Is traditional or digital marketing best? This is a question we often get asked here at 10X Marketing.
Don’t know the difference between traditional marketing or digital marketing? Or don’t know what the pros and cons are for both types of marketing? We’ve got you covered. Read on to discover if traditional or digital marketing is best for your business.
Which is Better: Traditional or Digital Marketing?
Which type of marketing is better for your business? To determine this, you need to know the difference between traditional and digital marketing. Don’t worry, the definitions of traditional or digital marketing aren’t technical. But they are essential for you to know if you’re to ace your marketing.
What is Traditional Marketing?
Traditional marketing is anything that happens offline, in person or via a print publication. For example, traditional marketing is an ad for an item:
- on TV
- on a giant billboard
- in the newspaper.
Traditional marketing requires an actual physical product or service. It works well for products with mass appeal and customers without internet access or smartphones. Products or services with established markets generally work best for traditional marketing. For example, if people already know what they want and are willing to pay for it.
What is Digital Marketing?
Digital marketing is how it sounds, marketing that uses a digital device and is online, such as:
- social media (both organic content and paid ads)
- emails
- and, yes, even this blog post.
If a marketing campaign involves digital communication then it’s classed as digital marketing. Digital marketing is often less expensive than traditional forms of advertising. Products or services needing little explanation work best for digital marketing.
Traditional or Digital Marketing: What Are the Pros and Cons of Traditional Marketing?
Traditional Marketing Pros:
Great for reaching an older demographic. Studies have found that those 50+ spend almost twice as much time reading the newspaper and watching TV compared to those ages 21-34. The older generation are more likely to use social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Why? Because they’d rather read about the news than follow influencers and celebrities.
Better for a smaller business trying to keep their customers local. Having an online presence is still important, but it’s more beneficial to opt for traditional marketing. For example, you could:
- post flyers through doors
- place an ad in the newspaper
- or put up a poster in other local shops.
With the introduction of skippable ads on YouTube, it’s shown that 90% of an audience is not watching the entirety of an ad, unlike ads on TV. An advert on TV gets played repeatedly, so your audience are more likely to see it. It’s also worth mentioning that people are more likely to sit through a TV ad. Whereas, online they’ll skip it if they don’t find it interesting.
Traditional Marketing Cons:
Traditional marketing is expensive, and let’s be honest, not great for the environment. If your business is printing lots of flyers and posters, this uses a lot of ink and paper. The public is also likely to throw this away as many think its clutter and junk lettering.
When it comes to tracking the performance of your campaign, this becomes difficult. You don’t have access to analytics, so you have to see if the level of your customer increases. This could take a lot of time to see results.
Traditional or Digital Marketing: What Are the Pros and Cons of Digital Marketing?
Digital Marketing Pros:
Your business can track your analytics and see which posts have received a better reach. This information helps you decide what most resonates with your audience and what content to use for your future campaigns.
62.5% of the world’s population is now online, meaning you have a large audience to try and reach. You must find your target audience as it’s hard for your marketing campaign to reach everyone. Your campaign or social media post is visible to the world. Whereas a traditional marketing, such as a TV ad won’t have as greater reach.
Using sites such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google My Business is free to set up. You can get your business online and start your branding and marketing journey. Boosting your ads on your posts can help you get a better reach, it’s also a fraction of the price compared to a TV advert.
Digital Marketing Cons:
It’s harder to make your business stand out. There are millions of companies on social media platforms, and you’re not going to be the only one of your kind. The market is saturated, and all of your competition can be seen in a click. You’ll need to make sure your brand has a key message and that you know your target audience.
Trends are forever changing and quickly. To keep up with trends and be on new platforms, you need to regularly do research.
Which Will You Choose: Digital Marketing or Traditional Marketing (or Both)?
When deciding what marketing is right for your business, think about who you want to be reach. If you’re selling products or services that appeal to younger people, digital marketing may be more effective. Why? Because younger people are more likely to use digital devices than read newspapers.
Whereas, if you’re selling products or services that appeal to older people, traditional marketing is better. Older people generally find it easier to use more traditional marketing methods.
If you want to implement a digital solution into your business, speak to a member of the 10x team today.
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