E-marketing is an older umbrella term for marketing that happens over electronic channels - the internet, email, mobile and digital media. In practice it now means the same thing as digital marketing, and the term mostly survives on course syllabuses and job descriptions.
TL;DR
- E-marketing and digital marketing describe the same activities.
- The term persists in Nigerian curricula and some job adverts.
- What matters is the channel skills underneath, not the label.
Where the term comes from
E-marketing entered textbooks when email and websites were the whole of online marketing. It described anything electronic, as opposed to print, radio or television. As search, social and mobile arrived, "digital marketing" gradually replaced it, but syllabuses and job descriptions in Nigeria still use the older phrase.
If you see e-marketing on a course outline or a vacancy, read it as digital marketing. Nobody hiring for the role is looking for a different skill set.
What it covers in practice
Email campaigns, a website that converts, search visibility, social presence and paid placements - the same channel map the rest of this blog covers. The examples that matter locally are the ones that end in a WhatsApp conversation or a bank transfer, because that is how Nigerian customers actually buy.
A Lagos boutique sending a weekly email with new arrivals, a Nairobi consultancy ranking for its service category, an Abuja clinic running Instagram ads to a booking form: all three are e-marketing, and all three are digital marketing.
How to use the term in your own career
Use "digital marketing" on your CV and LinkedIn, because that is what recruiters search for. If a job advert says e-marketing, mirror the advert's wording in the application and use the modern term everywhere else.
What you should not do is treat it as a separate specialism to learn. Pick a channel, build a portfolio, and let the label take care of itself.
Frequently asked questions
Is e-marketing the same as digital marketing?
For every practical purpose, yes. The difference is vintage, not substance.
Is e-marketing the same as email marketing?
No. Email marketing is one channel inside e-marketing or digital marketing.