Social Media and Traditional Advertising
Social media: does it fit in the marketing mix?
In recent years marketers have taken notice of the new phenomenon known as social media. This new “craze” has swept the general public of the world, and left marketers and advertisers with questions. How does all this fit in the current marketing mix? In the following paragraphs I would like to discuss three similarities and differences that social media holds with traditional advertisement.
The first, and probably most obvious, is the similarity of intention. Both social media marketing and traditional advertising share the same purpose. Both forms of promotion have the purpose of spreading awareness. They want to create a buzz around a particular company or product. It is a known fact that the more people talk about something the more they are likely to purchase it. Secondly, they're both capable of reaching the masses. Both social media and traditional advertisement are directed towards large audiences. Last, like any form of advertisement both allow marketers to see results. Because, what good is promotion if you can't track it?
Now onto the differences. The most important issue in regards to promotion is always cost. “How much will it all cost?” Traditional advertising has a history of being incredibly expensive. If you want to reach the masses, you better be willing to pay. The second difference has to do with control. In traditional marketing the marketer is always in control the conversation. This is different in social media. Social media the consumer is always in control of the conversation. The final difference has to do with edit-ability. One of the advantage of online promotion, is the ability to edit all promotional materials. All social media promotion is done in real-time, and so are the edits.
After discussing the similarities and differences found in social media and traditional advertising, I have come to the conclusion that the two are actually complements. Social media is able to fill
In recent years marketers have taken notice of the new phenomenon known as social media. This new “craze” has swept the general public of the world, and left marketers and advertisers with questions. How does all this fit in the current marketing mix? In the following paragraphs I would like to discuss three similarities and differences that social media holds with traditional advertisement.
The first, and probably most obvious, is the similarity of intention. Both social media marketing and traditional advertising share the same purpose. Both forms of promotion have the purpose of spreading awareness. They want to create a buzz around a particular company or product. It is a known fact that the more people talk about something the more they are likely to purchase it. Secondly, they're both capable of reaching the masses. Both social media and traditional advertisement are directed towards large audiences. Last, like any form of advertisement both allow marketers to see results. Because, what good is promotion if you can't track it?
Now onto the differences. The most important issue in regards to promotion is always cost. “How much will it all cost?” Traditional advertising has a history of being incredibly expensive. If you want to reach the masses, you better be willing to pay. The second difference has to do with control. In traditional marketing the marketer is always in control the conversation. This is different in social media. Social media the consumer is always in control of the conversation. The final difference has to do with edit-ability. One of the advantage of online promotion, is the ability to edit all promotional materials. All social media promotion is done in real-time, and so are the edits.
After discussing the similarities and differences found in social media and traditional advertising, I have come to the conclusion that the two are actually complements. Social media is able to fill