Digital Marketing vs. Traditional Marketing

Marketing has come a long way since the turn of the century. The advent of social media has been a game-changer and brought massive change.

If you are interested in marketing, chances are that you are wondering what makes digital marketing and traditional marketing. It can be difficult for you to decide which type of marketing to choose for your brand, especially if you do have a strong understanding of the two marketing types.

However, there is no need to worry as we have prepared the ultimate post just for you. It takes a close look at both digital marketing and traditional marketing. So, what are you waiting for? Let’s dive right in.

What Is Digital Marketing?

In the simplest of words, digital marketing involves the use of digital channels like social media and websites as tools to communicate marketing content. Anyone who uses social media would know about the different types of adverts that tend to pop up as you scroll through your Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn feed. It is known for its high engagement and ROI.

As we are living in the internet age, digital marketing has become extremely important. With over half the global population using the internet, you simply cannot miss out on the opportunities it presents. Besides, most people spend a great deal of their time online. They also are more likely to make an online purchase than ever before. With clever digital marketing, the world is your oyster. Here are some of the main digital marketing channels that you need to know about.

• Website
• Email marketing
• Affiliate marketing
• Content marketing
• Inbound marketing
• SEM (Search engine marketing)
• PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising
• Social media (i.e. Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, etc.)

Pros of Digital Marketing

1. Greater Options for Engagement

One of the best things about digital marketing is that it offers more options for engagement. You can use a number of channels like social media and email marketing to get your target audience to learn more about your brand. You can rest assured knowing that your marketing efforts would not go unnoticed. All you need to do is make sure that your marketing has positive comments, likes, and shares.

2. Easy to Evaluate Campaigns

Another reason why digital marketing is crucial is that it makes it super easy for businesses to measure their campaigns. With digital marketing tracking, you can gain an in-depth understanding of how your audience reacts to your marketing efforts. This means that you should be able to identify where you are going wrong and make necessary tweaks. Similarly, you would know what is working and amplify your efforts.

3. Allows Clever Targeting

In addition to the above, digital marketing gives you the power to narrow down your audience and target them specifically. For instance, if your audience is single middle-class women who are looking to travel, you can easily get the metrics right and create tailored content.

Cons of Digital Marketing

1. Digital Ads May Seem Annoying to Customers

As people are bombarded with digital ads in every space, they tend to get annoyed and might not take an interest in what you have to offer. Just think about it. You are likely to scroll past ads that pop up on Instagram or Facebook. Besides, the ads tend to be related to everything you Google. Thus, clever targeting may be less effective at times.

2. Less Permanent

A huge con of digital marketing is that all your digital marketing efforts such as social media ads, promo emails, banners, and Google ads would be of temporary nature. As they are intangible, it is easier to ignore them. If a customer opens another page, your ad would be gone.

3. Constantly Evolving

Digital marketing is not easy to master, especially since it is constantly evolving. You will need to keep up with the latest trends if you want to have a positive impression on your audience. This means that you will have to learn about everything that is new. Each channel might even require a specialist, from social media to search engine marketing. But, you should be able to get started with a basic social media marketing strategy. Then, you can scale your strategy as your brand grows.

What Is Traditional Marketing?

As the name sounds, traditional marketing involves the use of traditional channels such as printed media and billboards to attract your target audience to your brand. A great example includes Don Draper from Mad Men brainstorming a TV commercial idea for Coca-Cola. Traditional marketing was everything until the 1990s. It was only after the development of the internet that things changed.

Marketers tend to undervalue traditional marketing due to social media’s dominance. However, it has a place in people’s lives. Businesses that have the budget to share content on prime-time TV and magazines should capitalize on these mediums. Some of the traditional marketing channels that you can use are mentioned below.

• Direct mail (catalogs)
• Broadcasting (Radio, TV)
• Signs and window displays
• Print (Newspapers, magazines)
• Telemarketing (Text messages, phone)
• Outdoor (Posters, tax/bus wraps, billboards)

Pros of Traditional Marketing

1. Easy to Understand and Impactful

A great thing about traditional marketing is that it uses striking TV commercials and bold billboards to attract people to your business. They help make things entertaining and easy to digest.

2. More Permanent in Nature

When you use printed marketing materials to influence people to buy your products, you get to benefit from more permanent efforts. For instance, if you post an advert in a newspaper or magazine, it would remain visible until the item gets recycled.

3. Memorable

As the saying goes “seeing is believing”, you have to show your customers what your product or service is like. This is where traditional marketing truly shines. There is just something about a stunning window display or a Super-Bowl ad that is hard to forget. The same cannot be said about a Facebook ad that people would simply scroll past and overlook.

Cons of Digital Marketing

1. Difficult to Measure Campaigns

Traditional marketing campaigns are not as easy to measure. This makes it harder for you to determine which campaigns to invest in and which ones to let go of. On the other hand, digital marketing provides all the tools you need to determine how your campaigns perform.

2. Expensive

Another con of traditional marketing is that it costs more money. For instance, if you have a clothing brand, you will need to spend a ton of money to advertise your clothing line in Vogue magazine.

3. Lack of Direct Interaction

Traditional marketing makes it close to impossible for you to interact directly with your customers. This is not the case with social media marketing which encourages people to react to your posts.

What Is The Difference Between Digital Marketing and Traditional Marketing?

A major difference between digital marketing and traditional marketing is the medium you use for engaging with your target audience. Unlike traditional marketing which uses newspapers and magazines to get the message across, digital marketing uses websites and social media. But, it is important to understand that traditional marketing should not be old-fashioned. It still has a huge impact on people’s lives.

The fact is that TV commercials and magazine covers provide an immersive experience that is just as effective today as it was two decades ago. The reason behind this is that people tend to remember the message conveyed by traditional marketing. It makes it possible to attach your brand to the memory of customers on a subconscious level. Therefore, they will feel an emotional connection with it and be less likely to forget it.

Similarly, digital marketing fills the gaps which traditional marketing fails to target. It utilizes just about every touch point of the internet to reach viewers. For instance, if you Google holiday ideas for a weekend getaway, you are likely to come across a tailored ad from Kayak. Most people spend several hours on the internet every day. This is why it is vital to use digital marketing to weave your brand into people’s lives. Besides, there are plenty of digital channels that you can use.

Which Type Of Marketing Is Better?

The secret to succeeding in the world of today is finding the right balance between digital and traditional marketing. In other words, traditional marketing is considered to be the yin to the yang of digital marketing. This means that both of them are essential to an effective marketing strategy. Therefore, it is your job as a marketer to ensure that the two marketing types are leveraged to their full potential and provide the results that you are looking for.

For example, if we consider the TV commercials of Guinness, it becomes clear that it uses unique cinematography to reign supreme. The Surfer campaign launched by Guinness in 1999 is still popular today and is even referred to as the best TV commercial of all time. But, it is worth keeping in mind that Guinness has incorporated digital marketing into its strategy to ensure that it takes advantage of all marketing opportunities.

In order for your brand to reach a younger and broader audience, you have to expand your digital marketing efforts and make video content for Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Instead of just reusing the content you use for TV commercials, you have to make social media-first videos. They will allow you to reach your target audience over the internet and grow your brand in no time. By combining both digital marketing and traditional marketing, you can take things to the next level. There is no limit to what you can achieve.