Technology has seen a more sophisticated development in recent years. Marketing has also evolved from traditional methods to more advanced digital aspects. Remnants of traditional marketing still exist. So, let’s learn about this marketing revolution and consider a comparative perspective in this blog. Read on to understand the difference between traditional and digital marketing and decide which marketing strategy works best for your business.
What is traditional marketing?
Traditional marketing is an offline form of marketing in which platforms such as print media, radio, television, billboards, etc are used for advertising purposes. It works on the principle of reaching a large number of people. Traditional marketing intends to reach a large number
of people to generate leads.
It is a prominent marketing technique that existed until 1990. After the 1990s with the Internet revolution, the importance of traditional marketing slowly diminished. In the debated topic of Traditional Marketing vs Digital marketing, the strength of Traditional Marketing is that no consumer can ignore the advertisements in Traditional Marketing.
Types of Traditional Marketing
- Broadcasting: Broadcasting sends the same content simultaneously to a large group of receivers. Generally used media are television and radio.
- Telemarketing: Unsolicited telephone calls to potential consumers are used to sell goods or services. This is also known as inside selling.
- Print Media: Physical editions of books, periodicals, journals, magazines, and newsletters distributed as paper publications are generally known as print media.
- Window displays and signs: Display products in the entrance area of a retail store.
- Outdoor Marketing: Any type of advertising that attracts the public’s attention while outdoors is classified as outdoor advertising. While billboards are the most common form of this type of advertising, other styles fall under it.
What is digital marketing?
Digital marketing is a general term for a complete marketing technique in which sellers reach their regular customers through advertisements, web applications, emails, search engines, mobile applications, influencers, and other paid social media promotions. Digital marketing is fuelled by the internet and the smartphone revolution. Smart and proper use of digital marketing techniques would help any business stand out.
There are eight types of digital marketing:
- Content Marketing – Content marketing focuses primarily on the generation of content and its subsequent distribution to a designated target group. The goal is to bring the customer to your platform and engage them.
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – SEO focuses on optimizing your content to be relevant to your target audience. This process is used to generate organic traffic to your website through search engines.
- Search Engine Marketing (SEM) – Search Engine Marketing focuses on generating traffic using paid alternatives. The process is used in search engines by paying a certain amount.
- Social Media Marketing (SMM) – SMM focuses on using social media platforms to reach your specific target audience. SMM also helps to maintain a relationship with customers.
- Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC) – With PPC, the marketing team has to pay for each click on their ads.
- Affiliate Marketing – Affiliate marketing focuses on individuals and businesses partnering or partnering with businesses to help them generate traffic. Every time a customer clicks on a link on an affiliate site, blog, etc., the affiliate partners receive a commission from it.
- Email Marketing – Email marketing focuses on sending emails to your current and potential customers and increasing engagement.
- Instant Messaging Marketing (IMM) – IMM focuses on sending instant messages to your customers.
What type of marketing should you use?
The key to a great marketing campaign is finding the right balance between traditional and digital. In 2020, digital marketing is the yin to traditional marketing’s yang. Both play an important role in a marketing strategy, but each is enhanced when used together.
Take Guinness for example. Their TV commercials are infamous for their unique and powerful cinematography. More than 20 years later, Guinness’ classic 1999 Surfer campaign is still one of the best TV commercials of all time. However, despite this legendary status, Guinness still needs to move with the times and incorporate digital marketing into their strategy so they don’t miss out on some huge marketing opportunities.
Aiming to reach a wider and younger audience, Guinness recently expanded its digital marketing horizons by creating video content specifically for Facebook and Instagram. Rather than just reformatting their TV commercials, they shot their campaigns as the first social videos by composing the footage specifically with both Facebook and Instagram in mind. The videos were specifically targeted to the audience they had in mind. The result was a visually stunning and impactful social media campaign about the Compton cowboys taking care of their horses in California. Perfectly trend and share your Instagram feed.
Advantages of digital marketing over traditional marketing
Let’s look at the comparative aspects of traditional marketing and digital marketing. Traditional marketing is slightly shallow. It includes conventional methods like billboards, newspaper ads, radio broadcasts, etc.
It promotes the right interaction where sellers receive regular feedback. Digital marketing thus increases credibility, brand loyalty, and customer satisfaction.
Traditional marketing, which is a limitation of demographic targeting, has the greatest advantage and some disadvantages. Presentation plays a significant role, if you give it well you will win and if your presentation is bad or average you will lose. But digital marketing does not allow this. Only trusted content with good features can win the hearts of people all over the world.
A closer look at digital and traditional marketing reveals that traditional marketing is a static system, while digital marketing is a dynamic system that opens up the possibilities of digital marketing as well as the promotion of digital marketing.
Pros and Cons of Traditional marketing
Pros:
- Easily grab the attention of customers.
- It shows brand stability and security.
- Easy targeting of older customers.
- A quick impact can be created effortlessly.
- It’s more like permanent marketing because a hard copy of the ad can be saved.
- More memorable than seeing something on your phone.
- Better reach in the local market.
- Easily target areas where there is less development and a lack of internet connectivity.
- Advertisements can be directly registered in the customer’s mind because of repeated broadcasts.
- Word-of-mouth marketing opportunity.
Cons:
- It is very expensive.
- It is difficult to understand customer attitudes and preferences.
- One-way communication.
- Time-consuming process.
- Very difficult to analyse and measure strategies and results.
- Target local audience only.
- It is difficult to understand whether he reached the right customer.
- Demographic limitations.
Pros and Cons of digital marketing
Pros:
- A highly economical and efficient approach
- Provide equal opportunities for all businesses
- High return on investment
- Better lead generation and conversion
- Easy to connect with the customer
- Increased brand awareness in the market
- The results of digital marketing campaigns can be measured and tracked
- Better customer engagement
- Digital marketing scope for personalization and easy customer targeting
- Connecting with the global market and global customers
- Direct communication between businesses and their audience
- Can engage customers with creative content
Cons:
- Sometimes ads and promotions are annoying. This could tempt customers to use ad blockers or premium services without pop-ups or banner ads.
- With so many brands competing in the digital marketing arena, it is difficult to make a mark in the minds of your audience.
- This is not permanent and digital marketing strategies change from time to time.
- Each type of digital marketing needs its experts.
- It requires ongoing evaluation to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of implemented strategies.
