Difference between Online Advertising and Traditional Advertising

Wondering how online advertising is different from traditional advertising? In this article, we have covered what is traditional marketing and what is online marketing in-depth so that you can choose the best one. Later, we’ll also help you understand why small and medium businesses need to explore types of online advertising to expand their business outreach.

What is Traditional Marketing?

Traditional advertising is the conventional way of marketing dating back to the 20th century. Before the dawn of this digital era, traditional marketing was the single way of promoting products. Hence, the only types of traditional advertising dominating back then were the radios, televisions, printed media, billboards, etc.

Banner ads, word of mouth, door-to-door sales, and even cold calling were some of the popular types of traditional advertising. After all, there was no social media or websites to market products across certain platforms in a moment. However, traditional marketing, in no way means, that advertising back then was not influential or advantageous.

It’s just that with the passage of time and advancement in technology, advertising has stepped up its game and innovations have been made to the old methods. Before understanding how traditional marketing is different and better from digital marketing, let us understand its pros and cons.

Upsides of Traditional Advertising

Here are a few advantages of traditional marketing:

• Connectivity on a Personal Level

Traditional advertising helps promote products amongst the local audience and connect with them on a personal level.

• Better Influence

When advertising is done locally through billboards, posters, etc., it is easier to influence the public.

• Establishes Credibility

Even though we live in the digital era now, people are still more convinced when they see ads traditionally as it forms a longer impact on them.

• Targets Even Those Who Don’t Live in the Digital World

Many people who can’t afford or use the internet can be easily targeted through traditional methods of advertising.

Problems with Traditional Advertising

Although there are potential benefits of opting for traditional marketing, its disadvantages outweigh its advantages.

• Expensive

Traditional methods of marketing are often too expensive as they usually involve printing mass copies.

• Difficult to Scale

One of the biggest reasons this way of advertising lost its charm was because it is not easy to measure the effectiveness of a campaign. The advertisers cannot track who saw their ad, which age group or gender converted, and more.

• No Direct Engagement

Traditional marketing efforts can also not connect with their customers directly as there are no instant reactions to their ads.

• Cannot Be Tested or Quickly Updated

If a printed ad goes wrong due to any grammatical error, typo, or even some mistake in pricing or features, it is not editable like a digital ad.

What is Online Marketing?

Also known as digital marketing, online advertising is the contemporary way of promoting products & services and reaching out to a wider audience without worrying about physical barriers. Furthermore, it is not limited to the size of a business because of its ease and affordability. 

Various types of online advertising can be done as per the business goals of each brand. It is a fast way of marketing products and raising brand awareness giving startups and small enterprises the flexibility to expand their business outreach in a short time. Online advertising can be done via search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, content marketing, email marketing, and pay-per-click advertising (PPC).

Benefits of Online Advertising

Here are a few major benefits of online advertising to expand the business growth of any startup.

• Cost-Effective

Unlike traditional marketing, online marketing is quite cost-effective as it doesn’t involve physical equipment, hard copies, etc. Furthermore, search engines offer low rates and high flexibility to market products digitally.

• Analyze Data

Through digital advertising, businesses can collect data and analyze it to understand the effectiveness of their products and the marketing campaign.

• Track Your Results

With digital advertising, you can keep track of who sees and reacts to your ad.

• Develop Your Brand

Digital marketing allows you to expand your online visibility and thus, develop your brand by targeting a specific audience related to your niche.

• Easy to Update

In case your ad copy has any errors or requires re-targeting, you can quickly edit and update it while online marketing.

• Offers a High ROI

With multiple benefits, online marketing offers a high return on investment to help brands grow fast.

The Bottom Line

We hope we helped you understand how online advertising is more advantageous than traditional advertising. Digital marketing offers a higher return on investment by giving you more flexibility to target your audience, spend under a limited budget, scale the success of your campaign and analyze the data. However, depending upon the nature of your business, target audience, and product, you can understand which advertising approach works the best for you.