Provided by the International Finance Corporation
Online marketing, or digital marketing, is the use of the internet to promote products or services, obtain leads, and convert them to sales. Digital marketing is growing and evolving along with technology, and is being used to reach masses of people as well as target specific, potential customers. These are some types of online marketing.
Social Media and Networking
Companies use social media sites or links to gain website traffic by creating content that attracts readers and encourages them to share the content through social media via word of mouth, breeding company loyalty and acting as a referral network. Social media can help companies to create excitement, target customers, and gain customer feedback.
Display Advertising
Companies purchase advertising space or sponsorship on a website, much like they would in a magazine or newspaper to raise brand awareness or drive click-through visits to their own website.
Email Marketing
Companies use this form of trackable, direct marketing to send their message to a select group of people, as they would through the mail, in order to build relationships, encouraged loyalty, drive repeat business, and acquire new customers.
Search Engine Marketing and Optimization
Companies affect the visibility of their website in a search engine through paid advertising, called search engine marketing, or through adjustments to their site to enhance the search engine ranking though search engine optimization.
Affiliate Marketing
Companies reward their affiliates for each site visit or sale gained by the affiliate’s marketing. The affiliate may use the other methods of advertising to bring people to your site or initiate a sale. This is different from referral marketing, which is relationship/trust driving, as it is solely financially driven, often using revenue sharing, pay-per-sale, or cost-per-action as the compensation method.
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