

Marketing in social networks can be somewhat simple, you only need to study where the target audience is (although many don’t) and simply open an account on that social network. In content marketing, it is about analyzing the public, understanding what it is that you would like to consume, and then moving on to create and share ideal content with the right tools.

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