What is digital marketing: channels, strategy and a first plan

Marketing vs digital marketing: what is the difference

Marketing

Marketing is not just advertising. The classic 4P model — product, price, place and promotion — shows that advertising is only a quarter of marketing. If the product does not fit the market or the price is wrong, even the best ad will not work.

Marketing vs sales

Marketing creates demand and brings potential customers; sales closes the specific deal with them. In B2B companies it is important that both teams look at the same metrics (for example, qualified leads); otherwise the "the leads were bad" vs "sales was weak" argument begins.

Digital marketing

The main advantage of digital marketing is measurability: you can see how many customers each channel brings, what a customer costs and which message works. This lets you allocate budget by data, not opinion.

The main digital marketing channels

SEO and Google Ads

Search channels work when "the customer is already looking". We explain how SEO works in our what is SEO guide and how we protect budget in paid search in our Performance Max article.

Social media and Meta Ads

Social media creates demand: the customer was not looking for your product but saw it on Instagram and got interested. We explain how organic SMM and paid ads work together in our SMM guide.

Mobile marketing

On most B2C sites the mobile share of traffic is high (check the device split in your own GA4 reports), so "mobile marketing" should be treated not as a separate channel but as the standard for all channels: a mobile-friendly site, fast pages, a WhatsApp contact option, vertical video formats. SMS and push notifications only work with user consent and a measured frequency.

B2B vs B2C marketing

The same channels are used in both models, but the decision process is completely different.

The practical takeaway

In B2B, content should answer "why this solution": case studies, comparisons, calculations. In B2C, you need fast visual proof: real photos, reviews, clear pricing, easy ordering. In both cases, measurement must be in place — with a CRM in B2B, with e-commerce tracking in B2C.

Market research: before the plan

Market research means answering "who buys, why, and from whom" before choosing products and channels. It does not need a big budget — existing data and a few conversations are often enough.

Quick research methods

• Search data: use Google Keyword Planner and Search Console to see what people search for and how they spell it.
• Competitor analysis: competitors' websites, prices and ads in the Meta Ad Library and the Google Ads Transparency Center.
• Customer interviews: a 15-minute chat with 5–10 recent buyers — "how did you find us, what else did you consider".
• Sales team: the most frequent questions and objections.
• Official statistics: for macro data, publications of the State Statistical Committee (stat.gov.az).

Write the result on one page

Research should end with a one-page document: 2–3 main customer types (personas), their main problem, the purchase process and how you differ from competitors. All channel and message decisions are based on this document.

A digital marketing strategy: the first plan

Strategy is not "being on every channel". With a small budget, doing 1–2 channels well beats being weak on five.

1. Goal: turn the business goal into a measurable metric — "X enquiries per quarter", "Y AZN monthly sales".
2. Audience: 2–3 personas from market research.
3. Channel choice: if customers already search — search (SEO, Google Ads); if not — social media (Meta Ads).
4. Message and offer: the customer's problem + your solution + a concrete next step.
5. Measurement: GA4, conversion tracking, CRM — set up before the campaign.
6. Testing and budget: start with a small test and scale the channel that works.
7. Reporting cycle: a monthly review, a quarterly strategy adjustment.

We cover which metrics to watch in our marketing KPI article, and how we explain cross-channel attribution to clients in this article.

PR and brand

Digital channels do not replace PR, they amplify it. Expert commentary in the media, events and partnerships raise brand awareness, increase branded searches and help the brand get mentioned in AI answers.

How to plan the budget

There is no universal percentage for "how much should I spend on marketing?". A more reliable approach is to work the budget backwards from the value of a customer.

1. Value of a customer: average order or contract value, margin and the likelihood of repeat purchases (CLV).
2. Acceptable CAC: the maximum you can pay for one new customer — it must stay below CLV and margin.
3. Target number of customers: a realistic target for the month or quarter.
4. Test budget: a limited amount that is enough to learn the cost of a lead on the chosen channel.
5. Scaling: if CPA is acceptable, the budget is increased in stages and the result checked at each stage.

We give the CAC, CLV and ROAS formulas used here, with an example, in our marketing KPI article.

In-house or agency

For a small business a hybrid model often works: content and social media in-house, technical setup (GA4, ad accounts, SEO audit) by a specialist. We list the questions to ask an agency at the end of our Google Partner guide.

Digital marketing guides: where to go next

This article is the overall map. We cover each channel and topic in a separate guide:

Frequently asked questions

Conclusion

Digital marketing is not a list of channels but a sequence: research, goal, channel choice, message, measurement and testing. When this sequence is kept, even a small budget produces measurable results.

If you want to learn it in practice, take a look at our Digital marketing course. If terms get in the way, our marketing glossary will help.