With the advent of the internet, marketing has changed through the years. In the basic sense of the word, marketing is defined as the process of selling or promoting a business. Marketing methods fall under two categories – traditional marketing and digital marketing.
TRADITIONAL MARKETING
Marketing existed before the internet took over the world of communication. Traditional marketing practices include marketing through the following mediums:
- Print media (This includes marketing through newspapers, billboards, brochures, magazines, flyers and posters)
- Broadcast media(This includes marketing through the Television and Radio)
- Direct mail
- Referral
- Outdoor
1 Print Media
Print media is a form of advertising that has existed for decades now. In the beginning, people relied on the written word for information. Every major event was first pushed through different forms of print. Before the advent of even telephones to communicate, newspapers, brochures, leaflets, and flyers were used to get the attention of people everywhere. Even with the internet taking over, print media has still been one of the most popular forms of advertising and communication.
2 Broadcast media
Broadcast media includes marketing through mediums like the Television and Radio. Slowly as different forms of communication took over, Television and Radio became widely accessible. Companies who wanted to increase their reach to a wider and larger audience started using these modes to communicate. This mode of communication helps reach a large group within a limited period of time, which is why it’s still extremely effective.
3 Referral
Referral marketing, also known as word of mouth, relies on customers to spread information about products or services. Referral is not a strategic or planned marketing activity, but it might help a business build a loyal client base. It also costs close to nothing for the business. However, a business shouldn’t rely primarily on referral marketing; it should combine this with the other types of marketing to reach a wider target market.
4 Outdoor
Outdoor marketing includes spreading the message across with mediums such as hoardings, billboards, taxis, bus shelters, benches, and buildings. Outdoor marketing is still extremely effective as it helps increase recall. These are things that you see around you on a regular basis and thus, the outdoor model of communication and advertising still remains extremely effective.
DIGITAL MARKETING
Digital marketing is all about engaging the audience in an interactive and engaging with a large target audience. Digital marketing includes a very broad form of communication. The digital marketing methods include using the following platforms:
- Email Marketing
- SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
- PPC (Pay Per Click)
- Social Media
- Online Advertising
- Viral Marketing
- Text Messaging
1 Email marketing
Email marketing is one of the earliest forms of online marketing. Through this mode, marketing involves sending out specific communication on a large scale while targeting a specific audience. Email marketing also helps in sending out a specific communication, thereby increasing recall and retention.
2 SEO – Search Engine Optimisation
To put it in very simple terms, search engine optimization is defined as using tools that increase and maximize the number of viewers on a website. This particular system ensures that a website ALWAYS appears on the top of the search list and while doing that, it filters out the unwanted data. SEO helps in giving people searching exactly what they want and hence is a very effective tool for digital marketing.
3 Pay Per Click
Pay per click (PPC) is an online advertising tool that is used to direct traffic towards particular websites. This form of advertising should NOT in any way, be confused with SEO. Pay per click is extremely effective as it works with placing your adverts right next to the organic keywords. This process is also known as Pay Search. The results are dependent on how much you bid for the particular keyword.
4 Social Media
The internet’s taking over our world. So why should that not extend to social media as well? Advertising on social media includes using platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Snapchat and Youtube to promote your business. While using these tools, you can also increase the reach area by boosting the posts. Social media has become extremely popular and is one of the most sought-after tools for online advertising.
5 Online Advertising
Don’t confuse it with PPC! This involves the process of advertising on others website. For example, you can buy a banner space on a popular website, paying the website owner for the same.
Viral Marketing
It is a perfect blend of various elements of marketing. Generally, it always involves publicizing an element of content across multiple channels. It may include videos on YouTube, blogs, email marketing, as well as some traditional elements, all with a goal to assure that the content grabs the attention of the market and spreads naturally through online communities.
Text Messaging
This is a classic favorite. This method of advertising involves sending your advertisements and communications to a large group of people through messages. This form ensures that the reach is limited to a specific target audience. With the exponential rise in usage of smartphones around the world has enhanced the dependency on them for quick and timely information.
TRADITIONAL MARKETING VS. DIGITAL MARKETING
The right medium of advertising for your business depends on the following factors:
- The medium that’s most relevant and effective in the long run
- The strategy that has the most reach
- A platform that has the quickest response Advertising and technology evolve hand in hand. The basic difference between traditional marketing and digital marketing is the end goal of both the methods. Traditional marketing aims at reaching people, while digital marketing aims at helping people reach out to you. While traditional marketing is an all time favorite, here are a few advantages that make digital marketing a hot success
- Digital marketing optimizes your cost. It makes sure that you get more than the amount you put in, thus increasing the impact of your campaign.
- Digital marketing increases communication. With real-time interaction, digital marketing ensures that the sellers and buyers always have a platform where they can talk and interact with each other on.
- Digital marketing, with its multiple facets, ensures higher visibility and real time results. Through tools like SEO, google analytics and PPC, digital marketing has accessed areas that were impossible through the traditional methods of marketing.
Both traditional and digital marketing have their own selling points. However, the field you pick is dependent on the kind of results you expect from the campaign. The overused and extremely exploited traditional marketing methods have their advantages. However, with the fast-paced world of the internet, digital marketing has gained a lot of traction in the past few years. At the end of the day, your form of marketing is based on what you want the end result to be