Marketing: difference between traditional and digital marketing

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digital marketing

Marketing is a way of bringing your ideas to the people and increase your market share. The inception of marketing came about in order to let consumers know that your brand exists and that it’s worth considering. 

In the beginning, there was traditional marketing (TM). This is a conventional way of  a brand through print (magazine, newspaper etc.), broadcast (radio, TV etc.), outdoor (billboards, flyers etc.), direct mail (catalogues, brochures etc.), telephone (sms marketing, telemarketing etc.) and ambient advertising (activations, mall promotions etc.). These mediums came with a strategy that determined the communication to be put out. Over time, marketing strategies became more sophisticated – knowing who your market is, what they enjoy doing, where they like to hang out, what challenges they face, for example. This type of marketing definitely took on a more in-depth look into the behaviors and habits of consumers, which gave communication more accuracy in what to market.

Then came the world wide web, which gave way to the birth of DM. Digital one is how brands use different online platforms on the internet – content marketing, social media marketing, website, mobile marketing, email marketing, search engine marketing and pay per click marketing – to reach more consumers. The strategies used in traditional one can now be interpreted into digital for a more targeted communication. 

The practices of DM are rooted in the traditional one. Just like you being able to walk before you can run, knowing the basics of traditional one will strengthen your digital marketing ideas dramatically. 

Whereas traditional ones tries to reach people by getting to know their consumer behaviour, DM allows marketers to follow consumer behaviour in real time.

What digital marketers can learn from traditional ways?

It’s quite evident that DM has become dominant. As a business, you’re encouraged to have a digital campaign integrated into your marketing strategy. However, the traditional methods of getting the job done can still be implemented in this space. You can take ways of old into the digital world:

Stay on Strat: In traditional, before a creative process can begin on a marketing campaign, there needs to be a strategy as to which direction the creative process should take. This way, the marketing communication can say only what research has shown the consumer will respond to. In this same vein, digital one needs to create a digital strategy in order to place the right communication in front of the right consumer at the right time. Without a digital strategy, you won’t be able to measure your conversion rates and won’t be able to determine your Return On Investment (ROI).

Get it write: As much as I’m not a fan of puns, this one fully articulates how important it is to ensure copy is not only entertaining but grammatically correct. Copywriters are an essential part as they create the communication you put out. Words connect with people so, getting a professional copywriter to word your messaging can help you say things the right way to appeal to the consumers you’re looking for.

Make it an event: Events in TM have been a great way to connect the consumer with the people behind the brand they love. It’s a great way to gain insight directly from the consumer and build brand awareness by giving more information on the products and services you offer. The digital equivalent of that are webinars, live podcasts and Twitter chats. You can extend your reach to an even broader market in this way as anyone around the world can join your event.

Say what you mean: Public relations (PR) has been working hand in hand with marketing in making certain brands come across the way they want to in all communications. In digital one, a PR strategy is imperative in order to interact with influencers, bloggers and journalists. How you brief them depends on your knowledge of well-established PR principles.

DM is definitely the more affordable way to go for business in 2020, but, don’t count beneficial strategies of traditional marketing out just yet, there is a lot to learn from traditional marketing techniques.