The last several years have seen many changes in marketing. There is a lot of talk about online and social media marketing, but these strategies have been around since the beginning, and it is just a change in format and focus.
Marketing is the only field of business that exists because we can’t avoid relationships in our everyday lives. It is an activity, process, or group of people dedicated to making an organisation successful by communicating the value of an organisation’s product or service to current and potential customers, clients, partners.
Digital is the new word in the marketing world. It comes with great promise over traditional marketing techniques like cold calling. Over a few years, it’s gone from being a magic term to a set of tools, methods, and processes. Industry experts reveal that it’s here to stay, and its impact will only increase.
Advertising and marketing activities, often carried out using online channels for promotional purposes, fall under the umbrella term of digital marketing. These activities include display advertising, video advertising, online advertising via social media, search engine marketing, online branding, and mobile advertising.
Digital media is a powerful tool that quickly changes how many businesses operate, from startups to the Fortune 500 and everything in between.
Historical Comparison of Traditional Marketing vs Digital Marketing.
Digital marketing is a relatively new approach to promoting products and services and has taken over traditional marketing channels. We use conventional marketing methods or traditional marketing channels in our daily lives, even without an electronic device or the internet.
An audience’s encounter with the brand message is fundamentally different between traditional marketing vs digital marketing, so is digital marketing strategy different from conventional marketing strategy. While traditional marketing uses traditional media like billboards, magazines, television and newspapers to reach the people, i.e. consumers, digital marketing uses digital media, such as social media or websites.
Digital marketing is a relatively new approach to promoting products and services and has taken over traditional marketing. Click To TweetHere are some interesting stats about the rise of digital marketing and the shift in ad spend to digital (Source: Statista).
Spending on traditional media like television is decreasing in favour of digital ones. One thing is sure–U.S. CMOs will invest more and more in mobile marketing, apparent by constant growth in their budgets allocated to this medium.
A survey conducted among U.S. B2B marketers in January 2021 asked respondents about the changes in their spending plans on traditional and digital media. According to B2B product-focused marketers, they expected their spending on traditional advertising to decline by 0.61% in the following year, compared to the past 12 months. They projected digital marketing spending to increase by 14.32%.
78% of global direct brand marketers believed that digital marketing was essential to their overall marketing efforts, while 39% said the same about offline campaigns.
In line with this global trend, internet advertising revenue in Nigeria has shown significant improvement in the last few years and is projected to rise. By 2023, they forecast online advertising in Nigeria to generate 133 million U.S. dollars in revenue.
When Traditional Marketing Fails and Digital Marketing Works.
Which is better traditional marketing vs digital marketing? This pandemic seems to provide some small businesses with an excellent opportunity to leverage digital marketing strategies over traditional marketing strategies.
Although there is a place for more traditional marketing methods like snail mail, digital marketing has become the more prominent type of marketing. Traditional marketing channels like radio ads, television, phone or print advertising may be better suited for older audiences or people living close to you.
Digital marketing or advertising like content marketing is a form of marketing that is a popular method that has recently helped small business owners to reach their consumers. Many small businesses now use online marketing or digital marketing as strategic marketing to reach out to consumers see positive results.
Although there is a place for more traditional marketing methods, digital marketing has become the more prominent type of marketing. Click To TweetThe Advantages of Traditional Marketing in the 21st Century.
Over the past couple of decades, the world of advertising has changed dramatically. Just look at advertising on the internet, and you’ll see that it’s now hard to know which sites are genuine. Therefore, now is the time to learn the value of traditional methods such as newspaper and print advertisements for your future business prospects.
Your Audience Can Connect with You Locally.
Reaching local audiences through various methods of marketing is crucial to connecting with customers individually. Consumers today rely more than ever on relationships. Businesses that have a genuine concern for the well-being of their customers will attract their business.
Your company becomes genuinely part of the community through traditional marketing campaign tactics like magazine advertisements, billboards, local TV or radio commercials, print ads, and other printed marketing collateral. In that sense, you feel less corporate and more organic while reaching your target audience.
Promotional Materials are Both Sustainable and Budget-friendly.
The challenge with digital marketing is facing the additional cost of providing new relevant content to keep your audience interested constantly. A lot of companies face this challenge and cost frequently. They will post a video on social media, create a new email, or send an article twice a week.
In the realm of marketing, you can’t go wrong with traditional marketing methods regarding your return on investment over digital marketing campaigns. They are sometimes more sustainable and leave a lasting impression. You can use the same TV commercial, flyer, business card or brochure more than once. In this way, the new material doesn’t have to be created as often to promote your service or product. This makes it appealing to marketing budgets.
Many small businesses that started using digital marketing as strategic marketing to reach out to the masses could reap results. Click To TweetCredibility is Established Through Traditional Marketing.
The psychological impact on company credibility when using traditional marketing strategies is more significant than online strategies. Although digital marketing makes a company more visible and accessible, it doesn’t seem reliable or professional.
People typically trust printed content and ads displayed in more prominent media because of the tremendous investment involved. Traditional methods of marketing have earned their reputation over time by being associated with established mediums and bigger budgets. To run an advert in a magazine or TV or radio commercials, you must have sufficient time and funding. Therefore, the company is perceived as successful, growing, and stable.
Getting Your Message to a Broader Range of People.
Digital marketers often say that you can target and track your audience using digital channels. Social media, email campaigns, and your website can give you some data to refine your marketing message and promotions.
But the demographics of your target market may not matter much if your brand represents a broader audience. Having a larger target audience can end up helping a small business grow. Hence, it is better to pursue traditional marketing rather than inbound marketing to attract more customers.
Marketing Materials in Hardcopy Can Be Easier to Process.
Even though digital marketing images, graphics, and photos are often impressive, sometimes all the intricate designs coupled with animated features can be overwhelming. The design may distract viewers to where they ignore your message.
Marketing collateral printed on paper can easily be read and improve brand recall. Direct mail and postcards can be easier to read and process than email marketing. Compared to a white paper, a social website or an e-commerce website, a brochure may be easier to skim through. It may be easier to digest a 30-second commercial on TV than a three-minute YouTube video.
In the realm of marketing, you can't go wrong with traditional marketing methods regarding your return on investment. Click To TweetConclusion
As with most business strategies, success often depends on when and how we implement our strategy and desired outcomes of turning prospects into customers. I hope this article has answered your questions on this topic. If you have further questions on how to improve your digital marketing efforts, schedule a consultation. I can usually find time and fit you in within a day or two of receiving your request.
Is there any marketing-related topic you would like us to address on this blog? Contact us to let us know. I will be glad to entertain your request, provided that it is a topic that will benefit our target audience. You can also follow us on Twitter @ademolaabimbola or @mauconline for more tips.
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