Digital Marketing Today
The internet and Google changed the face of marketing forever. Gone are the days of lengthy sales presentations, door-to-door canvassing, and billboards. The Internet and digital marketing have transformed the marketing landscape. Dollars for dollars, online marketing and affiliate marketing can drive more sales to the bottom line. The objectives of online marketing and advertising are to boost brand awareness, create customer engagement, and increase sales. Using the economics of supply and demand, marketers create a need in the customer and then supply the product or service to fill that need (Daley, 2024).
Creating Demand
- Inform
- Persuade
- Remind
Online Marketing Objectives
- Branding and awareness
- Create Demand
- Satisfy Demand
- Engage and create sales
Online marketing and advertising have many benefits that other advertising channels cannot offer. Internet activity is highly trackable and measurable. There is an unfathomable amount of data gathered on a consumer as they peruse the internet. Ads can be targeted to consumers based on demographics, topics of interest, browsing behavior, frequency, and sequencing of site behavior, and exclusivity. Reviewing these points, the online ad can be customized to a target market that is most likely to result in awareness, engagement, and conversion. 94% of marketers indicate targeted advertising returns an increased ROI (AMA, 2025). Online advertising is more cost-effective and is completely trackable. This means the target market can be specifically drilled down, making it possible to target ads, even the type of ad, to the consumer. Marketing campaign results can be viewed immediately and adjusted for efficacy. Small business owners can utilize various types of ads to create brand awareness and drive conversions.
Ads Small Business Owners Can Leverage
SEO: These ads are effective in targeting consumers who are actively searching for and interested in a product. Often paid in price per click, SEO ads work well for local businesses looking to find nearby customers who are already interested and looking for the product or service. SEO ads may not be as effective if the goal is brand awareness or if the market is highly competitive in keywords.
Floating: Floating ads appear over the top of the intended viewed content. They work most successfully for brand awareness. This ad can effectively drive awareness to a social media page, newsletter, or coupon discount club.
Social Media Advertising: Social media is a game-changer for small businesses. Social Media platforms can create brand awareness by presenting content attractive to highly targeted, niche consumer segments based on demographics and other interests. It is desirable for socially active consumers. However, it is vital to consider the product and market. Social Media marketing may seem too unprofessional with some products and consumers (American Marketing Association, 2025).
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is like hiring a whole sales force. In affiliate marketing, one hires other organizations or marketers to drive traffic to a website. This can be an excellent strategy for a product-driven small business, as a commission is only paid after the conversion takes place. Affiliates work as advocate for your brand and can be media influencers or companies advertising a product on their page. The affiliate will provide an exclusive link to purchase or a coupon code to differentiate traffic. Using influencers and affiliates can enhance credibility with the target market, enhance promotion, and provide a performance-based structure. For the small business owner, it can bring a whole team of staff to the marketing concept (Enfroy, 2025). While it can be beneficial, there are essential things to consider.
Important Considerations when choosing an affiliate:
- Is the affiliate location relevant to the product or service?
- Are there hidden costs associated with partnership (memberships, service fees?
- How much support and what type of support will be received (Daley, 2024)?
An affiliate partnership can be an essential tool and beneficial to both parties. The affiliate must receive a substantial commission per conversion to stay motivated. It must be a profitable partnership for both the business and the affiliate (Patel, 2017).
Top Trends in Digital Marketing for 2025
The future of digital marketing is all about the data. The use of AI technology to both gather the data and use it to execute campaigns is cutting-edge. Marketing teams will have to work continuously with data science teams to fledge a creative voice that will seem authentic and engaging to consumers. With AI technology, new immersive experiences, and ever-changing privacy laws, the human voice will have to stay at the forefront (Senilnikov, 2025).
“I believe that the future belongs to those who can interpret data through a human lens—using technology to enhance storytelling rather than replace it.” – Dennis Senilnikov
References
affiliate marketin and how you can leverage it you tube – Google Search. (n.d.). Retrieved September 4, 2025, from https://www.google.com/search?q=affiliate+marketin+and+how+you+can+leverage+it+you+tube&oq=affiliate+marketin+and+how+you+can+leverage+it+you+tube&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIJCAEQIRgKGKABMgkIAhAhGAoYoAEyCQgDECEYChigATIJCAQQIRgKGKABMgYIBRAhGArSAQkxNDE2MmowajeoAgiwAgHxBYcBBjH-xD018QWHAQYx_sQ9NQ&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Affiliate Marketing Benefits for Small Businesses. (n.d.). Business.Com. Retrieved September 4, 2025, from https://www.business.com/articles/why-smbs-use-affiliate-marketing/
Daley, D. (February 24). Driving Website Traffic. https://sou.app.box.com/s/91pfpxv9u89n26vfdmxyc90st5xeicvx
Neil Patel. (2017, October 5). 3 Ways to Sell More Products Using Affiliate Marketing | Try THIS With a Small Marketing Budget [Video recording]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wkHc68KRaQ
Red and Yellow. (2022). E- marketing. The Red and Yellow Creative School of Business.
Sinelnikov, D. (n.d.). The Future Of Digital Marketing: Trends To Watch In 2025. Forbes. Retrieved September 4, 2025, from https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesagencycouncil/2025/03/26/the-future-of-digital-marketing-trends-to-watch-in-2025/
The Ultimate Guide to Advertising: Types, Strategies, and Best Practices for 2025. (2025, April 21). American Marketing Association. https://www.ama.org/marketing-news/the-ultimate-guide-to-advertising-types-strategies-and-best-practices-for-2025/
Hi Lonna, you did a fantastic job explaining how online and affiliate marketing have transformed the business landscape, and I especially liked how you connected it back to classic concepts like supply and demand. Your breakdown of different ad types for small businesses, such as SEO, floating ads, and social media, was extremely clear, providing readers with valuable takeaways they could apply immediately. Your points on affiliate marketing were great, and especially the idea of it functioning like a sales force for small businesses. Also, your inclusion of trends like AI and data-driven campaigns made your post feel very up to date with modern business.
Lonna,
Love your breakdown of digital marketing! I really like how you highlighted the precision targeting online ads allow; being able to track consumer behavior and tweak campaigns in real time really levels the playing field for small business owners. The point about affiliate marketing as a performance-based “sales team” is spot on; it’s like having a whole network of brand advocates without the overhead of hiring full-time staff.
I’m curious, how do you think small businesses can balance using all this data with keeping their marketing authentic and human? With AI and hyper-targeted ads everywhere, is there a risk campaigns could start feeling too calculated or impersonal? What strategies could small business owners use to maintain that human touch while still taking full advantage of data and automation?
It seems like the future of digital marketing isn’t just about being smart with data, it’s about telling stories that actually resonate. I’d love to hear your take on how brands can stay genuine in a world that’s increasingly automated and hyper-measurable.
Hey Rich!
Thank you for your feedback. I am looking forward to using Google Search Ads and Display Ads to grow my small business. I plan to combat the possibility of becoming generic and impersonal by using my own videos, pictures, and logos. I plan to use an video of my actual students, on my actual horses, in my actual barn, instead of the AI-generated or stock photos pulled from generic sites. I plan to use testimonials from my current and former clients. This will maximize the potential of these two products with a personal touch. I will utilize AI to create the formatting, verbiage, and graphic display, while leveraging myself, real customers, and real horses in my program within the graphics and imagery to demonstrate value.