Traditional Marketing
Photo by Damien Lusson
What is it and when to use it
By Robin Anderson
When social media became an everyday part of life, reaching prospective customers shifted from traditional marketing to a reduction in budgets on digital marketing. Social media was all the rage as it provided new and cheaper ways of reaching your target. And the chance of your posts going viral - suddenly became every marketer’s goal. Print advertising was out. Banner ads were in. And now TikTok and their short-form video ads are the main focus for many. Does digital marketing work? Yes. But it turns out, it’s not always the most effective way to reach all audiences. There is still a reason traditional marketing might work better for you.
Traditional marketing is one of the oldest forms of marketing, and, over time, has been proven to be very effective.
What is Traditional Marketing?
“Traditional marketing refers to any type of marketing that isn’t online. This means print, broadcast, direct mail, phone, and outdoor advertising like billboards. From newspapers to radio, this method of marketing helps reach targeted audiences.”
What is Digital Marketing?
Digital Marketing is any type of marketing that is conducted online. A promoted post on LinkedIn, a targeted post on Facebook or Instagram, a video on TikTok. Digital marketing is very cost effective, and the analytics for it provide in depth information which help to understand and evaluate the effectiveness and reach of your efforts.
With digital marketing it’s cheaper and easier to adjust and manage a campaign. You gain instant gratification, and the analytics to continue to monitor and adjust as needed. There’s just one problem, your targeted customer or persona may not spend much time online. Your limited budget and effort targeting an internet abyss.
The benefits of Digital Marketing:
Easy interaction with your customers, ability to customize your content
Can easily make edits to ads/promo spots or adjust if your audience isn’t responding well. Where as in traditional marketing, can’t edit a print ad or physical brochure
Cost effective as advertising online is very flexible and inexpensive. Print, on air advertising, even on radio costs more
Analytical tools are readily available, many available for free - traditional results are difficult to measure
Examples of Digital Marketing that have high ROI:
Blogs
Email marketing
Social media posts
Internet advertising
Community group forums
Traditional Marketing is simply an alternative way to reach customers - particularly those who are choosing not to be online all the time - becoming numb to current ads online.
A HubSpot survey found that 57% of participants disliked ads that played before a video and 43% didn’t even watch them. As a result, marketers may be looking for a way to cut through the noise.
Traditional Marketing allows you to reach a much wider audience at one time such as a billboard, or an advertisement at a stadium. You have the ability to create memorable experiences that consumers can physically engage with. It works best for those customers whose role makes it difficult for them to spend much time online, those who work in industries that aren’t reliant on online interaction. It works particularly well for those who have a local audience.
Benefits of Traditional Marketing
Easy to reach and easy to understand. People are used to traditional advertising methods. They don’t have to ‘click-through’ to learn more. The information is available and in their hands. According to a 2018 report by Association of National Advertisers, direct mail response rates range from about five to nine times greater than that of email, paid search or social media.
Traditional advertising carries more credibility than digital marketing advertisements. A MarketingSherpa survey found that the top five most trusted advertising formats are all traditional, with customers trusting most print advertising (82%), television advertising (80%), direct mail advertising (76%), and radio advertising (71%) to make purchasing decisions.
Does not rely on technology which sometimes has issues including worrisome spam, and companies and customers don’t have to worry about leaking information or data security.
Whether or not your customer is online, with traditional marketing everyone will see your ad, particularly one such as a billboard. The materials you create, such as flyers and radio ads can be reused, saving time and money.
Examples of Traditional Marketing that have high ROIs:
Print advertisements: Physical ads are better for brand recall and ad recognition. Many ‘skip’ over banner ads and promotional posts that pop up in their social media news feeds.
Direct mail: A 2019 USPS study found that millennials are more likely than Gen X and Baby Boomers to take action based on marketing mail. In fact, 67% said they "frequently and occasionally use marketing mail as a prompt to go online."
Speaking Engagements: A great way to specifically target your audience makes it a highly effective way to generate qualified leads.
Phone Calls: A 2019 study by BrightLocal found that 60% of consumers preferred calling local businesses after finding them, a 28% increase from 2016
Face-to-Face Meetings: Whether these are directly in person or virtual, meeting with customers is highly effective as it enables you to adjust your approach simply by observing body language.
For most companies, combining digital marketing strategies with traditional marketing will allow you to target your marketing budget and effort to the activity that will have the greatest impact.
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FunFact Friday
Coca-Cola has had great success with traditional marketing methods. Their first print advertisement was published on May 29, 1886 in the Atlanta Journal. They have been running television commercials since 1950, with jaunty tunes and catchy slogans. One in particular ran in 1971 commercial specifically - ‘I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony). They have created numerous marketing products such as calendars and printed clothing as a way to extend their reach.