There used to be a time when the word “digital” only applied to TV sets. During this period, no one would have thought digital would be used to describe a type of marketing. Fast-forward to today, no marketing strategy is complete without digital marketing. Why is this?
To start with, studies revealed that at least 51% of businesses use a minimum of eight channels to promote their business. These channels are not limited to one type of marketing alone. It is a combination of both digital and traditional marketing methods. In addition to this, about 44% of customers visit a business website after receiving a mail or notification from the business. If there is one thing this reveals, it is that both traditional and digital marketing methods can work together. It is against this background that this article focuses on explaining the following topics
- What is digital marketing?
- What is traditional marketing?
- Pros of digital marketing
- Pros of traditional marketing
- Final Thought
What is Digital Marketing?
Digital marketing is the use of online platforms to promote and attract new customers to a product or service. These platforms could be social media sites, email, blogs, or paid advertisements. One of the things that make digital marketing an effective way to market your product is the fact that beyond granting the marketer access to the customer’s demography, marketers can easily get their target audience’s recent site activities, their interest, and even their purchase behavior. All these help marketers streamline their advert to their target audience. Examples of digital marketing sites are;
- Website or blog,
- Clickable ad,
- Live chat,
- Affiliate marketing,
- Social media posts,
- Email campaigns,
- Content marketing,
- Paid advert.
Digital marketing is constantly on the increase. According to Drift, digital marketing in the US is expected to increase to 85% by 2023. In the same vein, Statista shows that there are more than 4.5 billion internet users across the world today and 3.8 billion active social media users. With the figure rising continuously, digital marketing is an effective tool for businesses to reach their target audience and grow their customer list.
What is Traditional Marketing?
Think of any kind of marketing that does not entail using the internet or visiting social media, this kind of marketing is traditional marketing. Traditional marketing is the old long kind of marketing that is still in vogue today. We see them every day and we hear them every time. Traditional marketing includes print media marketing, radio marketing, TV, Billboard, flier, and magazine.
Pros of Traditional Marketing
- If your business or service is targeted at the older generation, traditional marketing is an effective way to reach them. This is because, according to GlobeNewswire, people at age 50 and above read newspapers and listen to radio twice as much as those in their 20s and 30s.
- Traditional marketing is an effective tool for businesses looking at winning more local audiences, especially small businesses. As an SMB owner, competing with other businesses on social media might be too overwhelming. This is why starting with traditional marketing can go a long way in establishing your business and getting local customers.
- Should an ad pop on your phone, it is easy to click “I don’t want to see this ad,” or delete it. However, this is not the same with traditional marketing. Radio always repeats their ads until you are tempted to start thinking whether or not you need the product or service. This is one great benefit not available in digital marketing.
Pros of Digital Marketing.
- If there is anything digital marketing helps you to achieve, it is the in-depth audience data it provides. With digital marketing, once a visitor or potential customer clicks on your page, reads your social media post, or follows your business, you have that information already. With this, you can track the person’s activity including recent purchases. Digital marketing provides more information about your market than traditional marketing.
- Digital marketing is less expensive. Email marketing is one of the most effective and least expensive types of digital marketing. You save more with email marketing than printing individual postcards.
- Digital marketing helps you to reach a wider audience. It is one way to take your business to the global market and grow your international market.
Final Thought
There is no doubt that both traditional and digital marketing are two effective marketing mediums. With digital marketing, you are able to expand the reach of your business beyond your local, and with traditional marketing, you stand the chance of attracting the older generation.
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ALSO READ: An Introduction to Bixex