The rise of digital devices has affected the nature of nearly every industry under the sun. Few fields, however, have been altered as much as marketing and advertising. Indeed, one simply needs to compare digital marketing vs traditional marketing techniques to notice the stark contrast between how marketers once operated, and how they currently approach problems. Traditional marketing refers to any marketing content not generated digitally like TV and radio commercials, print ads, and brochures. Digital marketing, by contrast, encompasses any marketing material created for online consumption such as blogs, social-media posts, podcasts, or videos.
However, medium isn’t the only thing that separates digital and traditional marketing methods. In fact, here are three other key differences to note:
Inbound vs Outbound
You’ve probably encountered inbound and outbound marketing material –– even if you didn’t realize it at the time. Outbound marketing is associated with the traditional forms of product promotion. A TV commercial is outbound, just as a billboard is outbound, for example. In essence, outbound content interrupts daily life. It’s designed to catch a consumer’s eye and grab their attention. Inbound marketing content focuses instead on addressing qualified leads who already have an interest in a product or service. The kind of blogs, digital advertisements, and social-media posts consumers view is based on their web history and preferences. While everyone on a train has to stare at the same billboard whether they like it or not, inbound material only appears to consumers when they actively decide to engage with it. After all, you’ll only encounter a platform like Google Ads if you first perform a Google search.
Trackability
The better businesses understand consumers, the more effectively they can craft marketing content to suit their needs. Businesses that utilize digital marketing can monitor consumer behavior fairly easily. It’s a straightforward process to track website clicks, content offer downloads, social media shares, etc. Conversely, it’s more difficult to determine the efficacy of traditional marketing efforts. Few consumers are going to call a business and explain which billboard or TV commercial piqued their interest. In that same vein, customer surveys can prove costly, and don’t always produce results reflective of a wider community.
ROI
Does traditional marketing still work? Of course, it can. If it didn’t, no companies would bother paying for airtime, commercial space, or print advertisements. On the other hand, eschewing digital marketing completely is a recipe for disaster. Roughly 85% of consumers use search engines to find local businesses, and even more use search engines to learn about products or services. Businesses can’t afford to neglect their online presence because the potential for return on investment on digital marketing is so high.
The Bottom Line
At Agile & Co., we specialize in all things digital marketing, and we’ll ensure that you get the best possible returns from your online efforts. From SEO to digital ad management, to social-media promotion, we understand what it takes to generate leads online and help you make more sales. So contact our team today! Plus, to see how our unique inbound, agile approach sets us apart from our competitors, check out our free eBook here:
