What is the difference between Online Marketing and Digital Marketing?  Although they both seem to be channeled towards the same explanation, online marketing is entirely different from digital marketing.  Most people often use these terms interchangeably, but at the end of this article, you would be able to draw a clear margin and also state the significant difference between online marketing and digital marketing. First, let’s take a brief glance at these two terms separately.

What is Online Marketing?

The terms on its own are self-explanatory, but take a closer look at this “online marketing is the term given to any strategy, method or tools used online in showcasing a company to the public.” Online marketing helps builds a company’s reputation and exposure online. A business has higher chance to reach their targeted audience online than any other means. With the rapid increase in the use of online ad agencies such as Google, Facebook, Amazon, etc., it is apparent that online marketing or online advertising is an essential avenue for publicity. A large number of potential customers browse online by taking advantage of this opportunity; it is possible to reach out to thousands of people at once through online marketing tools.

What is Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing means merely the methods by which a business or product is strategically publicized using digital means. This means could be through the internet, billboards, phones or any other digital means.  We are in the digital age, so people prefer to get things done the digital way as it poses to be both time-saving and fast. It is much more preferable to get a number of things done online than visit a physical shop. Examples of crucial digital marketing methods include search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), content marketing, etc., in fact, digital marketing could extend to non-Internet channels that provide digital media.

Often you could decide to use digital marketing in place of online marketing as these terms can be confusing. As simple as it looks, your in-depth knowledge of the difference between online marketing and digital marketing could help change and boost your marketing strategy. From the above analysis of each term, digital marketing is the “umbrella” term given to all forms of marketing strategies carried out using digital channels, devices, and platforms irrespective of whether they are online or not.

So you can now see that the significant difference between online marketing and digital marketing is that online marketing is strictly confined to the shores of the internet alone while digital marketing encompasses all forms of marketing both online and offline. Take a look at this example to further broaden your understanding of the difference between online marketing and digital marketing.

For instance, if you download ‘Temple Run 2’ on your phone, you achieved this by using the internet, plus the app was built with technology that probably utilizes the internet as well. However, when you use this app on your phone, the app is working without the aid of the internet. Therefore, it is considered a form of digital marketing.

To give you another example, let’s say you want to start a mobile campaign where you send text messages to your customers offering upcoming discounts from your business. Again, technology was used to send the message, but there was no need for a live Internet connection for your users to receive it.

We do provide Online Marketing and Digital Marketing Services.  To find out more check out our marketing management section.