The Most Important Differences Between Traditional and Digital Marketing

by Homer Novilla | Oct 15, 2015 | Digital Marketing

The Most Important Differences Between Traditional and Digital Marketing

The company’s marketing strategy can make or break its business. Decades ago, expert marketers relied on traditional marketing methods such as TV and radio commercials, business cards, and print advertising in the form of flyers, newspapers, and billboards to reach the target audience.

Nowadays, digital marketing is the new kid in the block. It heavily relies on the Internet via social media, backlinks, banner ads, and websites to get in touch with the target market.

So which one is better for your business? To answer that question, we’ve put together a list of contrasting qualities between two marketing strategies. Here are the most important differences between traditional and digital marketing.

1. Audience Communication

Companies that implement traditional marketing techniques talk to their audience. The communication happens in one direction where the advertiser reaches out to consumer. Think of a TV promotion: the ad does the talking while the audience plays the role of a passive listener. If the marketer attempts to interact with the customer through snail mail or phone marketing, getting the desired response usually takes time.

With digital marketing, communication is a two-way street. When advertisers talk in platforms like social media, the audience actively listens and then responds. Unlike in traditional media, these interactions occur in an instant.

2. Investment

Since traditional and digital marketing rely on different channels to reach the audience, investment costs are bound to show huge differences.

If you’re going for traditional marketing, you have to consider costs involved with manpower, print materials, and airwave fees. Seriously Simple Marketing reports that traditional marketers spend almost $1500 to reach 2,000 customers. Investment in time should also be taken into account as it takes days or even weeks to prepare materials or schedule airtime.

On the other hand, digital marketers can choose between organic (free) or paid advertising. Those who avail of the latter shell out a fraction of the costs. Two weeks ago, we reached over 100,000 targeted users on paid Facebook ads. Our investment was less than $25.

3. Medium

In 2011, Nielsen reports that television is still the most effective method of advertising with a total of $78.5 billion in ad revenue in the US. However, technology is changing this trend quickly and what may work a few years ago may be on its way to obsolescence.

Today, the widespread use of smartphones has altered the way people consume media. Zenith Optimedia reports that the growth in internet media consumption has contributed to the decline of traditional media consumption and this is expected to continue until 2017. In other words, more and more people are using their mobile devices at the expense of TV time.

4. Feedback

In terms of getting results, digital marketing is light years away from its traditional counterpart. Traditional marketers wait up to 30 days to see whether an ad campaign has generated increased sales. On the other hand, digital marketers can access the performance of an ad campaign in real time with the help of tools such as Google Analytics or Facebook Insights. This means ad results are shown as they happen which allows marketers to adjust when seen fit.

After considering these contrasting qualities between traditional and digital marketing, which one’s better for your business?