When we start to get into the nuances of social media marketing and digital marketing, it’s easy to get bogged down by the details.
Some might even say, “it’s all marketing, what does it matter?”
But, as we shall soon see, it is critical for marketers and business executives to differentiate between “digital marketing vs social media marketing”.
In general, digital marketing is an umbrella term for different kinds of online marketing; social media marketing is just one of them. The difference lies in the type of channel used.
Ready to know more? Here’s what will cover in this blog post:
What is Social Media Marketing?
As part of online digital marketing, social media marketing relies on the use of social channels and forums to reach prospects.
Some of the biggest social media platforms used include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, TikTok, and Pinterest.
Online forums such as Reddit and Quora are also fertile grounds for social media marketing.
Known as SMM in short, social media marketing is all about publishing highly engaging, usually short-form content to attract new customers.
However, SMM isn’t all about selling. Brands also use online communities to monitor customer sentiment, analyze brand awareness, and keep track of market trends.
These tactics have come to be collectively known as social media management.
What is the Goal of Social Media Marketing?
Social media marketing is a large and complex field.
It is also constantly evolving as platforms change and brands discover new ways to market to their customers. However, there are some primary goals that brands like to achieve through SMM:
- Advertising
One of the key uses of social media is pushing products and services through paid ads; this is how social media companies make their money. - Content promotion
SMM is often used to push site and blog content. This drives site visits and creates a loyal brand following, a great way to build brand authority and visibility. - Tracking competition
Social media platforms are information goldmines. They are perfect for finding insights about competitors’ marketing strategies, targeted markets, and even keyword research. - Build brand image
Social media channels allow customers to engage with the brand on a more personal level. This is possible by building and maintaining a consistent brand voice, e.g., friendly, helpful, trustworthy, or professional. - Tracking marketing sentiment
SMM is incredibly powerful. It can be used to track comments, shares, mentions, and tone of social posts to gauge how the brand is perceived by customers. - Data collection
Brands gain significant insights into the minds and lives of their key customers through social media. This, in turn, helps them tune their products, services, and marketing efforts to better serve the same customers.
Essential Pillars of Social Media Marketing
With such a versatile tool as SMM, it is important to have solid principles that can help guide how we use social media for marketing.
We would suggest the following:
Have a solid strategy
A detailed social media strategy is paramount to success.
Each social platform in use needs guidelines on what business goals to aim for, type of content to publish, and the type of brand persona to use.
Be consistent with publishing
Consistency is key when it comes to social media engagement.
Daily, weekly, or even monthly publishing calendars are necessary, often with the help of automation tools.
Engagement monitoring
A variety of hi-tech software tools are necessary to keep track of how a brand is performing on social media.
We need these tools to tell us what customers are saying about us so that we can manage and stay ahead of market sentiment and trends.
Sometimes, though, all the tools and planning in the world won’t prepare you for that viral moment—good or bad. Brands often scramble behind the scenes when a post unexpectedly takes off. It’s a weird mix of anxiety and opportunity, kind of like being suddenly called on stage with no script. Responding in a way that stays true to the brand but also rides the wave can make the difference between a fleeting blip and lasting momentum. You can’t fully plan these moments, but teams who are paying attention are better equipped to lean in or course-correct fast.
Use of analytics
Social media platforms provide a depth of analytic tools.
We take the information provided seriously to help measure and quantify brand awareness, the success of social media campaigns, and more.
Far too often, brands become obsessed with vanity metrics—likes, shares, follower counts—when the real gold is more nuanced. Sure, it feels good to see numbers spike, but are those interactions driving actual results? In 2025, a lot of smart marketers are digging deeper into things like conversion rates from social campaigns or customer retention based on social engagement. It’s a bit messier, but measuring what truly matters helps teams pivot, invest, and tell a better story, even if it’s not always as instantly gratifying as a big follower bump.
Commercial ads
Paid social media ads can be a very successful investment when done properly.
However, we have to invest in high-quality campaigns with highly personalized ads to ensure a good return on investment.
Digital vs Social Media Marketing: Top Differences
If digital marketing were a cake, social media marketing would be a big slice full of icing and cherries.
| Digital marketing | Social media marketing |
|---|---|
| Marketing done on all kinds of digital platforms, both online and offline. | A form of online digital marketing that uses social networking platforms, channels, and forums. |
| Usually aims to reach the audience at different touchpoints and raise awareness. | Used to reach a wide audience on social channels and engage them with the brand. |
| Only requires investing in powerful ads in prime spots such as billboards or TV ads. | Relies heavily on content strategy for success. |
| A umbrella term for all modern, electronic-based advertising. | Specific to marketing based on social engagement channels. |
| Mostly used to drive sales. | Can be used for all kinds of business goals such as brand awareness, competitor research, and more. |
These differences reveal that social media marketing and digital marketing are very different, and yet essentially the same.
We have all dabbled in some kind of digital marketing, and perhaps some social media marketing as well.
The question is, does any of the two deserve more attention?
Digital Marketing vs Social Media Marketing: Which is Better?
Knowing what we know, it is clear that we can no longer think of digital marketing and social media marketing as rivals.
Instead, they are contemporaries that both require attention.
For the best results, we also use content marketing, email marketing, PPC, and other forms of digital marketing as part of our online marketing campaigns.
These often work together to give a more effective synergy when it comes to customer-brand interactions.
That being said, social media marketing is a highly specialized marketing and requires a lot more attention.
Because of this, a good social media strategy is fundamental to success.
For more information, we have a detailed post about social media strategy for better engagement!
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