Digital Marketing vs Traditional Marketing
There has been a long-running debate on what businesses should be using in their marketing campaign. Should every business turn to digital marketing? Should you do away with traditional marketing? To help you make a decision that works best for your company, here are some points of discussion regarding Digital Marketing vs. Traditional Marketing.
Definition
To start off, it would be best to define what digital and traditional marketing is. This will give you a clear idea on the pros and cons of each marketing strategy. This would also provide you with some information on what your business should be using for its marketing campaign.
Traditional Marketing
Traditional marketing is often associated with tangible items such as posters, flyers, business cards, brochures, pamphlets, and magazine and newspaper ads. Mail, TV and radio ads are also associated with traditional marketing. How effective is traditional marketing? It’s this conventional marketing plan that has catapulted most big businesses we know to where they are right now.
Digital Marketing
Compared to traditional marketing, digital marketing is very young but promising. Examples of digital marketing include the following: websites, social media shares and mentions, and YouTube videos and the ads that come with hemt. Many small businesses turn to digital marketing to help grow their business. More on the whys later.
Why choose Traditional Marketing?
One of the biggest pros of traditional marketing is the personal feel. You get to interact on a personal level. Examples would include distribution of flyers, business cards, brochures, pamphlets, etc. While distributing the said materials, you also get to interact with potential customers. Since this type of interaction happens in a personal way, you get to receive questions and answer them right away. You also receive feedback from customers as well. Some customers prefer this type of interaction because they can gauge if the person in front of them is telling the truth. They can also clarify some matters if they wish to and get the answers right away.
Why not Traditional Marketing?
One of the biggest reasons is that it’s expensive. Your business will spend tons of money running this type of marketing strategy. Aside from spending on the production of materials and hard copies, you also spend resources in manpower. Print, radio and TV advertising can be very costly.
Why choose Digital Marketing?
The cost is not as high compared to traditional marketing. You don’t need to hire numerous employees to distribute your materials. You can hire virtual assistants or a virtual secretary to run your marketing campaign. Since your staff does not need to be physically present, “distribution” of materials is done through the internet. An administrative assistant or virtual assistant can handle your email marketing campaign or social media accounts.
One benefit that digital marketing brings to the table, that attracts small businesses and new businesses alike, is that it levels the playing field. A small business that has a well-designed eCommerce website can compete with known, big businesses. Another advantage is that in digital marketing, you can target a specific area or a local audience, and if you choose to go global, this can be easily done with a few tweaks and clicks.
Why not Digital Marketing?
Since businesses have seen the power and potential of the internet, specifically social media, it’s now uncommon to see a business without its own website or social media account. The competition is fierce. So in terms of staffing, you really need to have skilled professionals who know how to run a sound marketing strategy.
With the pros and cons listed above, you can now weigh in on what type of marketing strategy to use. The wonderful thing about this is that you’re not limited to using only one. Some businesses use both traditional and digital marketing to help their company grow and be successful. It’s just a matter of determining what works and what doesn’t in relation to your brand. Business owners should not put limits on strategies and tools that they can use to help the business grow. Take advantage of every opportunity. If you think that both strategies would work in accordance with your business model then go for it!
Next: 7 Email Marketing Tips For Small Business Owners
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