The Digital Marketing Swiss Army Knife

Let's list a bunch of marketing terms and then look at what they have in common: growth hacking, social media pay-per-click, sponsored ads, analytics, email marketing, web design, SEO, HTML, blogging, SEM, online reviews….  

What do all of these have in common? If you guessed that they are all confusing and somewhat complex, you are right. If you guessed that they are all under the umbrella of “digital marketing,” you would be correct again.

Digital marketing is a relatively new field of marketing. Newspapers have been around since the invention of the printing press, and television advertising has been around for at least 60 years. Yes, digital marketing is the new kid on the block; according to trends in advertising, it’s also the big kid on the block. In 2016, digital advertising surpassed television advertising for the first time; it is expected to grow faster than any other media type.

Digital marketing is also complex, far-reaching, and difficult to grasp. It requires more than just a solid understanding of marketing strategy and principles; it also requires a sound understanding of the technologies that serve as a foundation for the media. Unlike radio, where there is one common platform, new digital marketing platforms appear every day. More time and effort is needed to stay informed about digital marketing trends and platforms on a day-to-day basis. Digital marketers have to be keenly aware of these new tools and how to use them.

Why does all of this matter to you? If you are in sales and marketing and don’t understand the threat that digital marketing poses to other forms of media, how it complements other forms of media, or how it works, you are surely being left behind by your more tech-savvy competitors.

To help marketers and salespeople master or at least learn more about digital marketing, HubSpot has put together one of the greatest sources of information related to digital marketing. It’s so useful that I’ve decided to bookmark it on my browser and refer to it as “The Digital Marketing Swiss Army Knife.” 

Included in The Digital Marketing Swiss Army Knife are:

• Definitions and Benefits
• Statistics on Digital Marketing
• Whitepapers
• The difference between Owned, Earned, and Paid
• Templates
• Infographics
• More..

When you read through this HubSpot micro site, the world of digital marketing will be much easier to understand. You will feel infinitely more confident about your knowledge of digital marketing. This is a resource you will want to use and share with coworkers and possibly clients.  

If you want to take your learning one step further, you can also get Inbound Certified, which verifies that you are knowledgeable about digital marketing. It’s free and you can access that here.