How your digital marketing fits in with traditional marketing

Digital marketing is no longer an optional marketing solution. Your consumers expect you to have a digital presence. Many deem that digital marketing isn’t a viable solution, that it is annoying, or a fad. But in the US, nearly 36% of internet users are social buyers, approximately 90.2 million people. If you are not on social media or have a digital presence, you are missing out. And per a [Statista] 2021 report, 11% of social media users immediately make an online purchase after discovering a product, and 44% come back to purchase later. It doesn’t seem like digital marketing is going anywhere anytime soon. The Pandemic pushed e-commerce purchases that continue to grow despite the world starting to return to normal.

To be on the same page, let’s discuss what traditional and digital marketing include and their pros and cons.

Traditional Marketing

Traditional Marketing consists of:

• Outdoor (Billboards, bus/taxi wraps, posters, etc.)
• Broadcasting (TV, Radio, etc.)
• Print (Magazines, newspapers, etc.)
• Direct Mail (catalogs etc.)
• Telemarketing (Phone, text message)
• Window display and signs

No one can disagree that traditional marketing is going away with the rise of digital marketing. These types of traditional marketing are still around because they are a proven way to market products effectively. But what are the pros and cons of traditional marketing?

Pros:

• Impactful
  • When you can visually see a TV commercial, magazine ad, or billboard, they are generally eye-catching (if they are good). They are also easy to digest and understand because they are 30 seconds, driven by or flipped through.

• Permanent
  • Generally, traditional marketing lasts longer than digital marketing. A commercial is run consistently for several weeks to months allowing you to see it multiple times, magazine ads will be in a physical form for as long as that magazine is available, and billboards or window displays are often kept up seasonally.

• Memorable
  • Seeing something in real life vs. your mobile device is often more memorable. There is anticipation in seeing the Super Bowl commercials or the new window display in your favorite store.

Cons:

• Difficult to measure results
  • It is almost impossible to figure out if a Billboard or magazine ad has impacted your ROI. Sure, if you just put up a billboard and see your in-store traffic increase, you could attribute it to that, but unless you ask every person who walked into your store, you generally will not get concrete metrics.

• Expensive
  • The cost of a print ad, billboard, bus, or window display is often more costly than running a paid ad campaign through digital marketing.

• No interactions with your consumer
  • With traditional marketing, you don’t get any feedback from your customers. You don’t know how they are reacting to your billboard or magazine ad, so it makes it more difficult to tweak it to make it better.

Digital Marketing

Digital Marketing consists of:

• Social media (Facebook, Instagram, etc.)
• Website
• Content marketing
• Affiliate marketing
• Inbound marketing
• Email marketing
• PPC (pay per click
• SEO/SEM (Search engine optimization/ search engine marketing)

Having a website and social media is no longer just a marketing option for a brand; it is necessary. The US had about 79 million social buyers in 2020, and this number is estimated to grow to 108 million by 2025. (Statista 2021). But what are the pros and cons of digital marketing?

Pros:

• Engagement
  • You will be able to know if your marketing campaign is doing well by measuring the likes, comments, shares, and click-through rates (CTR). And if you are doing something wrong, don’t worry, people don’t have any problem you are doing something wrong on the internet

• Metrics
  • Digital marketing is much easier than traditional marketing to see how your campaigns are doing. With social media metrics, Google Analytics, and your website metrics, you will get a fairly clear picture of how your ads are doing.

• Targeting
  • With paid ads through social media, you can physically target who will see your ads and who won’t. It is no longer just throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks! You can narrow down your target audience to fit exactly who you are trying to market your products or services to.

Cons:

• Annoying
  • As mentioned above, people can deem sponsored ads annoying, especially if they are just logging on to see what their friends/families are posting about. But, if you make your ad seem very organic, it can be viewed as just something that belongs in their newsfeed.

• Less permanent
  • Social ads, website banners, or popups can be easily scrolled past, ignored, or exited out of quickly before your message can even make an impact. They will keep scrolling by if you don’t capture their attention within 13 milliseconds.

• Constantly evolving
  • Everything in the digital world changes so quickly you need to be up to date on all of those changes. Generally, little changes here and there will not affect your marketing, but big changes like the recent Apple ios14 privacy update changed how digital marketing is done.

Marketing Evolution

Innovations change not just in the digital world, but in the traditional marketing world as well. Think about it. 20 years ago you had to watch shows live then the DVR was invented and you could now record and watch your show later which allowed you to fast-forward through commercials. Now you can stream TV or watch it directly from an app and pay a small fee to completely remove ads.

Being on social media allows you to interact with your potential customers allowing them to get to know and like you. Having user generated content (UGC) or testimonials, is key to gaining their trust. 49% of consumers claim that they depend on influencer recommendations when making a decision on a purchase.

More and more brands are turning to digital marketing to ensure that their products and services are seen by their target audience. With immediate feedback and return on investment the digital marketing and social media world is going to be the best and most cost effective way to market now and in the future.

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