Marketing has been around for ages, but as technologies have increased, new strategies have developed. It’s almost impossible to be a successful business these days without an online presence. From the birth of a more digital world, digital marketing developed, but it’s not as different from traditional marketing strategies as one might think. Let’s take a look!
(Looking for help with digital marketing in Birmingham? Contact us today!)
The Traditional Marketing Mix
Traditionally, marketing experts depend on a combination of services and channels known as the marketing mix.
The marketing mix consists of:
- Direct marketing
- Advertising
- Personal Selling
- Sales Promotion
- Publicity
Each has its strengths and purposes. The idea is that a coordinated effort combining all of these approaches would contribute to a successful marketing campaign.
While this was developed before the advent of the Internet, the marketing mix isn’t as old school as you’d think. It can be adapted for today’s digital world. Here’s our take.
#1: Direct Marketing → Email Marketing
Direct Marketing is a strategy that focuses on targeting very specific individuals in order to get fast results and cultivate relationships. Some great old school examples of direct marketing are telephone marketing and kiosks, as well as direct mail.
So what does direct marketing look like today? In digital marketing language, direct marketing is email marketing. Through email marketing, digital marketers can send important information to the people who matter most: their targeted audience. Additionally, email marketing uses call to action buttons that encourage recipients to click further and learn more, thus, producing quick results.
#2: Advertising → PPC
We all know what advertising is. It’s paid promotion. It’s the commercials we hope to fast forward through on our DRV. It’s the pages of perfume ads we flip past in magazines. It’s the obnoxious car commercials we turn down on the radio.
The good news is, advertising these days is much more effective. That’s because modern technology has created PPC (pay-per-click). PPC are the relevant ads you see that pop up at the top of a Google page, or in banner ads you see on a website. Often times, they are exactly what you were searching for. Through PPC, businesses can create effective ads, with keywords that their customers search for on Google. This helps bring in customers who are searching for your service or product, but may not have known your business existed.
#3: Personal Selling → Social Media
Personal selling is just as it sounds! It is when a business uses its people, or salesforce, to make face-to-face contact with potential customers. Personal selling builds brand awareness and appreciation.
The modern day interpretation of personal selling would be social media. Through social media, a business can create personal relationships and build their brand. It’s the perfect way to build yourself as a trustworthy company by deepening your relationships with your customers.
#4: Sales Promotion → Social Media and Email Marketing
Attention coupon clippers! Sales promotions, in the form of coupons, sales, and discounts, are all short term incentives to get clients in the door.
Today, businesses are finding greater success using sales promotions online, through social media and email marketing campaigns. If you are a coupon clipper who isn’t subscribed to your favorite store’s newsletter, you could be missing out on the best coupons around!
#5: Publicity → Blogging
Publicity is all about gaining awareness. Old school publicity can be done by putting up informative and eye-catching posters or handing out interesting fliers, or by getting press releases published in newspapers. These things put your company in front of new clients by educating them.
Modern-day publicity is done through blogging. Blogs catch the public eye with interesting and clickable titles, and then educates the reader on the company’s expertise. It sets the tone of voice for a company, and positions them as leaders in their field. With billions of people searching the internet each day, it’s a great way to stay relevant and informative.
Uptick: Digital Marketing in Birmingham
See, Digital Marketing isn’t so different from traditional methods after all! The hardest part about marketing in a digital world is getting the attention you need. With so many businesses competing for exposure, it’s hard to stand out. Are you looking to take your digital marketing in Birmingham to the next level? Learn more on how to get people to like, and share your content!
