The world is constantly improving, growing, and adjusting to our every need and desire. Whether we are business owners or merely consumers, there is a drastic difference in the way we buy and sell products and services. There is a market for everything, and the existing markets have multiplied in growth, making it harder and hard for businesses to grab the attention of their beloved target market.
When we think of marketing, the first thing that comes to mind is advertising, and the channels we traditionally use such as television, print ads, radio space and direct mail. The truth is, through technology the list has nearly tripled, adding techniques such as search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), content marketing, social media marketing (SMM), pay-per-click (PPC) marketing and email marketing. Not to mention alternatives such as hosting an event or sponsorship.
As the world continues to expand in technology, it is important to grow with it. The traditional marketing that once was enough becomes lost without proper branding. With digital marketing, businesses can design a targeted message to distribute on the right channels, which helps generate more leads.
What Is Traditional Marketing?
Traditional advertising is any marketing that has existed over an extended period, with a proven record of success. As listed above, these channels are television, radio, print and direct mail and are still relevant in today’s marketing industry. These ads provide the consumer with a direct message about the company and the products offered. This acts as an easy reference for when the consumer has identified a need your service can solve. These channels are limited though due to the fact they are often intended for an untargeted audience, and more of a mass marketing approach, also referred to as above-the-line marketing.
Traditional marketing, however, has found itself on a decline, with television viewership dropping 47% with the upcoming generations, according to a Think with Google study conducted in 2016. The study also suggests that 6 out of 10 viewers prefer to watch a show on an online platform opposed than watching it aired on television.
However, this does not mean traditional media is dead; it simply means that the space to advertise is changing. Combined with digital online marketing, these traditional marketing methods can begin to take on a whole new life.
Common traditional market methods include:
- Postcards, vouchers, and informative booklets were distributed directly to customers.
- Commercials on television or radio
- Advertisements in newspapers or magazines
- Flyers and billboards
- Calls and text message notifications
What Is Digital Online Marketing?
Digital marketing creates a new channel that can directly interact with loyal customers as well as engage with new ones. Search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), content marketing, social media marketing (SMM), pay-per-click (PPC) marketing and email marketing serve as the new advertising tools to help you stay in the same channels as your consumer.
The internet marketing industry, unlike the decline in traditional channels, has been booming. The 2016 Think with Google study mentioned above suggests that the millennial generation hasn’t abandoned television. They have simply changed where they view their favourite programs. YouTube is one of the big game-changers with a massive viewer increase of 75% in 2016. According to the same study, the time allocated to watching YouTube on their television sets has more than doubled.
Digital online marketing provides us with is an easy way to engage with your target market and raise brand awareness.
With tools like SEO and content marketing, your business will be the number one shop for all related searches. SEO, when used correctly, can bring your business to the top of a related search. Being at the top helps consumers, who already need your service, find your business instead of your competitor. However, content marketing works in a unique way that provides potential customers with content that interests them. It also has the goal of bringing them closer to the point of purchase through your business.
Common digital market methods include:
- Content on the website
- Email marketing campaigns
- Marketing with content
- Posts on social media
- Advertisements that can be clicked
- Affiliate marketing
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Pros And Cons Of Traditional Marketing
Traditional marketing approaches are sometimes considered old or useless when compared to digital marketing. Many of these strategies, however, are still relevant and successful today.
Traditional marketing strategies may be the preferable option depending on the business and target demographic. Here are some advantages and disadvantages to consider when deciding if conventional marketing is ideal for your company.
Pros
- Traditional marketing may be quite successful if you want to attract an older clientele. It has been revealed that those aged 50 and more spend nearly twice as much time reading the newspaper and watching television than people aged 21 to 34.
- This marketing technique is most effective for firms wanting to expand their local audience. Rather than fighting for digital space with larger firms, a small business would be better suited to vying for attention through billboards, flyers, and events.
- Digital marketing materials may be skipped through or blocked (e.g., clicking “I don’t want to see this” on social network advertising, or skipping through adverts before YouTube videos), but TV or radio commercials will play several times and remind the audience of the brand.
Cons
- Printing postcards to send out even to a local audience can be costly, and there’s no assurance that the receiver would be interested in your company or the product/service you provide.
- Results and data from traditional marketing approaches might take weeks or months to come in. You won’t know whether someone reads your newspaper ad unless they contact you. Even then, you won’t know if the ad was the cause for the follow-up unless you do a poll.
Pros And Cons Of Digital Marketing
With new technologies and trends like voice search and social media usage, digital marketing methods are always developing. These techniques employ the most up-to-date and cutting-edge tactics. However, similar to conventional marketing, there are certain sectors where digital marketing succeeds and others where it fails.
Pros
Data and audience participation may be tracked in real-time. You have the information right now when someone clicks on a link to your site, reads an email, or follows you on social media. This data may be used to determine which kind of material is most beneficial for a certain audience, which channels are most effective, and even what time of day produces the greatest engagement.
Digital marketing tactics are substantially less expensive. When opposed to printing individual postcards and paying for postage on each, sending an email campaign may save a lot of money.
Because of the vast breadth of digital marketing, it works effectively for increasingly global or dispersed audiences.
Cons
Add filters prevent certain internet users from seeing pop-ups or banner adverts. Ads can also be avoided or deleted if a user subscribes to a premium service (e.g., Spotify, Hulu, Twitch).
Digital marketing methods must be assessed and reevaluated for efficacy since new technologies and trends arise so regularly. What works great one day might not be applicable the next. This, however, may be countered by establishing a solid basis in digital marketing fundamentals.
Traditional Marketing Vs. Digital Marketing
Looking into marketing and how you should and shouldn’t advertise is quite a complex system. A few things to consider between these two channels of marketing are:
- Knowing where your target market is receiving information
- The advantages of getting into the same product space as some of the big players
- How you are looking to build your brand
The benefits of digital online marketing include a more cost-efficient advertising strategy, building brand awareness, gaining greater exposure, receiving real-time results, and measuring data to become easier and instantaneous.
For more information on what digital online marketing can do for your company, book a free consultation with Edkent Media to see what an online marketing strategy can do for you.
