Historically, traditional marketing techniques have been widely successful in promoting businesses and convincing new and existing customers to buy more products. Nevertheless, for the last few decades, an alternative method of advertising products and services has been steadily rising in popularity — digital marketing. In fact, some could say that digital marketing has already surpassed its traditional counterpart.
However, some businesses prefer combining digital and traditional marketing strategies to create a comprehensive approach in this ever-evolving marketing landscape. By leveraging digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising, they tap into the benefits of both worlds. DOOH provides an innovative way to engage with the audience, displaying dynamic content on digital billboards, screens, and interactive displays in public spaces.
There are many reasons why digital marketing is superior to its older cousin. In many instances, digital marketing can be much cheaper. It can also provide a wider reach and is significantly more flexible when it comes to adapting to new market situations. Additionally, digital marketing techniques offer improved engagement over traditional advertising practices.
It Can Be Less Expensive
Digital marketing can be a less expensive way to reach consumers than traditional marketing techniques. To illustrate the point, we need only to look at the cost of a television ad spot during primetime TV hours. The price of a single 30-second ad spot can easily cost you tens of thousands of dollars. Several billboards in critical locations can also cost a pretty penny.
In contrast, digital marketing methods, such as social media and content marketing, can be done at a fraction of the cost. If you have an in-house marketing team, you can easily create and post content on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter without spending tons of money.
Similarly, using the services of sites such as https://www.fintelconnect.com/ instead of traditional marketing can save a lot of money in the long run. You could work with digital marketing agencies that will help you create and execute a cost-effective digital marketing campaign — it would still be cheaper than the traditional approaches to advertising.
Then you have performance marketing, which allows you to pay only when someone takes a desired action, such as visiting your website or making a purchase. This element stands in clear opposition to traditional marketing techniques, where you give your money upfront and simply hope for the best results.
It Offers Greater Reach
Digital marketing offers businesses a much wider reach than traditional marketing techniques. For one, the internet knows no geographical boundaries. Once you put up a website or post something on social media, people can access it from all over the world. You can also target your ads to specific countries, regions, or even cities.
On the other hand, traditional marketing is limited by geographical boundaries. For instance, you can only put up billboards in specific locations. You also have no control over who sees your ads — anyone who happens to be watching television or driving by the billboard will see your ad regardless of whether they are potential customers or not. Consequently, digital marketing makes reaching your target audience much more manageable.
It Is More Engaging
Digital marketing techniques are more engaging than traditional marketing methods. This is because digital marketing allows for two-way communication between businesses and consumers. Customers can quickly leave feedback or ask questions through comments, likes, shares, and private messages. Companies can also respond to these queries in a timely manner.
Conversely, traditional marketing only allows for one-way communication. Customers cannot easily interact with businesses and vice versa. This factor makes it difficult for firms to get customer feedback or address their concerns as quickly as possible. As a result, traditional marketing can often feel like a one-sided conversation where businesses are just talking to consumers instead of with them.
It Is More Flexible
Digital marketing is much more flexible than traditional marketing when adapting to new market situations. For instance, if you want to change your target market, you can simply adjust your website or social media content accordingly. You can also quickly change your digital marketing strategy if you see it not working as well as you had hoped.
Traditional marketing is much more rigid. Once you have invested in a particular marketing technique, making changes can be difficult and costly. If you want to target a different market after putting up billboards in a specific location, you will likely have to take them down and put up new ones in a new area. Doing so can be both time-consuming and expensive.
Digital marketing is also much more helpful during a reputational crisis. If your business faces a PR crisis, you can quickly change your digital marketing strategy to do damage control. You might delete your controversial content, post apology videos on social media, or write blog posts addressing the issue from your point of view. You can also use paid ads to get your message across to as many people as possible.
Traditional marketing channels lack this flexibility. Removing all the leaflets, billboards, and posters you have distributed around town can easily take weeks, giving time for more customers to learn about your mistake and driving customer attrition.
In Conclusion
Digital marketing is a much better option than traditional marketing for businesses that want to stay ahead of the competition. While traditional marketing techniques can still be effective, they are often more expensive, offer less reach, and are less flexible. Additionally, digital marketing is more engaging and can help you build stronger relationships with your customers.
Of course, digital marketing has some downsides too. For instance, it will not work in a region with little to no internet access. Similarly, tracking the results of your digital marketing campaigns can be challenging.
Regardless, these are relatively minor issues compared to the many advantages digital marketing offers. So, switching to digital marketing is probably one of the best decisions you can make for your business.
