Traditional and Digital Marketing Explained
Traditional and Digital marketing both have their pros / cons, here’s what they are and how to utilize them in your marketing plan:
Traditional Marketing
Here are some of the most common traditional marketing techniques, how they work and the benefits they can offer your business.
1) Newspaper
A newspaper is a daily publication containing opinion columns, weather predictions, reviews of local services, obituaries, editorial cartoons, comic strips, and advice columns. They also cover topics such as politics, business, sports, and art.
Newspapers have traditionally been printed on newsprint, a low-quality, low-cost material. This is a good way to target the older demographics in local regions.
2) Billboards
A billboard is a huge outdoor advertising structure normally located in high-traffic areas, such as highways. Brands can use billboards to build their brand awareness or promote new products and target specific regions. Billboard graphics must be concise and recognizable as you only have a few seconds of the viewers time as they drive by.
3) TV and Radio Media
Even in a period of new digital media alternatives and channels, traditional media television and radio remain an important platform for reaching people of all ages. Radio messages remain popular and successful among local communities in many regions. According to NPR there are 156 million daily listeners to the radio with 46% of them believed to of considered a new company or product because of an ad they heard.
Advantages of Traditional Marketing
- Traditional marketing is locally effective.
A public multi-media campaign can help you communicate to your prospect buyers about your brand, value proposition and product promotions. TV, Radio, Newspaper, billboards, stadiums, and buses all have a mass effect and impact. But remember – these graphics must be short, concise, and to the point as you only have a few seconds to grab someone’s attention and leave an impact.
- Traditional marketing is more personable.
Typically, brands targeting their local market utilize billboards, radio, and other traditional mediums to build brand recognition and trust. For example, “Panhandle Cleaning and Restoration” in my area advertises across the region via billboards, radio, and TV. They have spent years developing their credibility and are widely recognized as the go-to for anything cleaning or restoration, they’re also a local company which this region prefers to support.
- It Builds Credibility and Trust
Printed material and ads on large mediums makes the brand seem more credible and trustworthy. A company that can afford traditional marketing and place an ad in a newspaper, a commercial on television or radio, must have the financial means to do so. So, the perception is that the company is growing, successful and stable.
- Traditional mediums are more sustainable
Traditional methods of marketing are more sustainable and leave a longer impression with your audience. You can get more use from the same TV commercial, radio ad, billboard, newspaper ad, or other traditional mediums. This means you don’t have to produce new material as often to promote your product or service.
Disadvantages of Traditional Marketing
- Traditional marketing isn’t always as trackable as digital marketing.
While it is possible to estimate TV viewership and billboard drive-by views, they are still approximations. From page landings to click-throughs to transactions, digital media can identify indicators along the whole marketing funnel more accurately.
- Traditional marketing takes longer to implement and develop than digital marketing campaigns.
A print ad takes time to create and several rounds of revisions. Then, once the commercial is finished, it’s finished. It’s too late to change color, font, or information if there is an error. In contrast, digital ads may be evaluated and altered in real-time to optimize their efficacy. Digital ads also give the real time flexibility of adjusting the target market demographics and keywords so you can find what works best for your product, service, or company.
Digital Marketing Methods
Digital marketing strategies include those that are created and delivered online via social media, google ads, websites, or other digital mediums. Here are some of the most common digital marketing techniques, how they work and the benefits they can offer your business.
- Websites
These are the virtual stores of a business on the internet. They represent the business online with the branding of colors, tone, product and services, everything. A good website is critical for attracting the right prospect to purchase. It serves as your 24/7 digital “brick and mortar” location. The information to your business’ profile, services, or products is always available.
- Social Media
With over 4.8billion people on social media worldwide, this is a great platform for big and small-sized businesses to reach out to prospects and consumers. Social media gives businesses access to the international market. It’s also extremely cost effective and is easy to setup.
- Marketing with Geofencing
Geofencing marketing is location-built marketing that targets people based on where they are in a virtual perimeter. This is a great technique businesses can utilize to steal traffic from their competitors. For example, GNC could geofence the Vitamin Shoppe locations and target the people that have visited their stores with GNC ads.
- SEO Marketing
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of improving your website visibility to be found on search engine results pages for related keywords. Its an effective method that may take consistent action to rank on search engines, the goal is to be the top 3 links for the specific products or services you offer.
One way to use Google is by putting up a Google My Business page for local search results. Google and all its features should be a key component of any digital marketing plan.
Advantages of Digital Marketing
- Global reach: Websites and other digital mediums allow you to target new markets and reach consumers cost effectively and relatively easily.
- 24/7 Availability: The business is always accessible to inform and sell to prospective customers all day, every day, whether the store is open or closed.
- Very Targeted: Advertising online allows you to target the ideal customer by their demographics and location which improves conversions of sales.
Disadvantages of Digital Marketing
- Requires Technical Skills:You’ll need to ensure that your employees have the necessary knowledge and experience to implement digital marketing successfully. Tools, platforms, and trends evolve quickly, so staying current is critical.
- Time-Consuming: Duties like optimizing internet advertising campaigns and developing SEO content can consume a significant amount of time. To secure a return on investment, it’s critical to track your progress and schedule your time wisely.
Conclusion
Traditional marketing is still important for businesses to use today. We utilize both in our marketing strategies when consulting with businesses depending on their goals AND the amount of money they are looking to invest into their strategy. Before committing to either a traditional or digital strategy it is important to evaluate your goals both short and long term because both provide different benefits. If you have any questions about either methods please reach out to us, we’re happy to review your business needs and give your our recommendations!
