Digital marketing has grown enormously over the last decade, so much so that many businesses now stick exclusively to digital marketing. But this is a shame, because traditional marketing still has a role to play. And even for marketers who only focus on digital, traditional marketing can still teach them many important lessons.
Copywriting tactics
Despite the growing shift to digital, the same copywriting tricks and techniques as used for traditional marketing are still relevant.
The importance of headlines to capture attention has never been more relevant with all the messages that we see each day, as well as the focus on short, punchy sales copy, and the need for a call to action. Formulas like AIDA are still as useful today as they have ever been.
Focus on quality
There is a belief that traditional marketing is of a higher quality than digital. An ad in a newspaper is expensive, so there is always going to be a focus on quality to get it right. But digital marketers can learn from this.
In a way, quality is even more important with digital marketing because things stay online forever. Comments made in social media and guest posts on another website can get picked up on years later.
And nothing gets missed. If you make a mistake, there is an army of people ready to share it across their social networks.
Importance of measuring results
Digital marketing is highly measureable, and this is one of the key benefits it has. But traditional marketing has long known the importance of measuring results.
Look at mail order ads. Marketers have used them for decades to measure the results of different headlines, calls to action, etc. Measuring statistics was not something that was invented with digital, and this is something digital marketers can learn.
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Focus on the right audience
When publishing an ad in a publication, great care is taken to choose a publication with the right audience where you will reach more of your target audience. And the same is true online.
Just because it may be quicker and cheaper to get featured in online publications, you should still focus your energy on targeting those publications where you are going to attract the attention of your target audience.
The need to use the right tools
Just because digital marketing is often cheaper than traditional marketing, it is still important to save money where possible.
Traditional marketers might save money by investing in a tool like a stamp affixer to cut the costs of direct mail. But digital marketers might find a tool that helps them to measure their social media performance or increase productivity.
There are many tools to choose from, and often many tools that do the same thing. Digital marketers must spend time investing in the right tools to save money and improve results.
Learn from traditional marketing techniques
Digital marketers may never even use traditional techniques, seeing them as too expensive. But they can still learn a lot from traditional marketing. These strategies have been tried and tested for years, and you can use them to get more from your digital marketing.
Author: Ava Dawson is a mixed media marketing consultant and graphic designer – She does it all! When not working on client projects Ava likes to write articles for small business blogs and also participates in online discussions relating to marketing.