Traditional marketing vs digital marketing: which ones right for your business? This is an age-old question that CEOs, marketers, and salespeople have been debating for decades now.
Since the internet accessibility has become more available, the digital marketing strategies would be more cost efficient for a business owner, but a market should know every pros and cons of the digital and traditional marketing.
Are you wondering the same thing? Then read on. We’ve got everything you need to know about the marketing differences.
What Is Traditional Marketing?
Traditional marketing refers to any old marketing channels, which existed before the dawn of the internet. The most common channels include:
- Direct mail marketing
- Billboards and other outdoor display
- Broadcasting
- Telemarketing
Broadcasting and billboards remain a popular option for traditional marketing channels. However, others such as cold call telemarketing have massively decreased in popularity.
What Is Digital Marketing?
Digital marketing, then, is all marketing channels created since the internet took over our lives. The main channels include:
- Website
- Social media
- Pay per click (PPC)
- Search engine marketing
- Content marketing
- Affiliate marketing
The main difference between digital and traditional marketing is the medium by which the user receives the advertisement. Both have their pros and cons.
Traditional Marketing: Pros and Cons
Traditional marketing often gets pushed aside for digital marketing these days as outdated and costly. But it still has its pros.
It’s very impactful. A billboard is much harder to ignore than a tiny ad in the corner of your browser. It also makes it more memorable because we see it in real life as opposed to while we’re scrolling past on Instagram.
It’s also more permanent, particularly in print. Once you run an ad, it’s there until that paper or magazine is recycled.
However, the cost is real. Traditional marketing takes physical materials and space, which means the costs associated are higher than many digital channels.
It’s also difficult to know what the return on the advertisement is. You don’t know how many people saw your ad or how many of them bought because they saw it.
Finally, there’s no interaction with your customer, which is digital marketing’s best selling point.
Digital Marketing: Pros and Cons
The engagement factor that digital marketing channels like social media offer are one of its best pros. You can see and hear what your audience thinks of your brand and campaigns.
Even if they don’t directly interact, analytics will tell you everything you need to know. Analytics lets you know how many people saw your campaign, whether they bought, and much more. It can help inform your marketing efforts overall and know where to spend.
You can also target your audience much more closely. You don’t know who will be listening to the radio when your ad comes except for a broad demographic. Whereas with digital marketing, you can target your ads to appear in front of your audience.
This said, there are cons. We’re becoming blind to digital ads and at times, they’re outright annoying. Both these can stop you from reaching your customers or put them off outright.
Traditional Marketing vs Digital Marketing
So which is right for your business? Generally, both should be included in your marketing strategy.
Having a good mix of both types of marketing is almost always the best plan for businesses. Striking a balance between them so that your audience sees your brand on many different channels will build awareness and increase sales.
Many find marketing for business in general daunting and outsource it. So If you need help, there’s you can always turn to a digital agency.
Find What Works
There’s no set rule for traditional marketing vs digital marketing. Find what best works for your company by trying a range of traditional and digital channels.
For more business advice on marketing for beginners, check out our blog.
