The Art of the Advertising Balance: Traditional & Digital Marketing
By Morgan Harrison
Why is using a targeted mix of traditional & digital marketing the key to reaching potential customers?
As technology continues to grow and evolve over time, an unchanged area remains: your potential customers are busy.
Take a typical day for your consumers. It looks something like this:
- They wake up to check social media where they see ads in their Facebook feeds or Instagram stories.
- Then, they get dressed while listening to audio on their cell phones that may include their favorite local news or sports talk radio, or a streaming music platform – all feature ads in between the talk or music.
- On the way to work, they’ll then turn the radio on for their commute in – more ads are presented in between content. Once at their desks, they may revert back to the audio that they got dressed to, and scroll social media before…
- Commuting again for lunch or on the way home – it’s back to the radio dial in their car as…
- They pass by a multitude of stagnant and alternating digital billboards on the side of the road.
- Once they’re home, they wind down the evening with a show on a streaming tv device that’s filled with video ads.
- Then, they climb into bed to scroll through social media before dozing off. Again, ads are present.
That being said, are you in the places that your ideal customers are in? Are you offering them something that is a benefit to them?
The key to gaining trust, benefits sought, and brand recognition is finding the balance between traditional media and digital media.
Reminder, traditional media consists of: In-Dash Radio, Broadcast TV, Cable, Billboards, Mailers. (the magic of this list is that it remains short.)
Digital media on the other hand, consists of: Streaming Television (OTT), Streaming Audio, Social Media Platforms, Paid Search, Search Engine Optimization, Websites + Listing Site Management, Re-targeting Display, Targeted Display, Email Marketing. (wait a few minutes – this list will grow.)
If you get lost in the mix, always revert back to two things: what a typical day will look like for your potential customer and how your message resonates with them.
Have presence on the radio stations they listen to, the billboards in the zip codes they reside, and the social media they scroll through. Utilize targeted display and re-targeting display to reach them anywhere they go on the internet. Follow this up with video on the streaming shows that they are watching and offer them something they want or need in a concise way that is consistent on all platforms.
