Digital Marketing vs Traditional Marketing
I am going to learn some key aspects of digital marketing every day and so, today I am here to enlighten you on what I have learned. I have tried my best to break it down in a very simple way and is easy to digest for all.
Before I begin, I advise you to get a pen and a small notebook beside you, so that you can jot down some of the important learnings from this blog post.
Note: Information here is based on what I have learned and is the basic knowledge of Digital Marketing.
We now live in a digital age where everything is influenced by technology. From how we dress to what we eat, when picking outfits we scroll through social media on apps like Instagram and Pinterest for inspiration, when deciding where or what to eat, we search for restaurants on Google or Zomato.
When it comes to marketing, businesses have set budgets, they want marketing methods that can bring in the most returns on profit. As at the end of the day, the main aim of businesses is to make a profit. This brings the question of what kind of marketing methods are the most useful, traditional or digital? Let’s dive in a bit deeper and learn both the marketing strategies.
What is Traditional Marketing?
Well, I think we all are exposed at some point in time with the traditional marketing mediums. This is a convenient marketing mode that helps reach out with different offline ads and promotional strategies to a semi-targeted audience.
Traditional marketing makes use of traditional media such as
- Print(newspapers, magazines)
- Broadcast(TV, radio)
- Direct mail(catalogs, postcards)
- Telephone(telemarketing, SMS marketing), etc.
Some of the benefits of Traditional Marketing are that they are easier to understand and reach local audiences easier. However, they are less engaging, and nowadays, people tend to move away from Traditional Marketing.
What is Digital Marketing?
Digital marketing is a way to connect with and influence your potential customers online. Digital Marketing is weaving its way through our online lives.
- Your Website
- Branded assets (logos, icons, etc)
- Affiliate Marketing
- Written content (blog posts, testimonials, etc)
- Social media pages.
- Email Marketing etc.
The benefits of Digital Marketing is that they are able to reach the audience on a large scale and has a high level of customer engagement. However, you need to hire specialists in some aspects and might have to follow some regulations to carry on with Digital Marketing.
Reach
Research shows that 1/3 of the world uses social media regularly, depicting the potential of a worldwide reach. The use of analytics and algorithms deliver posts to those who are identified as target consumers.
Comparatively, traditional marketing involving printed and broadcasted materials reach only as far as a company is willing to pay.
Value
By using social media as a channel, companies can build a rapport with their audience and receive feedback to mold their brand to better fit consumer demands.
The delivery of traditional marketing doesn’t allow for the same communication and feedback the internet provides, leaving companies to use further resources and steps to gauge what their consumers are feeling.
Cost
Ideally, a company would want to reach as many people possible at the lowest cost. Social media is the cheapest form of advertising available today, with the ability to over 1000 people for less than $3.
Portraying that digital marketing not only has the potential for greater exposure to potential customers but also is the most cost-effective method.
So I believe before getting started for Digital Marketing, you should answer the following questions :
- How much money do you need to make?
- Who are you marketing to? Once you know how much money you want to make from digital marketing, you need to identify who you are marketing to. This is critical because different personas require different marketing tactics.
- What are your customers worth? : Typically, people look at buyer personas as a good way to craft an effective marketing strategy.
- How much do you want to spend to reach your goals? : You must be ready to invest in your target. You drop $20 in marketing, knowing you will get $200 in profits.
If you were running a business what type of marketing strategy would you choose? Or would you choose both?
