Content vs Traditional Marketing: What’s the Difference?

Content vs Traditional Marketing - These are marketing strategies in which companies create valuable content to educate potential customers so as to be able to lure them in.

This can be done in so many ways, from blogging to postcards to videos to quizzes to email newsletters.

Its purpose is to add value to your potential customers’ life so as to make them appreciate your existence which may turn them into loyal customers.

The experts in content marketing at the content marketing institute sum up the definition of content marketing and its purpose as:

“Basically content marketing is the art of communicating with your customers and prospects without selling. It is non-interruption marketing. Instead of pitching your products or services, you are delivering information that makes your buyers more intelligent. This essence of this content strategy is the belief that if we, as businesses, deliver consistent, ongoing valuable information to buyers, they ultimately reward us with their business and loyalty.”

What is Traditional Marketing?

This is an interruptive marketing strategy in which advertisements or promotions for products or service reach customers whenever and wherever companies want them to.

Traditional marketing like content marketing comes in various forms; it can occur in print (magazine ads, billboards), broadcast (television ads, radio ads), and a slew of other formats (direct mailings, telemarketing etc.).

This strategy avails the information to a wide audience of people- even when they haven’t necessarily asked to see it.

The differences between content marketing vs traditional marketing

Content vs Traditional Marketing:  Permission vs. Interruption

The key difference between the two is that; content marketing is a permissive marketing technique while traditional marketing is an interruptive one.

Traditional marketing is availed to consumers while they are doing something else eg. Watching television, driving or listening to music and it interrupts whatever they were doing.

There are other digital marketing efforts which are interruptive like pop-ups, pre-roll videos and social media ads.

Content marketing is discovered by the consumers and, they consume it whenever they want to; they’ve given their permission to be marketed to.

Content vs Traditional Marketing:  Earned Audience vs. Rented Audience

Content audience offers something of value to its audience. The customers who discover it choose to consume it because they choose to do so. This means that you own them- they are your audience.

On the contrary, traditional marketing strategies are seen by a “rented” audience. Traditional marketers pay money to other platforms that already have an audience to get their message viewed by a certain set of people.

Rented billboard space, purchased radio airtime, and bought PPC ads are good examples of traditional marketing.

One drawback of a rented audience is that, when the campaign is complete and the rented audience cannot view your message then you no longer have a crowd of potential consumers.

The benefit of earning your audience its’ that it is more effective in building trust.

Content vs Traditional Marketing:  Conversation vs. One - Sided

Some strategies in traditional marketing like commercials don’t ask for immediate response from the audience.

They provide information about the product or the service to the audience in hope that they will be motivated to buy. In contrast, content marketing is meant to start a conversation with the audience.

It is meant to engage the audience with your brand so that they can be able to trust it and eventually decide to buy it.

Content efforts that spark conversation with potential customers include things like webinars, in-person events and many more. According to experts,

“Your content is now a conversation. It’s a story that needs an audience to respond. So, yes, go out and create great content. Be the leader in your industry because you consistently share value. But, share it.”

Content vs Traditional Marketing: Hone-able vs. Static

One of the key differences between the two is that content marketing allows marketers the opportunity to hone their marketing campaigns in real time.

This helps them to focus on the strategies that work and that their marketing investments pay off.

Analytics programs allow marketers to be able to relocate their time, money and energies appropriately depending on the effectiveness of the campaign.

Traditional marketing efforts are more static. Campaigns are released to the public and the results are analyzed once they have been completed.

The marketing efforts can then be adjusted for the next campaign. This is not possible for some traditional tactics like television advertisement and prints ads since it’s difficult to change the ads to be more effective once they have been released to the public.

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Content vs Traditional Marketing: Cost

For every marketing strategy that is considered, money is the overall concern. That is however what all this is all about.

Research has shown that if you compare between traditional marketing and content marketing, it is seen that content marketing is a more affordable marketing strategy.

According to a report by Demand Metric, content marketing efforts cost 62% less than traditional marketing efforts, and they generate 3x as many leads.

Content vs Traditional Marketing:  Valuable information vs. Sales- Specific Information

Content marketing material offers something of value to those who consume it.  It can enlighten the reader on a particular product, teach them about how to buy, or simply entertain.

On the other hand, traditional advertising tends to include only information about the product it intends to sell.

Although some methods contain some element of entertainment, their main point is to educate the audience about something that is been sold, and give them the information about how anyone would buy it.

Content vs Traditional Marketing: Momentum-Building vs. Steady

Content marketing is a momentum building marketing strategy. It is difficult at first but with time it becomes easier and more successful with loyal visitors help you build up with brand.

Blog followings grow social media numbers tick up, and newsletter subscribers multiply.

As like the co-founder of Moz, Rand Fishkin said, content marketing is a flywheel marketing strategy- it’s hard to turn the wheel at the get-go, but once its’ already rolling, it’sfast and powerful.

In contrast, traditional marketing campaigns are much steadier than the content marketing campaigns.

They are released and finished with some level effectiveness. Traditional marketing efforts don’t necessarily build upon themselves, and each campaign isn’t necessarily “easier” than the one before it.

Content vs Traditional Marketing:  Appreciated vs. Tolerated or Ignored

Not only is content marketing easier and more affordable than traditional marketing but it is also more appreciated by the audience.

According to study;

• 70% of consumers would rather get to know a company through articles than advertisements.

• 85% of B2B buyers believe that companies should share useful information through social media.

• 90% of people say that informative or instructional videos are helpful in the purchasing process.

• 33% of people on the internet find digital displays ads “completely intolerable”

• 54% of people won’t click on banner ads because they don’t trust them.

Content vs Traditional Marketing: Which Do you Choose?

If you are thinking of marketing strategy to incorporate into your business, content marketing is the way to go. It is cheaper, more effective and easier to accomplish than traditional methods.

However, this does not mean that we should do away with traditional marketing efforts. Market experts now believe that the best marketers are the ones who can incorporate both the content marketing methods and the traditional marketing methods.