With social media rapidly growing as a marketplace, it's becoming harder for small business owners to decide if it's time to move away from traditional media advertising. Of course, there are benefits (and downsides) to both types of marketing. Keep reading for our tips on how to determine what type of advertising is right for your business.
1) Social Media Marketing is Highly Targeted
If you've been on a social media app for more than a few minutes, you've likely seen some sort of targeted ad. Part of the beauty of social media is that users curate their own experience--pages and tags to follow, stories and posts to look out for, people to interact with, etc. The algorithm taps into a user's demographics, likes, and general aesthetic to then funnel more similar posts to them. Enter: Highly targeted ads. With traditional TV marketing, a wedding florist could get as specific as reaching a local geographic region during show blocks with a demographic of women ages 18-49. On the other hand, with social media ads, the same florist could still target women who live in a specific city, but also who have “engaged” as their relationship status and who are already following other wedding companies in the market. While price per click can get pretty steep on social media, you know that the majority of people seeing your ads are qualified leads.
2) Traditional Marketing Is Remembered Longer
If you're looking to leave a longer-lasting impression, consider traditional marketing. One-off ads can be effective (on social media), but usually just for impulse purchases. For more expensive purchases and services, you'll want to leave a more lasting impression for consumers to consider while planning their spending. Think about the last time you watched live TV and saw the same 4 ads play on repeat. It might be annoying, but that repeat is what keeps the product or service top of mind. Traditional marketing is also expected to be used over a longer period of time. Whereas an ad campaign on a social media app might run a few days, an ad campaign on TV or a billboard would run a few months. For business owners, this means you have far less content to create than you would need for social media marketing.
3) What Media Does Your Audience Consume?
When mapping out your marketing strategy, it's crucial you consider not just your audience, but the media your audience consumes and trusts. For example, if your targeted demographic is adults 65 and over, traditional marketing would typically be more relevant. Of course, many individuals in this age bracket frequent social media; however, they tend to afford less credibility to online advertisements over traditional marketing. Typically, the younger your audience skews, the more social media marketing becomes relevant. Most Millennials and Gen-Zers don't watch live TV and can't be reached through broadcast commercials. Younger audiences are also harder to reach by mail, as they are more likely to be renting and have multiple address changes. Social media, on the other hand, is almost a sure-fire way to reach this demographic. If your audience lives on social media, then that's the best place to advertise.
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