The way in which you choose to market your business can affect the reach that you have and the number of consumers that you attract. The methods that you use to advertise your business will depend on several factors, including the type of business you run and its capabilities. They are also not set in stone; they can grow and adapt to your business. In order to ensure that you are maximizing your business’ potential, you first need to know more about the two categories, which will be explained below.
Digital Marketing
Digital marketing is, as it seems, the process by which your business is promoted online or through digital channels. This includes search engines, social media, blogs, emails and banner ads, to name a few. The internet is home to millions of users, which means that there is the potential to reach huge audiences.
There are several advantages to digital marketing. First and foremost, it allows users to reach audiences almost effortlessly. As mentioned above, the audience is on a global scale. You decide whether to market your products locally, nationally or internationally. This means that it might be easier for you to expand your market if your business allows for this. You can define your audience using demographics targeting your efforts by age, locale, gender, profession and even interests or hobbies too.
Digital marketing allows businesses to create personalized content. If you use the targeting metrics mentioned above, you can create a series of different ads suited to different audiences. Doing so is not as expensive as you would think either. You can continually improve your processes by learning more about your audiences. You have a huge range of content that can be personalized for your audience using their search history, shopping habits or social media likes.
Advertising digitally allows you to build more of a relationship with your audience. There are more opportunities to engage and interact than there would usually be with other methods. For example, you can use your mailing list or social media accounts to develop more of a rapport with your consumers. In doing so, you can increase your brand awareness and foster a sense of loyalty within your consumer base. It is also a lot easier to track the efficacy of your campaigns as most methods of digital marketing come with tracking options, and you can see how many clicks or conversions you are getting from each campaign.
However, there are also disadvantages to digital marketing. The main one being the level of competition. While you benefit from a global audience, you are on the same stage. You do become a drop in the ocean made up of other businesses all vying for attention. It can be difficult to separate your business from them. It can also be easy to miss the mark and pump your resources into the wrong aspects of digital marketing. Although this can be avoided by doing the correct amount of research.
Traditional Marketing
Traditional marketing must then refer to the process of marketing through offline – or traditional – means. This may be through print ads which appear in magazines, newspapers or catalogues, it could be through adverts seen on the television or heard on the radio, flyers, direct mail or billboards are also classed as traditional marketing methods, among others. Traditional marketing is often seen as a more simple but stable option.
Traditional marketing comes with its own advantages, and it can offer amazing results to businesses when used as part of a well thought out marketing strategy. For example, if you operate a local business, using traditional marketing methods can help you easily reach your local audience. You can target consumers in your area without wasting time and money on the wrong subsection of people. For example, direct mail campaigns can be incredibly effective when combined with the proper direct mail strategies like the ones provided by Lob. They can assist you in your marketing needs, proving useful tools and resources for you to work with.
Most traditional marketing methods involve creating physical materials which can make your business more memorable. Consumers of digital content can become desensitized to the ads that plague their online experiences. Physical marketing materials can, therefore, often make more of an impression; they become more memorable and may lead to more success. Consumers can refer back to their hard copy when needed, whereas digital ads come and go.
Digital marketing can be volatile because the landscape of digital marketing relies on technology that is constantly changing and evolving which can make digital marketing risky. On the other hand, traditional marketing channels are unchanging; they are much more reliable. There is less risk involved because these channels and methods are long-established. You can dedicate more time to creating your campaigns as opposed to trying to work out where they would be best placed.
However, traditional marketing is not without its downsides either. Some would argue that traditional forms of marketing are becoming obsolete as society becomes increasingly technology-dependent. Does it make sense to commit to more archaic forms of marketing? While traditional marketing continues to drive results, these naysayers can be dismissed. Traditional marketing can also be seen as more limiting; the potential reach of your campaigns is greatly reduced. However, depending on your business, this may not be an issue. For example, local businesses do not need to have a global reach, and it would be unfeasible for them to do so.
Which is Better?
This question is impossible to answer universally. There are simply too many factors at play. It will depend on the type of business you operate, the budget you have, and your business goals. That being said, most businesses will often combine elements of each. So do your research and develop a marketing strategy that best addresses the needs of your business.
In Conclusion
Both traditional and digital marketing methods have their merits and their pitfalls. It comes down to what makes the most business sense for your company. Weigh up the pros and cons listed above and consider them when creating your marketing strategies in the future.
