Comparing Traditional and Digital Marketing Methods

Digital Marketing

“In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes”. This quote is usually attributed to a letter written by Benjamin Franklin in 1789, (regarding the newly minted constitution of the United States). However, I’d like to amend it to: “in this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death, taxes and marketing”!

Marketing is absolutely everywhere; it is a global superpower in itself. The dictionary definition of marketing is “the activity or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising”. In the western world, nearly everything we consume (eat, use, buy, watch etc), comes with some level of marketing.

So, what are the different types of marketing and how do they work? Which ones are most effective for which audiences and products?

Marketing can be split into 2 categories: traditional and digital. But how do traditional and digital marketing strategies compare? Let’s have a look at both of them and explore the strengths and weaknesses of digital verses traditional advertising.

What are traditional marketing methods? 

Traditional marketing techniques have been around (and evolving) for a long time. They encompass channels that do not use the internet, including:

• Direct mail
• Television & Radio
• Newspapers & magazines
• Billboards & flyers
• Telephone calls & texts

What are the advantages of traditional marketing methods?

These channels have different strengths and weaknesses, but they also have some things in common:

1. Best for over 50s

Traditional marketing techniques have higher success rates with those over 50, as they tend to be less technologically savvy and more likely to trust the traditional approach.

2. Best for local audiences

They are effective for a large, local audience. For example, if you are advertising a new hair salon or restaurant: flyers, billboards and local radio can be excellent channels to utilise.

3. Hard to escape

Traditional marketing is also quite hard to escape. It’s easy to skip an ad on social media, but TV and radio adverts are played repeatedly and are harder to ignore or gloss over.

4. Allow for more complex messaging

You generally have more time and space to communicate a message with traditional methods.

Why has marketing changed?

Historically, the main drawbacks of most traditional methods were: the cost and the difficulty in measuring success. But large companies, with big budgets, were able to reap huge benefits by monopolising the traditional channels. Things may have continued in that vein were it not for one invention: the internet. 

As technology has advanced new hurdles have come along. Think about how most of us consume content these days. I don’t know about you, but the Queen’s funeral was probably the first time I have watched live TV in months! Most of us now rely heavily on streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime. If we do watch “regular” TV, it’s very often on catch-up (where we can skip adverts). 

In addition, a lot of us don’t buy physical newspapers anymore either but subscribe online instead. A similar change has happened in the audio world; podcasts have overtaken live radio for many people.

All of these changes in consumer behaviour have diluted the impact of traditional marketing techniques; gone are the glory days of the Mad Men where one slogan and a full-page ad in a magazine were good enough.  

What are digital marketing methods?

Digital marketing hasn’t been around as long as traditional marketing because it requires the use of the internet. These channels include:

• Social media
• Email campaigns
• Pay per click 
• SEO (search engine optimisation)
• Website content
• Affiliate marketing

Although newer, digital marketing has a huge scope and is growing exponentially! 

What are the advantages of digital marketing?

1. A global audience

Recent data indicates that nearly 5 billion people worldwide use the internet, and just over 4.6 billion people use social media. That is a massive potential audience. 

A traditional TV advert may reach several hundred thousand viewers, but the advertiser cannot know who those viewers are. 

Put that same advert on YouTube and suddenly the advertiser has a wealth of knowledge about who has viewed their ad. Not only that, but they can also have a measure of control over which demographics are shown in the advert in the first place. It allows for targeted advertising on a global scale. This is a huge advantage to the advertiser and has the potential to give a massive return on investment. 

2. Lots of free channels

Another huge advantage of digital marketing is that a lot of it is free! Anyone can set up an account with Google Business or create a YouTube channel and start posting content.  Facebook has 2.6 billion users worldwide and setting up a business page is completely free.

Remember though, if something is free, it means that potentially you may be the commodity for sale! To use these channels, you have to give away something valuable: namely your personal data (normally in the form of an email address) and your time and attention. The social media channels can then sell access to you to advertisers. That’s how they make their social media channel profitable. So use it with caution!

3. Cost-effective 

Paid advertising through digital marketing channels can be cheaper than traditional methods; TV ads are notoriously expensive to create and run! This means far more businesses can afford to advertise and can cast a much wider net. At the same time, that net can also be targeted at specific consumers, meaning you maximise your chance of winning a sale. All of this means you can advertise in a very cost-effective way. 

4. Measurable

Data is the currency in the modern world. Digital marketing channels allow companies to track:

• Who has seen the ad
• Who clicked on it
• What demographic they belong to
• How long they stayed on the website
• Whether they converted to a sale
• Why the lead may not have converted (in some cases)

All of this means you can learn more about your target audience, which can inform your future campaigns. You can also find out what success your ad has had, which allows you to measure how effective your campaign is.

Old reliable or the new boy?

Traditional marketing’s greatest strength is that it can help your business reach a wider and more varied audience. This can be an excellent tool for brand building; however, it is generally more suited to larger businesses with big advertising budgets.

For small to medium enterprises, the benefits of digital marketing make it a much more attractive and effective way to grow your business. Website content and SEO should be of particular focus. If done correctly and with the right level of knowledge and time investment, search engines really can become your BFF!