It is better to say 2020 was a year like never before and 2022 is certainly not returned to the previous normal days. So, being a marketer what should we do to promote a brand during this pandemic and beyond, what can we do for companies to grow faster? Finally, after facing lots of challenges during this pandemic, it is identified different ways of Digital Marketing and delivering a new set of rules moving forward.
What is Digital Marketing?
Digital Marketing is also named Online Marketing. Online marketing is a way of marketing where brands are promoted to connect with potential customers using the internet and other digital configurations. As a marketer, it is necessary to be benefitted from the Online Marketing Strategy to upgrade the business in the new era of the digital world. Digital advertising and marketing use different digital technologies. Like mobile phones, tablets, computer systems, and the internet to promote your product and services.
With the increased usage of digital platforms in day-to-day life. It is clarified that the advancement of Digital Marketing cannot be separated from the digital world. The evolution and growth of Digital Marketing have completely changed the way technologies are used for the marketing of businesses. New and old businesses are modified to Digital Marketing to upgrade their online presence, sales, and brand awareness. In the end, if a marketing campaign includes digital communication, it’s Digital Marketing.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Digital Marketing
It is necessary to know the advantages and disadvantages of Digital Marketing. So, first, look at the advantages of using Digital Marketing during pandemics, and beyond.
Advantages
- As modern technology is growing fast online Digital Marketing helps organizations to reach the audience globally in less time. Social media platforms also help to find new markets and trade globally.
- Digital Marketing helps to pay more attention to buyers and customers with continuous engagement to stay survive in a competitive market.
- There is no barrier between you and your customer. They can easily visit your website or social media profile to interact with your business.
- Digital Marketing mainly increases the development of the brand for the business. A brand is not about its name or products it’s a message required to be established in the market.
- A well-targeted and properly planned Digital Marketing campaign helps to reach the targeted audience in less time at a low cost.
- It is very easy and free to set up an account on any social media and online platform. Anyone can run an online campaign through their mobiles easily.
- Through Digital Marketing you can easily measure your marketing campaigns, the number of people who visit your website, and how they interact with your business. All these you can easily measure by Google Analytics which is free and provided by Google.
Disadvantages
Before starting Digital Marketing it is better to understand the limitations. Otherwise, you will regret it.
- In Digital Marketing, if a customer anyhow gets disappointed with your business. They can easily give a negative review on your website which is throughout visible on review websites and on social media platforms which can create a bad image of your business.
- Nowadays everybody wants to grow digitally and perhaps it also increases the global competition. As there are many competitors in the same race to reach the same targeted audience. So, it is a very big challenge to grab the attention.
- For Digital Marketing, you should learn proper skills and gain knowledge about different tools and strategies. Sometimes, many businesses and companies hire Digital Marketing Companies to handle digital marketing strategies.
- You have depended upon technology as Digital Marketing is dependent upon modern devices and the internet. So, if there is any website downtime, slow page loading speed, rough site design, and lack of internet connection can be the reason for unsuccessful marketing.
- Security and privacy are the major requirements for the brands and businesses implemented by digital marketers. That’s why customers are skeptical to join new online and social media platforms.
Common Digital Marketing methods
A Digital Marketing platform is a result that aids a variety of functions within the realm of marketing over the internet. There are many successful Digital Marketing platforms available such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay-Per-Click (PPC), Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing, Email Marketing, Mobile Marketing, Marketing Analytics, Affiliate Marketing.
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) The target of SEO is to rank high your website on a search engine result page (SERP), eventually increasing the search engine traffic to the business website. To fulfill this, SEO experts explore different keywords and phrases consumers are using to search online information and use those terms in their content.
- Pay-Per-Click (PPC) refers to paid advertisements and encourages search engine results. In pay-per-click, once you stop paying for ads, the ads will no longer exist.PPC is a process to increase search traffic to an online business.
- Social Media Marketing Social media marketing is the use of social media platforms and websites to boost a business. The term online marketing and digital marketing is ruling in academia, social media marketing is more popular among practitioners and researchers.
- Content Marketing Content marketing is a great approach for people who like writing and video/ audio productions. But as for digital marketing, it needs strong strategic and analytics skills.
- Email Marketing Email marketing not only knows how to make a compelling campaign they also recognize the most appropriate audience community and is an expert at analyzing customer interactions.
- Mobile Marketing Mobile Marketing is another platform of Digital Marketing where they are more focused on reaching the targeted on mobile phones, tablets through social media, email, websites, and mobile applications.
- Marketing Analytics One of the greatest advantages of Digital Marketing is it is highly trackable and measurable. There are numerous tools available for the measuring of digital marketing analytics and marketers are using these tools as per their requirements. One of the most familiar tools is Google Analytics which can be personalized in different ways to measure how your site is performing, which are the most attractive keywords, and many more.
- Affiliate Marketing Affiliate Marketing makes use of the ever-growing popularity of industry experts and social media influencers. Within the last few years, affiliate marketing becomes one of the most engaging Digital Marketing platforms which grow immensely through Instagram, YouTube, and blogs.
What is Traditional Marketing?
Traditional Marketing is a wide term that incorporates different forms of advertising and marketing. Traditional Marketing is also very important for the growth of any business instead of the progress of new technology of Online Marketing. It is one of the best marketing methods to build a new business and develop your client but new techniques and innovative marketing have exchanged Traditional Marketing in recent years. Traditional Marketing comes under four categories like printing, direct mail, broadcast, and telemarketing.
- Printing It includes posting advertisements in magazines, newspapers, brochures, and other printing materials which are used for distribution.
- Direct Mail It includes fliers, letters, postcards, catalogs, and other materials that are printed or directly mailed to the customers.
- Broadcast Broadcasting includes different ways of advertisements shown on television and radio and also another method of on-screen commercials.
- Telemarketing This involves direct calling to the customers over the phone to build the growth of the business.
Traditional Marketing is a way of promoting business that reaches the audience offline. Let us now discuss the advantages and disadvantages of Traditional Marketing.
Advantages
- Easily gain local audience: Traditional Marketing is the best way to reach the local audience easily. Radio is the fastest way to advertise your business and put across your message.
- Recycling possible In Traditional Marketing the usage of fliers, posters, pamphlets, and other hard copy material is added benefit to the marketing. They can be further reused or re-read at any time without any internet connection. The promotional media can be kept for future use and will be recycled.
- Greater Disclosure: Traditional Marketing is always been a high success rate. This method of marketing tried and tested since the old school time and it brings greater success to the businesses.
- Fresh customer: Traditional Marketing helps to gain fresh customers to a large population and across many demographics. Using different traditional advertising methods helps to spread your message across various geographical areas and also reach the targeted audience.
Disadvantages
There have been great advantages of Traditional Marketing in the past but due to the enormous use of the internet, uses of smartphones, tablets, iPods small businesses also tend to advertise their products on websites, social media. As these may cost less in comparison to Traditional Marketing methods. So, here are some disadvantages of using Traditional Marketing.
- Fixed text: In Traditional Marketing, the fixed text is used for advertisements. For example, if you place an ad for your product in a newspaper but you are running out of stock. Then the text cannot be edited and your customers will be disappointed. But in Online Marketing, you can easily update your page or site and give information about your product availability.
- High Expense: For putting ads on pamphlets or any newspaper or brochure. You need to pay every time and it will cost too much for marketing in comparison to Digital Marketing.
- Personalized marketing is not possible: In Traditional Marketing, only the specific market is targeted. For example, an ad is created for young ladies of a new style of purse or handbag.
- Negligence of traditional method: Nowadays newspapers, magazines all are going online. So people like to read the news anywhere as the internet is available everywhere.
Conclusion
Marketing is a dynamic industry and marketers are consistently being pushed to improve sales and drive traffic to their products and services. With the presence of social media, the need for Traditional Marketing techniques has been declined. And more customers switch to modern Digital Marketing techniques via the internet on their mobile devices.
With the unique circumstances of COVID-19 is presenting, the demand for Traditional Marketing strategies along with the lockdown has been reduced. During this time companies are mostly relying on Digital Marketing techniques to drive sales. The digitalization of marketing techniques and the usage of various social media platforms do not start or end with pandemics. But the global lockdown showed us the power of Digital Marketing platforms. In the absence of physical movement and real-time, real-life forms of media like billboards and newspapers. The question is whether or not this trend will be set aside when COVID-19 is the thing of the past.
