Analyzing Traditional Media and Social Media Advertising

Image courtesy of Kathleen Donovan

 

 

Since its inception, social media has integrated itself into the professional and everyday lives of people around the world. Social media has especially changed the face of marketing by capitalizing on platforms that connect people. The primary goal of social media marketing is to increase consumer engagement and brand recognition more efficiently than outdated more traditional methods. Platforms such as Instagram and Twitter have become a basic necessity to reach various audiences within seconds. These platforms make it easier for businesses to engage and interact with their consumers along with many other advantages. Compared to traditional marketing, social media marketing is more cost-efficient, engages the consumer one-on-one, and provides marketing in “real-time” opposed to time consuming traditional ad campaigns.

Social media marketing is significantly cheaper and more effective than traditional marketing. Opposed to costly traditional advertising methods, which require people with multiple skills and multiple departments, social media marketing can be as simple as setting up a free account on one of the various platforms available. This is a tremendous advantage to companies with limited advertising budgets as they are able to interact with consumers without the pricetag of traditional marketing advertisements. Compared to traditional media marketing strategies, social media provides a relatively inexpensive platform for executing marketing campaigns.

Along with being cost-effective, social media marketing also gives users the opportunity to interact with brands and companies one-on-one which is highly lucrative for them. Traditionally, most advertising is designed for mass consumption. Social media allowed companies to reach consumers individually, fostering greater customer loyalty and a better return on their investment in the process. According to Richard Branson “Social media is not only more cost-efficient than advertising, but it also offers great opportunities for innovative engagement with your customers.”

Traditionally, companies would spend months carefully preparing an advertising campaign. Platforms such as instagram make real-time marketing a possibility, producing content on a consistent basis. Before the social media age, big advertising agencies would spend months carefully planning and editing costly campaigns. In the world that we live in today, the digital landscape is constantly changing on the weekly or daily basis. There is no time for long and costly advertising campaigns. Companies are being pressured to produced new and original content on a consistent basis opposed to a few times a year.

Image courtesy of Laurel Papworth

 

 

After thoroughly analyzing traditional marketing strategies in comparison to social media marketing, one can conclude that social media marketing is more cost-efficient, consumer engaged, and conveys brand messages in a timely manner. It is clear that the future lies in social media. Through careful digital strategy, companies are now using platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and facebook to reach consumers and increase brand recognition. As the digital age progresses and social media becomes more integrated in human life, businesses will continue to stray further away from traditional strategies and lean more towards social media.

 Featured image courtesy of Flickr User Amit Agarwal