Traditional Advertising vs Online Advertising: An Overview

While it's scary that 20% of businesses fail within their first year of operations, you can take actionable steps to prevent yourself from falling into this statistic. Using the proper advertising methods can generate interest, traffic, and profit.

To do this, you'll need to know the different ad campaign types available to you. Read on to learn the difference between traditional advertising vs online advertising.

The Basics of Traditional Marketing

Traditional marketing refers to any ad campaign that doesn't take place online. It's also called "offline marketing" for this reason. Printed materials such as catalogs, pamphlets, flyers, and direct mail are common methods of traditional marketing.

These are great choices for businesses because you can directly get in touch with the audience that matters most. You can also reach a local audience by posting ads in coffee shops and restaurants that allow signage. Billboards are another awesome way to pack a punch if you're trying to encourage those driving by to stop in.

TV and radio ads are also forms of traditional marketing. These are ideal if you're marketing to an older audience that is less likely to be online. People will hear your ads (that include your phone number) and reach out.

What Makes Digital Marketing Stand Out?

However, assuming that you do not have an older target audience, digital marketing is probably the right choice. This category includes any marketing strategies that take place online.

Social media is one of the best places to post advertisements since the average person spends roughly 2 hours on social media daily. Engaging picture-based or video ads, as well as infographics, are a great way to reach consumers that are scrolling. You can use an online background remover to create appealing ads to post.

These advertisements also belong on Google Ads, which lets you kick off a search engine marketing (SEM) strategy. These ads will show in the sidebar of Google or at the top of the page. They're ideal for targeting those who are making searches related to your services so that you can capture them at all stages of the marketing funnel.

Search engine optimization (SEO) also is a good way to boost your visibility and get more clicks. Unlike paid marketing from social media and Google, SEO generates organic traffic through search engines. You manipulate your site to make it more appealing to indexing bots so that they position it higher in results, getting you more traffic.

Which Option Is Right for Your Business?

All businesses need digital marketing strategies if they want to succeed in a world that's moved online more than ever before. However, this doesn't mean that you should forsake traditional advertising. There are ways to merge them for a better-rounded marketing campaign.

Put information about your website on the printed materials that you proliferate. Offer useful magazines and flyers to those who fill out a contact form on your landing page. These are great ways to incorporate both strategies into your business.

Beyond Traditional Advertising vs Online Advertising

Now that you know the difference between traditional advertising vs online advertising, it's time to learn more. Check out the "technology" tab on our home page to take your ad campaign to the next level. You also may like the "business" tab if you want more general information for helping your startup succeed.