You have a great product or service and want to share it with the world. So many marketing channels are available to business owners today, making it difficult to decide where to invest your hard-earned cash. Marketing can be broadly categorized as traditional or digital and both types of marketing have their advantages. The most skilled marketing agencies will develop a custom advertising plan that employs the marketing type best suited for your company, or sometimes, a combination of both types. Follow our guide to understand the pros and cons of both traditional and digital marketing:

Traditional Marketing

Traditional marketing uses non-internet-based avenues to advertise products and services. Typical placements for traditional marketing include:

• Billboards
• Radio
• Newspapers
• Magazines
• Television
• Signs on public transportation
• Events/Trade shows

Which Businesses Benefit Most From Traditional Marketing?

Businesses that serve older populations

Traditional marketing is best suited for businesses that target an older, local demographic. Some segments of the middle-aged population spend as much as double the time viewing traditional advertisements as their online counterparts. Since disposable income tends to increase with age, some businesses will want to target these consumers with conventional print, TV, and radio ads. 

Businesses that serve a small, local area

For advertising locally, traditional marketing is the best way to make sure your business name is getting in front of every possible customer. For example, a small convenience store serving only one specific area would be wise to install print signs around that area, directing potential customers to the store. Advertising digitally to customers within 50 miles will not yield the same results as traditional advertising. 

Businesses that serve extremely rural areas

Traditional marketing will prevail in areas without adequate internet connectivity. Extremely rural areas may not have access to reliable high-speed internet or even cellular data service. These consumers will respond best to traditional marketing since it is the only type of marketing that can reach them.

Traditional marketing was knocked down as the biggest player for US ad spend back in 2019. This switch highlights some of traditional marketing’s downfalls. Once a print ad is published, it cannot change dynamically as information on the ad’s performance comes in. Trends come and go incredibly fast in today’s society, and conventional ads struggle to keep up. Traditional marketing is also notoriously expensive. For example, the coveted SuperBowl commercial slots go for millions of dollars! While the rates for an ad spot on your local news channel won’t be sky-high, the cost is still prohibitive to new, fledgling businesses.

Digital Marketing

Digital marketing includes any type of advertising done via the internet. This type of marketing allows unprecedented responsiveness, focus on audiences tailored to a specific product or service, affordability, and an impressive ROI. Some forms of digital marketing are:

• Website ads
• Search engine ads
• Blog posts
• Influencer videos
• Mobile app ads
• Email newsletter offers

What are the Benefits of Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing is very flexible and adaptive and can be used to maximize advertising dollars for almost any type of business, anywhere! As long as your customers have internet service, you can get your name, values, products, and services in front of the eyes of potential buyers. Just a few benefits of digital marketing include:

Audience Targeting

Digital marketing has the ability to pinpoint your ideal customer’s attributes and tailor your marketing efforts to focus on just that particular type of consumer. You won’t waste a single cent displaying your ad for obstetric services to men, for example. Audiences can also be reached by providing them with valuable content they have already expressed interest in through online search. While giving the consumer the information they want, you can include links and contact information for your products and services. Providing this perceived value gives your business credibility and builds brand loyalty before the customer even makes a purchase.

Results You Can Use Right Now

With traditional marketing, you will likely never know exactly which billboard or newspaper ad led a customer to you. With digital marketing, you can pinpoint exactly which ads are generating the most traffic. The almost immediate performance results that online ad campaigns generate allow you to make dynamic changes, keep only the ads bringing in revenue, and help keep your campaigns relevant. 

Instant Customer Engagement

Potential customers want information and answers faster than ever. With the integrated communication channels available to digital marketers, you can instantly engage with interested buyers. Imagine that a potential customer clicks on your digital ad while browsing their favorite social media site and is taken to a communication platform with which they are already familiar. They receive a friendly, immediate greeting along with a quick FAQ, answering their questions about your business without any actual interaction from you. If they still have questions, they can shoot you a message, of which you receive notification almost immediately. Digital marketing helps your business appear more responsive and gives you access to your customers 24/7 if need be.

The growing dominance of digital marketing is undeniable. Digital marketing offers the flexibility 21st-century business owners need to stay competitive in their markets. However, the power of traditional marketing is also very strong. Hybrid campaigns combine the advantages of both traditional and digital marketing while limiting their negative aspects. This strategy can be the most effective for many businesses. A local cheesecake shop just beginning to ship nationwide, for example, would be a great candidate for a hybrid marketing campaign.

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