Is Digital Marketing the New Traditional?
In today’s digital era, digital marketing is experiencing rapid growth. There’s something new to learn everyday. And as the importance of digital marketing increases, some businesses wonder whether they should forgo traditional marketing altogether and stick to digital marketing solutions.
The question is: If digital marketing is better, perhaps the ad budget needs to be shifted accordingly?
Some of the advantages that are driving marketers to put a growing portion of their budgets into digital marketing are:
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Cost Savings: with digital marketing you can reach more of your target customers and spend significantly fewer dollars than you would if you were paying for traditional marketing.
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Personalized Messaging: digital marketing allows brands to specify exactly the target demographic for each individual ad in a campaign. Digital is just as creative of a canvas as other channels.
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Easily Measured: When you place an ad in the newspaper or a magazine, it can be difficult to assess the direct sales impact for your business. With online marketing, everything can be tracked and adjusted if needed.
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Viral Value: brands that post content to social media sites are able to plug into consumers who are willing to share that content with their networks.
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Relationship marketing: digital marketing, especially social media allows 2-way communications with consumers. By working hand-in-hand with the prospects and customers brands can co-create a more meaningful, personalized, and lasting experience.
Is digital marketing replacing traditional?
Brands should be aware of the shift to digital marketing. We do not expect it to completely replace traditional marketing, however it would be short-sighted to ignore its benefits.
An effective marketing campaign should incorporate a balanced mix of both. No matter the channels you choose, the fundamentals of marketing haven’t changed since Mad Men ruled the marketing world. There is still a need to conduct market research, develop strategies to reach your target audience and create compelling content that will engage them.
In order to determine if you as an organization should forgo traditional marketing you need to look at your target audience and plan channel approaches accordingly.
Is your target demographic almost exclusively online? If so, perhaps you should target your efforts exclusively towards digital marketing.At the end, by reaching consumers where they are (whether that is on traditional media, or online) with a consistent marketing campaign, brands can ensure that their omnichannel presence is felt and recognized.
In your opinion what are some other benefits from digital marketing? Share your thoughts and opinions in comments below.