Passed on 7 April, 2025
5. Selecting digital marketing channels
This lesson will help you identify the right digital marketing channels by aligning them with your goals, customer personas, and competitors' strategies. You’ll also learn to assess channels based on cost, ease of use, and business needs.
✅ Learning objectivesBy the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to:Identify potential digital channels for a business.Understand the differences between owned, earned, and paid channels.Evaluate channels based on goals, audience, costs, and competitors.
Learning objectives
By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to:
Identify potential digital channels for a business.
Understand the differences between owned, earned, and paid channels.
Evaluate channels based on goals, audience, costs, and competitors.
Recap
Let’s revisit key concepts from the lessonAn introduction to digital marketing. In that lesson, we explored the different channels you can use to connect with customers and how being online enhances communication, credibility, and engagement.
What are digital marketing channels?
Digital channels can be used to connect with customers, enabling effective communication and engagement.
Types of digital marketing channels
These channels include:Social media.Websites.Email.Search engines.Online ads.Mobile apps.
Social media.Websites.Email.Search engines.Online ads.Mobile apps.
Why digital channels matter
Being online offers you multiple advantages.
Be discovered: Customers can find you through search engines.
Build trust: Websites with testimonials, videos, and content build credibility.
Share information: Make pricing, location, and service details easily accessible.
Connect with the right audience: Target ads directly to customers searching for what you offer.
Digital marketing channels categories
Digital channels can be grouped intoowned,earned, andpaidcategories, each playing a different role in your marketing strategy.
Owned
These are channels you control, such as your website, email lists, and social media profiles. Owned channels allow you to manage your messaging and build direct relationships with your audience.
Earned
Earned channels include reviews, media coverage, and organic social media shares. These result from positive customer experiences and help build trust and credibility without direct costs.
Paid
Paid channels involve advertising, such as pay-per-click (PPC) ads, sponsored posts, and display ads. These channels help you reach new audiences quickly but come at a cost.
Channel selection criteria
Selecting the right digital marketing channels involves aligning them with your business needs and audience.
How to select a marketing channel
Now, let’s dive into how to select a digital marketing channel that’s right for what you want to achieve. Consider each point to decide what channels would be most effective.
Marketing goals
Your marketing channels should directly support your marketing goals. For instance, if you want to increase brand awareness, focus on channels like social media or search ads that reach broad audiences.
Customer persona
Think about where your target audience spends their time online. Your channels should reflect their preferences. For example, research trends like the average ages of users on different social media. This and other factors can help you identify the best platforms to reach your target audience.
Cost
Consider both the upfront and ongoing costs of using a channel. Social media ads may have low entry costs but require continuous investment, while email campaigns might involve lower budgets but need effective management tools.
Ease of use
Evaluate how easy each channel is to manage. To use some platforms, like Google Ads, you may need to learn new skills. Others, such as email marketing tools, can be simpler to use, but still require time and effort.
Digital presence audit
Evaluate your current presence across all channels. Which platforms are already performing well? Where are the gaps? This will help you focus efforts where they matter most.
Competitors' communications
Monitor the channels your competitors use. If they have a strong presence in search ads, it may indicate where you should focus—or highlight opportunities they haven’t explored.
A case study in digital channel strategy
Let’s explore a real-world strategy highlighting the importance of choosing the right digital channels to create an effective and seamless customer experience.
Juice company
A juice company leverages its mobile app as a core part of its digital channel strategy, which aligns perfectly with its customers’ preferences for convenience and engagement.
Aligning channels with customer behaviour
The juice company recognizes that their customers are tech-savvy, busy professionals who prefer ordering through mobile apps. By focusing on a mobile-first approach, the brand ensures it’s meeting its audience where they spend most of their time — on their phones.
Driving engagement and loyalty with rewards
The juice company app offers loyalty points for every purchase, motivating customers to keep ordering. Rewards, such as free drinks or sandwiches, are designed to encourage repeat purchases. This highlights that businesses select channels like mobile apps to retain customers through meaningful incentives and gamified experiences.
Reducing friction in the buying process
By allowing customers to order ahead and skip the queue, the juice company removes barriers to purchase, making the buying process quick and seamless. This frictionless experience reflects how a well-chosen digital channel — like an app — can boost conversions by prioritising ease of use.
Integrating online and offline channels
The juice company app bridges online and offline channels by letting customers place an order digitally and collect it in-store. This omnichannel approach ensures a consistent brand experience across all touchpoints, showcasing how businesses can select and integrate channels effectively.
Measuring performance and optimising
The app gives juice company valuable data on customer behaviour—what’s being ordered, when, and how often. This data allows the business to refine its strategy, adjusting promotions or introducing new features based on real-time insights. This shows how selecting the right channel can provide actionable insights to improve future campaigns.
A quick reminder
When selecting your digital channels, focus on whatworks best for you and your customers. Whether it’s social media, a website, mobile apps, or a mix of all three, the key is to align your channels with your goals.Think of these channels as your digital storefront—the space where you engage and interact with your audience online. You can start small with just one channel and find out what works best for you as you grow.
Think of these channels as your digital storefront—the space where you engage and interact with your audience online. You can start small with just one channel and find out what works best for you as you grow.
Think of these channels as your digital storefront—the space where you engage and interact with your audience online. You can start small with just one channel and find out what works best for you as you grow.
Choose your channels
Now that you’ve explored the different criteria for selecting digital channels, it’s time to put your knowledge into action.
✅ ActivityUse thecustomer personayou created earlier and themarketing goalsyou want to achieve.Check the items off as you go.Review your customer persona. Which channels fit their habits?Revisit your marketing goals (e.g., brand awareness, lead generation).Pick three channels that align with your persona and goal.Assess the cost and ease of use of each channel. Will you need to pay for a business account or access training?Check competitors. Are there any gaps you can fill?
Activity
Use thecustomer personayou created earlier and themarketing goalsyou want to achieve.
Review your customer persona. Which channels fit their habits?
Revisit your marketing goals (e.g., brand awareness, lead generation).
Pick three channels that align with your persona and goal.
Assess the cost and ease of use of each channel. Will you need to pay for a business account or access training?
Check competitors. Are there any gaps you can fill?
Download PDF
Download PDF
Need more insights?
Open up your preferred AI assistant to help gain more insights, organise your thoughts or ask questions about your digital marketing strategy.
Check your knowledge
It’s time for you to find out what you’ve learned about selecting digital marketing channels.You must complete the knowledge check to move to the next lesson.
You must complete the knowledge check to move to the next lesson.
You must complete the knowledge check to move to the next lesson.
Question 1 of 3
Which of the following is an example of an owned channel?
Email newsletter
Social media ads
Online review site
Submit
Submit
Yes.Email newsletters are an owned channel, as you have full control over the content and the audience.
Question 2 of 3
What is the main advantage of paid channels like online ads?
They build trust through organic engagement.
They are free of charge, making them cost-effective.
They allow you to reach new audiences quickly.
Submit
Submit
Yes.Paid channels help you quickly reach new audiences, making them ideal for fast growth.
Question 3 of 3
How does the juice company integrate its digital and physical channels?
By offering discounts only through email.
By allowing customers to order online and pick up in-store.
By providing a print-only rewards system.
Submit
Submit
Yes.The juice company bridges online and offline channels by offering in-app orders with in-store pickups.
Lesson complete
Great job!You now know how to select the right digital marketing channels to achieve your goals.Head to the next lesson to help tie everything together.
You now know how to select the right digital marketing channels to achieve your goals.Head to the next lesson to help tie everything together.
Head to the next lesson to help tie everything together.
Head to the next lesson to help tie everything together.