Any business owner knows that a quality product alone is not enough to ensure high sales and great profits. Besides having a fantastic good or service to propose, it is crucial to propose them correctly. Coming up with the most suitable advertising techniques is an essential part of any project. Currently, there is an abundance of forms of media promoting methods, both traditional and modern digital ones. While they have obvious divergences, both approaches have benefits in promoting products. I agree that digital media is the current trend, but I think that traditional advertising and promotion should find their place in our company’s policy.
Digital advertising is gaining great popularity and is predicted to outweigh TV ads in the nearest years (Thielman, 2014). This approach includes email, social media, and online ads, as well as banners on websites and mobile phones. The biggest advantage of such a method is the opportunity of immediate getting to the audience (Nasr, 2015). Despite advert-blocking programs, the creators of digital announcements manage to get everywhere – you will see them when looking for information, watching a movie, or reading some online magazine.
A significant share of digital advertising belongs to social media. By tracking the viewers’ interests, companies can investigate their audience and direct their attempts to concrete people (Ganguly, 2015). Social networks suggest several types of approaching customers by business owners. They can be reached based on people’s interests and hobbies or purchase manner. Also, companies may apply the so-called custom targeting which involves uploading people’s data such as phone numbers or addresses. Finally, the lookalike method is suggested: approaching people close to the target audience to expand the business.
Traditional advertising maybe not so popular nowadays, but it has the advantages proven by centuries of success. While some people tend to use the latest gadgets and pay attention to media ads, others prefer more classical means of communication and therefore can be impacted via these means. The most popular traditional options are billboards, newspapers, radio and TV adverts, flyers, leaflets, and mail (Lavinsky, 2013; Suggett, 2016).
Although newspapers seem to have lost their effectiveness in providing good promotion, the other methods are still rather helpful (Lavinsky, 2013). Billboards and banners are useful due to their size and visibility. They can be employed outdoors and indoors and ensure a huge effect on the public. Buying an advert space in a magazine or a newspaper has become a less popular means, but it is advantageous at a local level (Sasson, 2016). Door flyers and direct mail are noted as low-cost but effective methods due to their personalized distribution. People can delete spam messages they receive via email, but they will take a look at something delivered to their mailboxes (Lavinsky, 2013).
Both traditional and digital media advertising have their pros and cons. Deciding which one is the best for a particular campaign is an important matter, and the choice depends on the product, the target audience, and the budget. Before setting up an advertising campaign, it is necessary to evaluate the company’s needs and possibilities. All kinds of promotions are beneficial in some way. The problem is to choose the most appropriate one and successfully implement it. Sometimes, the PR-managers prefer digital methods over traditional ones and vice versa. However, they should not forget that a combination will not hurt.
References
Ganguly, S. (2015). Why social media advertising is set to explode in the next 3 years. Marketing Land. Web.
Lavinsky, D. (2013). Is traditional marketing still alive?Forbes. Web.
Nasr, R. (2015). Digital advertising may be top media category in 2016: Report.CNBC. Web.
Sasson, D. (2016). 7 traditional ways to advertise your business.The Huffington Post. Web.
Suggett, P. (2016). Different types of advertising methods and media.The Balance. Web.
Thielman, S. (2014). Digital media is now bigger than national TV advertising, will surpass total TV by 2018.Adweek. Web.