Digital marketing is very different from traditional marketing, though they both have similar goals. The goals of marketing is to promote the products and services you provide, reaching your target audience. Traditional marketing uses conventional methods to promote products and services, while digital marketing uses the internet to promote the same goods and services.
What is Traditional Marketing?
Traditional marketing relies on conventional methods to reach your audience. These conventional methods are offline methods, such as television, radio, direct mail, billboards, and cold calling. It is a one way communication approach that enables businesses to share their message to a larger audience with very little interaction. The marketing materials for traditional marketing is in locations where the target audience is likely to see or hear the advert.
Traditional marketing provides:
- Offline channel marketing such as magazines, newspapers, radio, billboard, television
- One way communication, delivery messages that do not provide your audience with the opportunity to provide feedback
- Includes tangible methods, such as posters, brochures, and flyers
- Expensive. Traditional advertising tends to be more on the expensive side
What is Digital Marketing?
Digital marketing relies on online platforms and technologies to reach a target audience. It uses social media, search engines, the internet, mobile apps, email, and other digital channels to achieve success. It is a two-way communication approach, enabling the company and audience to interact with each other, providing feedback, and more.
Digital marketing provides:
- Two way communication enabling businesses to interact with their audience
- Online channels are used including websites, social media platforms, search engines, mobile apps, email, and more
- Multimedia content can be used including images and videos
- Cost effective. Digital marketing is more cost effective than traditional marketing with lower overhead costs and more advertising opportunities.
How Digital Marketing is Different from Traditional Marketing
While they both aim to help businesses reach you target audience, sharing information on products and services, digital marketing and traditional marketing are very different.
- Traditional marketing uses conventional offline methods to reach an audience, while digital marketing uses online platforms and digital technologies to reach a target audience
- Traditional marketing relies on print, radio, and television reaching a wider audience, while digital marketing is precise targeting based on demographics, location, interests, and habits
- Traditional marketing is expensive, especially when it comes to television commercials and newspaper advertising. Expenses are set and may not provide a good return on investment. Digital marketing, on the other hand, is low-cost and includes numerous opportunities including search engine optimisation, social media marketing, and more.
- Traditional marketing is a one way communication strategy, while digital marketing is a two way communication strategy, where businesses can engage with their audience through likes, shares, comments, reviews, and more
- Traditional marketing offers campaigns that are not easy to modify and requires long lead times, while digital marketing can be adjusted as needed based on trends, feedback, and performance indicators.
- Traditional marketing provides brand awareness, though its not easy to achieve, while digital marketing offers analytical tools to monitor user activity, conversions, return on investment, and performance.
- Traditional marketing is ideal for local audiences, as it can provide a good local impact. Digital marketing, on the other hand, enables you to reach a global audience, along with connecting with different target markets.
Conclusion
Digital and traditional marketing both help businesses improve visibility and reach an audience. Digital marketing is more targeted, using the internet, to share information on your business, products and services. Digital marketing is more cost effective, offering excellent data reporting, so you can make informed decisions to ensure the best return on investment.