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Digital Marketing, Magnitude
November 16, 2023

Traditional Marketing vs Digital Marketing: Which Has Higher Impact?

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Traditional Marketing vs Digital Marketing: Which Has Higher Impact?
Digital Marketing, Magnitude
November 16, 2023

Traditional Marketing vs Digital Marketing: Which Has Higher Impact?

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Traditional Marketing vs Digital Marketing: Which Has Higher Impact?

Photo by Jason Strull on Unsplash

Digital marketing now accounts for 58% of marketing budgets. Despite this, there’s still debate over whether traditional or digital marketing techniques are more valuable for a business. 

If you’re trying to decide where to allocate funds, you should understand both traditional and digital marketing methods. Deciding which one to use is more difficult than you might expect since they both have pros and cons.

So which has the highest impact? In this guide, we’ll help you decide between traditional marketing vs digital marketing. 

What Is Traditional Marketing?

Traditional marketing includes techniques that have been used for years and don’t rely on the Internet. Common traditional marketing methods include newspaper and magazine ads, billboard ads, terrestrial television and radio commercials, direct postal mail, and cold calling.

Traditional marketing is a part of everyday life. You’re likely to come across these ads even if you never turn on a smartphone or computer. 

Pros and Cons of Traditional Marketing

So what are the pros and cons of traditional marketing? Here’s why you should know.

Pro: Great for Older Audiences

Traditional marketing is useful for reaching an older demographic. Older adults tend to watch TV and read newspapers and magazines more than those who are younger. Although many older adults can be reached with digital marketing as well, traditional marketing techniques are particularly effective.

Pro: Locally-Focused

Traditional marketing is also great for local marketing campaigns. It can help establish credibility in a smaller local area and opens up a lot of opportunities for creative campaigns. Regional newspapers, radio stations, and magazines can all be useful for local marketing.

Pro: High Memorability

Traditional marketing materials tend to be a bit more memorable than those in digital marketing. Impressive billboard ads and print materials are tangible and harder to ignore. Traditional ads can attract attention more easily than a small ad on a smartphone or computer screen that can be scrolled past or ignored. 

Con: Difficult to Track

With traditional marketing, it can be difficult to track results. You won’t see the immediate reaction of your audience, and they won’t have a chance to engage directly with an ad that they see. This can make it hard to gauge the effectiveness and value of your traditional marketing campaigns.

Con: Expensive

Traditional marketing tends to be less affordable and cost-effective. Billboard ads, magazine ads, and other forms of traditional marketing can be expensive. Pair this with the difficulty of tracking results, and it can be tough to justify a big budget.

Con: Time to Launch

A digital marketing campaign can be launched quickly. However, there’s more red tape with traditional marketing, and marketing materials must be meticulously prepared before use. You also won’t be able to edit and tweak your campaign as much after launch, like with digital marketing.

What Is Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing consists of marketing and advertising strategies that are reliant on modern technology and digital channels. These strategies require the use of the Internet as well as smartphones, tablets, and computers. Commonly used digital marketing strategies include content marketing, email marketing, social media marketing, affiliate marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), and programmatic advertising. 

Pros and Cons of Digital Marketing

What makes digital marketing so popular? Here’s why many businesses are prioritizing digital marketing techniques today. 

Pro: Better Engagement

When you use digital marketing tactics to reach a customer, they’ll usually have an opportunity to respond. An audience of a digital marketing campaign can engage with social media posts, send you an email, or do other things to react to your marketing message. You’ll be able to immediately see whether your marketing campaign is having a high impact or not.

Pro: Tracking Capabilities

Unlike traditional marketing, you’ll have plenty of data at your fingertips. You can learn a lot about who your customers are and what they respond to.

You’ll be able to track engagement as well as anything that results from your campaign. With this information, you can endlessly tweak and improve your digital marketing campaigns to get better results.

Pro: Targeting

Traditional marketing techniques usually take a broad approach. Digital marketing is highly targeted. 

With targeted techniques and tools, you can reach an audience with the exact age, interests, location, and characteristics that you’re looking for. You can focus on reaching a specific demographic and type of customer. 

Con: Steep Learning Curve

Because of its increased flexibility and targeting capabilities, digital marketing can be more difficult. You’ll need to have some technical skills as well as strategic thinking to get it right. 

In addition to this, the digital marketing landscape changes constantly. You’ll need to work extra to keep up with the latest trends and techniques.

Con: Negative Brand Engagement

With the potential for more engagement online also comes more negativity. If someone isn’t happy with your business or service, they’ll let you and everyone else know about it. This could harm your brand reputation if you don’t take steps to minimize damage.

Con: Competitive

It can be difficult to stand out among the crowd of other businesses that are running ads, creating content, and posting on social media. Customer attention spans are at an all-time low. You’ll need to work hard to engage users and draw their attention away from other businesses and activities online.

Which Should You Use?

As you can see, both digital and traditional marketing have their pros and cons. It’s best to use a combination of both types of marketing to get the results you’re looking for. 

If you’re on a small budget or want to reach a wide, scattered audience across a large area, digital marketing might be the better choice for you. However, traditional marketing might be a good choice if you’re looking to build brand awareness and reach an older, local audience.

Deciding Between Traditional Marketing vs Digital Marketing

Choosing between traditional marketing vs digital marketing isn’t easy. Ideally, you may want to use both types of marketing. You’ll also want to carefully consider which type of marketing is best for the specific audience that you’re trying to reach.

If you need help with programmatic advertising and digital marketing, consider working with Magnitude of Change. Our solutions-oriented team will customize a solution that is perfectly suited to your needs.

Ready to get started? Connect with us today to learn how we can help you get results. 

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