What’s the Difference Between Social Media, Content and Digital Marketing?

This is a frequently asked question for us, especially as you scroll the web each day.

Each of these three types of marketing are becoming buzz words for entrepreneurs, influencers and business owners which makes it difficult for other industries to keep up.

We dig deep into each marketing type and the frequently seen job titles under each. If you’re a more visual learner, head to the bottom for a handy infographic that you can share with your network.

Essentially what you need to know is that digital marketing is a type of marketing strategy. Digital marketing is just a word for ALL types of online marketing. Some roles in digital marketing include:

Digital Marketer
Digital Strategist
Digital Brand Strategist

Social media marketing is a tactic in your digital marketing strategy to reach your audience. Someone who specializes in social media marketing may not have expertise in other digital marketing tactics such as email marketing or website SEO. You may have seen roles such as:

Social Media Marketer
Online Community Outreach Coordinator
Social Media Advertiser
Social Media Manager
Social Media Strategist
Social Advertising Manager

Content marketing is what you create to help your tactic (social media) attract and retain your audience. This is generally where the confusion comes in. While a social media marketer may not be a digital marketer, a content marketer can be a social media marketer because they create the engaging information for social media marketing to be successful.

Content creation comes in plenty of role types like:

Content Creator
Blog Writer
Graphic Designer
Content Creation Marketer
Videographer
Technical Writer
Photographer
Copywriter

You can also look at it this way. If digital marketing was the car, social media marketing would be the engine and content marketing would be the paint color.