Author name: Harshita

Marketing is promoting, selling, and distributing products or services to customers. It is the process of grasping what individuals want or need, making those products to fulfill these needs, and then presenting their value so as to persuade customers to purchase them. Way back when, humans used TV advertisements, newspapers, billboards, and brochures. That is called Traditional Marketing. Currently, because everyone owns phones, computers, and the internet, humans are using Digital Marketing. So what is best? Traditional Marketing or Digital Marketing? Let us learn both! What is Traditional Marketing? When we talk of conventional marketing, we are talking of promoting something through means we can see everywhere, such as billboards, posters, and other traditional ways of advertising. Here, in this type of marketing, the companies try to reach out to people through media like newspapers, magazines, billboards, television, radio, posters, or through direct person-to-person interaction. Conventional marketing matters since it is able to reach individuals who lack access to internet. For instance, most elderly people still have trust in newspapers and view TV every day. If a company advertises in the newspaper or on TV, such individuals are likely to see it. What is Digital Marketing? Digital marketing refers to marketing product or service using the internet. It uses digital platforms such as social media, Google, sites, or email to reach customers. The type of marketing is becoming increasingly popular because most people today spend a lot of time on computers and mobile phones. It is easy for companies to target such people by displaying advertisements on their mobile phones and computers. One of the best things about digital marketing is that it is cheap. Even a small business can create a Facebook or Instagram ad with little budget and reach thousands anyway. For example, if a business is selling cosmetics, they might choose to show their ads to women who are 18–30 years old and have an interest in skin care and makeup only. Difference Between Traditional Marketing and Digital Marketing Factor Traditional Marketing Digital Marketing Medium TV, Radio, Newspapers, Magazines, Billboards, Flyers Social Media, Websites, Google, Emails, Apps Reach Mostly Local / Mass audience Local + Global audience Cost Very Expensive (TV, print ads) Cheaper, flexible (small budget works) Targeting Limited (general audience) Very accurate (by age, location, interest) Interaction One-way (brand → customer) Two-way (brand ↔ customer: likes, comments, shares) Results Measurement Hard to measure (no exact data) Easy to measure (clicks, views, sales) Speed Slow (printing, broadcasting takes time) Instant (ads live in minutes) Trust Factor Feels more trustworthy and traditional Feels modern, but sometimes seen as spam Best Use Local reach, older audience, building trust Global reach, young audience, fast growth ROI (Return) Difficult to calculate Easy to calculate with analytics Example Newspaper ad for local store, TV ad for families Facebook/Instagram ad for targeted audience Future Trend Declining (less newspaper/TV viewers, OTT growth) Rising (AI, chatbots, influencer marketing, video ads) AI Role Very little to no role High role (predicts behavior, runs smart campaigns, improves ROI) Best For Small Businesses Not suitable (too costly) Best option (cheap, targeted, local reach) Best For Startups Not suitable (very costly) Perfect (SEO, social media, fast growth) Best For Big Brands Used for trust, mass awareness Used for engagement, global growth (usually both together) Reach and Targeting in Traditional and Digital Marketing •Mass Reach of Traditional Marketing Traditional marketing strategy such as TV advertisements, radio advertisements, and billboards aim to reach masses of individuals simultaneously. For instance, when a firm airs an advertisement on television during a hit program, a thousand or a million of them could view it. Likewise, a billboard installed along a major road will be seen by thousands of commuters daily. This generates mass awareness in a very short time. But the issue is that not everyone is the target audience. For instance, when a firm is putting up an advertisement for baby diapers on television, it will reach people who are not parents, have grown-up children, or even not even interested in it. This implies that the advertisement is paid to reach a lot of people who would never purchase the product. •Audience Targeting in Digital Marketing Digital marketing addresses this issue by providing extremely specific targeting opportunities. Such online mediums as Facebook Ads, Google Ads, and Instagram enable companies to display their ads to individuals who fit their ideal customer demographic. For instance: ➤ A company selling baby products can display ads only for parents who have recently had a baby, are aged 22–35 years, and reside in a specific city. ➤ A fitness gym may post messages only to young adults who exercise and eat healthily. Trends and Future of Marketing • Future of Digital Marketing Digital marketing is increasing very rapidly because people spend a lot of time on the internet. Companies have realized that the internet is the ideal location to get customers. With the emergence of new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), chatbots, voice search, and video marketing, digital marketing is becoming more intelligent and efficient. •AI makes companies realize customer needs and recommend appropriate products. •Customer support can be provided by chatbots 24/7 and respond to their queries immediately. •Voice searching (such as “Hey Google” or “Alexa”) is gaining traction, so businesses should make the site voice-search ready. •Video marketing (such as YouTube ads, reels, and TikTok videos) is becoming one of the most Death of Traditional Marketing While digital marketing is on the increase, traditional marketing is gradually decreasing. The audience watching TV and reading newspapers is decreasing each year, and numerous people now do not watch TV anymore as they prefer watching on OTT platforms (such as Netflix, Hotstar, Amazon Prime, etc.). This implies that advertisements in newspapers and on TV do not carry that same powerful impact like it used to be. Additionally, young people spend most of their time on phones and social media rather than reading magazines or viewing TV. Consequently, old-fashioned ads such as posters, flyers, and billboards are