Traditional or Digital Marketing ? Which is Better?

Posted by Turnoverweb on February 23rd, 2015

It's a never ending debate—traditional versus digital marketing. Many believe that digital marketing has taken over the scene, overpowering the other to bare existence. With magazine giants and other print staples migrating to digital publication, it is not surprising that many people think it won't be long before the end of traditional marketing comes. What many don't realize is that digital marketing is exactly like traditional marketing, at least in principle—the only difference is that strategies are implemented in new, easy to deploy, manage, and monitor digital platforms.

The question remains though, about which approach is better, and the most practical answer, as you have probably guessed is none. Striking a balance between digital and traditional marketing approaches is what's important because while digital marketing agency Boston are quickly taking over, the unique advantages of traditional marketing still holds great value for different types of businesses.

Traditional marketing has many different facets. From tangible marketing materials like print ads and business cards, magazines, newspapers, brochures, and posters to larger than life billboards and intangible television and radio commercials, traditional marketing is typically anything that promotes your brand in a non-digital manner. Word-of-mouth, consumer referrals and rapport-building are also major aspects of traditional marketing.

Digital marketing therefore is nothing but a spill-over of traditional marketing, but through digital means. Digital marketing allows promotional strategies to grow and evolve with changing technologies and provides a new twist to traditional marketing by allowing inbound response. Instead of merely pushing marketing messages, digital marketing is also a form of inbound marketing, in which businesses create marketing content and advertisements for people to find. 

People are very much accustomed to traditional marketing, which is why advertisements in newspapers, magazines, billboards, televisions and radio broadcasts are still very effective, especially when targeting a local clientele. The only major disadvantage of traditional marketing, compared to digital means is that results cannot be as easily measured. In most cases, results aren't even measured at all, which prevents marketers and businesses from maximizing marketing potential.

Digital marketing on the other hand, offer results that are easier to measure, allowing better sustainability of marketing resources. Digital campaigns can also reach infinite audiences at a fraction of the price of traditional mean. Additionally, different digital marketing platforms enable businesses to tailor campaigns to reach specific audiences as well as to cater to a wider audience population.

About the author:

The article writer Elizabeth Cachay is associated with Turnover. Turnover is a digital marketing firm specializing in Search Engine Optimization, Local Search, Social Media Marketing, Conversion Optimization, Analytics & Tracking, Reputation Management, Mobile SEO, and Spanish SEO.