E-marketing vs. Digital Marketing: What's the Difference?

Effective marketing strategies are vital to the success of a business, especially when there are so many choices for goods and services online and offline. Businesses often use modern technology to advertise their businesses with techniques like e-marketing and digital marketing. Knowing the difference between these marketing strategies can help you increase the chances of success for your business. In this article, we discuss e-marketing vs. digital marketing, including the definition of each strategy, key differences between them and examples of how you can use them.

What is e-marketing?

E-marketing refers to electronic marketing techniques that aim to engage with customers for better brand recognition and higher profits. This technique typically uses platforms like social media or blogs that allow for communication with their target audience rather than those that are static and not targeted, like a billboard next to a highway. Instead, marketers want to narrow their audience using online analytics and interact with them through social media, emails and blogs. Since e-marketing uses technology to advertise, it's considered a subset of digital marketing that focuses on the internet instead of all digital platforms.

What is digital marketing?

Digital marketing encompasses all types of electronic marketing techniques, including e-marketing. Digital marketing techniques focus on spreading brand recognition through multiple electronic platforms without the expectation of customer interaction in return. Digital marketing may take place online, such as through social media or search engines, or offline through electronic ads on billboards or commercials on radio stations.

E-marketing vs. digital marketing: key differences

Since e-marketing is a subset of digital marketing, there are a lot of similarities between the two. However, the two techniques differ in important ways. Below are some important differences between e-marketing and digital marketing:

Customer interaction vs. brand recognition

The goal of e-marketing is to build a relationship with customers through online engagement. Many e-commerce businesses use e-marketing because they only exist online, which may make it more difficult for customers to find them. By devoting their efforts to e-marketing, these businesses gain reviews, likes and shares on social media and a devoted customer base through customer interaction.

The goal of digital marketing, however, is usually to expand brand recognition. This means digital marketing efforts rarely focus on customer interaction with their ads because their goal is to spread information about their goods and services to as many people as possible. Many popular companies become household names with this technique, and this familiarity can influence the shopping choices people make.

Online vs. offline

Most e-marketing takes place online so that businesses can interact with customers from all over the world, which is especially useful for e-commerce shops or other businesses that offer shipping services. Online marketing has more freedom than offline marketing because customers can see digital ads and social media posts from anywhere and at any time. Businesses that use e-marketing benefit from this wide-reaching marketing method by having a larger customer base and more opportunities to interact with potential buyers.

Depending on how digital marketing is used, ads can appear on internet platforms, like apps and search engines, or on physical platforms, like billboards. This gives digital marketing greater flexibility in the different ways a marketer can advertise, but only people who are in a specific area or use a certain app, search engine or website can see those ads. While online advertising is useful for businesses that can ship their goods or provide services remotely, offline marketing methods can increase customer loyalty to local businesses with a physical presence.

Specific audience vs. broad audience

E-marketing campaigns typically target specific audiences using advertisements that align with their interests. Ad targeting allows marketers to narrow the number of people they reach through online platforms to create more specific and engaging content, which leads to more sales and a satisfied customer base. This is useful for large online markets where there are many choices for products and services because it helps customers understand what a business is offering them with little research or time.

With digital marketing, the target audience is often broader in terms of interest. Local digital marketing ads in malls or on billboards market to people of a certain geographic location and expect some of them to be interested in the products or services being offered. This tactic is more useful for necessary or general services like mechanics, grocery stores and banks. Similarly, ads displayed in search engine results, commercials and mobile apps target a wide range of people but are slightly more specific than local digital ads.

Careers that use e-marketing and digital marketing

Here are some careers that frequently use e-marketing and digital marketing to increase profits and grow a customer base:

• Social media managers
• Analysts
• Copywriters
• Web developers
• Content strategists
• SEO specialists
• UX designers

Examples of e-marketing and digital marketing

To help you better understand the difference between these two techniques, here are some examples of e-marketing and digital marketing:

Examples of e-marketing

Some of the most common forms of e-marketing include:

• Social media ads:?Ads on social media platforms often target potential customers based on their browsing history and interests. These ads may function like social media posts and allow people to share them, leave comments or follow the business's page for more content.
• Online reviews:?Product reviews are an effective way for businesses to connect with their target audience. Potential customers may trust the reviews of people with similar interests, and businesses can address concerns and thank customers for their purchase in the review section of many websites.
• Email campaigns:?Customers usually sign up for email campaigns that interest them, which makes this marketing technique useful for interacting with loyal customers. Businesses can send product updates and deals to their current customers, plus discount codes for referring new customers.
• Website pop-ups:?A business may put pop-up ads on their website for shoppers to sign up for newsletters or use discount codes. While this technique doesn't involve interacting with customers directly, it gives them the option to further communication through other means.
• Blogs:?Blogging allows customers to learn more about a brand and interact with the business or other customers in the comments section. A business may also share their blogs on social media to start conversations with customers about relevant topics, which can range from buying guides to a business's reaction to current events.

Examples of digital marketing

Advertisements that involve digital marketing include:

• Electronic billboards:?These billboards display digital ads that are visible at night and easy to change. Electronic billboards often advertise local businesses that are necessary or niche with the intention of increasing customer loyalty and familiarity since customers may shop more frequently at businesses with which they are familiar.
• Television commercials:?Another digital marketing technique that can be local or widespread are TV commercials. These commercials may be relevant to the channel on which they appear, like an ad for a new toy on a children's cartoon channel. Often, businesses create their TV ads based on customer location, age or broad interests.
• Push notifications:?Push notifications on smartphone apps are one way digital marketers continually remind people of their offerings. While this method rarely results in new customers, it keeps a business relevant to current customers with discounts, cart reminders and shipping notifications.
• In-app ads:?Ads within an app are another form of digital marketing that can increase a brand's customer base. A business displays its ads on apps that offer similar goods and services to the business. This method narrows the target audience more than other forms of digital marketing but doesn't consider other interests of the customer.
• Search engine ads:?Marketers may use search engine ads to target potential customers browsing for a specific product. This form of digital marketing relies on shoppers knowing what item or service they want and being interested in the item or service the business offers. This technique targets a very specific audience through SEO instead of location, interests or other identifiers.