Textbook Vs Practical Digital Marketing
This article was published on May 18, 2023
Categorized in: Digital Marketing
When it comes to your business, your background knowledge of digital marketing can play a large role in how you plan your strategy. If you went to business school, you learned a lot of helpful marketing tips that will help you throughout your career. But using only what you learned in school might not be the most beneficial. There are other ideas one must take into consideration when digital marketing. Here’s what you need to know about textbook vs. practical digital marketing:
Textbook Digital Marketing
If you have an education in digital marketing, you may apply the strategies that you learned in business school. These practices have been proven to work and will likely remain trustworthy and true for years to come because they are solid foundations. Textbook digital marketing can provide you with strategies that will help with your success, but you must also consider your specific business.
Not everything you learned in business school will be successful when applied. Skills such as SEO, social media marketing, and analytics tracking will always come in handy and are good to learn. When creating a digital marketing strategy, don’t think in terms of all-or-nothing. You can implement some textbook ideas while implementing other strategies that pair well with your business.
It’s also important to remember that digital marketing strategies change and evolve with the times. What worked when you were in business school may still hold water today, but you need to keep up with new strategies that are being taught and implemented. The best way to use textbook digital marketing is to stay on top of what’s happening and remaining open to change.
Practical Digital Marketing
Practical digital marketing can be thought of as more customer-focused. The digital marketing strategies that you choose will allow you to relate to your customers and in turn make them feel close to you. Practical digital marketing has you thinking about what your target customer wants and needs from you and offering them content that appeals to them and drives them to your website and make purchases.
Social media can play a large role in practical digital marketing as it will allow you to connect with your target audience. While you want to share your content and knowledge, you don’t want to stop there. Engaging with your audience is important in helping them to build trust in you. Consumers will look to others who have experience with you to see if you’re a good choice for them as well. If they see you responding to others, they will see that you care not only about your business, but about your customers as well.
When it comes to your digital marketing, implementing both practical and textbook ideas is going to benefit your business better than sticking to one type or the other simply because it’s what you learned. Knowing your business is the best way to create strategies that will work best for it. Background knowledge is important, but so are practical ideas that have also been proven to work. Your primary goal is to use strategies that will push your business forward.
LIKE AND SHARE THIS ARTICLE:
About the Author: Brick Marketing President, Nick Stamoulis
Nick Stamoulis is a digital marketing expert and President of Brick Marketing. With 25+ years experience, he specializes in solving complex digital marketing challenges through SEO, content marketing, social media, PPC, email marketing, SEO for AI (GEO) and conversion optimization.
Free AI Marketing Webinar on October 29, 2025
Join us for this free 60-minute webinar that will provide companies and marketers with practical strategies to prepare their brands for the AI marketing changes transforming SEO, content, and lead generation. Attendees will learn how to leverage their agility to gain a competitive edge and future-proof marketing efforts without overhauling existing programs.
👉 Register for the AI Marketing Webinar on 10/29/25 — Spaces are limited!
Wear ’Em Down Marketing™
Free 41-page ebook from Brick Marketing offers a proven, experience-backed framework to help marketers and business owners build consistent, sustainable digital marketing success over time. It teaches practical strategies to replace short-term tactics with a repeatable system that drives measurable growth and long-term competitive advantage.
👉 Download the free Wear ’Em Down Marketing™ Strategy Book by Brick Marketing.
