The Difference Between Traditional and Social Media

Digital media is part of a promotion that uses modern digital technologies like mobile phones, desktop computers and other electronic media and interactive platforms to advertise goods and services. Digital media covers traditional marketing, promotion, emailing, direct mail, television, radio, and web analytics among others. A company promoting its services and products through digital media has the flexibility to measure results in different ways, compare performance over time, and make strategic decisions regarding where to focus its resources in the future. In this era, the definition of traditional media is blurred. The term may be used to describe any and all forms of traditional advertising like radio, print, television, and even the Internet.

Digital Media

However, many companies still regard traditional media as the main means of reaching out to their target audience. This was true until recently with YouTube and Facebook debuting on the scene. However, these new media have provided marketers with an alternative means of promotion. Many have taken to using social media to market their businesses because of its widespread coverage and popularity. It provides a more interactive platform for users and also allows them to communicate with their customers.

Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter are the most popular social media platforms that are being used by companies around the world. Each of these websites enables users to create a profile page, interact with other users, comment on videos, photos, or other messages, create links, and share media with the entire network or the friends of their choice. This highly interactive platform allows them to access one-on-one conversations with their target market. They can also post useful tips, news, updates, or links about their products and services to enhance their exposure. They can use their status or links as promotional tools to spread the word about their business.

In order to effectively use Facebook and Twitter to reach out to your target market, you need to formulate a strategy. One effective strategy is to do video marketing. This is because these two popular websites allow users to upload short promotional videos that provide detailed information on their products or services. In addition to effective, it helps create brand awareness and builds customer loyalty as well.

YouTube, on the other hand, is known for its high quality video content. This low-cost video sharing website is able to attract more viewers than any other website aside from Facebook. However, the content on YouTube is not always good so it requires a powerful strategy in order to be more effective. A good example of a strategy that has been used to make a significant difference between traditional media and digital media is to create live webinars using the WordPress event management plug-in and then sharing them on YouTube and Facebook.

Email marketing has become very popular in recent years. It allows you to send targeted, pre-written email messages to a specific list of subscribers. One of the biggest differences between traditional and social networking is that digital media allows you to connect with your audience “on the fly”. Unlike television and radio where you are forced to talk about yourself or your product on air, digital media allows you to engage your audience in real time. This makes email marketing a potent tool for promoting your business.