Ten Advantages of Online Marketing Vs. Traditional Media
A lot of small business people are very curious about online
marketing, but they don’t understand how it can directly increase their
business. Many of them are seeing less return from their advertisements in
traditional media like The Yellow Pages, newspapers and direct mailing
campaigns, and are looking to explore new ways of expanding their market share.
When the advantages of online marketing are laid out, it is easy to see how it
is oftentimes a more cost-effective marketing solution for small businesses.
These are some of the many advantages that online marketing
offers over traditional media outlets:
1. Reduced Cost
The starting cost of online marketing is only a fraction of
the thousands of dollars that Yellow Pages, television and radio ads cost. For
example, you can get a free listing on Google Local that will be just as
effective as a costly online Yellow Pages ad. In addition, while traditional
ads may only run for a short time, a search engine optimization campaign can
deliver long-term results. You can also save money with online Pay-Per-Click
advertising where it is easy to experiment with small ad volumes until you
perfect your strategy and then expand your marketing budget when you are
assured of a positive sales return.
2. Everything Is Measurable
When you place an ad in the newspaper or a magazine, it can
be difficult to assess the direct sales impact for your business. With online
marketing, everything can be tracked and illustrated in detailed graphs that
illustrate traffic growth, leads and sales conversions from your specific
search marketing campaigns. Using a free traffic analysis tool like Google
Analytics, it is easy to calculate your return on investment (ROI) so you can
appreciate the excellent value generated from your online marketing budget.
3. Brand Engagement
In the crowded market, you need to establish and maintain
positive brand awareness and client loyalty. Apart from word-of-mouth and leveraging
your personal relationships with your established clients, a website is the
most important marketing tool a business can have. A regularly updated website
with well-written content that maintains people’s interest is essential to
showing people exactly how your business is distinctive – and how you offer the
best value to your clients.
4. Demographic Targeting
The degree to which an online marketing campaign can target
and measure the response from specific demographics and regions is often astonishing
to business owners who normally use traditional media. New demographic
prediction and online advertising platforms allow you to specifically target
the specific consumer demographics most likely to buy your products. In
particular, if you want to target young people between the ages of 16-30,
you’ll need an online marketing strategy to reach them where they spend the
bulk of their time: On the Internet and on social media sites.
5. Real-Time Results
With online marketing you don’t have to wait weeks to see a
significant boost in your business. With a paid search marketing campaign you
can experience real-time results that enable you to fine-tune your marketing
message to achieve your desired effect. If your marketing strategy isn’t
working effectively, real-time monitoring tools allow you to easily pin-point
exactly where you are going wrong.
6. Easily Refine Your Strategy
Using online marketing analytics and tracking tools you can
test conversion rates at a fraction of the cost of a traditional media campaign.
Online marketing levels the playing field and allows savvy small businesses to
compete in competitive niches that previously would only be open to large
corporations and their massive marketing budgets. If your marketing strategy is
not bringing in the return on investment (ROI) that you desire, you can work to
perfect it without having to launch an expensive new campaign as would be
required with most traditional media outlets.
7. Long-Term Exposure
The benefit of an organic search marketing campaign that
optimizes a website for specific keywords is that you will achieve a long-term
return on your investment. Once your website’s visibility is well-established
with search engines, it is easy to do regular low-cost maintenance of your
strategy. The early adopters of new online marketing platforms like social
media marketing will have a significant head start over their competition.
8. Product Information
Today’s savvy consumers want to compare reviews and opinions
of friends, trusted bloggers and industry experts before they make a decision.
If you can provide quality, linkable information that is what people are
looking for, then the next step of converting users into paying clients can be
very easy. With social media networks like Facebook and Twitter re-enforcing
the value of positive word-of-mouth exposure, trust is more important than ever
in the marketing field.
9. Less Intrusive
Most savvy consumers dislike intrusive traditional marketing
methods like direct mailing, print ads and television advertisements. When
someone buys a newspaper or magazine, they want to read interesting articles
not are bombarded with irrelevant ads. While mediums like television can still
be useful for maintaining awareness of large corporate brands, it is not an
effective medium for most small and medium-size businesses. With online
marketing, you can target consumers precisely when they are searching for
products and services that your business can provide.
10. Holds Their Attention
When people read the newspaper or a magazine they may scan
over the advertisements beside the article but there is no way to engage their
attention. With online marketing you can encourage them to take action, visit
your website and read about your products and services which results in vastly
increased “stickiness” of your marketing message.
Source: www.marketingsmartt.com
