Traditional advertising vs digital advertising – what’s best for your business?
If you’re a small business, then your budget for advertising your brand, products or services will probably only stretch so far, which could mean you may have to choose between using either traditional advertising or digital advertising methods to market your business. So, what’s the difference between traditional advertising and digital advertising – and more importantly, why does it matter?
Traditional advertising vs digital advertising
In a nutshell, traditional advertising covers things like adverts in printed newspapers and magazines, advertisements on billboards, radio and television, flyers in mailboxes, in-store brochures and posters, and so on. Digital advertising, on the other hand, refers to the advertising you find on the Internet, so it includes things like your business website and advertising your brand, products or services via the channels that use the Internet, e.g. social media channels and email.
Why digital advertising is the place to be
Of course, the goal with any advertising is to reach consumers where they are, and in this day and age, they’re mostly on their mobile devices. The advent of smart phones and the unprecedented accessibility it offers has reshaped the way people consume all forms of media, including advertising.
The fact that mobile is now the leading medium around the world means that any business that wants to prosper will have to advertise via this growing platform, and the only way to do that is via digital advertising.
Traditional versus digital advertising – where the real value lies
When it comes to advertising your brand, products or services you need to choose the advertising approach that will be most effective for your business. That involves choosing the most cost-effective advertising medium for ensuring the greatest, targeted reach – in other words, getting the biggest bang for your buck – while at the same time providing you with tangible proof that your advertising is working. To help you decide which advertising method is best for you, here are 3 of the most important differences between traditional and digital advertising:
1. Targeted messaging: With traditional advertising you’re basically buying a ‘spot’ in or on an advertising medium based mainly on how many people could be reached by that medium, instead of how many of the right people it could reach.
In the case of digital advertising, you can be a lot more precise, right down to reaching a niche market and a specific audience. So, instead of creating a blanket message for a blanket audience, with digital advertising you can tailor your efforts to be able to reach the exact audience you need to reach and in the way they want to be reached.
2. Cost effective: Advertising in newspapers and magazines or on billboards, radio or television can be very expensive. Also, printing any material is costly and cannot easily be changed once printed. Plus there’s always a cost involved in distributing any printed material too.
Digital advertising on the other hand is very cost-effective, with the potential to reach thousands of people with just a single post, and the ability to tweak and change advertising as your advertising campaign unfolds and in response to the results you get.
3. Real-time measurement: Understanding which advertisements work the best and where to place those adverts is one of the most important ways to increase your profits, which is why tracking customers and knowing how they found you has been a question marketers have faced since the start of advertising.
With traditional advertising such as a billboard or radio advert, measuring the return on your investment can be difficult, because it’s nearly impossible to find out how many people saw or heard the advert, and then being able to determine how many who did see or hear it ended up buying your product or service as a result.
With digital advertising and the right tools, however, you can easily and quickly check on your advertising campaign and find out in real time how many people are seeing your advert and, if you sell online, whether they are buying your product or service as a result of your advertising.
If you have a limited budget for advertising then getting this sort of information is extremely valuable. By being able to quickly find out what’s working and what’s not working for your business online you’re can easily adapt you efforts to improve your results. This is only possible with digital advertising methods.
Digital advertising levels the playing field
Traditionally, smaller businesses tended to struggle to compete in the advertising space with larger businesses and their typically bigger advertising budgets. However, the online world has changed all that. Now any business with a solid digital marketing strategy that includes an effective digital advertising plan can compete with any competitor regardless of size.
On the other hand, larger businesses can struggle to communicate authentically. Digital and social media can shine a light on the personality and authenticity of its senior figures. When executives take to Twitter and build a direct relationship with the public, it’s a significant boon to their personal and company perception. Being genuine can be a challenge, no matter the size of your business.
Digital mediums:
- go a long way to make good PR happen
- underpin public perception, should you find yourself in crisis
Want to get smarter about your advertising?
Talk to the digital advertising team at Auckland digital marketing agency Net Branding. As a full-service digital marketing company we’ve been successfully helping clients across New Zealand get the best bang for their advertising dollar. So, if you need a hand with developing an effective digital advertising strategy for your products or services, then get in touch with Net Branding today.
