Digital Marketing vs Traditional Marketing

 Digital, Internet, Online or Inbound marketing is not only one of the most inexpensive ways to connect with your audience, but it is also becoming the more effective and preferred way to reach your target market.

Thanks to the internet, marketing has changed and evolved.  No longer do consumers rely on billboards, TV commercials, direct mail or even paid web page ads.

The internet has given the consumer the capacity and control over what they view and how they view it.  Today there are alternative methods for finding, researching and buying products.

If you want information on a product or service you simply go to the internet and do a Google search.  You are no longer limited by what a sales person at a store tells you and hope that you are not being taken advantage of by them.

That is what I love about the internet, it has leveled the playing field and made it possible for the little guy to compete with the ‘big boys’.

Digital or Inbound marketing is interactive, it is a two-way communication.  You can research many sites to get different points of view, you can read reviews and even email and ask questions.

Traditional or Outbound marketing is pushy and invasive.  It is usually forced on you by commercials or ads screaming for your attention.  It also doesn’t work very well anymore.

44% of direct mail is just tossed in the trash…….unopened.

86% of people skip through TV commercials, if they even have them.  Many people today watch shows on cable, online, through sites like Hulu for the main purpose of not wanting to suffer through commercials.

84% of people click away from a website with intrusive ads or use things like ad-blocker to keep them from ‘popping’ up at all.

Traditional or paid online ads are also expensive, the ROI (return on investment) is hardly worth it most of the time.

For Inbound marketing to work you need to gain the consumers trust.  You need to provide good content and information on your website.  Write blogs, record audio podcasts, make videos.  It doesn’t have to be funny, simply provide information to help the user gain a better insight to the product or service that they are seeking.

If someone trusts you they will be more willing to seek you out when wanting to purchase that product or service.

Your goal is to not only inform but to solve a problem that they may have and at the same time establish yourself as an authority on the subject.

If people feel that they can trust you they will not only come back when they need your product or service again, but they will also be inclined to share their experience with others and refer you to their friends who may need your help or product.