{"id":22979,"date":"2022-06-14T04:33:29","date_gmt":"2022-06-14T11:33:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/?p=22979"},"modified":"2025-01-27T04:16:17","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T12:16:17","slug":"digital-marketing-vs-social-media-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/business-and-marketing\/digital-marketing-vs-social-media-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital Marketing vs. Social Media Marketing [2025 Guide]"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Digital marketing and social media marketing are often confused with one another, and understandably so. They both rely on digital platforms and technologies to promote products, brands, and services. They both overlap in the tools and social networks used in their campaigns. And the marketing professionals who implement digital and social media marketing campaigns typically share similar skills and areas of expertise. But despite these commonalities, the two are actually quite different. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where social media marketing is a discipline that uses social channels to amplify a company\u2019s message, digital marketing is an all-encompassing field that spans many different disciplines. In other words, a social media strategy is just one facet of a digital marketing campaign. This distinction is important because companies can run digital marketing campaigns without a social media component, or launch social media marketing campaigns without touching other aspects of digital marketing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Want to know more about the difference between the two, and whether one (or both!) are right for your brand? Then keep reading. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is There a Difference Between Digital Marketing and Social Media Marketing?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Yes, there is a difference between digital marketing and social media marketing. Digital marketing is an umbrella term that covers various marketing disciplines<\/a>, including <\/em>social media marketing, online advertising, search engine optimization<\/a> (SEO), and data analytics. Meanwhile, social media marketing has a narrower focus on using social media channels to build brand awareness and promote a company, service, or product.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digital Marketing Vs. Social Media Marketing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now let’s look at various parameters of digital marketing and social media marketing to understand their differences in detail. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Definition<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

What Is Digital Marketing?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Digital marketing<\/a>, also known as online marketing, refers to marketing efforts that rely on digital technology such as the internet and mobile devices. Social media marketing falls under the umbrella of digital marketing, as does SEO, affiliate marketing, video marketing, content strategy, PPC, influencer marketing<\/a>, referral marketing<\/a>, email marketing, and market analysis.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is Social Media Marketing?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Social media marketing is a subset of digital marketing and is built on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Social media marketing campaigns often involve creating and curating content for different social channels and audiences, engaging with current and prospective customers on social platforms, and building an online presence to increase brand awareness.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Goal<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

What Is the Goal of Digital Marketing?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Digital marketing techniques can be used to achieve different marketing goals. For example, a direct-to-consumer sustainable clothing brand might decide that the most effective way to reach potential customers and differentiate itself from the competition is by building brand awareness through digital channels. It might invest in search engine marketing to drive traffic to its website; it might create a series of blog posts to offer transparency into its supply chain; it could double down on influencer marketing to drive conversions. All of these practices fall under digital marketing, but don\u2019t necessarily involve social media. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

What Is the Goal of Social Media Marketing?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The goals of social media marketing will vary from company to company. Sticking with the example of the DTC sustainable clothing brand, the same company could choose to reach customers through a social media marketing strategy that incorporates Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok\u2014it could use visual content on Instagram to showcase its lookbook, address customer queries and feedback on Twitter, and engage influencers on TikTok to help increase brand relevance among a target audience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Process <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

What Is the Digital Marketing Process?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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The process of creating a digital marketing campaign<\/a> begins with setting marketing goals, determining audience and budget, deciding which digital marketing channels<\/a> you want to target, then creating and launching a campaign within those parameters that will help you meet your goal. The most effective digital marketing efforts\u2014from those run by the biggest brands to small startups\u2014also include monitoring metrics and using data to improve future campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is the Social Media Marketing Process?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Social media marketing typically begins with a social media audit<\/a> so that marketing professionals can get a sense of a company\u2019s current social media presence. An audit will highlight social platforms where a company is performing well, social media shortcomings, demographic information, and the type of content that excels on each platform. A marketing team might then choose to focus on just one social media channel or on multiple channels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strategy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

What Is an Example of a Digital Marketing Strategy?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Digital marketing strategies<\/a> vary between disciplines. For example, Brian Dean of Backlinko<\/a> used SEO to increase organic traffic to a client\u2019s website by 652% in seven days by determining user intent, creating searchable content that satisfies user intent, and ensuring that the content was presented in a way that was user-friendly. Meanwhile, pay-per-click (PPC) experts at THE HOTH<\/a> were able to reduce the cost of a company\u2019s leads by 85% and increase their monthly lead count six times through the help of Google Analytics, streamlining ad copy, and creating high-conversion landing pages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is an Example of a Social Media Marketing Strategy?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Like digital marketing, social media marketing strategies can also vary depending on the platform and goals of a campaign. For example, Starbucks<\/a> has successfully run many different marketing campaigns on social media, from chasing trends when it partnered with the Born This Way Foundation to support the LGBTQ+ community, to incorporating user-generated content to build a rapport with its customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Digital Marketer Vs. Social Media Marketer <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There can be many overlaps in the duties of digital marketers<\/a> and social media marketers, but the two professions also have different responsibilities and skills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Responsibilities<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Some of the Skills and Responsibilities of a Digital Marketer Include:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n