The influencer marketing versus traditional marketing debate
Marketing takes many forms nowadays. There are old-school techniques that still do the job in 2022, such as flyers, billboards, TV commercials, radio advertising, telemarketing and direct mails. However, there are also new approaches like collaborating with influencers to help you develop your brand’s marketing strategies and promote your business. The mainstream media often refers to “influencer marketing”. It’s been a buzzword for a while now, yet there are some people who still ponder which is best when it comes to influencer marketing versus traditional marketing. It’s important to consider the pros and cons of both online and offline. Let’s take a look at influencer marketing versus traditional marketing and examine their strong and weak points.
Influencer marketing versus traditional marketing: What is traditional marketing?
Before social media emerged, most businesses used traditional marketing to market themselves or their products. These methods reach and interact with target audiences offline. A typical traditional marketing strategy includes print advertisements in magazines or newspapers, print handouts in physical stores or shopping centres, TV commercials, radio campaigns, direct mail, billboards and so on. Traditional marketing is also called “outbound marketing”, or coming to people with your message. The more people who see or hear your message – whether they’re at home watching TV or travelling to work and listening to the radio – the more potential customers you reach.
Businesses have been using traditional marketing for years. Therefore, the biggest advantages include that it’s reliable and offers proven results. Traditional marketing methods are also sustainable, leave a longer impression with your audience and don’t require you to produce new material often. For example, you can get a lot of mileage from using the same flyers or TV commercial. Plus, you’re in complete control over the tone of voice and colour themes used in your ads and promotions. However, if your goal is to attract younger customers, then putting all of your money into traditional marketing isn’t going to work. Younger generations are turning to social media and other Internet-based sources to consume media. This new wave brings to the forefront how influential word-of-mouth relatability is when people are looking to buy something.
Influencer marketing versus traditional marketing: What is influencer marketing?
With social media taking over, we’ve entered a digital era where consumers spend the majority of their time behind screens. They not only use social media, but also follow influencers – celebrities or full-time bloggers – that affect their purchasing decisions. In 2022, influencer marketing is the yin to traditional marketing’s yan. To put it simply, influencer marketing is how businesses promote their products or services using influencers’ endorsements. The idea is to count on the influencer’s authority and number of followers to increase brand awareness and sales. The influencer collaboration could be paid, for free or as a trade exchange for goods and discounts.
Above all, influencer marketing’s third-party endorsement can help your business develop credibility with your customers. Another great thing about influencer marketing versus traditional marketing is that influencers can turn around content significantly faster. This means using influencer marketing can produce trend-relevant content and stay on top of trends. With every form of marketing there are drawbacks though. For one, influencer marketing can be difficult to track and manage because influencers aren’t under your direct employment. A solution for this is to invest in a digital marketing agency that provides expert influencer marketing services. The agency will ensure that relevant influencers – who won’t be a risk for your reputation – are chosen for your campaigns as well as calculate an accurate ROI for each type of influencer content.
What influencer marketing versus traditional marketing looks like for 2023
Given the ongoing traditional marketing versus influencer marketing debate, it begs the question – what does influencer marketing versus traditional marketing look like for 2023? According to statistics, influencer marketing has grown to $16.4 billion in 2022 and businesses are making $5.2 ROI for every $1 spent on influencer marketing. There’s been a 465% increase in searches for the phrase “influencer marketing” on Google alone since 2016, while 90% of survey respondents believe influencer marketing to be an effective form of marketing and 67% of brands use Instagram for influencer marketing. In 2023, businesses intend to head in the influencer marketing direction – 62% of those already budgeting for influencer marketing are planning to increase their budget and only 7% will decrease their budget or move away from it.
Go to www.redmarketing.biz to find out how you can maximise your digital marketing efforts and talk to an influencer marketing specialist.
