Business owners continue to embrace various ways to make their businesses stand out against competition. Creativity, innovation, and marketing styles can make your brand outshine the rest. As the business landscape continuously evolves, entrepreneurs must take advantage of using both digital and traditional advertising channels. In this blog, learn the difference between how digital advertising channels are different from traditional ones. Find out how one audience is different from another.
Traditional Advertising Channels
Traditional advertising channels are a method that involves the use of radio, television, print publications, outdoor advertising, and other forms of classic advertising. When you are choosing traditional advertising, below are some of the things that need to be considered.
Reach
If your marketing strategy is to reach out to a wider audience, you can make use of traditional advertising. For example, you have a new branch that you’re opening in another location and you’ll want people to know about it. You can make use of radio and print ads to get the word out. Television is also a form of traditional advertising medium which has a broad reach. It means that you can reach out to different types of audiences – young and old, male and female.
Tangibility
For some people, if something is tangible it could leave a better impression on them. Advertising flags are just some examples of tangible marketing materials. People can see it and hold it leaving a lasting impression on them. Imagine passing by a nearby shoe shop every day. For the last five days that you’ve been passing by this path, you’ve noticed the advertising flags about discounted items. As you take this path every day, you will see these flags fluttering across the streets. You are then often reminded of the discounted rates of these shoes. During your weekend off, you end up getting a pair of shoes for yourself. The same goes for printed magazines. If you often see items in these printed materials, it’s more likely that you end up buying some of the items from these magazines.
Credibility
It takes time to build credibility for your brand. Over time, consumers are loyal to your brand because of the credibility that was built over time. Some of the traditional advertising materials are newspapers and television channels that have built credibility over the years. Once products are featured in them, it’s more probable that people are going to buy such products. Think of your favorite channel. Imagine seeing an interesting advertising flag or custom tent being advertised on your favorite channel. Would you be interested in buying one for yourself because it’s advertised on your favorite channel? For most people, the answer is yes.
Limited Target Options
One thing you need to note is that when it comes to traditional marketing, the targeting is not as specific as compared to digital advertising. You can’t get as granular information in terms of the specifics of your target audience as compared to the data that can be gathered from digital marketing. You may be reaching out to a wide audience but in terms of having a specific audience, this may have to be in the form of digital advertising. Let’s say you are advertising your products in a television or radio medium, you want to know about your audience’s interests. This would be challenging to get information about your audience’s hobbies and interests.
Digital Advertising Channels
These days there are several forms of digital advertising mediums. Some of these involve the following: search engine optimization, websites, social media advertising, display advertising, email marketing, and mobile applications.
Specific Audience Targeting
Several platforms allow brands to reach a specific target of their audience. Facebook is an example of a platform where you can run ads and input specific targeting depending on your brand’s objectives. Other examples are Google Ads, TikTok, and LinkedIn where you can target an audience and gather this information to better streamline your campaign. Having a better understanding of your audience’s online behavior, you can develop content that would stir their interest.
Measurable Results
With digital advertising, not only can you target a specific audience but also allows you to gather real-time analytics. These performance analytics allow you to assess whether or not your marketing campaign is effective. If your campaign is not working effectively, you can make changes and measure how these adjustments impact your sales.
Value for Money
Although some marketers would argue that running a digital campaign is more costly than compared to a traditional one, it could be more cost-effective in the long run. There are also flexible pricing options offered by some digital companies. You can then adjust your spending depending on your budget and marketing objectives.
Assess engagement and interaction
The advantage of using digital campaigns is that you can also evaluate the engagement rate or the interaction of the target audience. If you have an advertising flag for your marketing campaign, you can assess the effectiveness depending on the foot traffic. If no people are entering your shop despite the numerous advertising flags hanging by, you can then relocate these flags somewhere else. Unlike in digital advertising, you can directly see whether your advertising campaign has an impact on your sales. You can see how many clicks are being generated by a particular ad content. You can also see how many sales are converted from these clicks. The interaction can be evaluated in real-time and you can make certain adjustments right away.
Incorporating Digital and Traditional Advertising
If you have the budget to spend, you might consider integrating digital and traditional advertising. As mentioned in the items above, you can leverage the power of both digital and traditional advertising. Below are some of the considerations that must be taken.
Consistency in branding and messaging
If you plan to incorporate both digital and traditional advertising in your marketing mix, make sure to stay consistent with your branding. The messaging in your traditional advertising should be the same or aligned with your digital. If this is not the case, your audience might get confused. Let’s say you’re using pop-up banners and advertising flags for your traditional marketing. Whatever color, key visuals, and messaging you use in them should also be the same as your social media content or website.
Cross-promotional campaigns
To have a better reach when it comes to your marketing strategy, you can cross-promote between these two channels. For example, include QR codes and website links to your custom tents or table covers. Once people scan the code, they will be redirected to your social media accounts.
Seek professional guidance
If you are only used to traditional forms of advertising, seek a professional to guide you. This person is an expert in seamlessly integrating these two forms of marketing. Having an omnichannel approach allows your brand to have a wider audience reach. Being able to cast a wider net of audience allows your brand to be in front of more people.
Remember that both traditional and digital advertising have their advantages and disadvantages. Make sure that choosing the right form of advertising is aligned with your budget, objectives, and timelines. Understanding the pros and cons will help you decide better which one to use or whether to incorporate both of them. Now that you have an idea of the pros and cons of traditional and digital advertising, you can start creating impactful marketing campaigns. Whether you want to achieve better brand awareness, deeper customer engagement or generate more sales, leverage the power of these advertising methods to bring success to your business.
