Marketing in the modern age is becoming digital. To such a point, that most startups and small businesses are eschewing traditional media entirely.  While larger-scale businesses continue to utilize traditional media methods, across the board, digital media has become the primary communication and promotion method for brands.  And it’s popularity is no surprise—the digital sphere includes a number of tools that make it easier for marketers to create their marketing strategies. Online resources offer everything from proposal software to mood board templates, simplifying the work of marketers. How this move from traditional to digital marketing has taken place? And what does it mean for marketers?

Traditional Marketing Basics

Conventional or traditional marketing methods are the grassroots of marketing. They have developed decades ago and many of them continue to be used even today.  Some of the more popular kinds of traditional media include: Newspapers Magazines Radio Flyers Brochures Direct Mail Cold Calling Billboards Television As one can see, traditional media encompasses a wide variety of forms from newspapers, that have existed for a couple of centuries, to television, which was considered the most modern method of marketing only a few years ago.

Digital Marketing Basics

Digital marketing exclusively exists within the realms of the internet. It includes:

• Websites
• Search Engines
• Social Media
• Emails
• Online brochures
• Online PR
• Mobile

The digital sphere is vast and is constantly evolving and adapting to the needs of consumers. It is highly likely that the face of digital marketing will have changed significantly in just a few years.

Benefits of Traditional Marketing

To understand how traditional and digital marketing differ from each other, we need to look at the benefits and disadvantages of each. Among the advantages of traditional marketing is that it is a long-standing and stable method of marketing. It’s been tried and tested, unlike digital marketing, that is still changing. For established businesses who are still learning the ropes of the digital world, traditional marketing is a convenient fallback that still produces results. Another benefit is the local appeal that traditional marketing provides. Flyers and brochures can be distributed in select areas—and often as a supplement with newspapers. Billboards have visual appeal in a localized area and are great for brand recall. While digital ads are gaining prominence, consumers are already used to traditional ads in newspapers, magazines, and on television. Consumers react more positively to ads located in familiar areas, which increases the effectiveness of traditional marketing.

Disadvantages of Traditional Marketing

However, the move to digital has negatively impacted much of the print media. Newspapers were the earliest forms of traditional media but have slowly been fading out over the last decade. A number of newspapers around the world—particularly local papers—have closed down. Prominent newspapers are now moving to a digital-only option, many of them installing a paywall to continue their work. Traditional advertising also skews towards the higher end of marketing budgets. Billboards can require upwards of thousands of dollars to be displayed for a short period of time.  There are also additional costs associated with print marketing—the cost of printing, ink, installation, and distribution. For small businesses, traditional marketing is often not feasible at the initial stages of business promotion.

Benefits of Digital Marketing

The popularity of digital marketing is no surprise, especially because of the low cost involved. There are numerous ways to organically reach one’s audience—like utilizing SEO practices—which is not possible with traditional marketing. Even paid advertising, such as sponsored social media posts and pay-per-click ads, don’t make as much of a dent in a brand’s budget as traditional advertising. Most importantly, digital marketing gives businesses access to statistics and insights that traditional marketing has yet to achieve.  Through social media and Google analytics, as well as email marketing statistics, marketers can pinpoint their audience’s interests to the minutest detail.  This not only helps marketers reach the right audience with the right content but also to tailor their content to their market’s needs. And personalization has become one of the most important aspects of digital marketing. There is so much information available online—particularly through social media and newsletter signups—that marketers can now create personal connections with their audience that was not possible earlier. Additionally, the live element of digital marketing has made marketers’ lives far more convenient. They have access to statistics in real-time so they can adapt and change their content to their audience’s needs even before a campaign has been completed. Digital marketing also has no limits in terms of geographical reach—anybody anywhere can access your site and your content, which means even the smallest businesses can have a wide reach. 

Disadvantages of Digital Marketing 

Despite the numerous benefits of digital marketing, there are a handful of drawbacks that marketers have to be aware of. Chief among them is that digital marketing is constantly changing, which makes planning marketing strategies in advance quite difficult.  Additionally, many C-Level executives who have been in business for a long time tend to distrust digital marketing, choosing to rely on traditional marketing instead. For marketers working in these companies, convincing upper management to move to digital can be an arduous task. Consumers are also becoming much more wary of digital marketing—especially considering the issues with Facebook and Twitter in recent years. Convincing doubtful consumers to engage with digital marketing activities requires marketers to be more creative than ever before.

Digital and Traditional Marketing Work Together 

Though critics are pitting traditional marketing against digital marketing, the ideal strategy is to combine both, if budgets allow. Digital marketing has definitely seen great strides in recent years, but traditional marketing still has a place in consumers’ lives.  While startups and small businesses are well within their right to focus their efforts on digital marketing, large businesses have the option to use both. Small businesses can incorporate traditional media methods once they bring in profits. Both forms of marketing have their advantages and disadvantages, and if utilized correctly, they can promote a brand far and wide.

About the Author: Ronita Mohan

Ronita Mohan is a content marketer at Venngage, the online infographic and design platform. Ronita is interested in a variety of topics related to digital marketing, visual content, and online engagement, which she enjoys researching and writing about. Twitter: @Venngage