Social Media Marketing vs. Traditional Marketing

Social Media has dominated the digital marketing industry and has profoundly overtaken the old fashioned methods of Traditional Marketing on many fronts. The greatest difference between Traditional Marketing and Social Media is the way in which it is used to communicate with prospective and current customers or clients.

Traditional Marketing relies on methods such as industry events, television commercials, radio commercials, print advertisements (newspaper ads, magazine ads, flyers, brochures, catalogs, etc.), cold calls, and email blasts are Outbound Marketing which is when a company initiates the conversation and is interested in presenting its brand by delivering its message through direct advertising methods. Social Media however uses what is called Inbound Marketing in which sales performance relies on the initiative of its client base to find and purchase a product. It’s a passive sales model that allows the buyer to become acquainted with the brand before any promotional tactics are used. According to Hubspot, 92% of businesses that implement inbound marketing strategies have noticed a direct increase in their website traffic. Additional web traffic (often qualified leads) will generally equate to a higher volume of sales.

"In this day and age, social media can fundamentally alter your business" - Robert Herjavec, Beyond the Tank

Any business looking to improve their sales and receive a decent return on their marketing investment should utilize Social Media for the following reasons. Social Media is significantly more cost-effective than any form of Traditional Marketing. CRM Daily reports, "nearly half of the companies that implement inbound marketing efforts see a 25 percent greater return on investment (ROI) on those programs than companies that do not.” Traditional Marketing methods are also hard to track regarding the overall return on investment, whereas Social Media Marketing efforts can be tracked with a number of detailed analytical tools to provide tangible evidence of its value. Secondly consumers and businesses have become accustomed to the direct approach that Traditional Marketing takes such as cold calls and email blasts. Social Media is more reciprocal with customers and is more interactive and engaging which can produce more customer loyalty. Lastly, Social Media powers the most effective form of advertising which is by word of mouth. 92% of people rely on recommendations from their peers when deciding what service to use. Social Media accelerates word of mouth advertising and is efficient in boosting brand awareness. Social Media is a quick, efficient, and interactive way for customers to learn about needed products or services and can provide businesses with data-driven analytics and information that can drive marketing efforts to reach their ideal customer. Contact us for a social media strategy development consultation to learn how to manage your social media accounts for your business or to outsource your social media marketing efforts.