The discussion regarding the efficiency of digital
marketing and traditional marketing still continues. A lot of people think that digital
marketing has been taking over traditional marketing. The marketing arena is changing after many
of the Newspapers going digital
Traditional marketing has fallen over the years because
of the invent of smartphones and their convenience. People find digital gadgets a lot more
user-friendly. Hence, marketers have changed their targeting techniques and switched to digital.
Traditional marketing
Traditional marketing has many facets. For instance, it
includes tangible items like print ads in magazines or newspapers, business cards. It can also
include commercials on radio or TV, posters, brochures and billboards. Anything except digital
ways to promote your brand is traditional marketing.
Another meaning of traditional marketing is when people
find your business through reference or network and start buying your product or service. It is
a conventional form of marketing your brand, which helps to reach an audience with offline modes
of advertising.
The major fundamental aspects of traditional marketing
remain the same even though it has evolved over the years. The selling techniques remain on the
four P’s- product, price, promotion and place. Every brand should know how to include these four
P’s of marketing in their business.
The four P’s of marketing
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- Product- When you have a better understanding of your product, only
then will you be able to effectively market it. A product can be an intangible service
or a good that fulfills the needs and wants of the target audience.
- Price- The cost of the product is based on how familiar you are with
it. When it comes to demand, supply, profit margin, etc, price is to be kept in mind.
- Promotion- The way you advertise your product and show it to the target
customers is known as promotion. Promotion can be digital or traditional.
- Place- Putting the right product at the right time and place in front
of your target group is what traditional marketing relies on. When you place a product
in the right situation, you increase the chances of converting the prospects into
consumers.
Digital marketing
As long as technology is evolving, digital marketing
continues to grow. Digital marketing includes social media mentions, websites, banner ads and
YouTube videos. Digital marketing is quite similar to traditional marketing but just uses
digital devices. One can start promoting business through social media marketing. Online
marketing is a form of inbound marketing, and its main aim is for customers to find you.
Marketing your business through social media channels
becomes easy like online organic search, paid search or by reading content online like article
or blog. The audience becomes familiar with your content as and when they keep seeing it, which
helps build trust.
Advantages of social media marketing
- Increased brand awareness
- More inbound traffic
- Search engine rankings start improving
- Higher conversion rates
- Customer satisfaction
- Improved brand loyalty
- Cost-effective
Advantages of traditional marketing
- Longevity
- Finding ads in newspapers, magazines or on billboards is easy
Disadvantages of traditional marketing
- Reaches only the local audience
- In some cases, results can’t be measured
- Expensive as compared to digital marketing
- Traditional marketing is one way and static
Why digital marketing?
- Results are easier to measure
- Digital marketing campaigns can reach a lot of people
- One can tailor their campaign as per the audience
- Engaging way of reaching your audience
- Engaging way of reaching your audienceThere is direct contact between the business and
its audience
- Two-way communication
Is there a balance between traditional marketing and digital marketing?
The world has changed into a digital domain. We perform
a lot of our daily activities online, like reading the newspaper and banking. Due to the growth
of the digital age, it is better that marketers start investing in digital campaigns. The
traditional market still has its audience, but it is decreasing due to the digital world. We
live in a world where it is essential to have a website and use the internet to engage with the
audience. Hence, businesses should carry on their traditional promotion but also ensure that
they are present digitally and are planning on expanding their online presence.
"Did you know, an Instagram post with at least one hashtag has 12.6% more
engagement
than a post without?"
Brand Hashtags: How do you Choose the Best?
Choosing the right kind of hashtags can take a bit of
time
and research. Once you get the basic understanding, you just have to use a little creativity to
correctly use them in your posts. It’s simple enough to use trending hashtags on Instagram
posts.
Here’s how you can come up with the best hashtag strategy for Instagram:
- Understand your audience and study consumer behavioral patterns to cater to their
specific
needs.
- Set goals for your content, such as increasing followers, provoking conversations and
increasing engagement or sales.
- Identify your niche and USPs to use relevant hashtags.
- Don't overstuff and include only relevant hashtags.
- Follow the industry experts to know the most popular hashtags on Instagram.
Instagram allows you to add up to 10 hashtags on stories
and
30 for normal feed posts. However, experts recommend adding 3-5 relevant and popular hashtags
per
post. You can add a combination of hashtags from different groups to get an even higher reach.
Depending on their size, Instagram hashtags can be categorized into four groups:
- Big hashtags are generic ones with over a billion mentions and too much competition.
- Medium hashtags are generic too but mentions are closer to the million mark.
- Community hashtags generally have less than 1 million and are great for building your
own
community.
- Micro-community hashtags are specific to the niche and have less than 50k but more than
1k
mentions.
How Hashtags for Instagram Help Brands Grow:
1. Higher Exposure
Hashtags make your posts more discoverable and bring
them
into the limelight. Hashtags are clickable. When you add a relevant hashtag to your post, anyone
searching for that hashtag will see your post. It’ll help users find out about your products or
services. Using the right Insta hashtags has proven to actively drive user engagement to the
brand.
2. Boost User Interaction
It's no secret that Instagram users place a lot of value
on
hashtags. They search for and click on them consciously. They tend to comment and interact with
posts with relevant hashtags when they find them attractive. You could include popular Insta
hashtags in your posts to connect more with your audience.
3. Know about Latest Market Trends
Social media is an extremely dynamic place. You have to
keep
up with their ever-evolving trends to be relevant in the market. Following the best hashtags for
Instagram that are trending gets you an idea about the latest industry trends.
4. Makes it Easier to Share Content
The sole purpose of using hashtags is to get your
content
more reach on Instagram. One of the main benefits of using Insta hashtags is to reach people
beyond
your followers. It helps to increase reach and broaden your audience base.
5. Avoid banned/flagged Hashtags
There are some hashtags that are banned by the platform
to
be used. They are considered inappropriate by Instagram and may adversely impact your content.
In
other words, these are things that go against the guidelines, whether through nudity, spam, or
any
other form of non-compliance.
Using proper Insta hashtags can go a long way in helping
brands make their content reach a wider and relevant audience. Proper usage can lead to a highly
productive growth of the content and an increase in likes, comments, and followers on Instagram.
Use
them wisely to improve overall user engagement on your social media content!
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