Traditional Marketing vs Digital Marketing: Which is better?

Photo credits: Uhuru Network

Traditional marketing includes print newsletters, billboards, flyers, newspaper print ads, and radio or television broadcasts. On the other hand, digital marketing includes Search Engine Optimization, social media platforms, email, content marketing and websites.

Traditional marketing can be useful to target a local audience and according to a study by TruIeImpact marketing firm, traditional marketing materials like catalogs and flyers have been proven to be easier to process mentally and tested better for brand recall. However, traditional marketing can be very costly to execute and distribute in which the results are hard to measure. Traditional marketing is often very mass and may not be able to target the specific audience intended.

Digital marketing on the other hand allows content to be easily distributed in which a brand can target customers from all over the world. Specific demographics can be customized to best fit the criteria a brand is looking for so that the campaign can be even more effective. The insights of a digital marketing campaign can also be measured in real time. Digital marketing also motivates interaction with a brand and its consumers by giving them roles in contributing to be a part of the brand through giving reviews, rating products and sharing photos. Often brands can even receive feedback from the audience through comments on social media or buying patterns. Digital marketing is also more cost-efficient compared to digital marketing and ads on social media platforms start from only $5 a day.

Nowadays, young, new brands are focusing mostly on digital marketing while more established brands go for both. In the fashion industry, traditional marketing is slowly becoming the less popular choice compared to digital marketing. However, I personally believe that having a balance of both can be good for a brand. If events are involved, it is always nice to keep a physical material of something as a memento in which you can Instagram as well. It tends to have meaning and could be good for brand associations.