The Difference Between Social Media Marketing and Traditional Marketing

Almost all businesses engage in some form of traditional marketing.  Whether they use TV commercials, radio spots, a website, billboards or newspaper ads, or better yet, a combination of all of the above, these are traditional methods of marketing your products or services.  They are all wonderful methods of reaching new customers and building new relationships. 

So what is so different about Social Media Marketing?  BIG!!   In Traditional Marketing, you are talking TO your customer.  Sure, you might get some feedback in the form of calls, letters, or emails, but mostly it's a one-way communication.  In Social Media Marketing, you are talking WITH your customers.  It's a two-way street!! Oh sure, some of it will be negative, but even that can be positive.  HOW you handle any negative comments can build trust in your company.

Because of this wonderful aspect of Social Media Marketing, you now have an opportunity to ENGAGE your customers.  You can elicit ACTIONS from them.  Your connections become your advocates, spreading the word about your company, and your sounding board for new ideas.  Now you don't have to create a survey and tally results to find out what your customers want, you can just ask them!

I know this sounds like a lot of commitment.  With Traditional Marketing, you could just hire an advertising agency to do it all for you. So why not just hire someone to do your Social Media Marketing for you?  Well, if you are considering hiring an employee who's job description will be Social Media Manager, and they are going to spend their time crafting unique and interesting content aimed at meeting your goals, then fine!  Hire someone. 

But I would NOT recommend you hire a company to make your posts for you.  The basic principle of Social Media is to CONNECT to your customers.  How are you doing that if you are adding another layer between you and them, buffering the content both ways?  And if the person you hire is working for other companies besides you, how do you know they are creating original content for your site?  What if they are adding content that is similar to all their other sites, how do that help you at all?

Social Media Marketing offers many of the same benefits you'd expect from a Traditional Marketing plan, with the addition of several new options you can't ignore.  Try your hand at Social Media Marketing and see how it can help YOUR business. 

If you need any help, give us a call!