Digital marketing is a somewhat new development in the world of Marketing. Even 50 years ago, the idea of a Youtube Ad Campaign or an Instagram takeover would have made no sense to the marketers of the time. Now, however, it’s a powerhouse that has left traditional marketing behind in a lot of ways. That being said, there are still some things that traditional marketing can do that digital marketing can’t. Let’s get into it. 

What are the downsides of Traditional Marketing?

Before we talk about the advantages of traditional marketing, let’s cover what exactly traditional marketing is. Traditional marketing means basically anything that’s not online. This encompasses things like billboards, brochures, TV commercials, radio ads, newspaper ads, and magazine ads. 

So what are some pros and cons? Well, traditional marketing tends to be more expensive across the board. Upkeep for billboards, paying for commercial slots, printing billboards, making shirts all typically cost more than running a Facebook ad or paying for OTT ads. God forbid you misspell a word on your T-shirt and need to get another 500 printed. Of course, if you want to crunch the numbers, some things may be cheaper here or there, but overall expect to pay more.

Additionally, a lot of traditional marketing avenues tend to have stricter guidelines when it comes to content. Want to make a brochure with specific colors? Well, you need to limit the number of colors you have, and where the colors are unless you want to spend a hefty amount to get them made. Maybe you want a commercial that plays during the news, better make sure that your content falls within FCC guidelines. Obviously, digital marketing also has its fair share of restrictions when it comes to content, but traditional marketing has it in spades. 

What are the Upsides?

As for the advantages, traditional marketing has its ways of reaching specific groups of people. Do you have a client base that’s scared of the internet? Get a radio ad sent their way. Maybe they actively avoid using social media? Buy a billboard on their way commute to work. Is there a large event happening with tons of attendees? Go print out some T-shirts or organize some kind of guerilla marketing setup going so your brand sticks in their mind (then you can post a video of the stunt on social, but we’ll talk more about that later.)

So How Can You Use Traditional Marketing?

So we’ve talked about some of the downsides and the upsides of traditional marketing, but how can you use it? The simple answer is, in tandem with digital marketing. Digital marketing is king right now and ignoring it completely means leaving a lot on the table. With that being said, traditional marketing isn’t something you should ignore either. Both spheres of marketing have their uses and both should be utilized depending on what you are trying to accomplish. Like we mentioned earlier, traditional marketing is often the only way to reach those people that aren’t tech-centric. 

Let’s take the public event example from before. If your brand has people out and about selling shirts, helping with the event, that is excellent social media content you can post. On the flip side, let’s say you devise some kind of elaborate guerilla marketing stunt that will impress people on the street, you can take a video of that and use it for your website. There are limitless ways for you to market your business, so why restrict yourself to a handful of options. 

The tl:dr of all this is don’t forget about traditional marketing. It’s not something that should be used all, or even most of the time. However, it still has its uses and is something you should always keep in the back of your mind when you think about how to market your brand.