Is Digital Marketing replacing Traditional Marketing?
Can you remember the last magazine ad that you read? How about the last TV commercial?
Do you wait next to your mailbox for the latest junk mail flyers to be delivered?
If you’re like most people, you have probably stopped noticing most of the advertising that is a part of your everyday life or even started to ignore it.
Why? Because it isn’t targeted to you.
Most traditional media doesn’t have anything specific to do with you, except that you’re a human.
Hence you ignore it.
In fact, the only time that human beings are interested in advertising is during the Superbowl halftime. That’s because they’re known to be entertaining, grandiose and impactful.
However, in terms of day-to-day business, people mostly ignore traditional advertising.
This makes many businesses wonder whether they need to focus on a new digital marketing strategy that is more in line with the behavior and intent of their customers today.
Is the end of traditional marketing near?
For over 100 years now, the general public has been exposed to different types of advertising and marketing. You’re probably with some forms of traditional marketing:
- Newspaper Ads
- Magazine Ads
- Leaflets & flyers
- Billboards
- Radio Spots
- Television Commercials
These traditional marketing methods worked well for a century because they were the primary method by which the general public learned about new products. From 1895 to 1995, ‘consumer research’ involved being exposed to an advertisement and then visiting the store to sample the product.
Of course, today this is all defunct.
Online search has taken away the need for advertisements to educate the general public. Today a simple Google search will give a person everything they need to know, plus options to buy.
Adding to the case is the fact that print media is declining (print circulation decreased by 11% in 2017 alone). A lot of television is becoming built around online streaming and subscription platforms such as Netflix, HBO, and Hulu. These changes mean that ad opportunities on these traditional marketing platforms are not as readily available.
Very often you will read articles that mention that traditional marketing doesn’t work, or that it’s dead. The reality is that is evolving. Marketing is adapting to the new digital lifestyle that we have all adopted.
Traditional vs. Digital marketing
The worry for business owners who have always depended upon traditional marketing is that they are not getting the same return on investment they once were. Today most small businesses spend between 4% and 12% of revenue on marketing. Some view this as a cost of doing business, while others wonder if it is wasted money.
Before digital marketing became mainstream, it was exceedingly difficult to know if that money was getting a business any attention.
The inability to track the data from methods such as radio, television or even print media (except for circulation numbers) used to be a reality of business. Today that has changed as we can measure through impressions and clicks.
Digital Marketing offers clearer customer targeting
As the world becomes more connected, the ways we market have become more targeted. The vast reach of Facebook and the demographic data they provide is the best example of how much data can help to reach a particular person by interest, lifestyle or beliefs.
Previously these types of audiences weren’t able to be separated out.
Today, with ads on Google or Facebook, there is a huge opportunity to refine and retarget to a particular person who is in your ideal demographic.
It’s like using a paper map versus a GPS. Both provide a similar service, but one is uniquely customized to the individual.
There are businesses that still thrive with printed media and conventional TV advertising. Generally, the larger the business, the more their brand can gain exposure from traditional marketing.
However, if you have a business that needs more specific targeting for a particular group, you can benefit from digital advertising and content marketing.
The benefits of a Digital Marketing agency
To see what benefit digital marketing can bring to your business, working with an agency can help you to track and refine the market. Leveraging the content on your website, as well SEO can add value to the marketing that you do online. An agency can help to ensure you are getting value for your investment and making the right targeting decisions for your products and services.
